The chronicle records of ancient Roman historians in many respects underlie our knowledge of that far period when the great Roman Empire grew and flourished . And it is generally accepted that Roman legends (as well as Greek) do not lie. But is it worth blindly trusting such sources? Indeed, at all times there have been cases when ridiculous stories sought to cover up their own negligence. And chroniclers, like all other people, relied heavily on eyewitness accounts, and not on verified facts. A vivid example of this is the legend of how geese saved Rome.
They talk about this wonderful salvation from the very time, as in 390 BC. due to the sensitivity of the goose tribe, warlike Gauls could not secretly capture the Capitol, where the besieged defenders of the Eternal City were locked.
As the great Roman historian Titus Livy wrote later, the Gauls found a secret path along which they climbed to the top of the Capitol and were able to climb the walls of the fortified Kremlin. Exhausted by hunger and fatigue, the Roman warriors slept soundly. Even the guard dogs did not hear how the enemies crept in the dark.
But the Romans were lucky. Very close to the place where the attackers approached, right next to the fortress wall was the temple of the goddess Juno, in which her sacred birds - geese lived. Despite the famine raging among the besieged, the temple geese remained untouched. They felt trouble. They screamed, flapped their wings. Awakened by the noise of the guard and the resting warriors who came to her aid, they managed to repel the attack. Since then, they say that the geese of Rome were saved.
Since then, more than 1000 years have passed. But how the geese saved Rome, its inhabitants remember. In honor of this event, a feast is being held in Rome to this day, during which all the people honor the goose savior and kill the dog, guilty only of its belonging to the canine family. All languages of the world included a catch phrase about how geese saved Rome. They say so when they want to say about a happy accident that saved us from great misfortune.
But only zoologists this historical fact raises serious doubts. After all, no matter how exhausted the dog, no matter how soundly she sleeps, her ears and instincts work for her. A trained guard dog (namely, those kept in the service of the Romans) could not miss the approach of the enemy. The dog was supposed to smell and hear galls creeping in the dark at a distance of about 80 m.Even if the maximum values were allowed, the four-legged watchman should raise an alarm when the enemy approached a distance of 20-25 m.If in doubt, try to quietly approach an unfamiliar sleeping dog. And see for yourself.
And now about the abilities of geese. Geese have never been used as watchmen. And this is not surprising. Because the main "watchdog" organ in them, like in other birds, is sharp vision. Neither geese can hear nor smell the approach of an outsider at a considerable distance. Only at a distance of 3-4 m, the geese, even being behind a solid wall, somehow feel a person approaching and show signs of anxiety. But this is not a noisy behavior that can wake up hard-sleeping soldiers, but only unhappy quiet gaggling. Unless the threat comes nearer directly.
So how did the geese save Rome? After all, it turns out that this legend is openly contrary to the laws of zoology. But this story made so much noise in its time that it is difficult to admit a lie on the part of the respected Roman chronicler. We can only guess how events developed in reality. Perhaps the geese did not wake up from the approach of enemies, but from the fact that the hungry guards decided to secretly eat a sacred bird from everyone. Well, the gods wanted this sin to be a salvation for the city. Another option: there were simply no dogs left in the city at that time. After all, they were not considered sacred animals, and the inhabitants were so starving that the skin of sandals and shields was already eating. And finally, the third version. Perhaps the most contrived. Nevertheless, it is possible to assume that Titus Livy and after him all mankind allegorically called the “dogs” the bribed traitor-guards, and “the geese” - one of the Gaul warriors (Celts) who warned the consul Mark Manlius about the attack and betrayal . After all, it was from them that the goose has for centuries been a sacred bird. But neither the pride nor tactical considerations allowed the Romans to openly admit this fact.
As it was, we will never know. But the geese forever gained the glory of the saviors of the great Rome, the eternal city on seven hills.