That’s the question to all the EB historians and any who might know the answer. Physical Fitness: Ancient vs. Modern. If you took an average grunt of a modern-day army and matched him against an ancient warrior, how would they match up?
Naturally, I realize we have made significant advances in the discipline of physical fitness in the last 2,000+ years, but that is somewhat different than the degree of physical strength needed to merely survive in some ancient cultures. So, I’m curious. What do you think?
And, no, I’m not asking the outcome of a battle if they were armed with similar weapons! If you handed an average infantryman of today the gladius hispaniensis and told him to fight with it, he’d be hopelessly outclassed; and if you gave a Roman legionary an M-16, he’d be dead before he figured out how to flick off the safety. But the degree of physical fitness—how would it compare? Thanks.
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