- Animal Life in the Scriptures Ancient Elephant. According to Patrick Winn, a correspondent for The World, war elephants may be divided into two types: those which participate in battles and those used for logistical purposes. Elephants, being only available from Africa or Asia, were expensive commodities to acquire for Mediterranean powers. Upon their return to Persia (c. 325 BCE), some 200 elephants are mentioned which had arrived via Arachosia and Carmania. present-day northern Algeria) supplied elephants to the Pompeian forces during the Roman Civil War (49-45 BCE). However, it was the elephant itself that was the principal weapon, employed as a sort of mobile wrecking ball. After Gaugamela, 15 elephants were captured from the Persian camp, along with the baggage, chariots and camels. Indra, the sky god, who wields thunder and lightning, might be compared with Zeus. elephant translation in English-Ancient Greek (to 1453) dictionary. The snakes may also refer to the uraeus (upright cobra) or the serpents coiling around the head of Medusa. Ancient History Encyclopedia Foundation is a non-profit organization. His son, Ptolemy Ceraunus, who was passed over for the succession, imitated his father’s coinage when he claimed the succession over Lysimachus’ kingship. Due to the Roman focus on infantry and its discipline, war elephants were rarely used. Some Rights Reserved (2009-2020) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. Then they obviously provided large targets for artillery fire. He, therefore, embodies aspects of both Heracles and Dionysus, and Alexander was also believed to be descended from Dionysus, through Deianira, the wife of Heracles. The three attributes were associated with three supreme deities of three different cultures: the aegis with Zeus; the ram’s horns with Ammon; the exuvia with Indra. The trunk appears to curl as if in prayer in a manner resembling an upright cobra (uraeus). We have also been recommended for educational use by the following publications: Ancient History Encyclopedia Foundation is a non-profit organization registered in Canada. C.A. Cartwright, Mark. However, the animals often turn on their own ranks trampling indiscriminately whoever comes in their way. Ancient authors recognized Heracles in an unspecified Hindu deity and the identification remains unsettled among modern scholars. In the 270’s BCE, for example, Ptolemy II trained African elephants for use in his army and even appointed a high official to be responsible for them, the elephantarchos. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms. Elephant & Griffonby Branko van Oppen (CC BY). Oppen, Branko V. "Elephants in Hellenistic History & Art." Please help us create teaching materials on Mesopotamia (including several complete lessons with worksheets, activities, answers, essay questions, and more), which will be free to download for teachers all over the world. This latter eventuality was, in part, avoided by the stationing of a small team of infantry to protect the elephant’s legs. So impressed was Alexander with the war elephants of Porus, who was said to have had a corps of 200 when he fought the Battle of Hydaspes in 326 BCE, that he formed his own ceremonial elephant corps. During the eastern campaign of Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE), Greek and Macedonian soldiers first encountered elephants in Assyria, at the Battle of Gaugamela (331 BCE), where they were, however, apparently not deployed. The Elephant in the Greek and Roman World (1974). Books Seleucid coinage regularly propagates the symbolic military importance of elephants as an expression of their power. This was especially so as Roman warfare developed. When Hannibal (247 - c. 182 BCE) moved against Rome, he crossed the Pyrenees from Spain with 37 elephants among his vast forces. Starting the battle in a simple line in front of their own troops they could cause undisciplined and poorly trained cavalry lines to scatter in panic. The Mauryans used three riders, all archers, with … Incidentally, Indra, like Zeus and even Alexander the Great, wields the thunderbolt. Related Content Elephants in the Bible. Elephants in Hellenistic History & Art. Farther along the campaign, another 125-150 elephants were obtained in the Indus Valley as a gift of a local prince and through hunting. After his coronation in Memphis, the priest at Siwah confirmed that Alexander was recognized as the son of god. They were said to have cunningly released pigs to disrupt Pyrrhus’ elephants at the Battle of Maleventum in 275 BCE. Cartwright, M. (2016, March 16). Then there was the problem of transporting them to where they were needed, although famously, the Carthaginian general Hannibal managed to get at least some of his 37 elephants across the Alps and into Italy in 218 BCE. Alexander & Porusby The Trustees of the British Museum (Copyright). The third attribute, the aegis belonged to Zeus, who presented it to Athena, who in turn is commonly depicted wearing the fleece. On the emblema, Cleopatra Selene wears an elephant scalp as a headdress and is surrounded by a profusion of religious symbols and attributes particularly associated with Ptolemaic Egypt. As the gates of Susa were opened for Alexander, his forces acquired another twelve elephants. After a few centuries when elephants were out of vogue, the Sasanians in Persia revived the use of war elephants, fielding the Indian species from the 3rd century CE onwards, albeit, largely for logistics and during sieges. A thick sacking or leather cover could also be hung over the elephant’s back to protect its sides. Greek authors continued to associate elephants with legends and fabulous monsters – that is, for our modern mind non-existing figments of ancient imagination. An elephant charging into a group of soldiers or horses could decimate a formation. His special interests include pottery, architecture, world mythology and discovering the ideas that all civilizations share in common. This was at the Battle of Raphia (on the Sinai peninsula) in 217 BCE between Ptolemy IV and Antiochus III. The Ancient History Encyclopedia logo is a registered EU trademark. (Job 40:15-24.) Ancient History Encyclopedia. Some Rights Reserved (2009-2020) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. Cartwright, Mark. 8.23.5.) The campaigns of Alexander the Great brought Greece into contact with animals from India and the East that the Greeks had not known of … Ancient History Encyclopedia Foundation is a non-profit organization. The portraiture is best-known from early Hellenistic coinage but also appears on engraved gems. There is a curious instance when two elephant corps met where each side was composed of different types. Early Riders: The Beginnings of Mounted Warfare in Asia and Europe. In 280 BCE Pyrrhus met a Roman force at the Battle of Heraclea. In later times, the use of elephants was restricted to peace-time activities such as spectacles in the Roman arenas and circuses for public entertainment or as an impressive addition to public processions. In short, in ancient thought elephants were considered mythic monsters that belonged to the same category as fabulous beasts such as the griffon and sphinx, martichora and unicorn, dragon and hippocamp, very real though rarely seen until the Hellenistic period. In the search for ever more impressive and lethal weapons to shock the enemy and bring total victory the armies of ancient Greece, Carthage, and even sometimes Rome turned to the elephant. Bibliography The frightful Shiva, also understood as an emanation of Indra, is a destroyer, the slayer of demons. In this slideshow, you'll follow the slow, majestic progress of elephant evolution over 60 million years, starting with the pig-sized Phosphatherium and ending … We may take as a clue from the ancient notion that fear, like panic, was divinely inspired, and that elephants should first of all be interpreted as religious symbols – even in warfare. Sword blades or iron points were added to the tusks and bells hung from the body to create as much noise as possible. Featured on Meta 2020 Community Moderator Election. After his initial corps died in the winter of 218/217 BCE Hannibal acquired fresh replacements and used elephants again at the siege of Capua in 211 BCE. Elephant corps did not have everything their own way, of course. Carthaginian War Elephantby The Creative Assembly (Copyright). The shape of the elephants’ trunks resembles the trumpet Fame sounds. He issued punch-marked silver coins with religious symbols featuring an elephant and a bull, the sun and a tree on a hill, as well as the chakra (a “disc” referring to a Tantric nerve nexus). Cavalry horses, especially, are frightened even of their smell. For only $5 per month you can become a member and support our mission to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. Nov 12, 2020 - Explore Jonah Bomgaars's board "War Elephants!" When the sun god Helius (Amun-Ra) appeared to him in a dream expressing his anger, Ptolemy set up four bronze elephants as votives to appease the god. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Troops became more mobiIe, siege-craft became just as common as open battles, and artillery came to the fore. He also had an ankush or hooked stick for this purpose. All three attributes symbolize Alexander’s divine sonship and the attributes portray him as the heroic descendant of the slayer of demons, underlying the associations between the mythic figures of Dionysus and Heracles (both sons of Zeus), Shiva (an emanation of Indra) and Krishna (an avatar of Vishnu), as well as Horus (the reincarnation of Osiris). Ancient History Encyclopedia. Elephant Symbolism on the Coins of Ptolemy Iby Branko van Oppen (CC BY-NC-SA). Even more famously, at the Battle of Zuma in 202 BCE, the Roman general Scipio Africanus allowed Hannibal’s 80 elephants to run through gaps purposely made in his infantry lines and then turned the animals around using drums and trumpets to let them cause havoc with the enemy. This helped work the beasts into a rage. One such small-scale statuette (now in New York), perhaps based on large-scale sculpture, depicts Alexander in the act of combat, riding a (now missing) animal, wearing the elephant scalp on his head. ". It appears frequently as an attribute of military might on Hellenistic bronze figurines and decorative elements (of which several examples are found in museums across the world). The latter minted coinage that expressed the symbolic connection between elephants and Alexander’s military victories. Detail of Roman Sarcophagus with an Elephantby Carole Raddato (CC BY-SA). Unfortunately, impressive though they must have seemed on the battlefield, the cost of acquiring, training, and transporting these creatures, along with their wild unpredictability in the heat of battle, meant that they were used only briefly and not particularly effectively in Mediterranean warfare. This suggestion is substantiated by the accounts of the Battle of Raphia (217 BCE) which decisively settled the Fourth Syrian War between the forces of Ptolemy IV and Antiochus III in favor of the former. "An Egyptian Interpretation of Alexander’s Elephant Headdress. 2020 Moderator Election Q&A - … Alexander’s elephant headdress is generally understood as an emblem of his victory over Porus. The ultimately unsuccessful campaign was commemorated on a ceramic plate from Capena (now in the Villa Giulia, Rome), which shows a turreted elephant with a rider and fighters on its back, followed by a cub. From the 270’s a light-weight tower (howdah or thorakia) of wood and leather was strapped to the larger Asian elephant using chains, and protected with shields hanging down its sides. Web. Indeed, such was the demand that at Latium and Constantinople permanent herds were kept and the insatiable desire for wild elephants practically wiped out the forest elephant of North Africa. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. Alexander’s undying fame thus owes more than is usually acknowledged to the elephant. Ceraunus famously died on the back of an elephant against the Galatians entering the Greek peninsula from across the Balkans (279 BCE). Ancient History Encyclopedia. The supreme deity Shiva is considered both benign and frightful. Seleucus I (c. 358-281 BCE) is said to have obtained 400-500 which he employed against Antigonus I and Lysimachus but then they are never heard of again. Another 80 elephants were captured after the battle, thus bringing the total to about 250. This meant that military commanders went out of their way to supplement their armies with elephants. From Alexander to Hannibal During the eastern campaign of Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE), Greek and Macedonian soldiers first encountered elephants in Assyria, at the Battle of Gaugamela (331 BCE), where they were, however, apparently not deployed. Roman Mosaic Showing the Transport of an Elephantby Carole Raddato (CC BY-SA). Ancient History Encyclopedia Limited is a non-profit company registered in the United Kingdom. Elephants were the tanks of the ancient battlefield. For, after the latter’s death at the Battle of Corupedium (280 BCE), Ceraunus had first joined Seleucus, then murdered him as avenger of Lysimachus' death, and issued gold staters with the portrait of Alexander on the obverse and Athena Nikephorus on the reverse along with smaller symbols such as an elephant and a lion’s head. For only $5 per month you can become a member and support our mission to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. Our latest articles delivered to your inbox, once a week: Our mission is to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. Are there peacocks and elephants in Ancient Greece (4000 BC)? Huge, exotic, and frightening the life out of an unprepared enemy they seemed the perfect weapon in an age where developments in warfare were very limited. The Romans … See more ideas about war elephant, ancient warfare, ancient war. Tarentum, a Greek city in southern Italy recruited him to combat a growing and belligerent neighbour to the north, Rome. As the ancient historian Ammianus Marcellinus put it, "the human mind can conceive nothing more terrible than their noise and huge bodies" (Anglim, 132). So, he too may possibly have been the Hindu deity identified with Heracles by the Greeks and Macedonians. Mark is a history writer based in Italy. When Alexander died, his funeral carriage was decorated among many other things with a tablet of Indian elephants driven by mahouts, followed by Macedonian troops.