Pre-Battle signs

**MemnonOfRhodes** · September 25, 2009, 12:24 PM

I don't know if i'm in the right forum section for this,but has someone got some info for me on what ancient priests translated from signs before battle?

Only one i know is : Eagle with a snake in its claw -> Victory

**Farnan** · September 25, 2009, 12:26 PM

They said what the king wanted them to say. And if they were wrong they changed it in the history books.

**MemnonOfRhodes** · September 25, 2009, 12:27 PM

Originally Posted by Farnan

They said what the king wanted them to say. And if they were wrong they changed it in the history books.

Dammit why didn't i think of it?,man u just ruined my question

**King Edward III** · September 25, 2009, 12:37 PM

I saw an eagle circle the camp three times this morning.

**Nimthill** · September 25, 2009, 12:39 PM

When translating texts from latin, I once saw a piece about Remus and Romulus talking about birds (I believe they were crows, but it could be wrong.) From the left was a good omen, from the right a bad one.

**MemnonOfRhodes** · September 25, 2009, 12:42 PM

I was watching outside my window today and i saw a smaller bird trying to steal a larger bird's kill in mid-air,then this question came up.

**Zhangir** · September 25, 2009, 12:47 PM

I think there was this thing...
reading the battle result from the guts of cows...
Romans did it )

also...
If the ants move across the road in big numbers it's gonna rain

**Orko** · September 25, 2009, 12:54 PM

Eagle circling the camp 3 times and then flying towards the sun.

**MemnonOfRhodes** · September 25, 2009, 01:23 PM

Originally Posted by orko

Eagle circling the camp 3 times and then flying towards the sun.

Means?

**King Edward III** · September 28, 2009, 12:50 PM

Old Rome: Total War battle speech.

**bushbush** · September 28, 2009, 12:54 PM

it's just a game to promote morale. Oh and even if it didn't happen, they would add that in history book to prove that the leader was indeed divine-guided, you know, adding a bit of legitimacy and credibility.

**Mangalore** · September 28, 2009, 02:13 PM

Well, the Greeks simply repeated their sacrifices till the gods were on their side (the signs were good). Only problem was when they ran out of animals to sacrifice. I once read this story about some Greek general who really had trouble getting any good omen. He conveniently shouted he received one when the enemy was nearly upon his army and ran off to his men.

Most of this stuff was open to interpretation anyway (could still end good or bad).

**Timoleon of Korinthos** · September 28, 2009, 03:08 PM

Originally Posted by Mangalore

Well, the Greeks simply repeated their sacrifices till the gods were on their side (the signs were good). Only problem was when they ran out of animals to sacrifice. I once read this story about some Greek general who really had trouble getting any good omen. He conveniently shouted he received one when the enemy was nearly upon his army and ran off to his men.

Most of this stuff was open to interpretation anyway (could still end good or bad).

Hahaha, very true. Polyaenus is full of incidents like that or with generals ordering messengers to announce victory in another front of the battle, when in reality they were loosing, and ending up winning the battle by having raised their army's morale. But my favourite is that the night before the battle of Leuktra (or was it Mantineia?) Epameinondas took some sculptors with him and entered secretly a local temple of Athena and ordered them to reshape the sculpture of the goddess into a warlike stance, the spear pointing towards the enemies or something. So, when the Boetians woke up and witnessed the "miracle" they thought that Athena was going to fight with them. Epic lulz!