CONFRONTATION BETWEEN THE HORATII AND THE CURIATII – A KIND OF UNCONVENTIONAL WAR
CONFRONTATION BETWEEN THE HORATII AND THE CURIATII – A KIND OF UNCONVENTIONAL WAR

Summary/Abstract: Titus Livius is perhaps the most complex historian of ancient Rome, especially since he presents the history of the Eternal City from its legendary beginnings, with many masterfully described details and facts, making real motion pictures of events for today's readers. One such episode, chosen in our study, is the confrontation between the Horatii and the Curiatii, two pairs of triplets from the opposing camps in a military conflict, the first Romans, the last Albans, who choose to confront each other to save the lives of numerous soldiers from the army corps of which they were part.Titus Livius offers, through this confrontation, a reminder of the epic confrontation between Achilles and Hector, but this one has Roman characters, because the Romans also needed to have such an episode of heroism. If in the Iliad Achilles fights to avenge his cousin Patroclus, in Titus Livius' Ab Urbe Condita, the Horatii brothers fight against other brothers, the Curiatii, of Alban origin, to demonstrate Roman superiority and tenacity. The Roman warriors also fight against their relatives byalliance, for their dear Rome, thus surpassing, as a motivation, the Greek epic hero.The confrontation through representatives is atypical for an ancient world at its sunrise, in a permanent violent clash, which caused great blood loss. The merit of Titus Livius is precisely this insistence on this episode, which, by sacrificing heroes, saves many lives, therefore we can consider ita kind of unconventional war.

• Details
• Contents