[lbo-talk] Re: war propaganda

[joanna bujes]

At 04:02 PM 04/04/2003 -0800, you wrote:
>The great Lucian wrote a scathing account of propaganda accounts of the
>Roman invasion of Mesopotamia of 165-166 "Pos dei istorian suggraphein"
>or "How to write History" - here he's dealing with one Athenian hack
>writer (at ¶20 - Kilburn trans vol VI of the Loeb Lucian at p.31:
>"[He] described  incredible wounds and monstous deaths, how
>one man was wounded in the big toe and died on the spot, and how Perseus
>the general just gave a shout and twenty-seven of the enemy fell dead.
>And in the number slain he even contradicted the officers' despatches
>with his false figures: at Europus, he said, the enemy lost 70,236 killed,
>while the Romans lost just two and had nine wounded. I do not think
>anyone in his senses would accept that."

A friend commented that Cesar's "Gallic Wars" were more self-promotion than 
history. Thucydides was a little more straight dealing. I read his book a 
couple of years ago and was really impressed. It seemed like he described 
every war that has ever been fought or will ever be fought. Perhaps there 
is something about war that is NOT historical but mythic/psychological 
...something that is separate from evil intent, but kicks in when people 
are put in a schizophrenic position.

Joanna