Augustus Was Rumored To Be The Son Of Apollo

Augustus’ family was one of several that claimed to have divine blood—his own Julii clan believed their lineage traced back to the goddess Venus (or Aphrodite). In addition, Julius Caesar, Augustus’ great-uncle and adoptive father, was posthumously declared a god by the senate in 42 BCE. As if this godly pedigree was not divine enough, Augustus (or his propagandists) also began to spread rumors that he was actually a son of Apollo.

The biographer Suetonius (c. 70-130+ CE) wrote about this divine origin story in the section on Augustus from his work, The Twelve Caesars. According to the tale, Augustus’ mother, Atia, went to a midnight service at a Temple of Apollo. At some point during the service, the entire crowd gathered at the temple suddenly fell asleep. After Atia awoke from her unexplained slumber and returned home, she discovered a peculiar mark on her body.  As the mysterious mark was in the shape of a serpent, an unnerving story emerged that the god Apollo (disguised as a snake) had forced everyone in the temple to fall asleep so that he could have his way with Atia. After Apollo left the scene, no sign remained of his presence except for the snake mark he left on Atia’s body, which she discovered later that night. According to Suetonius, Atia gave birth to Augustus nine months after this incident supposedly occurred.

Written by C. Keith Hansley

Picture Attribution: (Statue of Apollo (photographed by Marie-Lan Nguyen) and a statue of Augustus (via the Vatican Museum) in front of an ancient landscape painted by C. W. Eckersberg (1783-1853), all Public Domain or licensed for use via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius, translated by Robert Graves and edited by James B. Rives. New York: Penguin Classics, 2007.

Was Sobriety The Secret Power Behind The Most Talented Members Of The Julio-Claudian Dynasty?

The two most lauded members of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty have to be Julius Caesar (c. 100-44 BCE), the conqueror who brought his family to power, and Augustus (c. 63 BCE-14 CE), the cunning political genius who completed Caesar’s war effort and carved out a place for an emperor in the monarch-hating culture of the Romans. After Caesar and Augustus, the Julio-Claudian Dynasty continued to rule Rome until the year 68, when the assassination of Nero ended the dynasty.

The Roman biographer, Suetonius (c. 70-130+), wrote about the six members of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty in his work, The Twelve Caesars. Whereas most other ancient historians wrote about the wars and political maneuvers of the emperors, Suetonius filled most of his pages with personality evaluations, physical descriptions, and especially the behavior of his subjects in social settings. In particular, one of the topics Suetonius frequently chose to comment on was the eating and drinking habits of the people featured in his text. In scanning Suetonius’ commentary on the liquid intake of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, an interesting trait seemed to have separated Julius Caesar and Augustus from their more lackluster successors—sobriety.

As stated by the historian Tacitus (c. 56-117+), extravagant feasting had “reached fantastic heights during the century between Actium and the disturbances which brought Galba to the throne,” denoting the years between 31 BCE and 68 CE (The Annals of Imperial Rome, Book III). This extravagance in food and drink was much more prominent in the latter emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. The final four emperors of the dynasty were all described by Suetonius as having been heavy drinkers. Nero (r. 54-68), whose assassination ended Julio-Claudian power, was described as an extravagant drinker, especially of wine (The Twelve Caesars, Nero, 51). Of Nero’s predecessor, Emperor Claudius (r. 41-54), Suetonius reported that ample stories existed about his “drunkenness and love of gambling,” spanning before and after he became the ruler of Rome (The Twelve Caesars, Divus Claudius, 5 and 33). Claudius was preceded by Caligula (r. 37-41), whose wild and luxurious appetites were of legendary proportions. Even the reclusive Emperor Tiberius (r. 14-37) was reportedly an incredibly heavy drinker. Of Tiberius, Suetonius wrote, “Even as a young officer, he was such a hard drinker that his name, Tiberius Claudius Nero, was displaced by the nickname ‘Biberius Caldius Mero,’” which was a drink-inspired play on words that possibly indicated that he liked to drink unmixed hot wine (The Twelve Caesars, Tiberius, 42).

The habits of Augustus and Julius Caesar, however, were very different than their successors. On Augustus, Suetonius wrote, “Augustus was also a habitually abstemious drinker…In later life his limit was a pint; if he ever exceeded this he would deliberately vomit” (The Twelve Caesars, Divus Augustus, 77).  As for the founder of the dynasty, Julius Caesar himself, Suetonius similarly described the dictator’s attitude toward food and drink as extremely reserved. The Twelve Caesar’s even contained a quote supposedly attributed to Caesar’s enemy, Cato the Younger, which read, “Caesar was the only sober man who ever tried to overturn the republic” (Divus Julius, 53).

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Picture Attribution: (Roman feast painted by Roberto Bompiani  (1821–1908), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius, translated by Robert Graves and edited by James B. Rives. New York: Penguin Classics, 2007. 
• The Annals of Imperial Rome by Tacitus, translated by Michael Grant. New York: Penguin Classics, 1996.  

The Laurel Wreaths That May Have Doomed Julius Caesar

In the final year of his life, Julius Caesar reportedly had several odd incidents involving laurel wreaths. It is possible that he may have even staged some of the events to test the reaction of the masses to the possibility of him becoming king. These odd episodes, along with Caesar’s vitriolic essay against his deceased enemy Cato, were some of the key blunders in public relations that led to the dictator’s eventual assassination.

One of the first incidents did not involve a wreath, but, instead, a ribbon. While Caesar prepared for an invasion of Parthia, he had his agents spread a prophecy from the Sibylline Books that claimed only a king could conquer the Parthians. In support of this prophecy, a ribbon was mysteriously tied around the head of a statue of Caesar in the Forum. As the Romans believed ribbons to be an eastern symbol of kingship, the masses, and especially the Senate, understood and feared what was being suggested. Two Tribunes of the Plebeians, named Epidus Marullus and Caesetius Flavus, had the ribbon quickly removed from the statue.

In another account, possibly another version of the story mentioned above, a laurel wreath with a white fillet was draped over the head of a statue of Caesar while the dictator was away from Rome, attending the Latin Festival of Jupiter Latiaris, which was held at the Alban Mount. The same tribunes, Marullus and Flavus, once again had the wreath removed from the statue’s head and arrested the person who had placed it there. The tribunes also reacted negatively when somebody in a crowd shouted out Caesar’s affiliation with a respected family (through a grandmother)—the clan in question was the Marcii Reges family, with reges being the plural form of rex, or “king.” Caesar skillfully deflected the comment, by responding “my name is Caesar, not King” or “No, I am Caesar, not King” (Suetonius, Twelve Caesars, Divus Julius: section 79). The persistent Tribunes, Marullus and Flavus, brought about their own downfall when they moved to prosecute anyone caught laying wreaths on statues or calling out regal titles. Caesar responded poorly to this move, and he ultimately had both of the Tribunes kicked out of the Senate.

Another incident occurred on February 15, during the Lupercalia, a festival that had some connection to the she-wolf (lupa) that, according to myth, raised Romulus and Remus. During the festivities, Mark Antony apparently attempted to crown Caesar multiple times with a wreath or diadem. After observing the crowd’s reaction, Julius Caesar eventually had the crown sent to a temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus.

Even though Caesar never accepted a crown or ribbon in the stories mentioned above, the powerful senators in Rome could not shake the feeling that Caesar had an ambition for kingship. Their suspicion of the dictator was deepened even more by some of the changes Caesar had made in Rome since his ascension to power. Of the many titles and privileges that Caesar accepted, the most annoying to the senators were the statue he supposedly placed alongside the sculptures of ancient Roman kings, and especially two alleged golden thrones that Caesar had made for himself to sit upon in the Senate House and the tribunal. With actions like this, it is easy to see why so many senators feared the future plans of Julius Caesar and joined the conspiracy to end his life.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Picture Attribution: (Statue of Julius Caesar [Public Domain] via Skitterphoto and pexels.com).

Sources:

• The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius, translated by Robert Graves and edited by James B. Rives. New York: Penguin Classics, 2007.
• Julius Caesar by Philip Freeman. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2008.
   

Julius Caesar’s Wardrobe And His Special Sleeves

When discussing Julius Caesar, most ancient authors (including Caesar in his own war memoirs) mainly focused on the dictator’s military and political maneuverings. The Roman scholar, Suetonius (c. 70-130+), however, was a different type of writer. While most of his peers were eager to study Caesar’s battles and politicking, Suetonius instead glossed over those subjects in favor of more basic topics, such as Julius Caesar’s appearance and wardrobe.

Based on his various sources (memoirs, letters, poems, songs etc.), Suetonius deduced that Caesar was a tall and very well built man with dark-colored eyes. He was apparently very particular about always keeping any stubble on his face cleanly shaved and he took any chance he got to wear a laurel wreath, so as to cover up his balding head.

Suetonius also wrote that Julius Caesar had a reputation for wearing his clothing unusually loose, a habit that supposedly started as far back as the reign of the dictator Sulla (r. 82-79 BCE). In addition, when Caesar began to wear senatorial garb, he apparently made an interesting alteration to the accepted wardrobe—he supposedly had wrist-length sleeves with fringes tailored onto his clothing.

Written by C. Keith Hansley

Picture Attribution: (Painting of Julius Caesar by Clara Grosch c. 1892, in front of a painting of an ancient ruin via pxhere.com, both [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius, translated by Robert Graves and edited by James B. Rives. New York: Penguin Classics, 2007.
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Julius-Caesar-Roman-ruler  

One Of Julius Caesar’s Most Famous Quotes Actually Came From An Ancient Greek Play

In 49 BCE, Julius Caesar rested with his army on the Gaul side of the Rubicon River. By crossing the Rubicon, he would be moving his forces without authorization from Gaul into Italy, officially igniting a rebellion against the Roman Senate and Pompey. To honor the momentous occasion before plunging the Roman Republic into civil war, Julius Caesar reportedly delivered one of his greatest phrases. Suetonius, representing the Latin tradition, claimed that Julius Caesar crossed the river after stating, “the die is cast” (The Twelve Caesars, Divius Julius 32). Plutarch, representing the Greek tradition, instead wrote that Caesar proclaimed, “let the die be cast,” and commented that the phrase was actually a quite commonly-used quote by people who are about to expose their fortunes to peril (Life of Caesar, 32).

The line was a well-known saying because it had been coined centuries before Caesar by the Greek dramatist and comic playwright, Menander (c. 342-291 BCE), who allegedly wrote over a hundred plays during his career. Regardless, what Caesar said at the Rubicon is still debated. Was it coincidence, or paraphrasing, or simply a later embellishment added by commentators? Julius Caesar’s own memoirs only add more questions to the conversation, as he did not deem whatever he said at the Rubicon to be worth recording in his war commentaries.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Picture Attribution: (Julius Caesar "Crossing the Rubicon" from Abbott, Jacob, 1803-1879, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius, translated by Robert Graves and edited by James B. Rives. New York: Penguin Classics, 2007.
• http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Caesar*.html 
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Menander-Greek-dramatist  

According to Plutarch, Cleopatra Introduced Herself To Julius Caesar In A Peculiar Way

(Cleopatra painted by John William Waterhouse (1849–1917), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

When King Auletes of Egypt died in 51 BCE, the leadership of the kingdom was left to his two children, Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII. The two were meant to be co-rulers of Egypt as an incestuous married couple, yet a divide quickly formed between the siblings. Despite their young ages (Cleopatra was a teenager and her brother was even younger than she), the two children had far different visions for Egypt. Ptolemy, heavily influenced by powerful advisors, supported the traditional style of Ptolemaic rule. Cleopatra, however, strove to bridge the widening divide between the Ptolemaic government and the Egyptian people. She learned the Egyptian language, as well as Hebrew and Ethiopian, and participated in the religious ceremonies of Egypt. Cleopatra’s ambition and vision was incompatible with the methods used by Ptolemy and his advisors. Soon, civil war erupted to decide which sibling would rule Egypt.

Julius Caesar threw himself into the Egyptian conflict when, in 48 BCE, he arrived at Alexandria in pursuit of his Roman rival, Pompey the Great. At that time, King Ptolemy XIII’s supporters had control of Alexandria and the twenty-one year old Cleopatra had been forced to abandon the city. When Pompey arrived in Egypt, the supporters of Ptolemy saw a chance to gain support from Julius Caesar—they had Pompey assassinated and presented the man’s head to Caesar when he arrived in Alexandria. The ploy turned out to be a mistake. Caesar was irritated and disgusted by the actions of the Egyptian government. Instead of showing gratitude for the killing of Pompey, Julius Caesar demanded payment of ten million denarii owed to Rome by the previous Egyptian king, Auletes. Then, to the horror of many Egyptians, he occupied Alexandria with his battle-hardened Roman soldiers.

Caesar was determined to end the civil war in Egypt before returning to his struggles in Rome. From his fortified position in the royal palace of Alexandria, Julius Caesar declared himself to be the guarantor of the late King Auletes’ final wishes. Caesar then called for Ptolemy XIII and Cleopatra to meet with him and discuss the future of Egypt. Ptolemy was sent to Julius Caesar, even though the advisors assented only grudgingly. Cleopatra, however, was still outside the city, denied access to Alexandria by hostile soldiers and assassins who supported her brother. Nevertheless, the young Queen of Egypt was determined to attend that meeting with Julius Caesar.

Plutarch gave one of the more vivid accounts about how Cleopatra was smuggled into Alexandria. He wrote that she and an attendant named Apollodorus were ferried into the royal quarter of Alexandria in a small boat, easily hidden among the merchant ships busily trading in the city. Before they departed the docks in the royal quarter, Cleopatra either was rolled up inside a rug or hid herself in a laundry bag and had her assistant, Apollodorus, carry her into the royal palace. Reportedly, Apollodorus was not stopped or searched in the palace, for he apparently delivered Cleopatra straight to Julius Caesar, opening the laundry bag or unrolling the rug before the dicatator’s very eyes.

With the meeting of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar, one of the world’s most famous love affairs began. With Caesar’s backing, Cleopatra was able to defeat her rivals and usurp what remained of her younger brother’s power, making her the undisputed Queen of Egypt.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Source:

• War Commentaries by Gaius Julius Caesar and Aulus Hirtius, translated by W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn, 2014.  
• Julius Caesar by Philip Freeman. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2008.

Suicide In The Family—Cato The Younger And Porcia Catonis

(Left: The suicide of Cato the Younger by Charles Le Brun  (1619–1690), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons. Right: The Suicide of Porcia by Pierre Mignard  (1612–1695), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

Marcus Porcius Cato, better known as Cato the Younger (95-46 BCE), was a brilliant Roman statesman who spent his life fighting against corruption and defending the status quo of the Roman Republic against prospective dictators, such as Julius Caesar and Pompey. The interesting life and accomplishments of Cato deserve (and will get) an article of their own, but for now, all that really needs to be known about Cato is that he was, along with Cicero, one of the key politicians in the Roman Senate that sided against Julius Caesar during the long Roman Civil Wars.

In 46 BCE, Cato must have known that the Roman Republic, as he knew it, was coming to an end. Pompey the Great had already been defeated by Caesar and was assassinated in Egypt. The other extremely skilled general, Labienus, had just lost a major battle in North Africa against Caesar at Thapsus (read about how Caesar prepared for Thapsus, HERE). From his position in Utica, located in modern day Tunisia, Cato could only observe as the Roman Republic fell, once again, into the hands of a dictator.

While most of Caesar’s armed opponents fled to Spain after the Battle of Thapsus, Cato remained where he was in Utica. There, the hopeless politician decided to end his life, no matter what it took to get the job done. The accounts of Cato’s suicide given by Plutarch, Dio Cassius and Julius Caesar, himself, leave behind a very grisly and disturbing scene.

After the Battle of Thapsus, the usually charismatic and gregarious Cato shockingly became bizarrely introverted and calm. He checked that the finances of Utica were all tidy, and then withdrew from governing the city.

Cato’s friends and family, suspicious of the statesman’s sudden change of character, followed him home and kept a constant watch on the man. They even searched Cato’s home, locking away all the dangerous instruments they could find. Nevertheless, Cato somehow found a knife.

On a certain day, after having just finished an evening meal with his comrades, Cato retired to his room to read. That night, it is said he read Cicero’s entire Phaedo, a collection of arguments for the immortality of the soul. After reading his final book, Cato produced a knife that he had managed to hide from his friends and vigorously stabbed himself in the gut. Losing strength and consciousness, Cato fell to the floor with enough force to alert his nearby friends.

The already wary friends and family rushed into the room, staunched the bleeding and quickly brought in a doctor to stich up the knife-wound. Miraculously, the doctor stabilized the statesman. Cato, however, eventually regained consciousness, and he was determined to die. With his own two hands, he ripped open the doctor’s stitches and brought about his death by yanking out his own innards, one handful at a time.

After Cato’s suicide, his young daughter, named Porcia Catonis, married a certain zealot for the Republic named Brutus. Once married, she reportedly joined the conspiracy to assassinate Julius Caesar, and her husband, Brutus, was one of the men who stabbed the dictator to death on the Ides of March in 44 BCE. Brutus, however, was hunted down by Caesar’s successors in the next generation of the Roman Civil War by 42 BCE, and he committed suicide as Octavian and Mark Antony closed in. His wife, Porcia Catonis (Cato’s daughter), also allegedly committed suicide around this time. The most popular accounts of her death either involve suicide by sealing herself in a room with noxious smoke, or by gruesomely swallowing live coals.

Written by C. Keith Hansley

Sources:

• War Commentaries by Gaius Julius Caesar and Aulus Hirtius, translated by W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn, 2014.
• Julius Caesar by Philip Freeman. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2008. 
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marcus-Porcius-Cato-Roman-senator-95-46-BC 
• http://listverse.com/2011/10/20/15-interesting-women-of-ancient-rome/ 
• https://philosophy-of-cbt.com/2013/12/11/lady-stoics-1-porcia-catonis/ 
• http://www.onthisday.com/people/porcia-catonis  

Julius Caesar Had Tamed Elephants Shipped From Italy To Calm His Men And Horses In Preparation For His Battles In North Africa

(Caesar painted by Lionel Royer (1852–1926) cropped into the painting: An elephant keeper riding his elephant, c. 1825, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

In 48 BCE, Pompey the Great fled to Egypt after he lost the Battle of Pharsalus. Yet, instead of finding asylum in the autonomous Kingdom of Egypt, Pompey was assassinated by the Egyptians in an attempt to gain the favor of Julius Caesar. With Pompey’s death, the main military adversary against Caesar in the Roman civil war was gone, but the war was far from over. Despite the absence of their leader, Pompey’s officers and allies continued to fight for the Roman Republic, or just simply against Julius Caesar. Though Caesar’s adversaries were spread throughout the empire, many of the greatest Pompeian leaders—Titus Labienus, Metellus Scipio and King Juba I—had gathered their forces together in North Africa.

After securing Egypt for his ally Cleopatra and defeating a hostile army from Pontus, Julius Caesar turned his attention to the Pompeians (or Optimates) amassed in North Africa. Caesar began his campaign against Labienus, Scipio and King Juba around 47 BCE when he landed his legions somewhere in modern Tunisia.

The war, however, would not be simple. Labienus and Scipio were both very able Roman generals and King Juba not only had some of the best horsemen in the Mediterranean, but he also fielded war elephants. Also, as usual, Julius Caesar’s forces were outnumbered.

To win the war in Africa, Caesar had to rely on his own military genius, as well as the extraordinary battlefield experience that his elite and hardened legions had gained through years of continuous war. Yet, the enemies in Africa had weapons that Caesar’s legions had never seen in action before—the elephants. The legions were experienced thoroughly in how to fight infantry and horsemen, but the elephants understandably unnerved even the most battle-tested troops, not to mention the horses.

To remedy this, Julius Caesar sent word to Italy requesting that some tamed elephants be shipped to his camp. When the animals arrived, the camp basically became a petting zoo. Soldiers were invited to approach the tamed elephants and touch them. With the elephants accessible to the soldiers, Caesar’s men learned what the beasts could and could not do, and they were instructed where to attack the elephants during battle for the most effect. Likewise, the horses were brought near the elephants so they would become familiar with the sight, smell and sounds of the strange creature, so that the cavalry would not waver in battle.  According to Caesar in his War Commentaries, the petting zoo ploy “succeeded to a wonder” (African War Commentaries, 72).

With the confidence of Caesar’s forces regained, the Pompeian leaders were doomed. Julius Caesar intentionally let himself be attacked at the defensible region of Thapsus in 46 BCE. There, his men ferociously charged the enemy, causing elephants and soldiers, alike, to run amuck and scatter.

The battle was another huge event in Julius Caesar’s path to victory. Scipio was killed in the battle and King Juba committed suicide soon after it was over. Cato, a key politician of the Roman Republic, also killed himself in the aftermath of the battle. The only major Pompeian officer involved in Thapsus who survived the year was Labienus, who would die a year later fighting Caesar’s forces in Spain.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Sources:

• War Commentaries by Gaius Julius Caesar and Aulus Hirtius, translated by W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn, 2014.  
• Julius Caesar by Philip Freeman. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2008.

Julius Caesar’s Bread Warfare At Dyrrachium

(Caesar painted by Lionel Royer (1852–1926) cropped behind a Pompeii market fresco, all [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

In 48 BCE, while the civil war between Julius Caesar and Gnaeus Pompey was still in full swing, the two brilliant generals found themselves in a stalemate at Dyrrachium, located in modern day Albania. Pompey was the first to set up camp at Dyrrachium. When Julius Caesar arrived, he naturally decided to implement one of his specialties—siege warfare. Despite Caesar having far fewer men than Pompey, the Caesarian forces began construction of a large messy, semi-circular wall around Pompey’s position, cutting him off from all land-based escape routes. In response, Pompey created his own defensive wall.

 With the armies of Caesar and Pompey positioned behind opposing fortified walls, a waiting game ensued. Both sides hoped that their rations could last until their enemy began to starve, or a breach in the wall was found or created. The stalemate caused trouble for both Pompey and Caesar. In Pompey’s camp, food had been well stocked, but fodder for horses began to run low and safe water became scarce. On Caesar’s side, securing food was the main issue hindering the troops.

In his Commentaries on the Civil War, however, Julius Caesar recounted how one of his camps along the wall at Dyrrachium alleviated their food crisis with some clever cooking. The men under the command of one of Caesar’s officers, named Valerius, were fairly well off—they had access to cattle and milk. In addition, the soldiers discovered a nearby source of edible roots, which Julius Caesar called chara. With milk and chara roots present in ample quantities, some curious soldier mixed the two ingredients in a culinary experiment and found that the chara roots could be baked into something resembling a loaf of bread.

With the production of their chara bread, Caesar’s men were kept reasonably well fed. They also seemed to have loaves to spare, for Caesar wrote that his men would sometimes throw the chara bread at Pompey’s forces (sometimes tossing loaves over Pompey’s walls) to prove that they still had food and the siege would not be ending anytime soon.

Nevertheless, in walling off Pompey’s camp, Caesar had to spread his men thin, creating vulnerabilities. Pompey attacked a weak point in his enemy’s wall—a part still under construction—and broke free from the siege, dealing Julius Caesar one of his most clear defeats of the Civil War.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Sources:

• War Commentaries by Gaius Julius Caesar and Aulus Hirtius, translated by W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn, 2014.  
• Julius Caesar by Philip Freeman. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2008.
• http://www.unrv.com/fall-republic/battle-of-dyrrhachium.php 
• http://www.livius.org/articles/battle/siege-of-dyrrhachium-48-48-bce/ 
• http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_dyrrhachium.html 
• https://www.warhistoryonline.com/featured/history-forget-savior-hero-like-hendrik-drogt.html