Difference between revisions of "Talk:Legio VIIII Hispania"
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So is there a story behind the "VIIII" (as opposed to "IX")?? | So is there a story behind the "VIIII" (as opposed to "IX")?? | ||
| − | Yes, the Legion was referred to as 'VIIII' in about half of surviving inscriptions. Romans were very superstitious, and often corrupted their "pure" system of Roman numerals in writing so that the numbers were more auspicious under numerology. Five ('V') was the number of Mars, the Roman god of war, and there is no 'V' in 'IX.' It's only natural that soldiers marching off to battle would try to propitiate their god of war with offerings on behalf of the 'VIIII' legion instead of the 'IX' legion. | + | [[Maccalus]]: Yes, the Legion was referred to as 'VIIII' in about half of surviving inscriptions. Romans were very superstitious, and often corrupted their "pure" system of Roman numerals in writing so that the numbers were more auspicious under numerology. Five ('V') was the sacred number of Mars, the Roman god of war, and there is no 'V' anywhere in 'IX.' It's only natural that soldiers marching off to battle would try to propitiate their god of war with offerings on behalf of the 'VIIII' legion instead of the 'IX' legion. In addition to 'Nine' being written "IX" and "VIIII," by the way, there are also references to the Ninth Legion where 'nine' is written "VIV" (which is also the Latin root for "life") and "IVV" because these numbers were thought to be more favorable to the gods. |
Revision as of 16:22, 17 June 2008
So is there a story behind the "VIIII" (as opposed to "IX")??
Maccalus: Yes, the Legion was referred to as 'VIIII' in about half of surviving inscriptions. Romans were very superstitious, and often corrupted their "pure" system of Roman numerals in writing so that the numbers were more auspicious under numerology. Five ('V') was the sacred number of Mars, the Roman god of war, and there is no 'V' anywhere in 'IX.' It's only natural that soldiers marching off to battle would try to propitiate their god of war with offerings on behalf of the 'VIIII' legion instead of the 'IX' legion. In addition to 'Nine' being written "IX" and "VIIII," by the way, there are also references to the Ninth Legion where 'nine' is written "VIV" (which is also the Latin root for "life") and "IVV" because these numbers were thought to be more favorable to the gods.
