The Gallic Sack of Rome - Part 6

The Gallic Sack of Rome - Part 6

From The Partial Historians by The Partial Historians

March 19, 2026 · 1h 27m · Episode 171

About this episode

The episode concludes the coverage of the Gallic Sack of Rome, focusing on the contrasting accounts of Camillus' actions by different historical sources.

We have finally reached the LAST part of our coverage of the Gallic Sack of Rome. Once again, whilst there are similar elements in our sources, it is astonishing to see the different way the authors weave the details together. Another Amazing Camillus Montage   It is not often that Diodorus Sicilus is praised for his accuracy, but this is one of those rare moments. Savour it, everyone! Dr G takes us through the details of his account, in which Camillus is on a military rampage. Forget the Rocky training montage that Livy includes. This is a Rambo montage, with Camillus kicking ass all over Italy. He’s taking down the Volscians, the Aequians, the Etruscans…. where does he find the time? It is during his escapades that Camillus recovers the ransomed gold, not the rather more dramatic intervention included in Livy’s history. However, Diodorus and Livy are not the only sources to have different explanations for the return of the gold! Some sources claim it was the people of Caere who retrieve the ransom after defeating the Gauls in a battle, and others claim it was one of the Emperor Tiberius’ ancestors who won it back in a battle with a Gallic chieftain. We will let you guess…

People in this episode

Host: The Partial Historians

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Volscians, Aequians, Etruscans, Caere

Books & works: Rocky, Rambo

Places: Rome, Italy

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