Asclepiodotus

Asclepiodotus Tacticus (; fl. 1st century BC), also known as Asclepiodotus, was a Greek writer and philosopher known for Tactics, a short treatise on military tactics. His work is an important source for understanding the military practices of the Hellenistic period.

Life Little is known about the life of Asclepiodiotus. The Greek manuscripts read “(of) Asclepiodotus the Philosopher” (Ἀσκληπιοδότου φιλοσόφου) and he has been identified with the Asclepiodotus mentioned by Seneca in his Naturales quaestiones. Seneca quotes Asclepiodotus on matters of natural history and also reports that he was a student of Posidonius, who, as mentioned by Aelianus Tacticus, also wrote a treatise on military tactics. If Asclepiodotus was indeed the student of Posidonius, he would likely have been born in the late 2nd century or 1st century BCE and probably studied in Rhodes, where Posidonius had a school.

Works Diagram from Ch. X (The Terms used for Military Evolutions) demonstrating the manoeuvers of the phalanx. Asclepiodotus' only known work is a treatise in twelve chapters on military tactics and theory (Ἀσκληπιοδότου φιλοσόφου τακτικὰ κεφάλαια, or Tactics). This text was transmitted in the Codex Laurentianus (Plut.55.4) and eleven other manuscripts dependent on it (see below). Along with the text, the manuscripts transmit figures thought to be copies of diagrams by Asclepiodotus' own hand.

The Tactics was a theoretical text that seems to have served no practical use, following a general trend in Hellenistic and Roman texts on warfare, both scientific and tactical. Poznanski, however, stresses the practical, non-theoretical nature of the work, which, among other things, is irreplaceable for our knowledge of the vocabulary on the phalanx and other military terminology of the Hellenistic period.

The treatise focuses on the phalanx, its divisions, and its position, and discusses other topics, such as peltasts and cavalry. Some aspects of warfare discussed in the treatise, such as battle chariots and elephants, were no longer in use in the first century BCE, suggesting that either he used earlier Hellenistic armies as models, or he based his work on an earlier text. +Chapter Titles of the TacticsI.The Different Branches of the ArmyII.The Strength and the Names of the Subdivisions of the Hoplite-PhalanxIII.The Disposition of the Men both in the Entire Army and in its SubdivisionsIV.The Intervals between the SoldiersV.The Appropriate Size and Character of the ArmsVI.The Phalanx of the Light Infantry and of the Targeteers, and the Disposition and Names of its SubdivisionsVII.The Phalanx of the Cavalry, and the Names of the Whole Body as well as of its SubdivisionsVIII.ChariotsIX.ElephantsX.The Terms in Common Use for Military EvolutionsXI.The Various Arrangements of the Divisions of the Army on the MarchXII.The Commands used in Military Evolutions The style of the text is terse. As Oldfather, et al. describe, "little effort is made to vary the almost inevitable monotony of a treatise on such a subject; the sentences are short and stiff, the language unimaginative … the whole is dry, but most orderly." Items of historical interest are rare, though occasionally preserved, e.g. that the Thessalian cavalry fought in rhomboid formation.

Some materials in the Tactics seem to be derived from Polybius, or earlier textbooks. The relationship between Asclepiodotus' treatise on military tactics and Posidonius' treatise on the same subject is unclear. Kai Brodersen argues that Posidonius' text was either directly or indirectly a template for Asclepiodotus' text and also for Aelianus Tacticus' On Tactical Arrays of the Greeks (Περὶ στρατηγικῶν τάξεων Ἑλληνικῶν) and Arrian's Ars tactica (Τἐχνη τακτικἠ). Another theory is that Asclepiodotus' treatise was "the skeleton outline of the lectures delivered by his master [Posidonius]."

Asclepiodotus' Tactics was the main source, at least of the extant texts, for Aelian's On Tactical Arrays of the Greeks. However, when Aelianus Tacticus lists the authors who influenced his work, he does not acknowledge Asclepiodotus. Oldfather. et al. provide two possible explanations. The first is that Aelian did not want to call attention to the extent of his obligation. The second is that Asclepiodotus merely transmitted the text of Posidonius, whom Aelian does acknowledge.

Asclepiodotus also wrote on natural history, some topics of which are preserved by Seneca in his Naturales Quaestiones. These include earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, the nature of winds, and the character of subterranean water.

Editions of the Tactics

Angelo Mai: Spicilegium Romanum, vol. IV, Rome 1840, pp. 577-581 (Latin; only chapters 1–2, from a very late manuscript) Hermann Köchly and Wilhelm Rüstow: Griechische Kriegsschriftsteller, Bd. II, I: Die Taktiker (Asklepiodotos, Aelianus), Leipzig 1855, pp. 130-197 (German; editio princeps; from later manuscripts; the Codex Laurentianus was unknown to Köchly and Rüstow) William Oldfather, et al.: Aeneas Tacticus, Asclepiodotus, Onasander (Loeb Classical Library 156), London and Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 1923 (English; from the Codex Laurentianus) Lucien Poznanski: Asclépiodote, Traité de tactique (Collection des Universités de France), Paris 1992; Nachdruck 2002 (French; definitive edition) Giuseppe Cascarino: Tecnica della falange. In Appendice: “Il Trattato Tactico di Asclepiodoto,” Città del Castello: Il Cerchio, 2011 (Italian) Kai Brodersen: Arrianos, Asklepiodotos: Die Kunst der Taktik, Berlin and Boston: De Gruyter, 2017 (German).

Manuscripts of the Tactics +DateCollection ReferenceFoliosLocationBrandini, et al. Referencemid-10th c. CEPlut. 55.04132-142vBiblioteca Medicea Laurenziana; Florence, ItalyR(III)0996mid-10th c. CEPlut. 55.04132-143*Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana; Florence, Italyend of 15th - beginning of 16th c. CEGrec 2522052-77vBibliothèque nationale de France; Paris, FranceR(III)019216th c. CEGrec 2447001-17*Bibliothèque nationale de France; Paris, France16th (2/4) c. CEGrec 2435075-85vBibliothèque nationale de France; Paris, FranceR(III)01921652 CESupplément grec 0083073v-90vBibliothèque nationale de France; Paris, FranceR(III)1913a17th c. CEBarb. gr. 256002v-35vBiblioteca Apostolica Vaticana; Vatican CityR(III)080017th (1/2) c. CEVoss. gr. Q° 1201-49Bibliotheek der Rijksuniversiteit; Leiden, The NetherlandsR(III)144417th (1/2) c. CEGrec 2528001-7v, 010-18vBibliothèque nationale de France; Paris, FranceR(III)019219th c. CESupplément grec 1252070-84vBibliothèque nationale de France; Paris, France19th c. CEfonds principal 3528Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève; Paris, FranceunknownAllacci 007Biblioteca Vallicelliana; Rome, Italy