for every battle, but whenever a major military decision had to be made.
Similar sacrifices were performed by most of the other Greek city-states. In
his Anabasis,Xenophon noted that before the Ten Thousand forced a
crossing over the Centrites River, sacrifices were held under a hail of enemy
fire. Similarly, Alexander the Great held back from assaulting the fortified
city of Gaza until he had received favorable results from animal sacrifices
performed by the priests serving with his army.
We are even better informed about the religious rites and ceremonies
performed by and for Roman soldiers in the field. Roman soldiers swore sa-
cred oaths to the gods and to the emperors upon entering service and re-
newed these oaths according to a regular daily and yearly schedule. They
participated in the cultic life of the official army religion by attending sac-
rifices at camp altars. The soldiers also participated in a yearly liturgical cy-
cle, which corresponded to the rites celebrated by the colleges of priests at
Rome. The unit standards and eagles that led the army into battle were im-
bued with sacred power (numen) from which Roman soldiers drew strength
and courage. In addition, the Roman State held public religious celebrations
intended to secure the support of the gods for Roman military victory.
One of the most important symbols of the Roman army at prayer was
the legionary eagle. Religious practice in the army inculcated the belief
among Roman soldiers that their military standards were imbued with sa-
cred power. Officers stressed that this power was transmitted to soldiers
who venerated their eagles and other unit symbols, including the cavalry
banners and cohort standards. Official military practice reinforced the rev-
erence that the men felt for their eagles by utilizing them as a focus of reli-
gious rituals. The standards were kept in sacred shrines at the center of mil-
itary camps. Military regulations also demanded severe punishments for
soldiers who were responsible for the loss of unit standards and even re-
quired the removal from service of units that lost their eagles. The impor-
tance of the eagles for the morale of the Roman soldiers is neatly charac-
terized by Tacitus in an account of a Roman campaign against the Germans
during the reign of Tiberius. Germanicus, the Roman commander, was
holding his troops tightly in check because he faced a numerically superior
force. But when he saw a flight of eight eagles pass overhead he ordered his
men to follow the great birds into battle because they were the protection
gods of the legions.Late Antiquity
As the Roman rulers following Constantine pursued policies that trans-
formed the empire into a Christian state, the religious practices of the Ro-
man army also evolved to take on Christian forms. Christian emperors un-
derstood that religion had played a crucial role in maintaining both448 Religion and Spiritual Development: Ancient Mediterranean and Medieval West