More chickens

Papirius Cursor was Consul in 293 B.C.E.

That was a story of intelligence, shown in the courtroom; the next one will be a story of intelligence shown in a military campaign. When the consul Papirius Cursor was attacking Aquilonia and wanted to engage the enemy in battle, the priest in charge of the sacred chickens told him that the auspices were excellent, though the sacred birds were not in fact favourable. Papirius found out about the priest’s deception, but he felt confident because a good omen had been given to himself and the army, so he started to do battle. But he stationed the lying priest in front of the battle line so that if the gods were angry, they would have someone on whom to wreak their vengeance.

By chance, or perhaps by the providence of some god in heaven, the first spear sent from the opposing army was aimed at the chest of the priest in charge of the sacred chickens, and it knocked him to the ground, lifeless. When the consul discovered this, he attacked Aquilonia with complete confidence and captured it. 1


1Valerius Maximus, Memorable Deeds and Sayings; One Thousand Tales from Ancient Rome, trans. Henry John Walker, Hackett Publishing: 2004, p. 237-238.

The Sacred Chickens

Publius Claudius Pulcher was a Roman General. In 249 B.C.E. he had command, as Consul, of the Roman fleet during the First Punic War. Before the great naval battle of Drepana, he had to take the auspices, i.e. check whether the omens were good, as was the custom. This was to be accomplished by observing the eating habits of the sacred chickens they had onboard. If the chickens ate the grain that was given them, the omens were good, if the chickens did not, well… you get the idea. Here’s what happened:


[Story as recorded by Julius Paris:]

Claudius wanted to fight a naval battle, and he asked for the auspices in the traditional way of our forefathers. When the man in charge of the sacred chickens replied that they were not coming out of their cage, Claudius ordered them to be thrown into the sea, saying “Since they do not want to eat, let them drink!”1


And what happened with the battle, I hear you ask.

He lost the entire fleet.



1Valerius Maximus, Memorable Deeds and Sayings; One Thousand Tales from Ancient Rome, trans. Henry John Walker, Hackett Publishing: 2004, p. 15.