HELLENISTIC WAR-ELEPHANTS AND THE USE OF ALCOHOL BEFORE BATTLE

IF 0.2 3区 历史学 Q1 Arts and Humanities
Silvannen R. Gerrard
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Abstract This article assesses whether Hellenistic war-elephants were given alcohol before battle. First recorded in 1 Maccabees’ account of the battle of Beth-Zechariah (162 b.c.e. ), this unusual detail is supported by the later comments of Aelian and Philes of Ephesus. The idea also recalls a failed Ptolemaic attempt to punish the Jews in 3 Maccabees and in Josephus, and resonates with a longstanding association of elephants and alcohol in popular thought. Unfortunately, despite the recent rise in scholarly interest on war-elephants, this issue remains overlooked. This article reassesses the complexities of our sources and the practicalities of Hellenistic battles. Adopting a comparative approach to contemporary Indian material for this practice, it considers the prevalence of elephants in musth in the Indian epics, alongside the etymological link between this condition and Sanskrit concepts of drunkenness. It argues that this connection may have prompted the idea of giving elephants alcohol before battle, despite its unlikeliness as a standard feature of elephant warfare.
希腊战象和战前饮酒
摘要本文评估了希腊战象在战斗前是否被给予酒精。最早记录在《马加比书》中关于伯-撒迦利亚战役的记载(公元前162年),这个不寻常的细节后来得到了以弗所的以利安和非利斯的评论的支持。这个想法也让人想起了托勒密王朝在《马加比三书》和《约瑟夫》中惩罚犹太人的失败尝试,并与长期以来大众思想中大象和酒精的联系产生了共鸣。不幸的是,尽管最近对战争大象的学术兴趣有所上升,但这个问题仍然被忽视。本文重新评估了我们资料来源的复杂性和希腊战争的实用性。采用当代印度材料的比较方法,它考虑了印度史诗中大象在musth中的流行,以及这种情况与梵语中醉酒概念之间的词源联系。它认为,这种联系可能促使人们在战斗前给大象喝酒,尽管这不太可能成为大象战争的标准特征。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
0.40
自引率
0.00%
发文量
39
期刊介绍: The Classical Quarterly has a reputation for publishing the highest quality classical scholarship for nearly 100 years. It publishes research papers and short notes in the fields of language, literature, history and philosophy. Two substantial issues (around 300 pages each) of The Classical Quarterly appear each year, in May and December. Given the quality and depth of the articles published in The Classical Quarterly, any serious classical library needs to have a copy on its shelves. Published for the The Classical Association
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