Attalos and Sudines (1)

Text
Attalos I of Pergamon consulted the Chaldean scholar Sudines.

Polyaenus, Stratagemata 4.20:
Prior to a battle against a great army of Gauls, Attalus observed that his soldiers were terrified. Wishing to make them eager to face the risk of battle, he prepared sacrificial victims, with Sudines the Chaldean seer directing the sacrifice. After praying and pouring a libation, he cut up the animal. The king rubbed his finger in the oozing blood and wrote on his right hand, King’s victory, writing not from left to right, but backwards, from right to left. When the entrails were lifted out, he put his hand underneath them and impressed the bloody writing on the warm, narrow lobe of the liver. After inspecting the lobes and the gall, and noticing the entrances, the flat part, and any other indications, the seer turned over the lobe with the inscription, through which the king’s victory was indicated. The seer rejoiced and showed the sign to the soldiers. After coming and reading they were filled with confidence, and all shouted, urging that he lead them against the barbarians. They fought eagerly and defeated the Gauls.

Source (list of abbreviations)
Polyaenus, Stratagemata 4.20

Bibliography

Amar Annus

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