Context: “the devotio was an extreme form of votum in which a Roman general vowed to sacrifice his own life in battle along with the enemy to chthonic gods in exchange for a victory” – Wikipedia
In practice, a roman general would offer his life to the gods of the underworld and throw himself at the enemy in the purpose of killing himself. This was not simply a religious ritual. It also supposedly caused an absurd surge of morale in the roman legions and pressured them to fight on.
EconomyTrouble324 on
Roman generals really said: BRB, sacrificing myself so the squad gets buffed. Peak team player energy.
speedyrain949 on
Reverse warhammer commissar
Old_Milk_7844 on
The highest form of sacrifice. The generals must have been deeply devoted to rome and their citizens to sacrifice themselves for the greater victory.
randomrandomoduuugh on
I think that it’s more likely that Roman generals *attempted* to sacrifice themselves for morales’ sake. Like, yeah, make the vows to the gods, throw yourself at the enemy…but I’m certain the hope was that the army’s improved morale would take effect *before* said general was actually killed.
After all, good generals tend not to fall in battle…the goal is to live long enough to write your own history.
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Context: “the devotio was an extreme form of votum in which a Roman general vowed to sacrifice his own life in battle along with the enemy to chthonic gods in exchange for a victory” – Wikipedia
In practice, a roman general would offer his life to the gods of the underworld and throw himself at the enemy in the purpose of killing himself. This was not simply a religious ritual. It also supposedly caused an absurd surge of morale in the roman legions and pressured them to fight on.
Roman generals really said: BRB, sacrificing myself so the squad gets buffed. Peak team player energy.
Reverse warhammer commissar
The highest form of sacrifice. The generals must have been deeply devoted to rome and their citizens to sacrifice themselves for the greater victory.
I think that it’s more likely that Roman generals *attempted* to sacrifice themselves for morales’ sake. Like, yeah, make the vows to the gods, throw yourself at the enemy…but I’m certain the hope was that the army’s improved morale would take effect *before* said general was actually killed.
After all, good generals tend not to fall in battle…the goal is to live long enough to write your own history.