Classical Studies 2301A/B Lecture Notes - Matricide, Parricide, Rhetorica Ad Herennium
11 Dec 2012
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Document Summary
In 249 bce ancient rome, roman carthage were fighting the first punic war. Roman consul claudius pulcher was in command of 123 ships and was about to attack the carthaginian fleet. In order to determine if the gods favored the attack, he order the traditional test using the sacred chicken. The test was: take out the sacred chickens and give them food, if they eat the food in front of them, than it shows the gods are in favor. When claudius did the test the chickens refused to eat. Claudius then said, if they wont eat, let them drink . He then ordered them to be thrown into the sea. He then attacked the carthaginian fleet anyway and he suffered a major defeat, losing 93 of the 123 ships. When he returned to rome, his political enemies charged him with capital treason and he was tried before the assembly in the.
