One of the most vivid examples of Roman bravery (Virtus) is the case of Gnaeus Petreius, which took place in December of 102 BC.

Text by Ilias Anagnostakis

Indeed, the Consul Lutatius Catulus with 8 legions, consisting of about 40,000 men, was trying, through successive maneuvers, to delay the Germanic huge hordes of the 160.000 Cimbri from entering Italy through the Alps, giving time for the other Consul, Gaius Marius, to organize. However, Catulus did not have the specific weight of Marius, and soon his army, already influenced by news of the atrocities of the Cimbri in Gaul, had completely lost its morale and was on the brink of turning into a mob of deserters.

Catulus chose to retreat, if not flee, towards Italy, leaving only one legion (5,000 men) under an unknown tribune in a deserted farm with a rudimentary fence, with clear instructions to delay the Germans who were approaching “swiftly”. The farm was located near the Pizione gorge, near present-day Trento, in the Italian Alps. Soon, the vanguard of the Cimbri consisting of 30,000 men, surrounded the farm from all sides, under heavy snowfall.

At this critical moment, the centurions of the legion (centuriones) led by the Senior Centurion (Primus Pilus) Gnaeus Petreius Atinas¹, decided that the only choice was to make a sortie, otherwise they would all be slaughtered. However, the commander hesitated, and in the midst of crisis and panic, refused such an action. Amidst an incredible snowstorm, the centurions formed a circle around him, and Petreius drew his gladius and slaughtered him on the spot. The commander had violated the military oath (sacramentum) and had to be executed. Indeed, after dispatching the unit’s commander, the remarkable Petreius ordered the legionaries to launch an immediate attack, making a sortie towards the south. After a “fierce” clash, the legion broke through the encirclement and escaped, causing tremendous losses to the Germans. After a week of coordinated march, they joined Marius’s 50,000 men in Bononia (Bologna).

Predictably, Gnaius Petreius was honored with the highest Roman distinction in wartime, the “Corona Graminea”. It was the wreath of grass, which was given only to someone who had saved an army from destruction. In addition to, Petreius, dressed in his praetexta², made an offering at the altar, accompanied by the sound of the pipe, in the presence of the then-consuls, Marius and Catulus. After centuries of battles, the martial society of Rome was expected to produce such men.

Sources:

Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia, 77 AD.

Plutarch, The Parallel Lives, The Life of Marius, 1st-2nd century AD.

Livy, Periochae, History of Rome, 1st century BC- 1st century AD.

Footnotes

1. Atina is a town in the province of Frosinone, Lazio region. ↩︎
2. Toga praetexta was the official dress of Roman magistrates and priests. ↩︎