[HN Gopher] Introduction to Legion: life in the Roman army
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       Introduction to Legion: life in the Roman army
        
       Author : diodorus
       Score  : 49 points
       Date   : 2023-12-09 22:45 UTC (1 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.britishmuseum.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.britishmuseum.org)
        
       | sorokod wrote:
       | Some of the Roman legions were extremely long lived (Ship of
       | Theseus and all - the military tend to nurture their
       | histories)[1]. The X Fretensis, for example existed for more then
       | 400 years [2].
       | 
       | [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Roman_legions
       | 
       | [2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legio_X_Fretensis
        
       | Boogie_Man wrote:
       | Work insanely hard from 20 to 45, retire with citizenship and
       | land. 50% chance of survival. Seems like a very decent deal.
        
         | polpenn wrote:
         | Life expectancy was probably in the late 30s to early 40s
         | during this time so you're basically working for the rest of
         | your life.
        
           | Boogie_Man wrote:
           | I can't find a good link, but I think that the average is
           | dragged down significantly by infant death and that a life
           | expectancy of 40 doesn't mean that you should expect to die
           | at 40 if you've already made it to adulthood.
        
           | pineaux wrote:
           | This is a fable. Many people reached old age in the empire
           | and even the middle ages. A low "Life expectancy" doesnt mean
           | people didnt grow old. It just means that many people die
           | prematurely of (now) preventable things.
           | 
           | Death of the mother in childbirth ( 1 in 10) Death as a child
           | because of unsafe surroundings Death as a child because of
           | childlabour Death because of infectious wounds Death because
           | of plagues and sickness Death because of random violence
           | Death because of war Death by famine Death by accidents like
           | fire in the house, occupational hazzard or hunting. Or the
           | sinking of a ship.
           | 
           | All these things lower Life expectancy. But with luck and a
           | good physique many of them could be avoided.
        
             | JeffSnazz wrote:
             | > This is a fable.
             | 
             | No, it's a myth, or even better, a common misconception. A
             | fable is a morality story.
        
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       (page generated 2023-12-10 23:00 UTC)