"Attila's 'SWORD OF MARS'" Topic
8 Posts
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| Cacique Caribe | 12 Nov 2009 8:27 a.m. PST |
"According to the Roman historian Priscus, on the night after the feast, Attila had a dream that an old man descended from the sky and granted him the legendary sword of the gods (called by the Romans: The Sword of Mars). Attila then saw himself flying with the wind and subduing everything in his path. On the next morning, the prophecy was fulfilled. A shepherd had discovered the Sword of Mars and the sacred weapon was brought to Attila. Whether or not this actually happened, we can see that Attila's power had grown to an enormous scale. By now, he definitely had total control over the Huns, a position no previous ruler had attained."
link
link QUESTION: IF what Priscus and Jordanes claim really happened, what type of sword could it have been? Really a Greco-Roman type of sword? Thanks. CC |
| wminsing | 12 Nov 2009 8:56 a.m. PST |
If it's a sword of the Gods it could be any sort blade the deity desired. -Will |
| Martin Rapier | 12 Nov 2009 9:02 a.m. PST |
Well, I found one you can buy on the Internet, so it must look like this: link hope no-on else gets it first! I so love the little skulls on it. |
| Cacique Caribe | 12 Nov 2009 9:04 a.m. PST |
Wminsing, LOL. Yes. But would it be Attila's "Turkic" gods or those of his enemies (Greco-Roman)? CC |
| wminsing | 12 Nov 2009 9:21 a.m. PST |
Well, from reading the link, the Romans simply referred to it as the 'Sword of Mars' using the term Mars as the concept of a war deity, not since they thought it was the literal sword of Mars. So my money is on it would a Hun style weapon, not a Roman one. -Will |
| zippyfusenet | 12 Nov 2009 9:21 a.m. PST |
I'll have to look up the details of this later. But one of my sources, H.L. Maenchen-Helfern (sp?) _The World of the Huns_, says the Huns worshipped their swords. Or more properly, worshipped one of their major gods in the form of a sword. It made for a portable shrine – just stick the point in the ground and pour a libation. So the myth sounds authentically Hunnic, but 'Mars' is probably a Latinization for the Hunnic god. The sword was most likely a horseman's long sword, a spatha in Roman terms. By this time everybody's cavalry was using equipment derived from central Asian types, so the sword was probably much like western examples. |
| zippyfusenet | 13 Nov 2009 6:43 a.m. PST |
The reference is Otto J. Maenchen-Helfen _The World of the Huns, Studies in Their History and Culture_, c.1973, published posthumously after Prof M-H's death in 1969 (he could never finish it). No doubt there are finds and interpretations over the past 40 years that aren't in it, but I still recommend the book to any Hun fans out there. Regarding sacred swords, Prof M-H quotes Priscus, then draws parallels with other sword-worshipping barbarians going back to Herodotus' report on the Scythians. Regarding Hunnic swords, not much material evidence. Prof M-H shows a few Chinese style sword-guards recovered from graves, then proposes that Hunnic swords were like Gothic swords. |
| Cacique Caribe | 13 Nov 2009 10:29 a.m. PST |
"Otto J. Maenchen-Helfen _The World of the Huns, Studies in Their History and Culture_, c.1973" I have that book back home!!! I need to go through it when I return. Zippyfusenet, thanks so much for the insightful information. It is one of those questions I always wanted to ask but never got around to doing so. Fantastic. Dan |
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