Comments by "" (@neutronalchemist3241) on "What is a Roman Centurion?" video.

"Cause there are three ways of doing things. The right one, the wrong one, and the way of the Legion. Here we follow the way of the legion. Now wear your armor and begin to run around the camp!"
19
+elgemin Pretty much that. The Centurion came from the rank of the legionaries, needed to have direct fighting skills, and fought alongside his men, that makes him similar to a Sergeant, but he had to have the qualities of an officer too, and the number of men under his direct command is that of a modern day Company.
4
+HotSkull Not in the recent decades.
3
+Mallorn Tree Not really. The scutum was used offensively, it was heavier than the sword, and it had to absorb hits, kicks and shouldering. Right handed legionaries had to train to made their left arm as strong, or stronger, than their right one.
2
When they didn't fight, or train, or mantain the camp and equipment, the legionaries were often used as a workforce to build roads and fortifications. When they were not doing anything of that, they were often doing some gamble. Dices and astragalii were common.
2
There were specialized legionaries ("immunes", cause they were exempted form the normal duties) that had special skills (cooks, artyllerymen, instructors...), among them there were the "architecti", that had the skill to direct the legionaries in the construction and engineering works and personally think of the details, and were under the command of the "praefectus fabrum" (there were one for legion), the officer in charge of the military engineering.
1
The oplite phalanx relied on his "pushing" power, so the oplites usually did a brief run, mantaining the formation, first to clash with the enemy line. Exactly in the same moment, the legionaries threw their pilum at once. Imagine the scene. Much of the oplite shields become unmaneuvrable, with one or more pilum stuck to them. Many oplites of the first line die. The ones behind them stumble on the dead bodies and on the spears on the ground, then, without the time to regroup, the legionaries arrive. As for the Macedonian phalanx, the Romans lured it on rough terrain, where it could not mantain it's unity. Once divided the phalanx, the sarissas were only a bother.
1
Not really. The "low life expectancy" was due to the very high child mortality, but, for those that reached adulthood, aging was not that different from modern times. Mind that you had to be at elast 17 to become a legionary, and the service lasted for at least 20 years. Only at that age the legionary could start a family, and he was at least 37, more often in his '40s.
1
The Marian Reform was of 107 BC. Caesar born in 100 BC and died in 44 BC. The use of the lorica segmentata began to spread only in 1st century AD. At the time of Caesar it didn't exist yet (but centurions existed, and the first centurions of which we know the name, are those nominated in De Bello Gallico).
1
The sword on the right side was needed precisely toi withdraw when in close formation. While wielding the scutum in a tight formation it can be impossible to reach the gladium on the left side, but you can always reach the handle on the same side of the hand.
1
"Wear your armor and start marching, you old fart!".
1
The hasta (heavy fighting spear) was the weapon of the triarii before the marian reform, but was discarded as a field weapon after it, altough it was still used for special tasks. A post-marian legion would have had a certain number of them anyway, but far less than the total number of legionaries. It was far more common for the legionaries to use the pilum as a fighting spear if needed.
1
From the "De Bello Gallico" we know that they used them. But they were not in first line at the moment of the contact with the enemy line (it would have been stupid to have the commander of the centuria there), so they had always the time to draw them first to be in the melee.
1