Lessico
Gaio Sulpicio Gallo
Gaio Sulpicio Gallo - Caius Sulpicius Gallus - fu un console romano, noto anche per i suoi interessi astronomici. La prima notizia su Gaio Sulpicio Gallo si riferisce al 170 aC, quando fu scelto dai delegati delle popolazioni iberiche presso il Senato romano come uno dei quattro patroni che avrebbero dovuto rappresentarli nel processo contro i magistrati romani accusati di prevaricazione nei loro confronti.
Pretore
urbano nel 169 aC, l’anno successivo durante la III guerra macedonica
partecipò come tribuno militare alla battaglia di Pidna
di Paolo
Emilio Lucio
contro Perseo re di
Macedonia.. Eletto
console nel 166 aC, durante il suo consolato sconfisse i Liguri e per questa
vittoria gli fu decretato il trionfo.
Nel 164 aC
fu inviato dal Senato in Grecia insieme a Gaio Manio Sergio con una delicata
missione: dirimere una disputa sorta tra Megalopoli e Sparta per questioni
territoriali e, soprattutto, indagare sul comportamento di Eumene II e Antioco
IV, sospettati di preparare un attacco contro Roma. Le sue qualità morali
sono lodate da Marco Tullio Cicerone nel De
amicitia.
Gli
interessi astronomici di Gaio Sulpicio Gallo sono ricordati da più autori. Si
racconta che alla vigilia della battaglia di Pidna abbia predetto un’eclissi
lunare, evitando che le truppe fossero intimorite dal fenomeno. Secondo la
testimonianza di Plinio aveva
anche scritto un libro sull’argomento delle eclissi e si era occupato delle
dottrine astronomiche pitagoriche. Nel 166
aC ebbe l’occasione di esaminare il planetario di Archimede, mostratogli dal
suo collega di consolato Marco Claudio Marcello. Questi, nipote del Marco
Claudio Marcello conquistatore di Siracusa, lo aveva infatti ereditato dal
nonno, che l’aveva portato a Roma come bottino di guerra. Le notizie più
attendibili sullo strumento progettato da Archimede le dobbiamo a questo
console romano. Egli ne lasciò infatti una descrizione che è in parte
riferita da Cicerone nel De re publica. In suo onore un cratere lunare
porta il suo nome.
Fonti
Tito Livio, Ab Urbe condita libri, XLIII, 2, 5; XLVI (epitome).
Polibio, Storie, XXXI, 1, 6-8.
Plinio il Vecchio, Naturalis Historia, II, 9, 19, 83.
Cicerone, De amicitia, 9, 21, 101.
Cicerone, De re publica, I, 21-22.
Caius Sulpicius Gallus, Roman general, statesman and orator. Under
Aemilius Paulus Lucius, his intimate friend, he commanded the 2nd legion in
the campaign against Perseus, king of Macedonia, and gained great reputation
for having predicted an eclipse of the moon on the night before the battle of
Pydna (168 BC).
On his return from Macedonia he was elected consul (166), and in the same year reduced the Ligurians to submission. In 164 he was sent as ambassador to Greece and Asia, where he held a meeting at Sardis to investigate the charges brought against Eumenes II of Pergamon by the representatives of various cities of Asia Minor.
Gallus was a man of great learning, an excellent Greek scholar, and in his later years devoted himself to the study of astronomy, on which subject he is quoted as an authority by Pliny. The crater Sulpicius Gallus is named after him.
Aemilia 10: denario emesso nel 62 aC da un discendente di Lucio Emilio Paolo
D/
Concordia
R/ Paolo Emilio Lucio il vincitore di Pidna, a destra di un trofeo, a sinistra
Perseo e i figli
La battaglia di Pidna fu lo scontro decisivo della terza guerra macedonica, combattuta nel 168 aC tra Roma e Macedonia: nello scontro in questione gli eserciti erano guidati rispettivamente dal console Paolo Emilio Lucio e dal re Perseo.
Con i
Romani erano alleati Pergamo, Rodi, la Lega
Achea e gli Etoli, probabilmente perché ritenevano Roma la sicura vincitrice:
inaspettatamente, però, il conflitto volse inizialmente a favore dei
Macedoni, e per questo fu deciso da parte dei Romani di risolvere in uno
scontro decisivo la difficile situazione.
Nella battaglia stessa l'esercito macedone sembrò essere sul punto di vincere; la falange aveva infatti costretto l'esercito romano sulle alture, ma l'eccessivo slancio nell'assalto fu fatale per le truppe di Perseo, che furono attaccate: ciò causò uno sfaldamento dei ranghi che favorì l'attacco delle seconde linee romane.
Vista la disfatta della fanteria, la cavalleria preferì ritirarsi piuttosto che combattere: del resto erano morti già 20.000 soldati e 11.000 ne erano stati fatti prigionieri. In seguito alla sconfitta, Perseo si rifugiò nella città di Samotracia con i propri possessi mentre i Romani, in seguito, abbandonarono la linea di politica filo-orientale attuata dagli Scipioni per adottarne una molto più dura nei confronti dei popoli assoggettati.
La battaglia prese il nome dall'omonima cittadina costiera che si trova in Tessaglia, nel Nord della Grecia.
The Battle of Pydna in 168 BC between Rome and the Antigonid dynasty represents the ascendancy of Rome in the Hellenic/Hellenistic world and the end of the Antigonid line of kings, whose power traced back to Alexander III of Macedon. It is often considered to be the classic example of the Macedonian phalanx against the Roman legion, and generally accepted as proving the superiority of the latter over the former.
Campaign
The Third Macedonian War started in 171 BC, after a number of acts on the part of King Perseus of Macedon incited Rome to declare war. At first, the Romans won a number of small victories, largely due to Perseus' refusal to consolidate his armies. By the end of the year, the tide changed dramatically and Perseus had regained most of his losses, including the important religious city of Dion. Perseus then established himself in an unassailable position on the river Elpeus, in northeastern Greece.
The next year, command of the Roman expeditionary force passed to Lucius Aemilius Paulus, an experienced soldier who was one of the consuls for the year. In order to force Perseus out of his position, Paulus sent a small force (8,200 foot and 120 horse) under the command of Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica to the coast, a feint to convince Perseus that he was attempting a riverborne flanking maneuver. Instead, that night Scipio took his force south and over the mountains to the west of the Roman and Macedonian armies. They moved as far as Pithium, then swung northeast to attack the Macedonians from the rear.
A Roman deserter, however, made his way to the Macedonian camp and Perseus sent Milo with a force of 12,000 to block the approach road. The encounter that followed sent Milo and his men back in disarray towards the main Macedonian army. After this, Perseus moved his army northwards and took up a position near Katerini, a village south of Pydna. It was a fairly level plain and was very well suited to the phalanx.
Paulus then had Scipio rejoin the main force, while Perseus deployed his forces for what appeared to be an attack from the south by Scipio. The Roman armies were actually to the west, and when they advanced, they found Perseus fully deployed. Instead of joining battle with troops tired from the march, they encamped to the west in the foothills of Mount Olocrus.
The fighting began the afternoon of the next day, June 22. The exact cause of the start of the battle differs; one story is that Paulus waited until late enough in the day for the sun not to be in the eyes of his troops, and then sent an unbridled horse forward to bring about alarm. More likely it was the result of some Roman foragers getting a little too close and being attacked by some Thracians in Perseus' army.
Battle
The two armies appear quite evenly matched in numbers. The Romans had 38,000 men, of which 33,400 were infantry, including two legions. The Macedonians had 44,000 soldiers, of which 21,000 were phalangites. The cavalry forces were roughly equal, about 4,000 each. The two armies were drawn up in their usual fashion. The Romans had placed the two legions in the middle, with the allied Latin, Italian and Greek infantry flanking them. The cavalry was placed on the wings, with the Roman right being supplemented by 22 elephants. The phalanx took up the center of the Macedonian line, with the elite 3,000-strong Guard formed to the left of the phalanx. Lighter peltasts, mercenaries and Thracian infantry guarded the two flanks of the phalanx, while the Macedonian cavalry were also, rather unevenly, split between the two wings. The stronger contingent was on the Macedonian right, where Perseus commanded the heavy cavalry (including his elite Sacred Squadron), and the Thracian Odrysian cavalry were deployed.
The two centers engaged at about 3pm, with the Macedonians advancing on the Romans a short distance from the Roman camp. Paulus claimed later that the sight of the phalanx filled him with alarm and amazement. The Romans tried to beat down the enemy pikes or hack off their points, but with little success. Unable to get under the thick bristle of spikes, the Romans were beaten back, and some of their allies abandoned the field.
But as the phalanx pushed forward, the ground became more uneven as it moved into the foothills, and the line lost its cohesion. Paulus now ordered the legions into the gaps, attacking the phalangites on their exposed flanks. At close quarters the longer Roman sword and heavier shield easily prevailed over the short sword (little more than a dagger) and lighter armor of the Macedonians. They were soon joined by the Roman right, which had succeeded in routing the Macedonian left.
Seeing the tide of battle turn, Perseus fled with the cavalry on the Macedonian right. According to Plutarch, Perseus' cavalry had yet to engage, and both the king and his cavalry were accused of cowardice by the surviving infantry. These were few, however; the 3,000 strong Guard fought to the death, and the Macedonians suffered about 25,000 dead or captured of their 40,000. The battle lasted less than an hour.
Perseus later surrendered to Paulus, and was paraded in triumph in Rome. He was then imprisoned. The Macedonian kingdom was dissolved, and replaced with four republics. In time, these were also dissolved, and Macedonia became a Roman province.
The battle is often considered to be a victory of the Roman legion's flexibility over the phalanx's inflexibility. Although some argue that the loss was actually due to a failure of command on the part of Perseus, the Macedonians did not have an answer to the problem of being outflanked by the Romans. Paulus knew before the battle that once the hoplite phalanx had been committed to the battle, turning to meet a threat on either of its flanks would be near-impossible without disrupting the formation's cohesiveness. In addition, at the start of the battle, half of the Macedonian army was still getting into position due to the complex nature of the Macedonian system of warfare.
The centuriae moved into the gaps on the flanks of the phalanx before Perseus could have responded by sending in lighter troops to fill the gaps. Even if this had been possible, as the battle moved to broken ground (which was a disadvantage to both sides but more so for the Macedonians), the Romans were able to get in closer to the hoplites and use their short swords to full effect.
Aftermath
This was not the final conflict between the two rivals, but it broke the back of Macedonian power. The political consequences of the lost battle were severe. The Senate's settlement included the deportation of all the royal officials and the permanent house arrest of Perseus. The kingdom was divided into four republics that were heavily restricted from intercourse or trade with one another and with Greece. There was a ruthless purge, with allegedly anti-Roman citizens being denounced by their compatriots and deported in large numbers. In 167 BC, Paulus received orders to attack Epirus, resulting in the enslavement of 150,000 Epirotes. This took place despite the fact that Epirus had not aided Perseus in the war. The Battle of Pydna and its political aftermath mark the effective end of Macedonian independence, although formal annexation was still some years away.
Pydna (in Greek: Pýdna, older transliteration: Púdna), also Pidna was a Greek city in ancient Macedon, the most important in Pieria. Modern Pydna is a rural municipality and coastal town in the northeastern part of the Prefecture of Pieria. Pydna is situated in fertile land to the north of the Pierian plain. Hills and mountains dominate the west, while beaches and the Thermian Gulf dominate the east. Pydna is linked with GR-1/E75 through its interchange to its west and in Kitros. The old highway ran through Pydna. It is located N of Larissa, NE of Katerini, ESE of Veria and WSW of Thessaloniki.
Ancient Pydna
Pydna was founded by Euboeans in early 7th century BC. Alexander I took the city (Thucydides I.131.1), but later Pydna regained its independence. It was besieged by the Athenians in 432 BC. Pydna was brought back under Macedonian rule in 410 BC by Archelaus, who reestablished the city twenty stadia further inland (Diodorus of Sicily 13.14). The Athenians seized Pydna in 364 BC, only to have it retaken eight years later by Philip II of Macedon, in spite of a secret agreement that bound it to Athens. Cassander besieged and captured Pydna in 317 BC and had the queen mother, Olympians, who had taken refuge there, put to death. Pydna was raided by Alexander the Great on his march on Persia. All 5 treasuries were looted and burned.
The Battle of Pydna (June 22, 168 BC), in which the Roman general Aemilius Paulus defeated King Perseus, ended the reign of the Antigonid dynasty over Macedon. The site of the city is disputed but may correspond, according to epigraphic evidence agreeing with Byzantine tradition, to the village of Kitros rather than to Alonia. Pydna is the location of a Macedonian tomb discovered and explored by Léon Heuzey during his archaeological expedition in 1867.
Modern Pydna
Pydna today is a town that is located near the archaeological site. Population: 1,789 (1991).
