I'd previously considered this sort of thing melodramatic fiction, rather than genuine espionage...

[bunn]

"In conducting espionage, Scipio seems to stand out as an exception among Roman commanders.  When his siege of Utica was stalled, he sent a legation to the camp of the Numidian King Syphax.  Scipio's emissaries were accompanied by centurions disguised as slaves.

The legate Gaius Laelius was fearful that one of these men, Lucius Statorius, might be recognised since he had visited the camp before.  To protect his agent's cover, Laelius caned him publicly.  This episode plays upon the known Roman practice of subjecting only social inferiors  to corporal punishment, and is of particular interest because it specifically identifies centurions and tribunes as active participants in espionage missions.

While the legates were in conference, the "slaves" were to wander about the camp in different directions and reconnoiter the premises, taking note of entrances, exits and the location of each division."

- Intelligence Activities in Ancient Rome : Trust in the Gods, but Verify by Rose Mary Sheldon.

Clearly concerned that the Romans were pulling ahead in the field of melodrama, Hannibal responded by inventing Snakes on a Ship.  Which is where you fill a lot of pots with venomous snakes and fling them at your enemies' ships, hoping that their barefooted sailors will all jump into the sea in horror.

Comments

[motetus.livejournal.com]

And then there was angst and misunderstanding, but a happy ending involing tender lovemaking between Laelius and Lucius, yes? I think I've heard this story before...

[bunn.livejournal.com]

"Intelligence Activities in Ancient Rome" does not specify, but I can't help feeling that there is something odd about a scenario where they don't just leave Lucius at home on this particular mission, but instead *hold a public caning* so he can come along. o_O

[king-pellinor.livejournal.com]

Clearly he was a PC, and so the party had to find a way of bringing him along even though it made no real sense.

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

I think if a pot of venomous snakes landed on my ship, I might jump into the sea even if I had shoes on. Ick!

Lucius must have been a superspy or something. Why not just leave him at home and take someone else?

[bunn.livejournal.com]

You'd never feel entirely sure you'd managed to get all the snakes off the ship again, would you... :-/

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

It would be like the ship version of having a bat in the house. Except you would worry about venom rather than rabies.

[sineala.livejournal.com]

I think my favorite thing about that book was the sacred chicken keeper who took it upon himself to manipulate the outcome of the chicken-feed divination by underfeeding the chickens.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

I have to admit my favorite bit is probably the juxtaposition of centurions and Le Carre references. But I've not got past Hannibal yet!

[thecatsamuel.livejournal.com]

Sacred chickens stories are my faves - there is something intrinsically funny about sacred ... chickens.

One of the best is about Publius Claudius Pulcher, whose chickens refused to eat before a naval battle. So he said "if they won't eat, let them drink" and threw them overboard. The chickens drowned, the Romans lost to the Carthaginians and Pulcher was tried for treason. It is a moral tale.

[lil-shepherd.livejournal.com]

Of course, we (the USA and the UK) can talk. There were the dead exploding rate to be placed in coal to be fed into boilers by the Germans in WW2 to start with.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Explosive rats is definitely in the category of
"Dirty British coaster with a salt-caked smoke stack"

Whereas Snakes on a Ship? I think that is more Quinquireme of Nineveh territory!

[lil-shepherd.livejournal.com]

Somewhere or other I have a book on the activities of a British Intelligence department in WW2 entirely devoted to this kind of thing. The rats were the first thing that came to mind, but now I can't find the book. (*Goes away muttering*)

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

Exploding rats and exploding coal, I think.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

I'm worrying about the practicalities of this now. Did they specially select very large rats? Or is it possible to hide more powerful explosive in a small rat than I think it is?

If an average-sized rat exploded at the end of a shovel, I can't help feeling the shoveller might be unpleasantly covered in dead rat, but *would it kill you*?

Also I have a flashback to the time I opened a tin of bad catfood and it EXPLODED ALL OVER ME STINKILY.

[king-pellinor.livejournal.com]

I think it's possible to hide more powerful explosive in a rat than you think it is. A few ounces of plastic explosive will do an awful lot of damage, especially if they go off in a confined space like a boiler. It's not just the rat going off that's the problem, it's the bursting of the boiler and sending of burning coals all over the place. That could very well kill you.

Not to mention the fact that it would disable whatever the boiler was powering, and perhaps make your erstwhile colleagues a little less enthusiastic about their jobs...

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

If only my long-ago O-level Latin were good enough to translate "I've had it with these motherf*****g snakes on this motherf*****g ship." (Censored for the sake of work internet access. Although my work filter is prone to say, "pass, friend" at pages cluttered with swearing, but bellow, "You shall not pass!" at children's book pages full of fairies and bunny rabbits, so I'm not sure why I'm bothering.)

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

Hmm ... I'm not entirely sure they teach "motherf*****g" in O-level languages ...

[thecatsamuel.livejournal.com]

Well, not if they want to keep their jobs...

Though I do find it very entertaining that the Cambridge Latin Course uses "furcifer" as a swear word and that is actually very rude Latin indeed. I am never sure if it is the CLC authors entertaining themselves by slipping it in or if they really didn't spot it was extremely insulting.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

!!!

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

Heh, I didn't know about that :-)

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

How is your cold now, BTW?

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Still feeling a bit tired, but could be worse, thanks - you?

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

Well, my nose is a lot clearer than it was; but my cough is still very definitely present, and I've been getting some bad headaches.

I am going to try going back to work today, after taking Friday and Monday off.

[sistermine.livejournal.com]

That's fascinating. Thanks for sharing...