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<blockquote data-quote="mmadsen" data-source="post: 292796" data-attributes="member: 1645">Chapter VIII -- Broken Promises (continued)&quot;My soldiers,&quot; he began, looking stern....&quot;You swore to follow me for the whole war, not just part of it,&quot; he declared.&nbsp; &quot;And yet now you abandon us in midcourse and mutiny against your officers.&nbsp; No one can doubt how much regard I have held you men in up to now.&nbsp; But you give me no choice.&nbsp; I shall put into practice our ancient custom.&nbsp; Since the 9th Legion chiefly instigated the mutiny, lots will be drawn for every tenth man in the 9th Legion to die.&quot;How brutal is that?&nbsp; It's staggering!&nbsp; Interestingly, when you finally learn that &quot;decimation&quot; means one in ten men are killed, it's almost a let down.&nbsp; &quot;Just one in ten?&nbsp; I thought it meant almost everyone!&quot;&nbsp; Then you think about standing in line and getting counted off.&nbsp; &quot;1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...You die...1...2...&quot;&nbsp; Or drawing names out of a hat.&nbsp; &quot;Please don't call out 'mmadsen', please don't call out 'mmadsen', please don't call out 'mmadsen'...&quot;...Caesar relented a little.&nbsp; He ordered the 9th Legion's centurions to name the 120 ringleaders of the mutiny.&nbsp; These 120 were then required to draw lots.&nbsp; One in ten of them drew the death card.It's like a reverse lottery.&nbsp; The army only loses a dozen soldiers, but every man in the legion feels like he could be one of the unlucky ones next time, so he'd better follow orders.When it was proved that one of the final 12 condemned men hadn't even been in camp at the time of the mutiny, the vindictive centurion who gave in his name was dragged forward to take his place.Ooh!&nbsp; Now that's dramatic!How exactly were they executed?&nbsp; I'm glad you asked.After the 12 men were beaten to death by their own comrades using wooden staves, or clubs...Beaten to death.&nbsp; By their own comrades.&nbsp; Creepy.&nbsp; Obviously you don't want to get beaten to death -- what a terrible way to go! -- but imagine having to beat your friend to death to prove your own loyalty!&nbsp; Really creepy.Caesar then hurried down to Rome, where he briefly used the title and powers of Dictator, originally a temporary appointment in times of emergency for up to six months.So that's where &quot;dictator&quot; comes from...</blockquote>

[QUOTE="mmadsen, post: 292796, member: 1645"] [b]Chapter VIII -- Broken Promises (continued)[/b] [Color=Silver]"My soldiers," he began, looking stern...."You swore to follow me for the whole war, not just part of it," he declared. "And yet now you abandon us in midcourse and mutiny against your officers. No one can doubt how much regard I have held you men in up to now. But you give me no choice. I shall put into practice our ancient custom. Since the 9th Legion chiefly instigated the mutiny, lots will be drawn for every tenth man in the 9th Legion to die."[/Color] How brutal is that? It's staggering! Interestingly, when you finally learn that "decimation" means one in ten men are killed, it's almost a let down. "Just one in ten? I thought it meant almost everyone!" Then you think about standing in line and getting counted off. "1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...You die...1...2..." Or drawing names out of a hat. "Please don't call out 'mmadsen', please don't call out 'mmadsen', please don't call out 'mmadsen'..." [Color=Silver]...Caesar relented a little. He ordered the 9th Legion's centurions to name the 120 ringleaders of the mutiny. These 120 were then required to draw lots. One in ten of them drew the death card.[/Color] It's like a reverse lottery. The army only loses a dozen soldiers, but every man in the legion feels like he could be one of the unlucky ones next time, so he'd better follow orders. [Color=Silver]When it was proved that one of the final 12 condemned men hadn't even been in camp at the time of the mutiny, the vindictive centurion who gave in his name was dragged forward to take his place.[/Color] Ooh! Now that's dramatic! How exactly were they executed? I'm glad you asked. [Color=Silver]After the 12 men were beaten to death by their own comrades using wooden staves, or clubs...[/Color] Beaten to death. By their own comrades. Creepy. Obviously you don't want to get beaten to death -- what a terrible way to go! -- but imagine having to beat your friend to death to prove your own loyalty! Really creepy. [Color=Silver]Caesar then hurried down to Rome, where he briefly used the title and powers of Dictator, originally a temporary appointment in times of emergency for up to six months.[/Color] So that's where "dictator" comes from... [/QUOTE]

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