Gaius Pontius

With this force, he won a series of early victories, which included taking the towns of Canusium and Gnaitha, and defeating the army under the command of Cornelius Lentulus.

He sent a letter to his father, the Samnite statesman Herennius Pontius, and the reply was that he should free them all, and therefore make Rome an ally.

Herennius, in a seemingly hypocritical manner, told his son to execute the entire army, saying that it would destroy the threat of Rome for a long time.

Pontius knew that the number of Romans were simply too large to have them all executed, so he sent for his father in person, and asked him if there was a middle road.

This was supreme humiliation, as it was seen as cowardly for a Roman soldier to lose his spear, and the army went back to Rome smarting but intact.