The One-Eyed Man against Rome: An Exercise in EuhemerismAuthor(s): Thomas W. AfricaSource: Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte, Vol. 19, No. 5 (Dec., 1970), pp. 528-538Published by: Franz Steiner VerlagStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4435161Accessed: 17/02/2010 15:34

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THE ONE-EYED MAN AGAINST ROME: AN EXERCISE IN EUHEMERISM

In German folklore, a sinister figure, wearing a slouched hat and possessing supernatural powers, lurks in the dark recesses of the forest. The Wild Hunts- man, scholars agree, is a relic of the once-mighty god, Odin-Wotan. Dr. Carl Jung claims that some of his patients have dreamed of "Wotan" figures,' and one can accept the dreams as facts without endorsing Jung's fanciful theories of atavism and folk-memory.2 The Wild Huntsman and his divine prototype may owe some of their attributes to another legend, a confused account of shamanistic one-eyed war chiefs which arose during Rome's wars with the barbarians of western Europe. A link between the high god of the Germanic peoples and these almost legendary enemies of Rome is not as preposterous as it might seem. The mythopoetic nature of tradition is a recurring problem for historians, for legends naturally accrue around prominent men, particularly when they are picturesque. In addition, many great men work avidly to create these legends in their own lifetime.

In the history of antiquity, one-eyed men were not uncommon, for it was a time of hand-to-hand combat and facial injuries were frequent. There was also inadequate medical care for such illnesses as ophthalmia. Sertorius' quaestor, M. Marius, who was sent to aid Mithridates but came to grief at the hands of Lucullus, was one-eyed.3 Another one-eyed warrior was Claudius Sanctus,4 and Arminius' brother Flavus had only one eye.6 Claudius Pollio's disfigurement prompted Nero's lampoon, The One-Eyed Man.6 According to legend, the Spartan Moses, Lycurgus, lost an eye in a riot,7 but Lycurgus was "more god than man"8 and was worshiped as a deity at Sparta.9 His single

1 Carl G. Jung, Psychology and Religion, (New Haven: Yale University Press, I 938), p. 33. 2 For a bizarre example of pseudoscience, see Carl G. Jung, "Wotan," Saturday Review

of Literature, Oct. I6, I937, pp. 3-4, i8, 20.

3 Plutarch, Lucullus 8. 5, 12. 5, Sertorius 24. 3-4. Appian, Mithr. 68, 76, 77. Livy, frag-

ment of Book 9I, (Loeb edition, vol. XIV, p. I94).

'Tacitus, Hist. 4. 62.

6 Tacitus, Ann. 2. 9.

6 Suetonius, Domitian i, insists that he was Domitian's lover. Pliny, Epp. 7. 3I, has

high praise for Pollio, who was also a biographer (HRR, II clxiv.). 7 Plutarch, Lycurgus I I. 1-2, Moralia 227 AB. Pausanias 3. i 8. 2. Dioscurides (Jacoby,

594 F i) says that his sight was restored by Athena Optilitis. 8 Plutarch, Lycurgus 5. 3. Diodorus Siculus 7. I2. I.

9 Herodotus I. 5-6. Pausanias 3. i6. 5.

The one-eyed man against Rome 529

eye suggests a solar kinship with Apollo, the presumed inspiration of the Eunomia. Similarly, the Roman hero, Horatius Cocles, whose name means "'one-eyed,"10 is a figure of doubtful historicity. To Polybius, Horatius was a brave warrior who died in the Tiber in what was apparently an act of devotio.1' However, Livy, Dionysius, and Plutarch expanded the tale and had him swim the river in full armor and survive to enjoy renown at Rome.12 Plutarch adds that Horatius may not have been one-eyed, for some sources say that his nose was flat and his eyebrows ran together to give him a Cyclopean appearance."' Long after his legendary exploit, Horatius was connected with a crude statue of a one-eyed, lame figure,"' and the hero's lameness suggests that he may have originally been Vulcan. Though Horatius' single eye has been connected with Odin, Walbank sensibly warns: "It is indeed possible that Horatius Cocles has inherited some divine or heroic features, but parallels with Norse or Indian mythology must remain arbitrary because of the gap in time and space.""6 Perhaps, the whole tale of Horatius at the bridge is aetiological and grew out of the sacrifice of a warrior to the Tiber." Whatever the origin of the story, Horatius (like Lycurgus) cannot be considered among the one-eyed men of history.

The roster of one-eyed men is not limited to legendary figures or minor personalities. Discussing remarkable coincidences, Plutarch observes that the famous commanders, Philip of Macedon, Antigonus I, Hannibal, and Sertorius, were all one-eyed.'7 In modern times, the list would include Kutuzov and Nelson. The details of how Philip lost his right eye in war are confused,'8 but Demos- thenes testifies to the reality of the loss."' Because of his disfigurement, Anti- gonus received the epithet MonopAthalmos. Apparently, Antigonus was sensitive about his appearance, for Apelles purposely painted his portrait to hide the missing eye.20 The facial injuries of Philip and Antigonus gave the kings a distinctive appearance and made them colorful and memorable personalities,

10 Varro, de lingua Latina 7. 71.

1 Polybius 6. 55. 1-3. 12 Livy 2. IO. Dionysius 5. 23. 2-25. 4. Plutarch, Poplicola i6. 4-7. 3 Plutarch, Poplicola I6. 5.

id Aulus Gellius 4. 5. i. Pliny, N. H. 34. 29. 15 F. W. Walbank, A Historical Commentary on Polybius, (Oxford: Clarendon Press,

I957), vol. I, p. 741. "I "The legend is of primeval antiquity," R. Ml. Ogilvie, A Commentary on Livy I-V,

(Oxford: Clarendon Press, i965), p. 258. 17 Plutarch, Sertorius I. 4. 18 Strabo 7. 22. Pseudo-Plutarch, Moralia 307D, cites Callisthenes (Jacoby, 124 F 57).

Diodorus Siculus I6. 34, 5 has the most plausible version - an arrow at the siege of Methone - cf. Pliny, N.H. 7. I24. Plutarch, Alexander 3. i, sees the hand of God.

I9 Demosthenes, de Corona 67. Plutarch, Alex. 70. 3, connects Philip with another one- eyed Macedonian, Antigenes, who was wounded at the siege of Perinthus.

20 Pliny, N. H. 35- 90.

530 TH. W. AFRICA

but otherwise the disability has no historical significance. While the psychologi- cal effect of Napoleon's short stature or Goebbels's clubfoot could be con- sidered significant, Charlemagne's high voice is simply an interesting personal detail.20a However, the physical appearance of the one-eyed Hannibal and Sertorius played an important role in the frontier wars of the barbarians against Rome.

Not only was he Rome's most formidable enemy, Hannibal was also its most picturesque foe. Centuries later, Juvenal echoed the awe which the great Punic general had inspired:

o qualis facies et quali digna tabella, cum Gaetula ducem portaret belua luscum!21

In a rhetorical passage studded with superlatives, Livy catalogued Hannibal's great abilities,22 and Polybius praised his skill in handling barbarians - Nu- midians, Celts, Iberians, and Ligurians - as well as Greek mercenaries, Italian allies, and Punic professionals.-' A charismatic leader, Hannibal forged a mixed horde of barbarians into a first-rate fighting force; to the surprise of the Romans, the "lesser breeds" stood their ground at Cannae. Understandably the Romans feared Hannibal, and fear produced hatred and calumny. Like Milton's Lucifer, the Hannibal of Roman tradition was a gifted but inherently satanic individual, and Livy indignantly denounced his "perfidia plus quam Punica."24 According to Livy, the perfidious Carthaginian reneged on a promise to free Roman prisoners after the battle of Lake Trasimene.25 However, Polybius says that Hannibal had not authorized Maharbal to offer the prisoners freedom if they surrendered.26 While conceding Hannibal's "cruelty and avarice,"27 Polybius does not press the charge of perfidy against the great Carthaginian, for the Greek historian was too aware of Roman acts of treachery, not only against Spanish tribes and Macedonian kings, but even in the "pure" days of the Second Punic War. Scipio's infiltration of and attack on Syphax's camp and his assault on the Carthaginians who came to help fight the fire28 show Roman pragmatism at its most flagrant. For guile, no Carthaginian could surpass Villius Tappulus who adroitly compromised Hannibal in the eyes of Antiochus I1.29 Of course, the hypocrisy of Roman indignation over real and fancied incidents of "Punic faith" does not negate the fact that Hannibal was

20a-Einhard, vita Caroli 22; cf. Diogenes Laertius II 5 (Plato's weak voice), V I (Aris- totle's lisp).

21 Juvenal IO. 157-158. 22 Livy 2 I . 4. 3-9. 23 Polybius I I. 19. 3-5. 24 Livy 21. 4. IO.

25 Livy 22. 6. 11-12. Appian, Hann. IO. Zonaras 8. 25. 26 Polybius 3. 84. I4-85. 3. 27 Polybius 9. 22-26. For the latter trait, Massinissa is Polybius' somewhat biased

source (g. 25. 3-4). 28 Polybius I4. i. 8, 2. I 9. Livy 30. 4-6. 29 Livy 35. 14. 4.

The one-eyed man against Rome 53I

a manipulator of men, a master of persuasion and diplomacy, and a military man engaged in a bitter, personal war against Rome - he used his allies and disdained them when they no longer served his purposes.30 No doubt, the barbarians who served in his armies recalled Hannibal as a great war chief who was at times arbitrary and devious - attributes, incidentally, which the gods share.

Despite his charismatic hold over the common troops, the Celtic chiefs did not completely trust the Punic leader and some plotted against him. To protect himself against assassination attempts, Hannibal often disguised himself with costumes and wigs, so skillfully that he wandered about the camps undetected and could mingle with his own aides in the guise of an old man and not be recognized.8 A man who can change his shape at will is a shaman, and so Hannibal must have appeared to his barbaric followers. In the marshes of the Arno, Hannibal contracted ophthalmia and lost the sight of his right eye32 - the disability also helped to set him apart from other men. Though migrant tribes had often crossed the Alps, the passage of the great mountains with an army was no mean feat, and Polybius complains that foolish writers introduced gods and heroes to aid Hannibal in his difficulties in the Alps.33 While the dei ex machina may have been only the literary devices of pro-Punic historians, it is reasonable that Hannibal would have assured his troops that Heaven had intervened in the mountains. There may be some truth in Livy's tale (from Coelius Antipater?) of Hannibal cracking rocks with heat and sour wine;> if so, the Carthaginian would have appeared as a wizard to the barbarians. In any case, Hannibal's crossing of the Alps with strange troops and monstrous beasts must have left an impression on the Alpine tribes and the Celts of north- ern Italy. Long after the great captain had returned to the mysterious land from whence he had come, the barbarians of Spain and Italy who had served him recounted the exploits of the guileful, one-eyed war chief, who could change shape, had supernatural contacts, and had once led them against the hated Romans.

Once a historical personage becomes a legend, he can play a new role in history, for heroes have a habit of returning. Especially in times of oppression or revolutionary fervor, the heroes of the past are eagerly awaited to lead

30 Appian, Hann. 6o. 31 Polybius 3. 78. 2-4. Livy 22. 1. 3. Zonaras 8. 24. 32 Polybius 3. 79. I2. Livy 22. 2. ii. Nepos 23. 4. 3. According to Coelius Antipater

(HHR, I frag. 34), Juno threatened to take the sight of the other eye if he plundered her temple at Lacinium - Cicero, de Div. I (24) 48.

3 Polybius 3. 47. 8, 48. 7-9. Walbank, Commentary, I, p. 382, suggests that IHeracles may have been the divine guide.

34 Livy 21. 37. 2-3. Appian, Hann. 4. cf. Vitruvius 8. 3. I9. Polybius either knew nothing of the story or did not consider it worth debunking. However, Evan T. Sage defends the tale, "A Chemical Interpretation of Livy 21. 37. 2," Classical Weekly XVI (1922) 73-76.

34 Historia XIX/5

532 TH. W. AFRICA

their followers again. The Messiah is always "He who is coming," and so is the Mahdi. In the Kyffhauser cave, the emperor FrederickMa sleeps, and antire- publican Brazilian peasants expected the return of Dom Sebastiao, who actually died in 1578:

Visita nos vem fazer Nosso rei Dom Sebastiao, Coitado daquelle pobre Que estiver na lei do cao !86

Restless under the Roman yoke, the tribesmen of Spain longed for the return of Hannibal, who was now both war lord and shaman in their folklore. The one-eyed man would lead them to victory against Rome. In the post-Sullan era, the Hannibal of legend did return to Spain, but he came in the form of a Roman at war with Rome.

One of the most colorful figures in Roman history was Quintus Sertorius, the Marian general who was proscribed by Sulla but led a successful resistance in Spain during the post-Sullan era. A brilliant tactician and a master of guerrilla warfare, he severely tested the mettle of Metellus Pius and young Pompey. Sertorius' forces included a large number of Roman exiles, but most of his troops were Iberian natives who were devoted to him. Earlier as governor in Spain, Sertorius had effected reforms to benefit the natives,86 and when he later became a rebel leader, they were fanatically devoted to him.37 His body- guards were Spaniards, not Romans,88 and thousands of barbarians consecrated themselves to die defending Sertorius.89 Aware of this devotion, Metellus put a price on Sertorius' head but offered the reward to a Roman,40 knowing that the barbarians would not betray their leader. It was, of course, a Roman who finally assassinated Sertorius. The champion of a lost cause, the civilized leader of barbarian bands, Sertorius had all the qualities of a romantic hero. The Populares idolized him, Sallust admired a fellow-Sabine,41 and Plutarch followed their lead with a biography which borders on hagiography.42 Mommsen suc-

Ma See Norman Cohn, The Pursuit of the Millennium (New York, Harper Torchbook,

196I Ed. 2), for an interesting account of Frederick II as a messianic figure pp. 99-I23;

for the sleeping emperor, see pp. 143-147.

X Euclides da Cunha, Rebellion in the Backlands (Os Sert6es), (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1944), p. I64.

36 Plutarch, Sertorius 6. 4. 87 Plutarch, Sertorius 14. I. 38 Appian, Bell. Civ. I II2, emphasizes the jealousy of the Romans over Sertorius'

"favoring" of the barbarians. 39 Plutarch, Sertorius I4. 4-5. 40 Plutarch, Sertorius 22. I.

"1 Ronald Syme, Sallust, (Berkeley: University of California Press, I964), p. 58. 42 Being Plutarch, he inconsistently cast Sertorius in the role of a desperate bandit in

the biography of Pompey: All the poisons of civil war were distilled in Sertorius! (Pompey 17. I).

The one-eyed man against Rome 533

cumbed to the charisma of Sertorius," and the Cambridge Ancient History contains a veritable rhapsody on the fallen hero." Thanks to Plutarch, the pro-Sertorian tradition has generally captured the field of history.

In antiquity, there was a strong anti-Sertorian tradition, and Sallust com- plains of "invidiam scriptorum."'V While Plutarch insists that Sertorius was always moderate and proper,48 Appian says that he succumbed to luxury and debauchery in his last days.47 Livy emphasized Sertorius' cruelty to his own men,'8 and the Livian epitomizer, Florus, implicated Sertorius in Marius' bloodbath."9 Another writer dependent on Livy, Orosius, considers Sertorius a trouble-making renegade, an inciter of civil strife.50 The hostile tradition goes back to the Optimates, who unanimously deplored the treacherous murder of Sertorius but were delighted to be rid of him. In times of civil war and rebel- lion, charges of cruelty are commonly made and are usually true. Appian says that Sertorius was savage toward deserters,5' and Plutarch admits that his hero became cruel when the Spanish revolt was foundering.62 To excuse the massacre of the hostage boys at Osca, Plutarch claims that Roman traitors had stirred up dissension among some Spaniards and thus provoked the hard- pressed Sertorius to acts of reprisal." Counterbalancing the cruelty of his later career, Sertorius had earlier acquired a reputation for clemency, and Appian notes that he punished a cohort which was guilty of rape and brutality.5" Ac- cording to Plutarch (Sallust ?), Sertorius had opposed Marius' purge and joined Cinna in slaughtering Marius' agents,55 but not until they had depleted the opposition. Neither ogre nor saint, Sertorius was a man of his time. In Spain, he set up a Roman government-in-exile,5' and though allied with Mithridates, he would not agree to the king's desire to add the province of Asia to the Pontic empire.57 To surrender Roman territory even on paper would have been fatal to Sertorius' pose as the persecuted defender of the pre-Sullan Republic. Nor is there any reason to doubt that Mithridates' request was distasteful to Sertorius as a Roman patriot.

Whatever Sertorius was in Roman eyes, to the barbarians of Spain he was Hannibal returned. The Celtiberians actually called him Hannibal.58 In the Marsic war, Sertorius had lost an eye,59 and Sallust says that he rejoiced in

43 Theodor Mommsen, History of Rome, (New York: Scribners, 1887), vol. IV, p. 50. 4" R. Gardner, The Cambridge Ancient History, vol. IX, pp. 325-326. "E Sallust, Hist. I 88 (Maurenbrecher) = Aulus Gellius 2. 27. 2. 46 Plutarch, Sertorius 26. 4. 47 Appian, Bell. Civ. I 113. 48 Livy, Per. 92. '9 Florus 2. 8. 13-14. 60 Orosius 5. i9. cf. Vellcius Paterculus 2. 25. 3. 61 Appian, Bell. Civ. I 112. 52 Plutarch, Sertorius IO. 3-4. " Plutarch, Sertorius 25. 5. 54 Appian, Bell. Civ. I io9. 65 Plutarch, Marius 54. 6, Sertorius 5. 4-5. 66 Plutarch, Sertorius 22. 3-5. 57 Plutarch, Sertorius 22. 4-5. 68 Appian, Bell. Civ. I 112. 6 Plutarch, Sertorius 4. 2.

34.

534 TH. W. AFRICA

the disfigurement, regarding it as a badge of honor.60 In the Spanish revolt, the single eye became an asset. Like Hannibal, Sertorius was crafty and knew the value of disguises. During the Cimbrian war, he mingled with the enemy dressed as a barbarian and speaking their language.6' In 97 B.C., he employed a similar stratagem in Nearer Spain,62 and it is probable (though not recorded) that he used disguises when he was a guerrilla leader during the Spanish revolt. Besides his ability to change shape, the one-eyed chief had another link with the world of shamanism, a journey to the land of the dead. When his career was at its nadir, Sertorius had succumbed to despair and wanted to sail to the Isles of the Blest," but his pirate friends refused to make the voyage. To Sertorius as later to Horace, the wonderful islands in the Atlantic were a Utopian escape, a sanctuary free from the horrors of civil war." However, to the barbarians, the islands beyond the setting sun were the land of the dead,, and though he had not reached them, Sertorius could speak knowingly of the Western Paradise. Since he deceived the Iberians in the matter of the doe, Sertorius would not be above lying about his voyage to the isles of the dead. Whether or not he made such a claim, Sertorius did pose as a divinely inspired leader in direct communication with the gods. With embarrassment and disap- proval, Plutarch details the religious fraud that his hero perpetrated on the trusting Iberians. Sertorius claimed that a pet white doe brought him messages from the goddess Diana.66 The simple barbarians were duly impressed, and Sertorius was understandably shaken when the divine messenger was briefly lost.67 Luckily, the doe was found, and Sertorius continued his pose as a man in touch with the supernatural. In Sertorius, the religious aspect of the one- eyed war chief, the shaman leader of barbarian bands, was intensified.68 The cruelties of Sertorius' later days added to the arbitrariness of the one-eyed man of legend. If anything, this capriciousness made the one-eyed man more godlike. When Sertorius was murdered, the barbarians were deeply shaken.69 However, the one-eyed man would return to lead other tribes against Rome.

GO Sallust, Hist. I 88 (Maurenbrecher) -Aulus Gellius 2. 27. 2.

*I Plutarch, Sertorius 3. 2. 62 Plutarch, Sertorius 3. 5. 63 Plutarch, Sertorius 8. 2-9. I. Florus 2. 10. 2. Sallust, Hist. I I00 (Maurenbrecher).

" Horace, Epodes i6. 6 Plutarch, Sertorius 8. 3. Other Celtic paradises in the Atlantic were the Isle of Apples

(Avalon), the Land of Youth (Tirnan Oc), and the Field of Happiness (Mag Mell) - all were timeless lands of the dead. Returning from a brief voyage to Mag Mell, Bran mac

Febail found that many years had past and no one remembered his name. He had also

been warned not to set foot on ordinary ground; a rash companion who did so immediately

turned to ashes. So, Bran and his company sailed back to the Isles of the Blest. 66 Plutarch, Sertorius i I. I-1 2. To Plutarch's deeply religious mind, this cynical mockery

of religion justified the later fate of an otherwise heroic individual. 67 Plutarch, Sertorius 20. 1-3.

68 Appian, Bell. Civ. I i io, insists that Sertorius himself believed in the doe as a link with Heaven. 69 Appian, Bell. Civ. I I 14.

The one-eyed man against Rome 535

During his lifetime, the fame of Sertorius had spread to other lands, and Mithridates first heard of his activities from sailors.70 After his death, the legend of the one-eyed man was recounted in Gaul, where veterans of Sertorius' bands were active among the Aquitanians.71 There, Caesar's legate Crassus battled them in 56 B.c.72 Spread by word of mouth, the legend of the one- eyed man, now amplified by Sertorius' acts, spread through the Celtic tribes and to their neighbors, the Batavians. Restless under Roman rule, the tribes- men responded to songs of the one-eyed chief who with Heaven's assistance had challenged the might of Rome. More than a hundred years after the Roman catastrophe in the Teutoburger Wald, the barbarians of Germany were still singing of the mighty deeds of Arminius.73 Yet, Arminius was only a minor chieftain, who was later murdered by his own relatives. In legend, he had become a heroic figure. Compounded of Hannibal and Sertorius, the saga of the one-eyed man was of longer duration and had the additional advantage of combining nationalistic hatred of Rome with a religious element, shamanism and divine messengers. In antiquity, particularly among primitive peoples, religion played the role which ideology does in the modem world, providing an irrational and compelling reason to kill and be killed.

In 69 A.D., the one-eyed man returned to lead a major revolt of the tribes along the lower Rhine. Though a Batavian of royal descent,74 Julius Civilis was a Roman citizen; after many years of service with the legions, he had reached the position of tribune in charge of a cohort.75 Tacitus describes him as crafty and resourceful, and Civilis' role as leader of the Rhine revolt leaves no doubt that his loyalties lay with his Batavian tribe and not with the Roman empire. Apparently, Civilis was implicated in the Gallic revolt of Vindex, for he was sent in chains to Nero, but Galba released him and he returned to the frontier.76 The Batavian chief was soon in danger from the followers of Vitel- lius, but they decided to spare him because of his great prestige with the tribesmen.77 A persuasive orator, Civilis realized that the strife between Vitel- lius and Vespasian provided a golden opportunity to free his people from Roman control. Rousing the tribes, he proclaimed a war of liberation and bound them to his cause "with barbarous rites."78 In the ensuing war, Civilis proved him- self a master of ruse and treachery as well as a first-rate tactician. Tacitus pays him a grudging compliment and notes the source of his charismatic appeal: "Civilis ultra quam barbaris solitum ingenio sollers et Sertorium se aut An-

70 Plutarch, Sertorius 23. I-2. 71 Caesar, Bell. Civ. 3. 2.

72 Dio Cassius 39. 46. 3. Orosius 6. 8. 73 Tacitus, Ann. 2. 88. 7' Tacitus, Hist. 4. I2.

75 Civilis' German counterpart, Arminius, had also served with the Roman army and was even a member of the equestrian order - Velleius Paterculus 2. II8. 2. Tacitus, Ann. I. IO. 76 Tacitus, Hist. 4. 13.

77 Tacitus, Hist. I. 59; 4. 13. 78 Tacitus, Hist. 4. I5.

536 TH. W. AFRICA

nibalem ferens simili oris dehonestamento."79 As a Roman officer, Civilis was literate and had read of the great enemies of Rome whose disfigurement he shared. As a barbarian, he had heard the tale of the one-eyed man, and his illiterate followers saw him in this role. The single eye was a favorable sign, and Celts and Germans joined the rebels.

Another sign from Heaven came with the "unnatural" low level of the Rhine which hampered the Roman defenses and made it easy for the Germans to ford the river barrier.80 At the news that the temple of Capitoline Jupiter had burned when the Flavian troops stormed Rome, the Gallic rebels took heart and the Druids were ecstatic that the gods had shown so plainly the doom of Rome.81 Though he did not employ disguises like Hannibal or Sertorius, Civilis did change his appearance, dying his hair red and vowing not to cut it until victory. When Cologne and Vetera had fallen, he shaved his long beard and resumed his original appearance.82 The one-eyed man always has a visible link with Heaven (Hannibal's divine guides, Sertorius' doe), and Civilis had the support of the German prophetess, Veleda, who stayed remote in her tower and was only approached through her relatives.10 The oracle had prophesied victory for Civilis.M When the war began to favor Rome, the Roman com- mander Petilius Cerialis undermined Civilis' religious role by trying to persuade Veleda to desert the rebel cause.A6 If Veleda was good at her trade, the crafty Roman probably convinced her. The final defeat of Civilis is not recorded, for Tacitus' Histories break off in the middle of a conference between Cerialis and the one-eyed man. Probably by the end of 70 A.D., the Batavians had submitted to Roman rule again.86 What happened to Civilis is not known - perhaps he died in battle or flight, or maybe he escaped to the wilderness and disappeared into the world of legend. After the reinforcement of the tale of Hannibal the shaman by Sertorius and Civilis, it would be strange if the legend of the one- eyed man ceased to be told about the campfires of the barbarians.

It is well known that real historical figures, such as Attila and Ermanaric, reappear warped by legend in later Germanic sagas. Possibly, tales of Arminius contributed some details to the Sigurd of Volsung fame.87 Gods, too, are usually compounded of earlier deities and even mortals, for the world of myth is highly eclectic. The high god of the Northern peoples, Odin, evolved from the Germanic

79 Tacitus, Hist. 4. 13. "Dehonestamento" is a Sallustian word, see Sallust, Hist. I 83

(Maurenbrecher) and Ronald Syme, Tacitus (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1958), vol. I, p. I99

n. 2. 80 Tacitus, Hist. 4. 26. 81 Tacitus, Hist. 4. 54. 82 Tacitus, Hist. 4. 6I. 83 Tacitus, Hist. 4. 65. 84 Tacitus, Hist. 4. 6i. 85 Tacitus, Hist. 5. 24.

86 In 83 A.D., Batavian troops were serving under Agricola in Britain. Tacitus, Agricola

36, cf. Germania 29.

87 E. 0. G. Turville-Petrie, Myth and Religion of the North, (London: Weidenfeld and

Nicolson, I964), pp. I99-200, 204-205.

The one-eyed man against Rome 537

war god, Wotan.88 Though honored as the All-Father, Odin had some less pleasant characteristics, for he was treacherous and arbitrary and sometimes betrayed those who trusted in him. A fierce war god, he delighted in battle and led a band of berserkers. A shaman figure with connections with the land of the dead, Odin changed shape and wandered the earth in various disguises. His most distinctive feature was his single eye, for he had given the other to gain the gift of guile. According to Saxo Grammaticus, Odin visited a Danish king "as an old man of great height, lacking one eye, and clad in a hairy mantle."89 The description also fits Polybius' portrait of Hannibal, disguised as an old man with wig and long cloak, wandering unknown about the camps. The long beard, which Odin always wore, suggests the long beard of Civilis which was dyed red, the color of gore and the favorite hue of Wotan. The disguises and the visits to the land of the dead recall Sertorius, and the craftiness of Odin was shared by all three of the one-eyed mortals who led barbaric war bands.

According to Norse theology, Odin's eye was given to Mimir:

I know it all, Odin, where you hid your eye deep in the wide-famed well of Mimir; every morning does Mimir drink mead from Volfodr's pledge.Y0

This passage from the Voluspa suggests a solar significance for the one-eyed god, and the single eye of Odin may derive from some Indo-European sky- deity. However, the theologians of the Eddic age reflect a late stage of North- ern paganism, and Wotan was originally a German war god, inferior it would seem to Tiwaz. Wotan seems to be the Germanic deity whom Roman writers label as Mercury,"' for the German divinity was also a god of cargoes and psychopompus to the underworld. Long before Hannibal, Sertorius, and Civilis, the god Wotan was worshiped by the tribes of Germany, but gods acquire attributes and myths over the years, and it is possible that the figure of Odin- Wotan absorbed the legend of the one-eyed man. Of course, this hypothesis is only a suggestion, incapable of proof, but it may have heuristic value.

88 Two recent and authoritative discussions of Odin-Wotan are by Turville-Petrie, op. cit., pp. 35-74, and H. R. Ellis-Davidson, Gods and Myths of Northern Europe, (London: Penguin, I964), pp. 48-72, 140-I57.

89 Saxo Grammaticus, Gesta Danorum 7. 248. 90 Voluspa 28. 91 Tacitus, Germania 9; cf. Geoffrey of Monmouth, Hist. Regn. Brit. 6. io. Hengist,

Horsa, and most Germanic chiefs claimed to be descendants of Wotan, Bede, Eccl. Hist. i.

I5.

538 TH. W. AFRICA, The one-eyed man against Rome

Discussing the absorption of a historical legend by a divine figure is a tenuous business. As a monolithic theory, Euhemerism has obvious shortcomings, not least of which is the tendency in many traditions to make men out of gods. Whether in ancient China or early Athens, kings whose bodies end in serpent tails should make historians wary, for such figures are demythologized deities. Yet, the transformation of great personages into gods is an undeniable historical fact. Jesus and Gautama are glaring examples, and the physician Imhotep became an Egyptian god of medicine.92 The incorporation of the one-eyed man theme into the Wotan cult is not complete Euhemerism, for the Wotan cult was flourishing long before Hannibal. A comparable development took place in ancient Mexico where details of the career of the Toltec chief, Topiltzin, became hopelessly enmeshed with the myth of the god Quetzalcoatl whose name he had adopted.93 While the borrowing of the one-eyed man legend by the Wotan cult is only a hypothesis, the legend of the one-eyed war chief, cunning and cruel, invested with a shamanistic aura, was a discernible factor in the wars of the western barbarians against Rome. Originating in Hannibal,it was reinforced by Sertorius as viewed by the Celtiberians and was exploited by Civilis who was "most cunning for a barbarian." The sagacity of barbarians should not be underrated. In I8o6, General William Henry Harrison taunted Tecumseh's brother, the Shawnee Prophet, to give the Indians proof of his supernatural powers. However, the Prophet, who incidentally was one-eyed, knew that an eclipse of the sun would take place on June I6, for observation stations had been set up in the projected path of the total eclipse and the Prophet was aware of the government's activity. Accordingly, he prophesied that he would darken the sun, and on the appointed day, the Prophet dramati-

cally blotted out the sun and then restored its light to the terror-struck Indians, who were naturally awed by the miracle.4 It was a trick worthy of Sertorius and performed with the coolness of Civilis.

State University of New York, Binghamton THOMAS W. AFRICA.

92 Henry E. Sigerist, Primitive and Archaic Medicine, (New York: Oxford University

Press, 1951), pp. 289-290. The standard study of Imhotep is Jamisson B. Hurry's Imhotep

the Vizier, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, I928).

93 George C. Vaillant, Aztecs of Mexico, (London: Penguin, I962, rev. ed.), pp. 87-88,

I82-I83. 94 Glenn Tucker, Tecumseh, Vision of Glory, (New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1956), pp. 98-

ioo. The Prophet's brother, Tecumseh, was even more versed in the ways of the whites;

the great chief enjoyed listening to readings of Hamlet, and he was fond of stories of

Alexander the Great, whom he admired and imitated (pp. 78-79).