Pirate Legion
Page 13
Knossos (also known to the Romans as Cnossus) is one of the oldest civilised cities in the world, dating from around 7000BC! In legend, the minotaur lived in a maze beneath the palace until he was defeated by Theseus, who found his way back out of the labyrinth using a ball of thread he had unwound as he entered (sound familiar from Crocodile Legion?)
Pirates caused trouble often in Roman times. Julius Caesar, as a young man, was captured by pirates, and his later enemy, the general Pompey, led a huge naval campaign against the Cilician pirates (Cilicia was part of modern day Turkey), clearing the seas of them for a while. But they were never truly defeated, and there would always be pirates on the Roman seas.
Soldiers came in several forms in Roman times. The legions were the elite fighting force of their era, but there were also auxiliary soldiers, who were paid less and who did not have to be Roman citizens, and numeri and limitanei, which were units formed of very different native soldiers. Private armies were common, and often were hired from ex-soldiers or former gladiators.
Gortyn is the biggest Roman ruin on Crete, with several theatres and baths, temples and so on. The governor’s palace has been partially excavated and can be seen, and in one building there is a set of ancient Greek law codes carved into building stones that once applied to the city thousands of years ago. As Knossos fell from power, Gortyn rose, becoming the Romans’ chief town on the island.
Roman galleys came in several styles, but the most famous of the military ships is the trireme, which had three rows of oars on each side and two sails. They were not crewed by slaves as is often thought, but by paid sailors who could also fight if required. They were steered not with a rudder but with twin long oars that dragged behind the ship.
Aesculapius, the Roman healing god, was adopted from the original Greek god Asklepius. They were one and the same. The god’s symbol was the a staff of wood with a snake wrapped around it, which is still a symbol used in modern times by the medical profession. His sanctuary at Lebena (modern Lendas) is still visible.
Roman warships were armed with all sorts of fascinating weapons and could have catapults and bolt-throwers on board. The corvus and the battering ram were two of the most feared. The corvus was invented during the Punic Wars against Carthage and is just one thing that helped give Rome an edge and allowed them to defeat a nation that had once completely ruled the seas.