oxford world’s classics

HANNIBAL’S WAR
books twenty-one to thirty

Titus Livius (Livy), the historian, was born in Patavium (mod-

ern Padua) in 64 or 59 bc and died in ad 12 or 17 in Patavium,
surviving therefore into his late seventies or early eighties. He came
to Rome in the 30s bc and began writing his history of Rome not
long after. There is no evidence that he was a senator or held other
governmental posts, although he was acquainted with the emperor
Augustus and his family, at least by his later years. He appears to
have had the means to spend his life largely in writing his huge
history of Rome, Ab Urbe Condita or ‘From the Foundation of the
City’, which filled 142 books and covered the period from Rome’s
founding to the death of the elder Drusus (753–9 bc). Thirty-five
books survive: 1–10 (753–293 bc) and 21–45 (218–167 bc).
J. C. Yardley has been Professor and Head of Classics at the
Universities of Calgary and Ottawa and is a former President of the
Classical Association of Canada. He has also translated The Dawn of
the Roman Empire (Books 31–40 of Livy’s history) for Oxford
World’s Classics, as well as Quintus Curtius’ History of Alexander
for Penguin Classics (1984) and Justin for the American Philological
Association Classical Resources series (1994) and (Books 11–12) for
the Clarendon Ancient History series (1997). His most recent books
are Justin and Pompeius Trogus (2003) and (with Waldemar Heckel)
Alexander the Great (2004).
Dexter Hoyos was born in Barbados, studied at Oxford, and
teaches Roman history and historians, and Latin, at Sydney Uni-
versity. His most recent publications include Unplanned Wars
(1998), on the causes of the first two Punic Wars, and Hannibal’s
Dynasty: Power and Politics in the Western Mediterranean 247–183
B.C. (2003).
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 OXFORD WORLD’S CLASSICS

LIVY

Hannibal’s War
Books Twenty-One to Thirty

Translated by
J. C. YARDLEY

With an Introduction and Notes by

DEXTER HOYOS

1
 3
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 For
Andrea, Elaine, Jane, Camilla, Jann, and Barbara
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 CONTENTS

Introduction ix
Note on the Text and Translation xxxiv
Select Bibliography xxxvi
A Chronology of Events xxxix
Maps xliv

HANNIBAL’S WAR 1
book twenty-one 3
book twenty-two 66
book twenty-three 135
book twenty-four 195
book twenty-five 252
book twenty-six 310
book twenty-seven 378
book twenty-eight 448
book twenty-nine 514
book thirty 563

Appendix 1. List of Variations from the Teubner Text 619

Appendix 2. Hannibal’s Route over the Alps 620
Explanatory Notes 631
Glossary 715
Index 727
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 INTRODUCTION

Livy and his history

Titus Livius was born at Patavium in northern Italy, today’s Padua,
probably in 64 bc, and died there probably in ad 12; his family’s
communal epitaph may still be seen. He began writing his history
From the Foundation of the City (Ab Urbe Condita) around 27 bc, just
as Rome’s latest supreme leader, Augustus, was consolidating his
primacy over the city and the empire. Starting with the origins of
Rome, he concluded with the year 9 bc in Book 142, an average
yearly output of nearly four sizeable books. Of these, only 35 (1–10
and 21–45) survive, though luckily a collection of epitomes or
résumés of nearly all 142 is extant.
The history made Livy famous in his own lifetime: there is a story
of an admirer from Gades (Cádiz) in Spain who travelled to Rome
simply to see the man of renown, and then went home. Livy was on
friendly terms with Augustus, but From the Foundation of the City
was not a commissioned work or propaganda piece for the new
regime: Livy openly wondered whether it would have been worse or
better for the Roman people if Julius Caesar had never been born,
and accorded enough praise to Caesar’s foe Pompey for Augustus to
tease him with being a ‘Pompeian’––perhaps a punning joke based
on his Patavine origin.1
Books 21–30 of From the Foundation comprise our most detailed
and exciting ancient account of the Second Punic War, Hannibal’s
war against Rome.2 The two warring states, Rome and Carthage,
were supposedly founded within a few decades of each other:
Carthage in 814, Rome in 753. It will help a better understanding of
Livy’s narrative to summarize the events that led to their rivalry.

1
Doubt about Caesar: Seneca, Natural Questions 5.18. Friendship with Augustus,
and the joke: Tacitus, Annals 4.34; perhaps a pun on Livy’s origin––not really a
‘Patavine’ but a ‘Pompeian’ (Pompeii being the well-known town in Campania).
2
‘Punic’ (Latin Punicus or Poenicus) is an alternative term for ‘Carthaginian’, recall-
ing the city’s Phoenician ancestry.
x Introduction

Rome and Carthage: two republics

Both Rome and Carthage had traditions of eastern ancestry––Rome
descended from Trojan refugees, Carthage the creation of Dido, a
princess of Tyre in Phoenicia (roughly today’s Lebanon), fleeing
tyranny at home. The favourable geography of both cities made
them locally powerful from early times. Rome’s strong site on seven
hills beside the Tiber commanded the best routes along that section
of Italy’s coast and between sea and interior. Carthage, on a
diamond-shaped peninsula overlooking the narrowest stretch of the
Mediterranean, was not the oldest Phoenician colony but the best
positioned for western commerce and communications.
By 270 the Romans dominated peninsular Italy. Roughly its
central third had become actual Roman territory, including the
wealthy region of Campania whose cities––notably Capua––enjoyed
much local autonomy. Many strategic sites elsewhere were occupied
by ‘Latin colonies’, cities founded by the Romans and holding a
privileged status akin to Roman citizenship. The rest of Italy was a
political quilt of states, all bound to Rome by alliance treaties, which
left them (like the Latins) self-governing but inflexibly subordinate
to her in foreign relations and military activities. The Romans had
also developed significant international trade (as had many maritime
Italian cities) from Spain to Greece and including Punic North
Africa. They had also undergone a first encounter with an overseas
foe: Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, who brought over a professional Greek
army in 280 to aid the Greek city of Tarentum against them. With
Greek military science at its peak, Pyrrhus inflicted the expected
defeats on Roman armies, only to find himself no better off. When
the Romans finally drove him out of Italy and forced Tarentum into
their alliance system, it was a portent of the future.
The Carthaginians built their hegemony mainly by sea, from the
profits of trade and then from dependent territories. From the mid-
sixth century they controlled the western quarter of Sicily, sharing
the island with numerous, often squabbling, Greek city-states like
Syracuse, Agrigentum, and Messana. They also occupied the fertile
lowlands of Sardinia and places in Corsica; and maintained close
contacts with the old Phoenician colonies on the coasts of Spain,
notably Gades. They tried to enforce a monopoly on the trade in tin
that came from beyond the Straits of Gibraltar, and sometimes
 Introduction xi
regulated other dealings through agreements with trade-partners:
the second-century Greek historian Polybius quotes the texts of two
early treaties with Rome, struck in 509 and 348. Carthage also
imposed control over her fertile North African hinterland, including
other old Phoenician cities like Utica which were treated as privil-
eged allies; by contrast, the surrounding North African populations
were taxed and conscripted as subjects.
Third-century Carthage and Rome shared many general political
features. After early monarchies, both had developed as republics.
Their systems included male-only citizens’ assemblies which
enacted laws and elected magistrates (see Glossary), a senate made
up of leading men including ex-magistrates, and the magistrates
themselves who had fixed tenures of office. In both republics, it
was the senate and magistrates who between them decided most
questions, with the citizens’ ratification usually a formality. Closer
comparisons are difficult, for details of politics at Carthage are few,
but at Rome some leading families enjoyed prominence––thanks
to recurrent electoral success––for generations, like those of the
Hannibalic war’s heroes Fabius, Marcellus, and Scipio. But there
was room for men from less distinguished backgrounds to attain
rank and influence, too: for instance Flaminius, the energetic though
brash consul whose career ended in disaster at Lake Trasimene in
217 (but whose son in turn would one day be consul), and Cato, a
newcomer from Tusculum near Rome, consul in 195, censor, pro-
ponent in old age of Carthage’s destruction, founder of Latin history
writing, and much else.
With only two consuls a year, very few reached that ultimate
height. But as the detailed notices in Livy and other authorities
show, Roman voters at elections were capable both of loyalty to
generations of the same families and of choosing virtual unknowns;
there were enough magistracies, particularly at the lower levels, to
allow this range of selection. The citizen body in turn, meeting
in various formal assemblies, usually followed the Senate’s lead
but occasionally enacted otherwise. The result was a vigorous and
versatile political life of blended conservatism and innovation.
The Punic republic, too, had well-established political families,
but they are much harder to trace. With much of the city’s wealth
based on the risks of maritime trading, and with wealth (according
to Aristotle, writing around 330) no less important than birth for
xii Introduction
political success, it was a challenge for competitive families to
maintain the standing won by successful ancestors. Hamilcar Barca’s
supposed descent from a brother of Queen Dido is no guide to
whether his family had enjoyed recent eminence. All the same, one
family or clan, the Magonids, had enjoyed not only eminence but
practical dominance over the state starting around 550 with Mago––
a successful general––and lasting until 396, while another family
(thanks to a leader termed Hanno ‘the Great’) managed similar lead-
ership from about 350 to 310.3
Aristotle regarded Carthage as mostly a well-governed state, and
it is the only non-Greek city to be discussed in his Politics. The chief
magistrates were two annual ‘sufetes’, whose role was chiefly to con-
sult the senate of Carthage on matters of government. For its wars,
though, the republic elected generals with wide and open-ended
tenure. The senate of Carthage, in turn, bore the engaging title of
The Mighty Ones and had a select inner ‘council of thirty’; but
how this council and The Mighty Ones themselves were recruited
is unknown. No doubt money talked again. As for the assembly of
citizens, Polybius rather disapprovingly remarks that it had more
real power than the citizen body at Rome, but what that means
in practical terms is opaque. We find the senate of Carthage, in
practice anyway, as the organ still authorizing war and ratifying
peace during Hannibal’s war. Polybius’ comment may be a censorious
Greek oligarch’s exaggeration.
Unlike Rome, whose ‘foreign’ relations until 280 were almost
entirely with other Italian states, Carthage had to deal from early on
with overseas powers, and especially the Greek cities of Sicily
because of her own territorial interests there. A long series of wars,
invariably ending in a stalemated return to the status quo, was fought
with Sicilian Greek coalitions usually led by Syracuse. During the
greatest such war, from 317 to 306, the Syracusan leader Agathocles
turned the tables at one desperate stage by invading Punic Africa
(310–307), winning a series of successes, and, though finally forced
to retire to Sicily, weakening the Carthaginians enough to secure
peace soon after. Thirty years later Pyrrhus of Epirus, frustrated in
his Roman war, took up the Sicilian Greek cause to overrun most of

3
On Carthaginian names, often confusingly similar, see Glossary under ‘Hanno’.
 Introduction xiii
the Punic west, but the struggle ended as before. Carthage’s next
Sicilian war, however, was a serious shock.

The First Punic War

In 264 Rome and Carthage suddenly went to war. The circumstances
were odd. Both had stepped in to protect Messana––a Sicilian city
now occupied by renegade Italian mercenaries, the Mamertines––
from falling into the grip of a resurgent Syracuse, yet the would-be
protectors soon found themselves in a confrontation. The Cartha-
ginians’ concern over possible Roman intrusion into Sicily led them
into an unprecedented alliance with Syracuse, but the Syracusan
king, Hiero II, quickly made his peace with the intruders, accepting
second-rank status for his city in return for a long and prosperous
reign until 215. Rome and Carthage, by contrast, remained at war
for nearly a quarter of a century (264–241).
The war ebbed and flowed, largely fought in western Sicily but
with a number of major naval operations beyond. The Romans not
only launched a grand fleet (261) but surprised the world by repeat-
edly defeating the Carthaginians at sea. They eventually invaded
Africa under the consul Regulus, who forced the Carthaginians to
sue for peace; but when talks broke down he, like Agathocles, suf-
fered a disastrous reverse (256–255). The Romans then lost several
fleets between 255 and 249, along with tens of thousands of Roman
and allied lives, through storms or enemy action. The Carthaginians
in their turn eventually found themselves deprived of all their Sicilian
province save the fortress-ports of Lilybaeum (modern Marsala) and
Drepana (Trápani). Their defence of these was helped, from 247 on,
by the agile guerrilla warfare carried on by a new commanding
general, Hamilcar, nicknamed Barca (‘lightning’); but after a new
Roman fleet was launched by public subscription in 242, the consul
Lutatius Catulus crushed its clumsily handled Punic counterpart
at the Aegates Islands off Drepana (March 241). Hamilcar was
instructed to seek terms, and after some difficult negotiations the
war ended with Carthage abandoning Sicily and agreeing to pay a
large indemnity.
The Romans became effective masters of all Sicily save Syracuse’s
small kingdom, but did little with the island. The Carthaginians
meanwhile, unable (or unwilling) to pay their professional troops
xiv Introduction
what they owed them, were put in mortal danger by a mutiny of
these troops followed by a general revolt of the oppressed North
African population; this savage ‘Truceless’ War (241–238) was finally
won under Hamilcar Barca’s leadership, and with help from Rome
and Syracuse. But, just after it ended, the Romans abruptly annexed
Sardinia and extracted another large indemnity from Carthage––
perhaps as an afterthought from the peace of 241, or because a
Carthage revived by the indomitable Hamilcar looked as if it would
threaten the hard-won Roman supremacy over Sicily. That done,
however, they paid Carthage little notice for a dozen years.

The Barcid ascendancy

With Hamilcar and his supporters at the helm, the Carthaginians
turned to Spain to build new dominions. Hamilcar’s sole office
was the open-ended one of general––in effect, generalissimo of all
Carthaginian forces, military and naval––but in practice the Barcids
(‘Barca’ was Hamilcar’s nickname alone, but it is convenient to give
his family this name) dominated all the republic’s affairs, like the
Magonids two centuries before. To restore his city’s fortunes and, of
course, to keep his kinsmen and allies in office, Hamilcar brought
wide areas of southern Spain (roughly modern Andalusia) under his
control, levying tribute, developing resources like mines, founding
cities––one was probably at the site of today’s Alicante––and taking
care to create a powerful army of Spanish and North African levies
along with foreign mercenaries. Much of the new wealth was, in
turn, redirected to Carthage. When Hamilcar was killed on cam-
paign in early 228, he was followed by his son-in-law Hasdrubal as
general in Spain and overall leader of the Carthaginian republic.
Other aristocrats found it politic to cooperate with the Barcids for
their own advancement, for instance Hasdrubal, son of Gisgo, a
man of vigour and patriotism, who played a major part in the second
half of Hannibal’s war. Opposition to the Barcid juggernaut rallied
round an ex-general named Hanno, whom some writers––not Livy
or Polybius––term ‘the Great’ (perhaps a descendant of the fourth-
century leader Hanno the Great), but his supporters won few offices
after 237 and they must have shrunk in prestige and influence.
Hasdrubal the son-in-law, the new leader of the republic, extended
Punic (in practice, Barcid) rule to the River Tagus, maintained an
 Introduction xv
even larger army––reportedly with 200 elephants––and founded the
most brilliant of Spanish-Punic colonies, which he named ‘Carthage’,
on a natural harbour on the south-eastern coast (‘New Carthage’ to
the Romans, modern Cartagena). The Romans, threatened with
Gallic attacks, worried that his expansion might further disturb the
situation if he reached the Pyrenees; but a simple agreement struck
with them in early 225 assured them that Barcid arms would stop
at the River Ebro. Serving in Spain under Hasdrubal were Hamilcar’s
sons, Hannibal (born in 247) and two younger brothers; and when
Hasdrubal fell to an assassin in late 221, the Carthaginians appointed
Hannibal as the new generalissimo and de facto leader of the republic.
Like his father and brother-in-law, Hannibal had been elected by
the Carthaginians. His brothers and various kinsmen, too, held high
military commands; and a non-Barcid aristocrat like Hasdrubal, son
of Gisgo, achieved his own high rank in alliance with them. All the
available evidence shows Barcid domination of the republic continu-
ing through the years of victory that followed Hannibal’s invasion of
Italy. The only recorded opposition, that of Hanno the Great, was as
sidelined and impotent as ever, even after setbacks began to weaken
the Barcids’ predominance. But once the war was plainly lost––from
203 on––it suited all non-Barcid grandees at Carthage to blame it
entirely on Hannibal and claim that the rest of the elite had always
opposed both it and him. At the same time Hannibal and his history-
writing friends (see below), keen to set his reputation in the best
light, insisted that he would have won the war if the authorities at
home had sent him proper reinforcements and supplies, instead of
constantly withholding them out of party spite.
Their contemporary Fabius Pictor, who had family contacts
among the Carthaginian elite, in turn told his readers that the Barcids
had made themselves independent lords in Spain and that Hannibal,
flushed with arrogance and greed, had launched the war in the teeth
of aristocratic opposition. This view of Barcid political relationships
and Hannibal’s own role in the war continues to be widely held, but
is implausible.

Rome in the interwar years

The Romans were in an assertive mood after 241. After annexing
Sardinia, and Corsica with it, they intermittently sent troops over to
xvi Introduction
cow the warlike natives (with middling success); but more important
was their interest in north Italy, then called Cisalpine Gaul. Domestic
pressures for land-grants to poorer citizens caused a vigorous tribune
of the plebs in 232, Gaius Flaminius, to enact such grants in Roman-
held territory in the north, which in turn antagonized the warlike
Gallic peoples in the Cisalpine region. A great Gallic invasion of the
peninsula ensued in 225, but was decisively crushed in the battle of
Telamon in Etruria; then a series of campaigns, under leaders like
Flaminius (consul in 223) and Marcus Claudius Marcellus (consul in
222), extended Roman control to the River Po with a fuzzier zone of
influence beyond. To strengthen this control, two new Latin colonies
by the Po were initiated in 218, Placentia and Cremona.
As early as 229–228, moreover, the Romans extended their influ-
ence across another body of water, the Adriatic, to the piratically
inclined communities of Illyria opposite the heel of Italy. A powerful
expedition, involving both consuls with appropriate armies and a
fleet, imposed terms on the Illyrian monarchy and a measure of
influence (often termed a ‘protectorate’) over the coastal Greek cities
like Epidamnus and Apollonia. Another large expedition in 219,
under the consuls Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Marcus Livius, reas-
serted Roman influence; while a couple of years earlier Rome had
intervened in the Istrian peninsula further north. All these activities
in turn brought the Roman republic into formal diplomatic relations
with the states of Greece for the first time.

Hannibal’s war: causes and theories

It was after Hannibal became general that the Romans showed a
new interest in Spain, prompted perhaps by the broad conquest-
campaigns which he waged across central Spain in 221 and 220. The
previously ignored town of Saguntum, on the Mediterranean coast,
suddenly found it was a Roman protégé; and the agreement with
Hasdrubal about the Ebro was equally suddenly set before Hannibal,
with orders to abide by it. The Romans perhaps supposed that,
young and theoretically inexperienced, he would acquiesce in this
double démarche by an embassy in 220, and thus save them from
needing to notice Spain or Carthage further (they then turned to
launch their second Illyrian war). Certainly the Romans seem to have
been unprepared for the attack on Saguntum, for they did nothing
 Introduction xvii
throughout 219, even though Hannibal took seven months to capture
the city, well after the Illyrian war had ended in victory.
Hannibal had treated their démarche as a provocation, noisily
signalled that he would reject it, and then besieged and sacked
Saguntum, as Livy vividly reports in Book 21. As soon as sailing
conditions permitted in early 218, a new Roman embassy went to
Carthage (significantly, not to Spain) to demand that he be sur-
rendered for punishment––a demand obviously unacceptable––or
that war be accepted instead. The chief envoy, another Fabius, then
duly declared war, to loud acclaim from the Carthaginian senate.
The reasons for the war have been explored from that day to this.
Ancient explanations included Hannibal’s family-nurtured greed
and arrogance (monarchic vices, stressed by the contemporary his-
torian Fabius Pictor); a long-standing plan of revenge devised by the
Barcid leaders to reverse the outcome of the previous war (the view
put by Livy and his predecessor Polybius); and reciprocal greed,
mistrust, and fear felt by both republics (urged by the later historian
Cassius Dio). Modern observers hold to a still wider range of
explanations. Some stress the economic attractions of Punic Spain
to the proverbially booty-hungry Romans; others highlight the
factors of mistrust and fear; and a few argue for the deadly combin-
ation of great-power assertiveness (especially by the Romans towards
a state they had defeated), mutual mistrust, and miscalculation
on both sides. On this last view, the war was neither planned nor
wanted but the démarche from Rome, instead of restraining the
Carthaginians and their new leader, fatally aroused them into stand-
ing their ground over Saguntum and, in effect, daring the Romans to
respond.

The rival military systems

The Romans levied their armies from their own citizens and from
the Latin and other Italian states, while their navy was manned
largely by crews from their maritime Italian allies. Normally each
consul commanded two legions for the main effort, and if necessary
one or more praetors could be given a legion apiece for other
theatres. During Hannibal’s war, many more than the traditional
four to six legions were in service to meet military needs; in 212
there were twenty-five under arms around Italy and in Cisalpine
xviii Introduction
Gaul, Sicily, Spain, and elsewhere, and even ten years later there
were still fourteen. In 218 a legion (see Glossary) theoretically had
4,200 infantry and 300 cavalry, and was accompanied by allied horse
and foot who could be twice as numerous. A consular army thus
could involve up to 25,000 men, though at Cannae the legions were
extra large and the Roman army under the two consuls is reported
as over 80,000 strong––a number not reached again until the later
second century. The demands put on Italy’s manpower by such
forces, and the war fleets, were enormous, as were the needs of
payment and supply.
There was not a lot of tactical or strategic doctrine, partly because
there was no professional soldiery. Generals and officers were men
with political careers, soldiers were levied from among ordinary
working citizens. Discipline emphasized obedience, cohesion, and
stamina, for the goal of a campaign was to crush the enemy’s army
and scour his territory to force a surrender. Complex manœuvres
and specialized military devices were unusual in a Roman army in
218; normal battle tactics were to attack, with infantry in the centre
and cavalry on either wing, and seek to defeat the other side with one
or more such blows. The enemy, of course, were seeking the same
result in reverse.
Legionary and allied infantry wore protective armour (coat of
chain-mail or leather, and helmet), carried oblong wooden shields,
and used two hurling-javelins and the short, two-edged ‘Spanish’
sword. They were arranged in maniples, small units each consisting
of two centuries (see Glossary), and in three lines: an array that
allowed flexible movement and considerable shock absorption. The
army’s light troops, wearing less armour, were used to open a battle
with skirmishing tactics, and for pursuit after victory. Against a
Greek phalanx formation, like Pyrrhus’––a division or divisions of
closely packed pikemen, charging with their pikes levelled and
supported by cavalry––the Roman manipular army could have prob-
lems, but superior flexibility and the phalanx’s own tendency to
loosen ranks in charging could turn the tide. Similarly with the
enthusiastic but ill-disciplined mass of a Gallic army, whose onrush
could usually be checked by javelins and the light infantry, and then
be broken by the legions countercharging with cavalry support.
The Carthaginian armies of 218 were made up largely of North
African and Spanish levies, with Carthaginian senior officers. In
 Introduction xix
earlier times the North Africans had been complemented by units of
foreign professionals on contract––Greeks, Gauls, and Campanians
among them––but the trauma of the ‘Truceless War’ perhaps
prompted Hamilcar and his successors to reshape their forces. At all
events, Hannibal in Italy and his brothers and colleagues elsewhere
seem to have had few mercenaries of the old style, except Numidian
cavalry and some Spanish infantry (certainly no Greeks, who still
formed the elite of eastern Mediterranean mercenaries). Hannibal
filled out his ranks with recruits from the Italian states that joined his
side after Cannae.
Until the later third century, a Punic army’s battle array had been
the infantry phalanx plus cavalry. But with troops equipped along
national lines, and therefore with notable variety of weapons, tactical
array needed to be adaptable. Spanish infantry, for instance, used not
pikes but a sword, either the straight two-edged type or a menacingly
curved version called a falcata. When Hannibal re-equipped his
troops after Trasimene with captured Roman arms (as we learn from
Polybius, not Livy), and acquired Italian recruits, swordplay in
closely ordered lines must have been the rule––if not in manipular
formation, then rather like the hoplite array of older Greece. This
was not intrinsically superior to the manipular formation: it was not
his line-array as such that won Hannibal’s battles, but his combin-
ation of steady infantry with highly skilled cavalry, and (whenever
possible) some form of surprise stroke.
Hannibal’s tactical genius, the greatest since Alexander, enabled
him, like his Macedonian predecessor, to inflict crushing defeats
on larger forces, and at Cannae he established a model of battle
which has inspired military planners ever since (reportedly even
General Norman Schwarzkopf in Iraq). His strategic and geo-
political skills were less fortunate: he invaded Italy without a fallback
plan in case the Romans refused to come to terms, could not create
a viable alliance system with the defecting Italians, allowed his
administrators at Carthage and in Spain to disperse available forces
unproductively, and performed far below par in 207 when his brother
arrived over the Alps. Scipio Africanus, his admirer and ultimate
nemesis, used equally varied and inspired tactics, and was just as
charismatic if not more so, but did not have the problem of building
up and then defending a broad alliance system, or coordinating the
entire national war effort.
xx Introduction
A further advantage for the Romans was that they had several
other capable commanders (though no other genius), like Fabius,
Marcellus, Gracchus, and Nero. By contrast, the other Carthaginian
generals were definitely second-rate or even third-rate: the one great
victory they won, over the elder Scipio brothers in Spain (211), was
partly owing to the brothers’ own strategic mistakes. The once
mighty Punic navy performed miserably throughout the war. Such
limitations among the Carthaginians and in their leader himself led
to misjudgements and missed opportunities, which in the end cost
them victory.

Hannibal’s war
The war of 218–201 was conditioned by several factors, including
Hannibal’s military genius and limited geopolitical skills, Carthage’s
renewed wealth, the lack of a vigorous Carthaginian navy––ironic,
in view of her centuries of maritime expertise––and the Romans’
stubborn resourcefulness under pressure. Like his father and
brother-in-law, Hannibal was a land warrior. Punic naval inferiority
after two decades of Barcid rule practically dictated a land invasion
of Italy, unless he were to await enemy invasions of both Spain and
Africa. His grand strategy clearly aimed at inflicting shattering
defeats on the Romans on their home ground, so as to win over the
Italian allies and press the Romans themselves into a peace on his
terms. Victory would, in turn, have made Carthage the dominant
power across the Mediterranean west and––with a subservient Rome
and Italy at her side––potentially the arbiter of the east as well.
The strategic scheme began less than brilliantly, however. March-
ing out of Spain with 59,000 cavalry and infantry, Hannibal arrived
in Cisalpine Gaul with 26,000. Whatever the reasons––much
debated ever since––he had lost nearly 60 per cent of his troops; and
though he recruited Gallic warriors, these proved less disciplined
and reliable than his lost Spanish and North African effectives.
(Had he arrived with his original 59,000, all subsequent history
might have been different.) Yet he won a spectacular series of vic-
tories, climaxing at Cannae on 2 August 216, when more Romans
and allies were killed, on even the lowest estimate, than on the first
day of the Somme in 1916. Defections from the losing side began,
including the major and discontented city of Capua in Campania, so
 Introduction xxi
that by 212 most of southern Italy’s states were Punic allies. More-
over, Cannae brought an eastern great power, Macedon, into alli-
ance, for King Philip V disliked the Roman ‘protectorate’ in Illyria;
and by 214 Syracuse, too, had joined. Rome and her remaining allies
were all but encircled.
After Cannae Hannibal expected the Romans to seek peace talks.
His treaty with Macedon implicitly forecast that they would be
weakened, but not obliterated (contrary to what the Romans later
claimed). Instead, they multiplied their armies and maintained their
fleets: by 213, more than a quarter of all available manpower was in
military service. Armies operated in Spain and, when destroyed in
211, were replaced. Philip V was contained; Syracuse was besieged
and taken; and in Italy Hannibal found his grand alliance as much a
hindrance as a help. He was shadowed by Roman armies while other
armies operated against his allies, who then called for his protection.
Despite some further gains, he never won another major victory,
whereas his allies were subjugated one after another by the remorse-
less Romans. Spain was lost by 206 after a spectacular series of
victories won by the new, and surprisingly young, Roman general
Publius Scipio. A fresh Punic army, under Hannibal’s middle
brother, did make it from Spain to Cisalpine Gaul in 207, but
Hannibal was now penned in southern Italy, and his brother’s
reinforcements were cut off in the far north and destroyed.
Hannibal’s grand strategy foundered on Roman endurance and
resource. This had always been the risk. Every Punic leader knew
how the same qualities had taken the Romans through to unexpected
victory in the First Punic War. His calculated hope had to be that
massive defeats and defections on their very doorstep would produce
a different result. When this failed to happen, he lacked a practicable
alternative. The enemy refused further pitched battles, finding ways
instead to harass and frustrate his army in southern Italy––the
Roman general Marcellus grew particularly skilled at this––while
reconquering defected allies and simultaneously putting unbearable
pressure on Carthage’s supporters elsewhere. By 206 Hannibal was
virtually a prisoner, in strategic terms, in what was left of his south-
ern Italian province, and when Scipio undertook the invasion of
Punic Africa in 204 the grand strategy was in ruins. The best that
Hannibal and Carthage could now hope for was to defeat the home-
land’s invaders and try to salvage a compromise peace; but at the
xxii Introduction
battle of Zama, in October 202, Scipio’s generalship proved more
than equal to the Carthaginian’s.
The war terminated Carthage as a great power. Her territories
in North Africa were left to her, but nothing beyond; a heavy war-
indemnity was imposed, the navy was burned, and any future war,
even within Africa, required Roman permission. On her western
border lay the now-united kingdom of Numidia under a ruler of
genius, Masinissa, who enjoyed all the favour from Rome that
Carthage could never earn, and who had designs on Punic territor-
ies. Yet, helped by political and financial reforms that Hannibal
enacted as sufete in 196–195, and because it no longer had naval and
large military costs, the much-buffeted republic regained prosperity
in astonishingly short order. Despite Masinissa’s provocations,
Carthage embarked on forty years of peaceful growth and wealth.
The victors did even better, of course. Far more than the First
Punic War, the Second made Rome an imperial state. Not only was
Cisalpine Gaul reconquered and southern and central Spain taken
over (with immense profits), but the Romans could once more direct
their attentions across the Adriatic. A decade and a half after Zama,
every eastern great power had been taught a hard lesson in the
superiority of Roman arms and had learned that their unfettered
days of Hellenistic rivalry were over. Roman domination, potential if
not always exercised, extended from the Atlantic to the Euphrates.
Hannibal was there to see it, for he lived until 183. It was an ironic
outcome to the grand enterprise that had started with his epic march
across the Alps, thirty-five years before; but the memory of that
enterprise has remained vivid and instructive to this day, and much
of this is thanks to Livy’s artistry and devotion.

Books 21–30: structure and ideals

Livy had recorded the first war with Carthage (264–241) in the lost
Books 16–19, then in Book 20 alone the almost equally long interwar
period (241–219). By contrast, the ten sizeable books on Hannibal’s
war cover two years each on average.
Livy treats events year by year, a format termed ‘annalistic’ (from
Latin annus, ‘year’), and necessary because there was no simple
chronological indicator––each year was identified by the names of its
consuls. For detailed history, this layout was undeniably convenient,
 Introduction xxiii
but, with plenty of sources to work from, composing a coherent
account sometimes gave trouble. Books 21–30 provide many illustra-
tions. An event might be put into different years by different annal-
ists, which could puzzle a later author (e.g. 27.7). Different sources
could vary greatly in their details of army figures, booty items, and
other statistics (see for instance 22.36, 26.49). Again, when non-
Roman sources were used, they used quite different systems of
dating, which required working out how their dates fitted Roman
chronology––something not always accurately done. This may
partly explain Livy’s problems with dating the siege of Saguntum
(21.6, 15). What complicated his task was that his dominant con-
cerns were the same as in most of his Latin and many of his Greek
predecessors: literary art, psychological description, and moralizing
comment.4
Livy employs a carefully structured, elegantly balanced, and
versatile Latin style, very much like the style ‘flowing on with a
certain even smoothness’ that Cicero had demanded as the ideal for
history writing. Vivid narrative, memorably described places and
characters, and strong moral assessments were the desiderata. This
was well suited, too, to speech-writing, and Livy takes care to give to
all his leading characters––and some minor ones––carefully crafted
orations (see for instance 21.40–4, 25.6, 28.40–4). Speeches give
emotional depth to a situation, illustrate a person’s character, or
dramatize the pros and cons in a difficult debate. For Quintilian, the
expert on oratory a century later, Livy the speech-writer is ‘more
eloquent than can possibly be described’.
Quintilian succinctly describes Livy’s overall style as ‘milky
richness’. Even so, this is an inadequate description of a versa-
tility that can move from the harrowing vividness of Hannibal’s
Alpine march (Book 21) to the excitement of battle narratives like
Lake Trasimene in Book 22, where the doomed valour of the Roman
army is unforgettably painted, and to the plain factual accounts of
election results and administrative business (as in 23.30 or 26.23);
and from Maharbal’s memorably pithy riposte to Hannibal following
Cannae, when the general refused to march on Rome (‘You know
how to win a battle, Hannibal; you do not know how to use the
victory!’: 22.51) to the romantic tragedy of Sophoniba in Book 30––

4
On passages referred to, see Explanatory Notes.
xxiv Introduction
the beautiful Carthaginian girl married to one Numidian king and
then to his victorious rival, only to be forced into suicide to escape
the shame of Roman captivity. Not only is From the Foundation a
masterpiece of thoroughly poised writing but it is shot through with
constantly varying expressive colour.5
To Livy as to others, Hannibal’s war was the zenith of Roman
heroism, virtue, and toughness. After recording the catastrophe of
Cannae he declares: ‘There is surely no other nation that would
not have been crushed by such an overwhelming disaster.’ The
Carthaginians’ final defeats in both Punic wars ‘can in no respect be
compared with Cannae––except to say that they were borne with
less strength of character than the Romans bore theirs’ (22.54).
The Italian allies remained loyal ‘evidently because the authority to
which they were subject was just and tolerant, and they did not
refuse obedience to a superior people––the only real bond of
loyalty’ (22.13). The high-principled behaviour of Roman voters, in
a contested election at a tense moment, brings out even greater
enthusiasm:

So much for the disdain some feel for admirers of the past! If there does
exist a philosopher state somewhere––a product of our scholars’ imagin-
ation rather than their knowledge––I certainly would not believe its
leaders could be more serious-minded or restrained in their ambition, or
the commons more principled, than in this case. (26.22)

Serious-mindedness and its parent qualities––determination,

patriotic devotion, and unselfish virtue––represent for Livy the
essence of Roman character in that era. When a Roman prisoner of
Hannibal’s breaks parole after Cannae and remains at Rome, the
Senate sternly sends him back (22.60–1); revealingly, Livy himself
(22.58) condemns the parole-breaker as ‘a person of truly un-Roman
character’. The Roman leaders in this time of testing are largely
portrayed with admiration, some solid and forbearing, like the elder
Publius Scipio in 218 and that byword for prudence Fabius the
Delayer, whom Livy shows patiently weathering firebrands’ criti-
cisms, repeatedly proving the soundness of his judgement, and man-
aging a dry joke to deflate a foolish braggart (27.25). His skilful
5
Cicero’s discussion of history: Laws 1.5–9. Quintilian on Livy: Training of the
Orator 8.1.3, 10.1.32, 10.1.101.
 Introduction xxv
recapture of Tarentum prompts Hannibal to the implausible com-
ment, ‘The Romans have their Hannibal, too’ (27.16). Marcellus, in
his turn, is an appealingly combative risk-taker: after one drawn
battle Livy gushes: ‘the achievement of that day was enormous, and
possibly the greatest of that war. For it was more difficult to avoid
defeat by Hannibal at that time than it was to defeat him later
on’ (23.16).
Scipio Africanus is almost Livy’s perfect hero. Resourceful,
self-controlled, charismatic, fully aware of his own genius, and
industrious in self-promotion (26.19), ‘destined by fate to be the
leader in this war’ (22.53), he completes the work of Fabius and
Marcellus, finally proving he is more than a match for Hannibal
himself. He deals firmly but moderately with mutinous troops
(28.24–9), is chaste towards women (much to the surprise of his
solicitous troops whose gift, a beautiful Spanish girl, he instead
restores to her fiancé: 26.49–50), and generous to the defeated
Carthaginians in spite of all their acts of bad faith (30.37).
Yet Livy does not invariably whitewash facts less flattering to
the ‘superior people’. The common folk at Rome (in contrast to
their wise leaders) give way to unseemly panic on the news of the
disasters at Lake Trasimene (22.7) and Cannae (22.54), and again
when Hannibal marches on Rome in 211 (26.9, 10). Some young
officers do the same after Cannae, until pulled into line by the teen-
aged Scipio (22.53). And, despite first praising the patriotic generos-
ity and exemplary honesty of army suppliers (23.49), Livy later
records unsavoury frauds by some of them––even a concerted act of
public thuggery aimed at disrupting their ensuing trial (25.3–4). The
heroes, too, show human flaws. Marcellus, as commander in Sicily,
condones a treacherous Roman massacre (24.39) and later plunders
Syracuse so thoroughly for Rome’s adornment that, Livy remarks
severely, ‘this was what first started the appreciation for Greek works
of art, and the licence we now see in the widespread looting of all
manner of things sacred and profane’ (25.40). Marcellus’ death in an
avoidable ambush earns censure: ‘he had blindly thrown himself,
his colleague, and, one might almost say, the entire republic into a
reckless situation, and that was not in keeping with his age––he
was then more than sixty––or the caution one would have expected
from a veteran commander’ (27.27). Claudius Nero and Marcus
Livius, who as consuls gloriously defeat the invading Barcid brother
xxvi Introduction
Hasdrubal, later indulge in an absurd and demeaning feud when
censors, to Livy’s clear annoyance (29.37). Fabius the Delayer, cau-
tious and bitter, unimaginatively opposes Scipio’s brilliant plan of
invading Africa while Hannibal remained in Italy (28.40–2); and
Scipio himself proves scandalously indifferent to the criminal acts of
his commandant Pleminius at Locri in southern Italy (29.16).

Enemies and friends in Hannibal’s War

Enemies of Rome generally labour under a Livian cloud. Hostile
generalizations dominate. Gauls are big and noisy but fickle in loy-
alty, lack staying power and have no patience or skill with sieges
(21.25, 22.2, 27.48). The Campanians––more precisely, Capua and
her satellite towns––share citizenship with the Romans but, dissatis-
fied, defect to Hannibal’s side after Cannae, so they are depicted as
criminally ungrateful and foolishly arrogant (23.6, 25.18), not to
mention sunk in luxurious degeneracy (23.18).
The Carthaginians are the prime foe in Hannibal’s War. They
are treacherous (of course), vengeful, and cruel, as they and their
leader demonstrate by a long sequence of bad behaviour. Hannibal
treacherously attacks Saguntum and they stand by him. Roman
troops who surrender on terms to a subordinate of Hannibal’s are
enslaved by the faithless general (22.6), he crucifies a local guide for
misunderstanding his words (22.14), and takes vengeance on an
Italian defector by burning the man’s wife and children alive (24.45).
In Africa, during a truce with Scipio, the Carthaginians treacher-
ously attack and plunder a Roman supply convoy and follow this up
by trying to drown Scipio’s protesting envoys (30.24–5). Many alle-
gations look like Roman exaggeration if not invention, but Livy
presents them as simple facts.
Yet, despite war crimes real and alleged, Hannibal is a compelling
and often attractive figure in Hannibal’s War, as in later books. Even
more than Scipio, he is the war’s dominant individual. A famous
character-portrait––as revealing of Livy as of Hannibal––introduces
him at the age of 23 (21.4): first a lively description of the young
man’s appearance, leadership, and charismatic virtues, then a
broadly vague list of ‘enormous vices: pitiless cruelty, a treachery
worse than Punic, no regard for truth, and no integrity’, and so on––
for the reader is not to think of the young Carthaginian as a virtual
 Introduction xxvii
Roman hero. But his energy and military genius are fully brought
out (even if Livy has nothing like his predecessor the Greek historian
Polybius’ understanding of military technicalities), his piety is more
than once illustrated––including not long after the character-
portrayal (21.21–2)––and Livy takes care to mention his efforts to
honour the slain Roman commanders Flaminius, Aemilius Paullus,
Tiberius Gracchus, and Marcellus (22.7, 22.52, 25.17, 27.28). When
final defeat looms, he becomes a positively sympathetic figure, giving
a speech of world-weary wisdom to his younger opponent Scipio
before the last battle and, after it, statesmanlike support to making
peace (30.30–1, 37–8). Significantly, Scipio admires him as much as
he admires Scipio (30.30).
When his interest is aroused Livy brings lesser figures to life too.
Hannibal’s youngest brother Mago is a vigorous, ruthless, but less
talented version of the general. At Rome, there is the splendidly
irascible Marcus Livius who, after sulking in the Senate for some
years, is forced to become consul and win the battle of the Metaurus
along with a fellow consul he despises; then, as censor later on with
the same colleague, he makes a farce of their revered office by berat-
ing voters for fickleness and reducing almost the entire citizen body
to the inferior rank of ‘poll-tax payers’. Livy’s dramatic account,
brief as it is (30.12–15), of the beautiful Sophoniba, Carthaginian
wife of two successive Numidian kings and forced into suicide to
save her honour, would inspire much later literature, including a
tragedy by Voltaire. Of all the minor figures, perhaps the most inter-
esting is the Numidian prince Masinissa, first an enemy and then a
friend to Rome, whose exciting adventures, valour, and passion win
over not only Scipio but Livy himself.

Facts and flaws: Livy and history writing

All of Livy’s literary sources (see below) had their own points of
view, many of them held very pronounced biases and there were
plenty of discrepancies small and large between them. As a result,
his job was not at all straightforward. Two factors complicated mat-
ters further: Livy’s genius was literary, not analytical, and he was a
patriotic Roman.
His basic procedure was to follow one chosen source fairly closely
for a section of narrative, but add––or change––various details based
xxviii Introduction
on what he read in others. We can see this practice at work in many
sections of Hannibal’s War where Polybius’ history is also available.
Livy may, of course, have taken some of these blended accounts
ready-made from one or other earlier writer, but the variety of pas-
sages (not solely in Hannibal’s War) where he stops to discuss con-
tradictions in his sources, and his own personal bafflement, indicates
that he did much of his own reading and compiling. The difficulty
for him is that he is not very good at source analysis.
His methods with sources are illustrated, for instance, in the
account of Hannibal’s march to Italy (see also Appendix 2). Though
mainly Polybian, it includes Hannibal’s famous dream, in which the
general meets a godlike youth who guides his steps amidst awe-
inspiring portents (21.22)––according to Cicero this tale went back
via the historian Coelius to Silenus (see below). Polybius merely
scoffs at sensationalist writers who equipped Hannibal with divine
pathfinders. Both Polybius’ and other writers’ versions are given,
unnamed, of how the Punic elephants crossed the River Rhône
(21.28); in the Alps, Livy accurately names several Gallic tribes not in
Polybius (21.31); and the well-known story of Hannibal using hot
vinegar to shatter fallen rocks blocking the army’s path in the Alpine
pass (21.37) is from elsewhere too. When he goes on to discuss
Hannibal’s army-strength on arriving in north Italy (21.38), he shows
that the reported figures varied wildly, with the lowest being 20,000
foot and 6,000 horse. This number, we know from Polybius, was what
Hannibal himself recorded in his Cape Lacinium inscription, but
Livy mentions neither Hannibal nor Polybius, nor the issue of
assessing evidence from, so to speak, the horse’s mouth. Such
assessment seems simply not to occur to him. He prefers to discuss
(critically) the figures supplied by Cincius Alimentus, who had dis-
cussed the topic with Hannibal––but who, according to Livy, made
his own computing mistakes. As a result, our historian offers no final
figure at all.
Meeting other divergences in his sources, Livy has to keep decid-
ing which version looks the most credible. This could come down to
a mere headcount, as seems to happen when he accepts the patriotic
Roman report that an embassy was sent to Hannibal during the siege
of Saguntum: he ignores Polybius’ account dating the mission
earlier, to autumn 220 (21.6). Again, Roman tradition, presumably to
show the republic acting promptly on behalf of wronged allies, chose
 Introduction xxix
to date the siege to 218, the first year of actual war; Livy accepts this
too. Only later does he concede that a seven-month siege, a winter, a
five-month march to Italy and then the north Italian campaign of
late 218 were impossible to fit into one year. ‘Either all these events
took a shorter time, or else it was the capture of Saguntum, not the
start of the siege, that took place at the beginning of the consular
year [of 218]’, he rather lamely concludes (21.15). Working out a
more reasoned sequence of events is beyond his powers.
Sometimes he does advise his readers that there is trouble: for
instance over Hannibal’s army-strength in 218 and over his Alpine
pass (21.38), over the Roman forces at Cannae (22.36), and about the
route of Hannibal’s march on Rome in 211 (26.11). His limited skill
in deciding on the most credible version is illustrated again when he
is faced with enormous discrepancies in the sources’ figures for
prisoners and booty from New Carthage––from the low numbers in
Silenus (and Polybius, whom he does not mention) to the surreal
fantasies of Valerius Antias (26.49). Livy feebly suggests a math-
ematical compromise: ‘figures halfway between the extremes seem
closest to the truth.’
He himself perpetuates some falsehoods despite having the means
to correct them. He reports the young Hannibal going to Spain, both
when aged 9, with his father in 237 (21.1), and in 224 to serve under
brother-in-law Hasdrubal (21.3). The reason for this second report
is literary: to allow Hanno the Great to deliver a dramatic prophecy
of the catastrophic war to come. Much later, Livy goes back to the
original date, following Polybius (30.37). Similarly but less excus-
ably, he (like his Roman predecessors) could read, in Polybius at
least, the verbatim Greek text of the treaty Hannibal made in 215
with Macedon; but he chooses instead (23.34) to purvey a hostile
distorted version found in some Roman predecessors––again maybe
on a headcount.
Military technicalities are not a Livian strong point either, and he
never lets them stand in the way of telling a story. All save one of
Hannibal’s elephants were dead before Cannae but, when the general
follows up his victory by attacking places in Campania, elephants
briefly turn up to assist (23.18). Accustomed to armies in battle
having a centre and two wings, Livy provides each army at the
Metaurus with a quite imaginary and therefore inactive centre
(27.48). His version of Zama (30.32–4) adapts Polybius’ account but
xxx Introduction
contradicts various items in it; presumably he is drawing from
another account or accounts, but he does not appreciate the resulting
blend of inconsistency and incoherence.
Despite such faults, a blanket condemnation of Livy as a historian
would be mistaken. With all his sources, Latin and Greek, written in
cumbrous papyrus book-rolls (like his own), with no easy system of
reference or indexing (in fact, with virtually no system at all), and
light largely restricted to daytime, his sheer output is impressive, and
that is the least of what he achieved. Often his narrative is admirable,
including sections where he may be drawing closely on parts of
Polybius that we no longer have: for instance, the gripping account
of political machinations and upheavals at Syracuse in Books 24–5,
and the complicatedly adventurous struggles of Masinissa with his
Numidian rival Syphax (29.29–33). In certain places, Livy’s infor-
mation looks better than Polybius’: for example, the casualties at
Cannae (22.49), and Naraggara––a genuine and suitable place in
ancient North Africa––as the name of the town where Scipio
camped before the battle of Zama (30.29). Other invaluable informa-
tion abounds: crucial details of administration, Senate business,
troop levies, elections and appointments, religious matters, censuses,
finance, and even economics (24.11 and 28.45, for instance)––
presumably from Roman sources, for few are in Polybius.

Livy’s sources
Official chronicles and lists, historical accounts in Greek and Latin,
and other sources all provided Livy directly or indirectly with his
information. The pontifical annals, which yearly recorded important
religious and secular events down to the later second century,
had since been published in eighty books as the Annales Maximi
(‘Principal Yearbooks’). From 200 bc on, literary history was writ-
ten, beginning with Quintus Fabius Pictor, one of Fabius the Delayer’s
kinsmen, who paid much attention, naturally, to modern times. His
close contemporary was Lucius Cincius Alimentus, who had fought
against Hannibal, been taken prisoner late in the war, and enjoyed
some conversations with the general; his Roman history again came
down to his own times. They and several others wrote in Greek, not
only because Greek historians were models, but probably also in
order to put ‘correct’ views of Rome’s history to the international,
 Introduction xxxi
and therefore Greek-reading, educated community. They could take
for granted that educated Romans also read Greek.
Marcus Porcius Cato, another war veteran, initiated history writing
in Latin, narrating from the earliest origins down to his own old age,
and Latin now became the norm for Roman historians. Another
important predecessor of Livy’s––he cites him several times––was
Lucius Coelius Antipater, the first Roman to write a historical
monograph, soon after 120 and on the Second Punic War at that.
Coelius drew on earlier accounts, not just Roman authors but also, for
instance, Hannibal’s friend Silenus. Two voluminous first-century
annalists, Claudius Quadrigarius and Valerius Antias, are also often
cited by Livy (if sometimes critically). It is often held that these more
recent historians were Livy’s real authorities, along with Polybius;
supposedly, he mentions earlier ones only if Coelius, Quadrigarius,
or Antias did––this because he cites Cincius and Fabius only once
each (21.38, 22.7). But he does so with Polybius as well; and a
remark in 29.14 does imply he consulted ‘writers living close to
the time’ of the events. Certainly the later authors cannot have pro-
vided him with most of his annalistic information: Coelius’ history
was in seven books; Quadrigarius, who began his work with the
Gauls’ sack of Rome in 390, was at Cannae by Book 5; and Antias
(starting in legendary times) reached the year 137 in his Book 23––
while Livy got there, as the epitomes show, only in Book 56. All that
remains, though, of these historians’ extensive output is a few refer-
ences or quotations in later authors, including Livy. (Cornelius
Nepos, a friend of Cicero and Catullus, consulted both Roman and
pro-Hannibalic sources for his uneven thirteen-paragraph Life of
Hannibal, but Livy does not use it.)6
Pro-Carthaginian writers included Hannibal himself. At Cape
Lacinium (Capo Colonna in Calabria), he set up what Livy notes as
‘a large inscription, written in both Punic and Greek, which listed
his achievements’ (28.46). All that we know from it are some troop-
numbers: the forces he stationed in Spain and in Africa early in 218,
and those he had on reaching Cisalpine Gaul late that year. So it may
have been a fairly detailed narrative, but we cannot be certain. He
was accompanied to war by two Greek friends, Sosylus of Sparta––

6
The early Roman historians are brilliantly treated by E. Badian in Latin Historians,
ed. T. A. Dorey (London, 1966), 1–38.
xxxii Introduction
who had taught him Greek, according to Nepos––and Silenus, a
Sicilian. Both remained with him ‘as long as fortune permitted’
(writes Nepos rather obscurely) and both later wrote ‘Hannibal-
histories’, Sosylus devoting seven books to his. Neither confined
himself to Hannibal’s own campaigns; a papyrus fragment of
Sosylus, for instance, narrates a naval battle in Spanish waters. As
eyewitnesses, and with access to participants and other eyewit-
nesses, their reliability was high but need not be romanticized: it is
hard to imagine either depicting their friend and patron unfavour-
ably, or being partial to the Roman side on any major issue, such as
responsibility for the war.
Among Livy’s sources, Polybius (c.200–118) is a special case.
Not only was he a great historian and extensively used by our author,
but much of his forty-book Histories survives and thus, uniquely,
allows comparisons. A leading citizen of the Achaean League in the
Peloponnese, Polybius had to spend seventeen adult years (167–150)
as a privileged hostage at Rome. He found the Romans and their
political system almost wholly admirable, and wrote his analytical
history to explain to Greek readers how, in little more than half a
century, Rome had won herself unchallengeable dominance over the
Mediterranean world. The work was a ‘universal history’ of the
Mediterranean world from 264 to 146––originally from 220 to 167,
but then chronologically extended in both directions. Only Books
1–5, down to Cannae, exist complete, but a very large number of
extracts, long and short, survive from the others (many extracts were
made in tenth-century Constantinople).
Experienced in military and political life, widely travelled, a
rationalist interested in philosophy, geography, and practical mech-
anics, and pugnaciously certain of his own merits, Polybius narrates
military and diplomatic events judiciously as a rule, admitting differ-
ent points of view and by no means hostile towards the enemies of
Rome. But his Mediterranean scope means that he includes rela-
tively few of the internal political, administrative, religious, and
other events which bring the Roman republic to life in Livy (though
there are rather more of these in Polybius’ later books, on the Rome
he knew personally). Livy used his work extensively, particularly on
military events, even if the one mention of him in Hannibal’s War is
the famously tepid ‘by no means a source to be disregarded’ (30.45).
Livy’s achievement is to present, along with the detailed historical
 Introduction xxxiii
record, a gallery of unforgettable men and women, all slightly larger
than life but each with very human touches, and a long series of
memorably told episodes––from Hannibal crossing the Alps to the
drama of Sophoniba. It is not Polybius’ methodical telling of events
that has seized imaginations and inspired creative artists for two
millennia, but Livy’s literary genius. He provides a powerful pan-
orama of societies in war which, faults and all, makes Hannibal’s War
one of the most outstanding narratives in ancient historiography.
 NOTE ON THE TEXT AND TRANSLATION

The text on which the translation is based is that of the Teubner

editions of Dorey and Walsh (see Select Bibliography). There are a
few places where I have diverged from this, and they are to be found
in Appendix 1.
A translator of a Latin text inevitably finds that he or she must
steer a course between literal translation and paraphrase, and I have
attempted to make the English readable for the Latinless reader,
while staying close enough to the text to help those with some Latin
to understand the original. But the fate of translations is always to be
too literal for some readers, and too free for others. For those trying
to follow the Latin I have used the sigla † and <. . .> to indicate
respectively where the text is thought to be uncertain or lacunose,
but I have not indicated where the two editors have supplemented
the text if I feel the supplements are certain, or close enough to what
Livy must have written for them not to affect the translation.
I have not retained Livy’s spelling of place names where another
spelling is more familiar and generally accepted (e.g. ‘Rhegium’
instead of Livy’s ‘Regium’, ‘Lemnos’ for his ‘Lemnus’, ‘Balearic’ for
‘Baliaric’) and I have standardized where the editors/manuscripts
give different spellings of the same name (e.g. Centumalus/
Centimalus).
I have consulted numerous other translations, including the vari-
ous Budé and Loeb editions, de Sélincourt’s very readable Penguin,
and Canon Roberts’s elegant Everyman’s Library version. Sometimes
I have coincidentally arrived at the same, or a similar, translation as
one or more of these translators, but on other occasions I have
merely resisted the temptation to alter what I believed to be the mot
juste simply because I did not arrive at it first.
J. C. Y.

A debt of gratitude is owed to a number of people. In the first place

we both offer our thanks to Judith Luna, general editor of the series,
for her unfailing efficiency and courtesy in seeing this project
through from beginning to end, and to Elizabeth Stratford for her
remarkably thorough copy-editing of the volume. The translator also
 Note on the Text and Translation xxxv
expresses his gratitude to Laura Gagné, his research assistant at the
University of Ottawa, for various forms of assistance in the project’s
early days, for her help with proofreading, and especially for her
compilation of the index.
J. C. Y., D. H.
 SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

Texts
T. Livius, Ab Urbe Condita, Libri XXI–XXII, ed. T. A. Dorey (Teubner:
Leipzig, 1971).
T. Livius, Ab Urbe Condita, Libri XXIII–XXV, ed. T. A. Dorey (Teubner:
Leipzig, 1976).
T. Livius, Ab Urbe Condita, Libri XXVI–XXVII, ed. P. G. Walsh (Teubner:
Leipzig, 1989).
T. Livius, Ab Urbe Condita, Libri XXVIII–XXX, ed. P. G. Walsh (Teubner:
Leipzig, 1986).

Translations
Livy: The War with Hannibal, trans. Aubrey de Sélincourt (Harmonds-
worth, 1965).
Livy: The History of Rome, trans. Canon W. M. Roberts, 6 vols., Everyman’s
Library (London, 1912–31); vols. 3–4 comprise Books XXI–XXX.
Livy: Books XXI–XXII, ed. and trans. B. O. Foster, Loeb Classical
Library (Cambridge, Mass., 1929).
Livy: Books XXIII–XXV, ed. and trans. Frank Gardner Moore, Loeb
Classical Library (Cambridge, Mass., 1940).
Livy: Books XXVI–XXVII, ed. and trans. Frank Gardner Moore, Loeb
Classical Library (Cambridge, Mass., 1943; revised and reprinted
1950).
Livy: Books XXVIII–XXX, ed. and trans. Frank Gardner Moore, Loeb
Classical Library (Cambridge, Mass., 1949).

There are also useful French translations (with extensive notes) for each
of the books of this decade in the Budé series of the Presses Universitaires
de France. [At this point (January, 2005), only Books 22, 24, and 30
have yet to appear.]
Commentaries
The best complete commentary on Books XXI–XXX is still that by
W. Weissenborn and H. J. Müller, in German: it forms vols. IV–VI of
their complete text and commentary on Livy (10 vols., various edns.,
Berlin, 1878–94). Selected English commentaries are:

Livy Book XXI, ed. P. G. Walsh (Bristol Classical Press, 1997; originally
published 1973).
 Select Bibliography xxxvii
Livy Book XXII, ed. John Pyper (Oxford, 1919).
Livy Book XXII, ed. W. W. Capes and J. E. Melhuish (Macmillan, 1890).
Livy Book XXII, ed. John Thompson and F. G. Plaistowe (University
Tutorial Press, London; reprinted Bristol Classical Press, 1991).
Livy Books XXII–XXIV, ed. G. C. Macaulay (Macmillan, 1885).
Livy Book XXVII, ed. S. G. Campbell (Cambridge, 1913).
Livy Book XXIX, ed. T. A. Dorey and C. W. F. Lydall (Kenneth Mason:
Havant, Hampshire, 1968; reprinted University Tutorial Press, London,
1971).
Livy, Book XXX, ed. H. E. Butler and H. H. Scullard (Bradda Books,
Letchworth, 1939; 6th edn., Methuen, London, 1953).

Modern studies
Broughton, T. R. S., The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, vols. i–ii, with
the collaboration of Marcia L. Patterson (New York, 1951, 1952);
vol. iii, Supplement (Atlanta, 1986).
Brunt, P. A., Italian Manpower, 225 bc–ad 14 (Oxford, 1971).
Cambridge Ancient History, 1st edn.: vols. 7 and 8 (Cambridge, 1928,
1930).
Cambridge Ancient History, 2nd edn.: vol. 7 part 2, vol. 8 (Cambridge,
1989).
Cambridge History of Classical Literature, ed. P. E. Easterling, E. J. Kenny,
et al., 2 vols. (Cambridge 1982, 1985).
Caven, B., The Punic Wars (London, 1980).
Connolly, P., Greece and Rome at War (London and New York, 1981).
Cornell, T., Rankov, B., and Sabin, P. (eds.), The Second Punic War: A
Reappraisal (London, 1996).
Daly, G., Cannae: The Experience of Battle (London and New York, 2003).
Decret, F., Carthage ou l’empire du mer (new edn., Paris, 1977).
De Sanctis, G., Storia dei Romani, 2nd edn., vol. 3, parts 1 and 2 (Florence,
1967, 1968).
Dorey, T. A. (ed.), Livy (London, 1971).
Erdkamp, P., Hunger and the Sword: Warfare and Food Supply in Roman
Republican Wars (264–30 bc) (Amsterdam, 1998).
Fornara, C. W., The Nature of History in Ancient Greece and Rome (Berkeley,
Los Angeles, London, 1983).
Frederiksen, M. W., Campania, ed. N. Purcell (Rome, 1984).
Goldsworthy, A., The Punic Wars (London, 2000; reissued in paperback as
The Fall of Carthage: The Punic Wars, 2003).
–––– Cannae (London, 2003).
Harris, W. V., War and Imperialism in Republican Rome, 327–70 bc
(Oxford, 1979).
xxxviii Select Bibliography
Hoyos, B. D., Unplanned Wars: The Origins of the First and Second Punic
Wars (Berlin and New York, 1998).
–––– Hannibal’s Dynasty: Power and Politics in the Western Mediterranean,
247–183 bc (London and New York, 2003; paperback, with maps,
2005).
Keppie, L., The Making of the Roman Army (London, 1984).
Lancel, S., Carthage (Paris, 1992; English translation as Carthage: A
History, London, 1995).
–––– Hannibal (Paris, 1995; English translation, London, 1999).
Lazenby, J., Hannibal’s War: A Military History (Warminster, 1978).
–––– The First Punic War: A Military History (London, 1995).
Lloyd, A. B. (ed.), Battle in Antiquity (London and Swansea, 1996).
Luce, T. J., Livy: The Composition of his History (Princeton, 1979).
Nicolet, C. (ed.), Rome et la conquête du monde méditerranéen, 2 vols. (Paris,
1977, 1978).
Picard, G. C., Daily Life at Carthage in the Time of Hannibal (London,
1964; original French edition, 1958; revised German edn. (with C.
Picard), Karthago: Leben und Kultur, Berlin, 1983).
–––– Hannibal (Paris, 1967).
–––– and Picard, C., The Life and Death of Carthage (London, 1968).
Scullard, H. H., The Elephant in the Greek and Roman World (London,
1974).
–––– Scipio Africanus: Soldier and Politician (London, 1970).
Seibert, J., Forschungen zu Hannibal (Darmstadt, 1993).
–––– Hannibal (Darmstadt, 1993).
Sekunda, N., et al., Republican Roman Army 200–104 bc (London, 1996).
Starr, C. G., The Beginnings of Imperial Rome: Rome in the Mid-Republic
(Ann Arbor, 1980).
Tränkle, H., Livius und Polybios (Basle, 1977).
Walbank, F. W., A Historical Commentary on Polybius, 3 vols. (Oxford,
1957, 1967, 1979).
–––– Polybius (Berkeley, Los Angeles and London, 1972).
Walsh, P. G., Livy: His Historical Aims and Methods (Cambridge, 1963).
Warmington, B. H., Carthage (Harmondsworth, 1964).
Wise, T., Armies of the Carthaginian Wars, 265–146 bc (London, 1982).
Wiseman, T. P., Roman Drama and Roman History (Exeter, 1998).

Further reading in Oxford World’s Classics

Livy, The Dawn of the Roman Empire (Books 31–40), trans. J. C. Yardley,
introduction by Waldemar Heckel.
–––– The Rise of Rome (Books 1–5), trans. T. J. Luce.
Plutarch, Roman Lives, trans. Robin Waterfield, ed. Philip A. Stadter.
 A CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS

All dates are bc . (II) means consul for the second time, (III) consul for
the third time, etc.
814 Carthage founded by Dido (traditional date).
753 Rome founded by Romulus (traditional date).
550s–396 Dominance of the Magonid family at Carthage.
509 Expulsion of the kings from Rome; first consuls elected.
First Rome–Carthage treaty (Polybius’ date).
480–275 Recurrent wars between Carthage and Sicilian Greeks.
390 Sack of Rome by Gauls (traditional date; real date 387).
348 Second Rome–Carthage treaty (probable date).
280 Pyrrhus of Epirus arrives in Italy to aid Tarentum against
the Romans.
278 Pyrrhus arrives in Sicily to aid the Greeks against the
Carthaginians.
276 Pyrrhus leaves Sicily (leaves Italy 275).
276/5–215 Rule of Hiero II at Syracuse (king from 264).
264 Outbreak of First Punic War.
256–255 Roman invasion of North Africa under Regulus, ultimately
defeated.
247 Birth of Hannibal, eldest son of Hamilcar Barca. Hamilcar
appointed general in Sicily.
241 (10 March) Romans defeat Carthaginians at Aegates Islands;
peace treaty negotiated for Carthage by Hamilcar.
241–238 ‘Truceless War’ of rebel mercenaries and African subjects
against Carthage; war won by Hamilcar.
237 Romans seize Sardinia, impose new indemnity on Carthage.
Hamilcar’s expedition to southern Spain; Hannibal accom-
panies him.
237–228 Hamilcar builds new Punic province in Spain.
232 Flaminius’ law granting land in northern Italy to poor Romans.
229–228 First Illyrian War. Roman ‘protectorate’ established over
coastal Greek cities in Illyria.
xl Chronology
early 228 Hamilcar killed in combat; Hasdrubal, his son-in-law, is
elected the new general.
226(?) Hasdrubal founds (New) Carthage, modern Cartagena.
225 Hasdrubal makes Ebro agreement with Rome. Gallic invasion
of Italy; defeated at Telamon, Etruria.
224–222 Roman subjugation of Cisalpine Gaul.
221 Romans intervene in Istria (northern Adriatic). Hasdrubal is
assassinated; Hannibal is elected new general.
221–220 Hannibal campaigns victoriously in central and northern
Spain.
220 Autumn: Roman envoys sent to New Carthage urge
Hannibal to keep the Ebro agreement and not molest Sagun-
tum; Hannibal accuses the Romans of improper interference.
219 Consuls: Marcus Livius, Lucius Aemilius Paullus. Hannibal
besieges Saguntum and captures it in eighth month of the
siege (April–Nov.?). Second Illyrian War waged by Rome.
218 Consuls: Publius Cornelius Scipio, Tiberius Sempronius Longus.
Spring: Roman embassy to Carthage declares war. May:
Hannibal sets out from New Carthage to subdue north-east
Spain and then march to Italy. Aug.(?): the consul Publius
Scipio sets out for Spain. Late Oct.–early Nov.: Hannibal
crosses the Alps into Cisalpine Gaul; skirmish with the con-
sul Scipio at the River Ticinus. Gnaeus Scipio’s operations
in north-east Spain. c.21 Dec.: battle of the Trebia.
217 Consuls: Gnaeus Servilius Geminus, Gaius Flaminius (II).
Consul suffect (replacing Flaminius): Marcus Atilius Regulus.
22 June: battle of Lake Trasimene. Fabius Maximus is elected
dictator, Minucius as his master of horse (then co-dictator).
Hannibal marches into southern Italy, then into Campania.
Fabius’ entrapment of Hannibal circumvented; Carthaginian
army returns to Apulia. Operations around Gereonium;
Minucius saved from disaster by Fabius. Gnaeus and Publius
Scipio’s campaign in north-east Spain; victory near Hibera.
216 Consuls: Lucius Aemilius Paullus (II), Gaius Terentius Varro.
Lengthy Roman preparations for decisive blow against
Hannibal. 2 Aug.: battle of Cannae. Hannibal re-enters
Campania; defection of Capua. Hannibal captures Nuceria
and Acerrae; attacks Nola, Naples, and other cities unsuc-
cessfully. Consul-elect Lucius Postumius Albinus and army
annihilated in Cisalpine Gaul.
 Chronology xli
215 Consuls: Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, Marcus Claudius
Marcellus (II; abdicated). Consul suffect: Quintus Fabius
Maximus (III). Hannibal operates in Campania against
Casilinum, Cumae, and Nola. Hannibal makes an alliance
with Philip V of Macedon; the Romans capture Philip’s
envoys. Scipio brothers’ victory at River Ebro in Spain. Hiero
II of Syracuse dies, aged 90; succeeded by his grandson
Hieronymus.
214 Consuls: Quintus Fabius Maximus (IV), Marcus Claudius
Marcellus (III). Hannibal operates in Campania against
Puteoli and Nola. Tiberius Gracchus defeats Hanno at River
Calor in Samnium. Assassination of Hieronymus; political
strife at Syracuse. Marcellus in Sicily captures Leontini.
Syracuse allies with Carthage. Roman operations in Illyria
against Philip V of Macedon.
213 Consuls: Quintus Fabius Maximus (junior), Tiberius Sempron-
ius Gracchus (II). Arpi in Apulia recaptured by Fabius.
Roman operations in Sicily; Marcellus and Appius Claudius
Pulcher begin siege of Syracuse by land and sea.
212 Consuls: Appius Claudius Pulcher, Quintus Fulvius Flaccus
(III). Hannibal wins over Tarentum, Metapontum, Hera-
clea, and Thurii. Consuls begin siege of Capua. Hanno
is defeated at Beneventum. Gracchus is killed in ambush.
First battle of Herdonea. Marcellus captures Syracuse;
Archimedes killed. The Scipio brothers carry out new
operations in Spain; restoration of Saguntum.
211 Consuls: Publius Sulpicius Galba, Gnaeus Fulvius Centumalus.
Hannibal’s march on Rome; Capua capitulates to Fulvius
Flaccus. The Scipio brothers defeated and killed in southern
Spain. Roman remnants retreat to River Ebro under Lucius
Marcius; Gaius Claudius Nero sent out to take command.
Aetolians ally themselves with Rome; Roman operations in
Illyria. Roman and Carthaginian operations in Sicily.
210 Consuls: Marcus Valerius Laevinus, Marcus Claudius Marcellus
(IV). Marcellus retakes Salapia in Apulia. Second battle of
Herdonea; death of the proconsul Centumalus. Indecisive
battle of Numistro between Hannibal and Marcellus.
Laevinus captures Agrigentum in Sicily. Operations in
central Greece and the Aegean. Publius Scipio, aged 24,
appointed commander for Spain.
209 Consuls: Quintus Fabius Maximus (V), Quintus Fulvius
xlii Chronology
Flaccus (IV). Twelve Latin colonies refuse further contribu-
tions to war effort. Operations of Hannibal and Marcellus in
southern Italy. Fabius retakes Tarentum. Scipio captures
New Carthage.
208 Consuls: Marcus Claudius Marcellus (V), Titus Quinctius
Crispinus. Marcellus killed, Crispinus mortally wounded in
an ambush near Venusia. Further operations in southern
Italy. Battle of Baecula in Spain: Scipio defeats Hasdrubal,
brother of Hannibal. Hasdrubal departs for Italy.
207 Consuls: Gaius Claudius Nero, Marcus Livius (Salinator)
(II). Hasdrubal enters Cisalpine Gaul, advances south-
wards. Hannibal’s indecisive movements around southern
Italy. 23 June: consuls defeat and kill Hasdrubal at battle of
River Metaurus.
206 Consuls: Quintus Caecilius Metellus, Lucius Veturius Philo.
Indecisive small operations in southern Italy. Scipio defeats
the Carthaginians at Ilipa; the Carthaginian forces abandon
Spain. Mutiny of Roman troops at Sucro is quelled by
Scipio. Struggles of Masinissa against Syphax in Numidia.
The Aetolians make peace with Philip V.
205 Consuls: Publius Cornelius Scipio, Publius Licinius Crassus.
Mago lands in Liguria with an army. Scipio in Sicily prepares
an invasion army for Africa. Scipio captures Locri, in south-
ern Italy, despite Hannibal’s efforts. Atrocities of Pleminius
at Locri. Revolt of Mandonius and Indibilis in north-east
Spain is defeated. Peace of Phoenice between Rome and
Macedon.
204 Consuls: Marcus Cornelius Cethegus, Publius Sempronius
Tuditanus. Hannibal confined to part of Bruttium. Scipio
lands in Africa; alliance with Masinissa. Negotiations out-
side Utica between Scipio, Hasdrubal son of Gisgo, and
Syphax.
203 Consuls: Gnaeus Servilius Caepio, Gaius Servilius Geminus.
Scipio attacks enemy camps outside Utica and destroys their
armies. Late May/early June: battle of the Great Plains;
Scipio is victorious over Hasdrubal and Syphax. 23 June:
Masinissa captures Syphax. Masinissa captures Cirta; the
tragedy of Sophoniba. Scipio recognizes Masinissa as king
of all Numidia. Carthaginians agree to Scipio’s peace-terms;
Senate at Rome ratifies them. Carthaginians renew hostilities
 Chronology xliii
in anticipation of Hannibal’s return. Hannibal lands at Leptis
on Emporia coast. Death of Quintus Fabius Maximus, the
Delayer.
202 Consuls: Tiberius Claudius Nero, Marcus Servilius Geminus.
Roman and Carthaginian armies in Africa move inland
towards Naraggara. (18?) Oct.: meeting between Hannibal
and Scipio. 19 Oct.: battle of ‘Zama’ (actually near Sicca).
17 Dec.: defeat of Syphax’s son Vermina. Winter 202–201:
Carthaginians accept Scipio’s terms.
201 Consuls: Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus, Publius Aelius Paetus.
Peace terms ratified at Rome. Scipio returns to hold a
triumph; accorded celebratory cognomen Africanus.
Map 1. Spain at the time of Hannibal’s war
Map 2. Hannibal’s route over the Alps
Map 3. Italy and the islands during Hannibal’s war
Map 4. North Africa at the time of Hannibal’s war
Map 5. Rome in the third century bc
HANNIBAL’S WAR
This page intentionally left blank
 BOOK TWENTY-ONE

1. In a preface to just a section of my work I am able to make the

claim that most historians have made at the beginning of their entire
opus: I can say that I am going to provide an account of the most
momentous war ever fought. This is the war the Carthaginians, led
by Hannibal, waged against the Roman people. For no other states or
nations that have come into conflict had greater resources than these
two peoples, nor had the combatants themselves ever been stronger
or more powerful than they were at that time. They also brought to
the struggle strategies and tactics familiar to each other, both having
had experience of them in the First Punic War; and so changeable
were the fortunes of the war, and so evenly matched the fighting, that
it was the eventual victors who came closer to ruin. In addition, the
conflict was marked by the hatred the adversaries felt for each other
which was almost greater than their might. The Romans were indig-
nant that a vanquished people was presuming to attack its victors,
the Carthaginians because they thought that the authority wielded
over them in defeat was high-handed and rapacious.
There is a story that Hannibal, at about the age of nine, was in a
boyish fashion trying to coax his father Hamilcar into taking him to
Spain. Hamilcar, who had finished off the war in Africa and was on
the point of taking his army across to Spain, was offering sacrifice.
He brought Hannibal to the altar and there made him touch the
sacred objects and swear to make himself an enemy of the Roman
people at the earliest possible opportunity.* Hamilcar was a man of
great pride, and the loss of Sicily and Sardinia vexed him greatly. He
thought that Sicily had been ceded only because the Carthaginians
had too quickly abandoned hope, and that Sardinia had been dis-
honestly filched from them by the Romans––who had even gone
so far as to impose an indemnity on them––during the upheavals in
Africa.*
2. Such were the concerns that beset Hamilcar. For the five years
of the African War (which closely followed the peace treaty with
Rome), and then for the nine years he spent extending Punic author-
ity in Spain, his conduct made it evident that he had ambitions
transcending the war he was fighting.* Had he lived longer, the
4 book twenty-one 237–221 bc
Carthaginians would clearly have launched under Hamilcar the
invasion that they actually launched under the command of
Hannibal.
Hamilcar’s timely death, and the fact that Hannibal was just a
boy, deferred hostilities, and in the interval between father and son
Hasdrubal held office for some eight years. Hasdrubal had initially
attracted Hamilcar’s interest, they say, by his youthful good looks,
and was subsequently invited to become his son-in-law on the basis
of other qualities, no doubt intellectual. Thanks to being Hamilcar’s
son-in-law, he had risen to power through the influence of the Barca
faction––a faction which exercised a considerable degree of influ-
ence amongst the armed forces and Carthaginian commons––and
certainly against the wishes of the Carthaginian establishment. Has-
drubal’s administration was characterized by diplomacy rather than
force; eschewing armed conflict, he extended the authority of
Carthage more by fostering relations with chieftains, and by enlisting
the support of fresh tribes through friendship with their leaders.
Peace, however, afforded him no more security: he was assassinated
in public by a barbarian incensed over his execution of his master.
The killer was caught by bystanders, but his expression remained
that of a man who had made good his escape. Even under torture, the
look on his face was such that he actually appeared to be smiling, his
joy surmounting his suffering.
Because Hasdrubal had possessed an amazing talent for winning
over tribes and attaching them to his empire, the Roman people had
renewed their treaty with him. The basis of the agreement was that
the limit of the authority of each would be the River Ebro, and that
Saguntum, lying between the domains of the two peoples, would
retain its independence.*
3. There was no doubt about who would succeed Hasdrubal. The
soldiers’ choice came first––the young Hannibal had been immedi-
ately carried into the general’s tent where the men noisily and
unanimously acclaimed him as commander––and the endorsement
of the commons followed.
When Hannibal was barely an adolescent Hasdrubal had sum-
moned him by letter,* and the matter of his future had even been
discussed in the Carthaginian senate. The Barca faction insisted that
Hannibal be familiarized with military life, and that he succeed to
his father’s authority. But Hanno, who led the opposing faction,*
224–221 bc chapters 2–4 5
demurred. ‘Hasdrubal seems to be making a reasonable request,’ he
said, ‘but I am against granting what he is asking for.’ Hanno caught
everyone’s attention, such an inconsistent comment taking them all
by surprise.
‘Hasdrubal thinks that he offered up the good looks of his youth
for the gratification of Hannibal’s father, and that now it’s fair for
him to take the son’s in return,’ he said. ‘However, it is most
inappropriate for us to subject our young soldiers to the sexual appe-
tite of their officers as though that were military training. Or is this
our fear, that Hamilcar’s son must wait too long to look upon the
father’s unlimited authority and apparently regal power, and that
we too late become slaves to the son of that king, whose son-in-law
was left our armies as a bequest? No, in my opinion, that young
man should be kept at home and taught to live in obedience to the
laws and the magistrates, on an equal footing with everyone else.
Otherwise, this small flame may one day start a huge conflagration.’
4. A small number, including all the most right-thinking men,
agreed with Hanno, but, as usual, the bigger party triumphed over
the better.
Hannibal was sent to Spain where he won the hearts of the entire
army immediately upon his arrival. The older soldiers thought that a
young Hamilcar had been brought back to them; they saw that same
dynamism in his expression, the same forcefulness in his eyes, the
same facial expression and features. Then, in a short while, he saw to
it that his father counted for little in winning him support. Never
was one character so amenable to the two extremes of obedience and
command, and as a result one would have found it hard to tell whether
he was better liked by the commander or by the army. There was
no one whom Hasdrubal preferred to put in command when a gal-
lant or enterprising feat was called for, while there was no other
officer under whom the rank and file had more confidence and
enterprise.
Hannibal was possessed of enormous daring in facing dangers,
and enormous resourcefulness when in the midst of those dangers.
He could be physically exhausted or mentally cowed by no hardship.
He had the ability to withstand heat and cold alike; his eating and
drinking depended on the requirements of nature, not pleasure. His
times for being awake and asleep were not determined by day or
night. Only the time which he had left from discharging his duties
6 book twenty-one 221–220 bc
was given to sleep, and it was not brought on by a soft bed or
silence––many often observed him lying on the ground, amidst the
sentry-posts and pickets, wrapped in a soldier’s cloak. His dress was
no better than that of his comrades, but his weapons and horses
marked him out. On horse or foot he was by far the best soldier; the
first to enter battle, he was the last to leave once battle was joined.
The man’s great virtues were matched by his enormous vices:
pitiless cruelty, a treachery worse than Punic, no regard for truth,
and no integrity, no fear of the gods or respect for an oath, and no
scruples. With such a combination of virtues and vices, Hannibal
served under Hasdrubal’s command for three years, overlooking
nothing needing to be done or seen by a man who was to be a great
leader.
5. From the day Hannibal was declared commander it was as if
Italy had been decreed his area of responsibility, and the war with
Rome his assignment. He thought there should be no delay in case,
like his father Hamilcar, and Hasdrubal after him, he too be over-
taken by some accident while he wavered. He therefore determined
to launch an attack on Saguntum. Because there was no doubt that
such an attack would elicit an armed response from the Romans, he
first led his army into the territory of the Olcades, a people south of
the Ebro,* and more aptly described as being in the zone of the
Carthaginians rather than under their control. By doing this Hannibal
could appear not to have specifically targeted the Saguntines but to
have been drawn into that conflict in the course of events, that is, in
the conquest of neighbouring tribes and annexation of their
territories.
Hannibal took by storm and pillaged the rich city of Cartala, the
tribal capital, and the fear this inspired drove the smaller com-
munities to capitulate and accept the imposition of an indemnity.
The triumphant army, rich with booty, was led back to winter in
New Carthage. There, by generously dividing up the booty and
scrupulously discharging any arrears in pay, Hannibal consolidated
the loyalty of all, citizens and allies alike, and in the early spring he
marched on the Vaccaei.* Hermandica and Arbocala, cities of the
Vaccaei, were taken by storm, but there was prolonged resistance
from Arbocala, thanks to the townspeople’s courage and their large
population. The refugees from Hermandica then joined forces with
exiles of the Olcades, the tribe that had been crushed the previous
220 bc chapters 4–6 7
summer. They roused the Carpetani to action and, not far from the
River Tagus, launched an attack on Hannibal as he was returning
from the Vaccaei, throwing into confusion his column which was
heavily burdened with plunder.
Hannibal refused to engage. He pitched camp on the river-bank,
and as soon as all was calm and silent on the side of the enemy he
forded the river. He then extended his entrenchment in such a way
as to leave the enemy room to cross, for he had determined to attack
them as they made their way over. As soon as they saw that the
enemy had entered the water, the cavalry were under orders to attack
their column while it was hampered with the crossing, and Hannibal
deployed his elephants––there were forty of them––on the bank.
With supplementary detachments from the Olcades and Vaccaei, the
Carpetani were 100,000 strong, an unbeatable army were the battle
fought on a level field. They were ferocious by nature and confident
in their superior numbers; and, believing the enemy had fallen back
from fear, they thought that the only thing impeding this victory was
the fact that a river lay between them. They raised a shout and,
without awaiting anyone’s command, all rushed into the river at the
point closest to them. From the other bank a huge contingent of
horsemen was sent into the river, and the engagement that ensued
midstream was by no means evenly matched. The infantryman,
unsteady on his feet and wary of the ford, could easily have been
thrown off balance even by the random charges of a cavalryman
without weapons. As it was, the cavalrymen could move freely them-
selves, and had free use of their weapons, and were fighting, at close
quarters or at a distance, from mounts that remained stable even in
the midst of the swirling waters.
Most of the enemy were swept away by the river; some were borne
into their foes by the churning current and then trampled under by
the elephants. The rearmost could return more safely to their side of
the river but, as they tried to regroup after their alarm, and before
they could recover from their desperate panic, Hannibal entered the
stream with a company in battle formation, driving the enemy in
flight from the bank. He ravaged their fields and, within a few days,
accepted the surrender of the Carpetani, as well. And now every-
thing south of the Ebro was under Carthaginian control––except
Saguntum.
6. To this point there was no war with Saguntum, but already
8 book twenty-one 219 bc
quarrels were being fomented between her and her neighbours, the
Turdetani in particular, in order to provoke a war.* The Turdetani
were receiving assistance from the instigator of the conflict, and it
was clear that the goal was not a fair settlement but violent confron-
tation. And so a delegation was sent to Rome by the Saguntines
with an appeal for assistance for a war that was clearly on the hori-
zon. Publius Cornelius Scipio and Tiberius Sempronius Longus, the
consuls in Rome at the time, brought the delegates into the Senate
and opened the matter up for official debate, and it was decided that
ambassadors be dispatched to Spain to examine the plight of the
allies. If they felt the situation warranted it, the ambassadors were
to issue a formal caution to Hannibal to leave in peace the people of
Saguntum, allies of the Roman people. They were also to cross to
Carthage in Africa, and deliver the grievances of the allies of the
Roman people. This embassy had been authorized, but not yet sent,
when, sooner than anyone had anticipated, word was brought that
Saguntum was under attack.
The matter was brought anew before the Senate. Some recom-
mended assigning Spain and Africa to the consuls as their areas of
responsibility, and opening operations against them on land and
sea; others advocated focusing the entire campaign on Spain and
Hannibal. There were also some who felt that such a critical step
should not be taken hastily, and that they should await the return of
the ambassadors from Spain. This last view seemed the safest course
and won the day, and the dispatch of the ambassadors––Publius
Valerius Flaccus and Quintus Baebius Tamphilus––was accordingly
accelerated. These men were to go to Hannibal at Saguntum and, if
he failed to break off hostilities, to proceed from Saguntum to
Carthage. There they were to demand the surrender of the com-
mander himself as redress for the infraction of the treaty.*
7. While the Romans were engaged in these preparations and
deliberations, Saguntum was already facing an all-out assault. This
city-state, lying about a mile from the sea, was by far the most pros-
perous south of the Ebro. The Saguntines are said to hail from
the island of Zacynthos, some also being of mixed race from the
Rutulian city of Ardea. At all events, they had in a short time come
to possess great wealth thanks to their maritime or agricultural activ-
ities, to their increase in population, or to their high moral values––
which led them to remain loyal to their allies even when faced
219 bc chapters 6–8 9
with destruction themselves.* Hannibal entered their territory with
an invading force, laid waste their agricultural lands, and made a
three-pronged attack on the city.
There was a corner of the city wall, contiguous to the valley,
where the ground became more level and open than the other land
surrounding the town. It was towards this that Hannibal decided to
advance his siege-sheds, under the cover of which the ram could be
brought up to the walls. But, while the terrain some distance from
the wall was level enough for moving up the siege-sheds, the
Carthaginian efforts met with no success at all once it came to the
actual execution of the manœuvre. There was a huge tower overlook-
ing the spot, and the wall there, as one might expect at an insecure
point, had been built up higher than elsewhere. In addition, an elite
detachment was there to provide stiffer resistance at a spot seen to be
particularly dangerous and vulnerable. At first, these men kept the
enemy at bay with projectiles, and left those involved in the works
with no security. Later, not only were their missiles flying before the
walls and the tower, but the Saguntines found the courage to make
forays against their enemy’s sentry-posts and siege-works––and in
these spontaneous engagements Saguntine casualties slightly out-
numbered the Punic. But then Hannibal himself, approaching the
wall with insufficient caution, collapsed with a serious spear-wound
to the front of his thigh, and with that his men fled in panic from
their positions, leaving the earthworks and siege-sheds well-nigh
abandoned.
8. To give the general’s wound time to heal, it was siege tactics
rather than direct assault for the next few days. But while there was a
lull in the fighting during this time, there was no let-up in the con-
struction of siege-works and of fortifications to protect the city. As a
result, when hostilities resumed it was with greater determination
than before, and the siege-sheds began to be advanced and the rams
brought up in more locations, although a number of places scarcely
accommodated such operations. The Carthaginians had abundant
manpower––they are fairly estimated to have had some 150,000 under
arms*––while the townspeople, starting to be drawn off in different
directions in order to defend and patrol all points, had not the
resources for the fight.
The walls were now being pounded by the rams, and many sections
had been damaged. In one area a line of breaches, one after the other,
10 book twenty-one 219 bc
had laid bare the city––three towers in a row and the wall running
between them had collapsed with a deafening roar. The Carthaginians
had expected that the collapse meant the town was captured, but
then the two sides rushed into the fray just as if the wall had been
offering both of them protection. It was nothing like the scrappy
fighting that usually arises during assaults on cities, when one side
grasps an opportunity; rather, two regular fighting-lines had taken
up a position in what was virtually an open field between the col-
lapsed wall and the city buildings a short distance away. On one
side hope, on the other desperation, fired spirits. The Carthaginian
thought that with a little push he had the city captured, and the
Saguntines set their bodies before their native town that was stripped
of its walls, not one of them giving ground for fear of letting an
enemy into the spot he had vacated. Thus, the more fiercely the
two fought, and the more densely packed they were, the greater the
number of wounds inflicted, since no weapon fell without effect,
striking either a soldier’s armour or his body.
The Saguntines had a weapon for throwing called a phalarica.
This had a fir shaft that was cylindrical except for the tip where the
iron head protruded. This section, cube-shaped as on a javelin, they
would wrap with tow and smear with pitch. The head was three feet
long, and so able to pass through a man’s body as well as his shield.
But even if it stuck in the shield without penetrating the body it still
caused immense alarm, for it was discharged with its centre set
alight, and the forward motion itself further magnified the flames,
which then made the soldier drop his shield and exposed him to the
weapons that followed.
9. The battle had long hung in the balance. The Saguntines’ con-
fidence soared because their resistance was more effective than they
could have hoped, while the Carthaginians’ failure to secure victory
left them feeling beaten. Suddenly the townspeople raised a shout and
pushed the enemy back to where the wall had collapsed. Dislodging
them from there in disorder and panic, they finally routed and
scattered them, driving them back to their camp.
Meanwhile, word came that the ambassadors had arrived from
Rome, and men were sent by Hannibal to meet them on the seashore.
They were to tell the Romans that they would not have a safe passage
through all the violent tribes in the area, who were now up in arms,
and that Hannibal had no time at such a critical juncture to listen to
219 bc chapters 8–10 11
embassies. It was evident that, refused a hearing, the ambassadors
would carry straight on to Carthage. Hannibal accordingly sent writ-
ten and verbal instructions ahead to the leaders of the Barca faction,
telling them to mentally prepare his supporters, and prevent the
opposition from making any concession to the Roman people.
10. So, apart from the fact that it was received and given a hearing
in Carthage, this delegation also served no purpose whatsoever.
Hanno stood alone in challenging the senate and defending the treaty.
Because of the respect he commanded he was heard in hushed silence,
but not with the approval of his audience, as he implored the senate
in the name of the gods who oversee and witness treaties not to
precipitate hostilities with Rome as well as with Saguntum. He had
advised them, he had warned them, not to send the child of Hamilcar
to the army, he said; Hamilcar’s ghost could not remain calm, nor
could any son of his, and, while anyone of Barca bloodline or name
remained, the treaty with Rome would never remain undisturbed.
‘A young man with a burning desire for power and seeing only
one way to it, that is, by living surrounded by weapons and legions,
and by following one war with another––that is what you have sent
out to your armies, virtually adding fuel to the flames. So you have
fed this fire in which you are now being consumed. Your armies are
blockading Saguntum, from which they are debarred by treaty, and
soon Roman legions will be blockading Carthage, led by the same
gods through whom the Romans exacted revenge for broken treaties
in the last war. Is it your enemy you do not know, or your own selves,
or the destinies of the two peoples? Ambassadors came from your
allies on behalf of allies, and your fine commander refused to admit
them to his camp, thereby violating international convention.
Excluded from what is not even denied to embassies of a declared
enemy, these men have come to you. They are claiming reparations
in accordance with their treaty; they demand that our state clear
itself of responsibility by surrendering the guilty party, the man
accused of the crime.
‘The softer their approach, the slower their initial moves, the more
unrelenting, I fear, will be their wrath once they have begun. Bear in
mind the Aegates Islands and Eryx––those twenty-four years of
tribulation that you suffered on land and sea. And your leader was not
this boy, but his father, Hamilcar himself, a second Mars, according
to those supporters of his. We had not kept our hands off Tarentum,
12 book twenty-one 219 bc
which is to say off Italy, as the treaty required, just as now we are not
keeping our hands off Saguntum. And so the gods prevailed over
men and, to settle the argument over which of the two peoples had
broken the treaty, the outcome of hostilities stood as a disinterested
judge, giving victory to the one with right on its side.*
‘It is against Carthage that Hannibal now brings up his siege-
sheds and assault-towers. It is the walls of Carthage that he batters
with his ram. The collapse of Saguntum––how I wish my prophecy
may prove false!––will come crashing down on our heads, and the
war we started with Saguntum will have to be fought against the
Romans. “Well, then, are we to surrender Hannibal?” someone will
ask. I am aware that my influence in his case is slight, because of my
differences with his father. But just as I was pleased with Hamilcar’s
death because if he were alive we should already be at war with the
Romans, so I hate and abhor this young man as the fury that is firing
this conflict. Nor is it simply a matter of his having to be sur-
rendered to atone for the broken treaty. No, even if no one were
demanding his punishment, I think he should be hauled off to the
remotest limits of sea and land––banished to some place from which
his name or news of him could not reach us, and where he could not
upset the tranquillity our nation now enjoys. I vote that we immedi-
ately send ambassadors to Rome to make amends to the Senate, and
send others to tell Hannibal to withdraw his army from Saguntum
––and these should also surrender Hannibal himself to the Romans
as the treaty requires. I further recommend a third delegation be
sent to pay compensation to the people of Saguntum.’
11. When Hanno wound up his speech, there was no need for
anyone to debate him––so completely was the senate, practically to a
man, in support of Hannibal. Hanno had been even more vitriolic in
his remarks than the Roman envoy, Valerius Flaccus, they claimed.
The reply then given to the Roman embassy was that the war
had been initiated by the people of Saguntum, not by Hannibal,
and that the Roman people were in the wrong if they held Saguntum
in higher regard than their time-honoured alliance with the
Carthaginians.
Hannibal’s men, meanwhile, were exhausted from battle and con-
structing siege-works and, while the Romans were frittering away
time in sending off embassies, the commander gave them a few days’
respite, setting up sentry-posts to protect his siege-sheds and other
219 bc chapters 10–11 13
installations. And all the while he was whetting their spirit, by turns
provoking them to anger against the enemy and then promising
rewards. In fact, when, in an assembly, he proclaimed that the spoils
from the captured city would go to the men, they were all so fired up
that it looked as if they would have been completely unstoppable had
the signal been immediately given. As for the Saguntines, they had
enjoyed several days’ rest from fighting, neither launching nor facing
attack. But they had never halted work on the defences by night or
day, trying as they were to construct a new wall at the point where
the town had been exposed when the old one collapsed.
Then the assault recommenced, with considerably more ferocity
than before, and the confused uproar and shouting everywhere made
it impossible for the townspeople to be sure where to bring help first,
or in the fullest measure. Hannibal was on hand in person to give
encouragement at a point where a movable tower that rose above all
the city’s defences was being pushed forward. When this was
brought up, it swept the walls clean of defenders with catapults and
slings that were deployed on all its platforms, and at that moment
Hannibal, sensing an opportunity, sent some 500 Africans with pick-
axes to burrow under the wall. That was not a difficult operation
because the stones were not set with mortar but merely lined with
clay in the old-fashioned manner of building. As a result, the wall
caved in beyond the section where it was being cut away, and packs
of armed Carthaginians streamed into the city through the gaps left
by the collapse. The Carthaginians also seized some higher ground,
where they brought together catapults and ballistas, and surrounded
it with a wall so that they would have a stronghold within the actual
city, overlooking it like a citadel. The Saguntines, on their side, built
an inner wall to encompass the section of their city not yet taken.
On both sides the building and fighting went on with maximum
intensity, but the Saguntines, by focusing on the defence of the
interior sections of their city, were every day decreasing its size. At
the same time, there was an increasing shortage of all supplies
because of the length of the siege, while the prospects of assistance
from without became dimmer––the Romans, their only hope, were
far off, and everything in the vicinity was in enemy hands. Even so,
the townspeople’s flagging spirits were raised briefly when Hannibal
suddenly marched off against the Oretani* and Carpetani. These two
peoples, galled by the severity of the troop-levies amongst them, had
14 book twenty-one 219 bc
seized the recruiting officers and so raised fears of insurrection. But,
taken by surprise by Hannibal’s swift response, they abandoned the
fight they had started.
12. In fact, the blockade of Saguntum proved no less vigorous
under Maharbal, son of Himilco, whom Hannibal had left in com-
mand. Maharbal operated with such energy that neither his fellow
citizens nor the enemy felt the commander’s absence. He fought a
number of successful engagements, and shattered a section of the
wall with three battering rams, offering the returning Hannibal a
prospect of the whole area strewn with fresh rubble. Accordingly, the
Carthaginian troops were immediately led against the citadel itself.
A furious engagement ensued, with heavy losses on both sides, and
part of the citadel was captured.
Hopes for a negotiated peace were slim, but efforts to attain it were
made by two men, the Saguntine Alco and the Spaniard Alorcus.
Alco felt he could achieve something by entreaty, and crossed over to
Hannibal at night without the knowledge of the people of Saguntum.
Tears had no effect and the conditions offered him were severe,
coming as they did from an exasperated victor. Alco therefore became
a deserter instead of a spokesman, and remained with the enemy,
claiming that anyone who negotiated a peace on such terms faced
certain death. The Carthaginian demands were that the Saguntines
make full restitution to the Turdetani, that they surrender all their
gold and silver, and that they leave the city with a single article of
clothing, to settle wherever the Carthaginian decreed. Alco replied
that the Saguntines would not accept such peace-terms, but Alorcus
claimed that when everything else is crushed the spirit, too, is
crushed, and he engaged to broker the peace. Alorcus was at that time
a soldier of Hannibal’s, but he was officially regarded as a friend and
foreign representative of the people of Saguntum.
Alorcus openly surrendered his weapon to the sentries, passed
the defence-works, and was escorted, at his request, to the Saguntine
general. A horde of people of every class immediately converged on
the spot, but the crowd was pushed aside and Alorcus was granted an
audience with the senate. His address was as follows:
13. ‘Your fellow-citizen Alco came to Hannibal to sue for peace. If
he had also brought Hannibal’s conditions for peace back to you, this
mission of mine would have been unnecessary, a mission on which I
have come neither as Hannibal’s representative nor as a deserter. But
219 bc chapters 11–14 15
Alco has stayed behind with your enemy, and the fault is either yours
or his––his, if his fear is just a pretence, but yours if bringing you the
truth is dangerous. It is I who have come to you, in consideration of
my long-established ties of guest-friendship with you, and I do so in
order that you not be unaware of terms that can bring you salvation
and peace. And you can take this fact as assurance that what I say I
say for your own sake and no one else’s: I never made any mention of
peace to you the whole time you had the strength to resist, or were
still expecting assistance from Rome. It is only now that you can
expect nothing from the Romans, and have insufficient protection
from your own arms and defences, that I am bringing you peace-
terms which are not equitable but which you must accept. You have
some hope of concluding this peace if you listen, as the defeated
party, to the terms that Hannibal dictates to you as the victor. And
when everything is in that victor’s hands, you must not regard what
is removed from you as a loss, but consider whatever is left to you as
a gift. Hannibal is taking from you your city––most of it he has
destroyed, anyway, and practically all of it he has captured––but he
leaves you your lands, on which he will assign to you a location for
building a new town. All gold and silver, state- or privately owned,
he orders to be brought to him. Yourselves, along with your wives and
children, he spares, if you are prepared to leave Saguntum unarmed
and with two articles of clothing each. Such are your instructions
from a victorious enemy; harsh and grievous though they are, your
circumstances press you to accept. In fact, I am not without hope
that Hannibal will ease the conditions somewhat once he is in full
control. But, in my view, you should put up with them even as they
are, rather than allow yourselves to be butchered and have your
wives and children seized and dragged away before your eyes, in
accordance with the rules of war.’
14. A crowd had gradually come together to hear these words
and the general assembly of the people had merged with the senate.
Suddenly the leading men split away and, before a reply could be
given to Alorcus, they brought together in the forum all the silver and
gold from public and private buildings. This they threw into a fire,
hurriedly built for the purpose, many of them flinging themselves in
as well. The resulting fear and panic swept through the city and then
another clamour was heard coming from the citadel. A tower that had
taken a long pounding had collapsed, and a company of Carthaginians
16 book twenty-one 219 bc
had forced its way through the breach, signalling back to their com-
mander that the city was now deprived of its customary sentry-posts
and guards. Hannibal thought such an opportunity did not brook
delay. Giving the word for all of fighting age to be put to death, he
attacked in full force, and took the city in an instant.
Hannibal’s order was callous but was seen to be almost necessary
in the event. Men who shut themselves away with their wives and
children, and burned their homes over their own heads, or who took
up their weapons and allowed only death to put an end to their
resistance––such men simply could not be spared.
15. The town was taken with an enormous amount of plunder.
Most personal property had been systematically destroyed by the
owners; in the killing, exasperation had barely allowed for differen-
tiation in ages; and the captives had become the booty of the rank
and file. Nevertheless, it is well established that a considerable sum
of cash was realized from the sale of goods, and that a great deal of
expensive furniture and clothing was shipped to Carthage.
Some authors have dated the capture of Saguntum to the eighth
month after the commencement of the siege. They have stated that,
after it, Hannibal withdrew to winter quarters in New Carthage, and
that he then arrived in Italy four months after leaving New Carthage.
If that is so, then Publius Cornelius and Tiberius Sempronius can-
not have been the consuls to whom the Saguntine envoys were sent
when the siege began, and who also engaged with Hannibal during
their term of office (one at the River Ticinus, and both somewhat
later at the Trebia). Either all these events took a shorter time, or else
it was the capture of Saguntum, not the start of the siege, that took
place at the beginning of the consular year of Publius Cornelius and
Tiberius Sempronius. For the battle of the Trebia cannot have been
as late as the consular year of Gnaeus Servilius and Gaius Flaminius,
because Gaius Flaminius entered his consulship at Ariminum and
his election was supervised by the consul Tiberius Sempronius.
Sempronius had come to Rome after the battle of the Trebia, to over-
see the consular elections, and when the elections were completed he
returned to his army in its winter quarters.*
16. News of the destruction of Saguntum reached Rome at about
the time that the envoys came back from Carthage with the report
that everything pointed to war. Various emotions gripped the senators
at the same moment: sorrow and pity for the heinous massacre of
219–218 bc chapters 14–17 17
their allies, shame at their own failure to bring assistance, fury with
the Carthaginians, and fear for the security of the state––it was as if
the enemy were already at the gates. So many emotions arising
together threw them off balance, making them dither rather than
deliberate. They realized that they had never come to grips with a
more ruthless or combative foe, and Rome had never been in such a
shiftless and enervated condition. The Sardinians, the Corsicans, the
Istrians, and the Illyrians had teased Roman military power but not
really put it to the test, and with the Gauls there had been desultory
rather than regular warfare. But the Carthaginians were their enemy
of old and they had spent twenty-three years in the hardest kind of
campaigning amidst the Spanish tribes, campaigns from which they
had always emerged the victors. They were used to the harshest
leadership, and they were crossing the Ebro fresh from the destruc-
tion of a prosperous city. They had roused to arms, and were drag-
ging along with them, large numbers of Spanish peoples, and they
would now stir into action the ever-belligerent Gallic tribes. The
Romans would have to fight the whole world, and do so in Italy and
before their city walls.*
17. The consular spheres of authority had already been defined,
and the consuls were now instructed to proceed to the sortition.
Spain fell to Cornelius, and Africa, along with Sicily, to Sempronius.
It was decided that six legions be levied that year, together with as
many allied troops as the consuls should deem appropriate, and as
great a fleet as could be mustered. Twenty-four thousand Roman
infantry were conscripted and 1,800 cavalry, together with 40,000
infantry and 4,400 cavalry from the allies, and, on the naval front,
two hundred and twenty quinqueremes and twenty cutters were
launched. The question was then put before the people whether it
was their wish and command that war be declared on the people of
Carthage. The Roman people approved the war, and public prayers
for it were held throughout the city, with entreaties made to the gods
for a victorious and happy outcome.
The division of troops between the consuls was as follows.
Sempronius was given two legions, each comprising 4,000 infantry
and 300 cavalry, together with 16,000 allied infantry and 1,800 allied
cavalry. He was also assigned one hundred and sixty warships and
twelve cutters. With such land and naval forces Tiberius Sempronius
was dispatched to Sicily. From there he was to cross to Africa, but
18 book twenty-one 218 bc
only if the other consul proved to have the strength to stop the
Carthaginian from entering Italy.
Cornelius was assigned fewer troops because the praetor Lucius
Manlius was also being sent to Gaul with a force of considerable
strength. In particular, the number of Cornelius’ vessels was cur-
tailed: he was given just sixty quinqueremes, for the Senate believed
the enemy would not come by sea or employ that mode of warfare.
He also received two Roman legions with their regular complement
of cavalry, and 14,000 allied infantry along with 1,600 allied cavalry.
The province of Gaul, which would also be a theatre in the war with
Carthage, also received two Roman legions plus 10,000 allied infantry,
and 1,000 allied and 600 Roman cavalry.
18. These preparations finished, the senators wanted to have all
protocols observed before hostilities commenced, and they sent to
Africa an embassy of older men–– Quintus Fabius, Marcus Livius,
Lucius Aemilius, Gaius Licinius, and Quintus Baebius.* The ambas-
sadors were to enquire of the Carthaginians whether Hannibal’s
assault on Saguntum had been officially authorized, and to declare
war on the people of Carthage if, as seemed likely, they acknow-
ledged the fact, and if they defended Hannibal’s action as being state
policy. On their arrival in Carthage, the Romans were granted an
audience with the senate, and Quintus Fabius did nothing more than
put forward the one question the deputation had been instructed to
ask. One of the Carthaginians then replied:
‘Romans, your earlier delegation, when you demanded that
Hannibal be surrendered to you for blockading Saguntum on his
own initiative, was presumptuous enough. But this delegation, while
it has been more restrained in its language up to this point, is actu-
ally more unreasonable. On that occasion Hannibal was being
accused, and a demand was being simultaneously made for his sur-
render. On this, a confession of wrongdoing is being wrung from us,
and immediate satisfaction is also demanded––as though we had
already confessed. To my mind, the pertinent question is not
whether the assault on Saguntum came from individual initiative or
state policy, but whether the attack was or was not justified. For the
investigation and punishment of a citizen with respect to what he has
done with our blessing or on his own account is our prerogative and
ours alone. The only matter to discuss with you is whether the action
was permissible under the treaty.
218 bc chapters 17–19 19
‘And, by the way, since you want a distinction made between
what commanders do as a matter of state policy and what they
do independently, we have a treaty with you that was struck by your
consul Gaius Lutatius. In this treaty, provision was made for
the allies of both parties, but not for the people of Saguntum, who
were not at that point allied to you. But I suppose you will argue
that the Saguntines are covered in the treaty that was struck with
Hasdrubal, and to this my reply will simply be the one that I have
learned from you. For you claimed that you were not bound by the
treaty that Gaius Lutatius first concluded with us because it was not
concluded with the sanction of the Senate and at the command of
the people. As a result, a second, new treaty that had official approval
was concluded. If you are not bound by your treaties unless they are
struck with your authority, and at your command, then Hasdrubal’s
treaty, which he concluded unbeknownst to us, could not bind us,
either. So drop all this talk of Saguntum and the Ebro, and deliver at
last the thought that has long been gestating in your minds!’
At this the Roman gathered his toga into a fold and said: ‘Here
we bring you war and peace. Take whichever you please!’ A shout,
no less defiant, came back immediately––he could give whichever
he pleased. Fabius shook out the fold and said he gave them war.
In reply, the Carthaginians to a man declared that they accepted
it, and that they would fight it in the spirit in which they were
accepting it.
19. This direct question, and the formal declaration of war,
seemed more in keeping with the dignity of the Roman people than a
debate over legal niceties in treaties, especially now that Saguntum
had been destroyed. In fact, if it came to a discussion of the wording,
there was no comparison to be made between the treaty concluded
by Hasdrubal and the earlier one of Lutatius that was subsequently
changed. In Lutatius’ treaty, there was a rider explicitly stating
that its validity was contingent on the approval of the people, while
Hasdrubal’s contained no such escape clause.* Furthermore, all the
years of silence on the matter while Hasdrubal was alive had indi-
cated that it was officially approved, so much so that no change was
made even on the death of its author. But even if the former treaty
remained in effect, the people of Saguntum were sufficiently safe-
guarded by the stipulation that excepted the allies of both parties.
There was no rider specifying ‘those who were allies at that time’ or
20 book twenty-one 218 bc
‘not those taken on as allies later’. It was permissible to take on new
allies; so one could not consider it fair that no people could be
accepted into friendship for services rendered, or that they could not
be defended once they were given treaty-status. The only proviso
should be that no effort be made either to incite Carthaginian allies
to defect, or to accept them into an alliance if they detached
themselves of their own accord.
In accordance with the instructions given to them in Rome, the
Roman ambassadors crossed from Carthage to Spain, with the aim of
approaching the various city-states to draw them into an alliance, or
at least to dissuade them from joining the Carthaginians.* They came
first to the Bargusii, who gave them a warm welcome, sick as they
were of Carthaginian rule; and so they went on to foment revolution
amongst a large number of tribes south of the Ebro. They then
reached the Volciani, but these gave them a reply that became famous
throughout Spain and discouraged all the other states from allying
themselves with Rome. This was how the eldest of them responded
to the delegation in a meeting of their council:
‘Romans, are you not embarrassed to ask us to set friendship with
you above friendship with Carthage? You betrayed men who did just
that––you, their allies!––acting more callously than the Punic foe
who destroyed them. I think you should be looking for allies in some
place where the catastrophe of Saguntum is not known. To the
peoples of Spain the ruins of Saguntum will stand as an object
lesson, as harrowing as it is striking, not to put one’s trust in Roman
loyalty or a Roman alliance.’
With that, the ambassadors were told to leave the territory of the
Volciani at once, and they received no more favourable a response
thereafter from any other tribal council in Spain. Accordingly, after a
fruitless journey through Spain, they crossed into Gaul.
20. In Gaul the embassy was presented with a strange and alarm-
ing spectacle: the Gauls, after their tribal custom, came to meetings
under arms. The ambassadors sang the praises of the glory and
valour of the Roman people, and asked the Gauls not to grant the
Carthaginian passage through their lands and cities, if he attempted
to carry hostilities into Italy. This, they say, raised such noisy guffaws
that the younger warriors could barely be brought to order by the
magistrates and older men. It seemed such a stupid and impudent
request––to suggest that the Gauls, to prevent a war from passing
218 bc chapters 19–21 21
into Italy, should bring it on themselves, and expose their own farm-
lands to devastation rather than someone else’s. When the commo-
tion was finally brought to order, the envoys were given the answer
that the Romans had not done the Gauls so much good, and the
Carthaginians had not done them so much harm, as to justify their
taking up arms on behalf of Rome, or against Carthage. On the
contrary, they said, they were receiving reports of men of their race
being driven by the Roman people from the frontiers of Italian terri-
tory, and of these men paying tribute and suffering other such
indignities.
Much the same sort of exchange occurred in the other tribal
councils in Gaul, and not a word of a hospitable or friendly nature
was heard until the envoys reached Massilia. There they learned the
whole story from their allies, who had made careful and precise
enquiries. Hannibal, they were told, had anticipated them and already
enlisted the support of the Gauls. But, added the Massiliots, even
Hannibal himself would not find them a very easy people to deal
with, naturally aggressive and violent as they were, unless he repeat-
edly conciliated their chieftains with gold, for which the race had an
enormous appetite.
Their round of the peoples of Spain and Gaul complete, the
envoys returned to Rome, arriving not long after the consuls had left
to take up their responsibilities. They found the whole community
tense with the anticipation of war, for there was a persistent rumour
that the Carthaginians had already crossed the Ebro.
21. After taking Saguntum, Hannibal had withdrawn to winter in
New Carthage. There he was told of the events, and of the decisions
taken, both in Rome and Carthage, and learned that he was the cause
of the war as well as its commander-in-chief. He then doled out or
sold off the remaining booty and, thinking he should delay no longer,
summoned the Spanish troops in his army and addressed them as
follows:
‘Allies! I think you, too, can see that, after winning over all the
tribes of Spain, we must either terminate our campaign and demobil-
ize our armies, or else move our operations into other lands. In fact,
these tribes will enjoy the fruits of our victory as well as of peace, but
only if we search for plunder and glory amongst other races. And so,
as a campaign far from home lies ahead, and as it is unclear when you
are going to see your homes, and the things dear to each of you, I am
22 book twenty-one 218 bc
granting leave to any of you wishing to visit his family. I give you
notice to be here at the start of spring, so that with heaven’s help
we may embark upon a war that will bring us immense glory and
spoils.’
Almost to a man the soldiers were delighted to be offered the
opportunity of visiting their homes without having to ask permis-
sion; they had already been missing their loved ones, and saw ahead
an even longer separation from them. An entire winter of repose,
between hardships experienced and others soon to be faced, revived
them physically and psychologically to confront all the new chal-
lenges to come. At the start of spring they mustered as instructed.
After a review of all his auxiliary troops, Hannibal set off for Gades.
There he discharged his vows to Hercules, and bound himself with
further vows for the continued success of his venture. He then div-
ided his attention between offensive and defensive measures. Fearing
to leave Africa unprotected, and exposed to Roman attack from Sicily,
while he headed for Italy by the overland route through Spain and
Gaul, he decided to strengthen the country with a powerful defen-
sive force. To compensate for this, he himself requested troops from
Africa, mostly light-armed javelin-throwers. Thus Africans would
be serving in Spain, and Spaniards in Africa, both contingents likely
to prove the better soldiers for serving far from home, bound by
reciprocal obligations, as it were. Hannibal sent to Africa 13,850
infantry armed with the caetra, 870 Balearic slingers and 1,200 cav-
alry made up of many different peoples, and he gave instructions for
part of this force to serve as a garrison for Carthage, with the rest
deployed throughout Africa. At the same time he sent recruiting
officers to the various African communities with orders for 4,000
handpicked men of military age to be conscripted and brought to
Carthage. There they would strengthen the garrison, and also serve
as hostages.
22. Hannibal felt Spain should not be neglected, either, the more
so since he was aware that the Roman ambassadors had done the
rounds of it to enlist the support of tribal chieftains. He assigned
responsibility for this to a man of great energy, his brother Hasdrubal.
The military strength that Hannibal gave his brother lay mostly in
African troops: 11,850 African infantry, 300 Ligurians and 500 from
the Balearic Islands. To this infantry force the following cavalry
was added: 450 Libyphoenicians (a race of mixed Punic and African
218 bc chapters 21–23 23
blood), some 1,800 Numidians and Moors, who live by the Ocean,
and a small detachment of 300 Ilergetan cavalry from Spain. Finally,
to ensure that no form of land force was lacking, there were twenty-
one elephants. Hasdrubal was also assigned a fleet to protect the
coastline, for it could be supposed that the Romans would then, too,
operate in the military sphere in which they had earlier been victors.
There were fifty quinqueremes, two quadriremes, and five triremes,
but of these only thirty-two of the quinqueremes and the five triremes
were fitted out and furnished with crews.*
From Gades, Hannibal returned to the army’s winter quarters in
New Carthage. On leaving New Carthage he marched along the
coast, past the city of Onussa, to the Ebro. There is a tale* that here he
saw in a dream a young man of godlike appearance who claimed he
had been sent by Jupiter to guide Hannibal to Italy. The young man
told him to follow, and not take his eyes off him at any point. At first,
they say, Hannibal was frightened, and he followed without letting
his gaze wander around, or back, at any stage; but then, with the
curiosity of a human being, he began to wonder what it could be that
he was forbidden to look back at. He could not help looking, and saw
behind him a snake of an amazing size sliding along, and causing
massive destruction to trees and bushes, a deafening thunderstorm
following in its wake. Hannibal asked the young man what the mon-
strous apparition was and what the portent meant. He was informed
that it was the destruction of Italy, and that he should simply pro-
ceed on his journey, asking no further questions and leaving destiny
shrouded in darkness.
23. Delighted with this vision, Hannibal led his forces across the
Ebro in three divisions. He had already sent men ahead to soften up
with gifts the Gauls in the areas through which the army was to be
led, and also to reconnoitre the Alpine passes, and crossing the Ebro
he was at the head of 90,000 infantry and 12,000 cavalry. He then
crushed the Ilergetes, the Bargusii, and the Ausetani, and the region
of Lacetania, which lies at the foot of the Pyrenees.* He put Hanno
in charge of this entire area so as to have in his power the defiles con-
necting the Spanish and Gallic provinces, and Hanno was assigned
10,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry to secure the area.
The march of the Carthaginian army through the pass over the
Pyrenees had already begun, and by now a rumour that was spreading
amongst the barbarians that the war was to be with Rome became
24 book twenty-one 218 bc
more persistent. As a result, 3,000 of the Carpetani abandoned the
march. It was clear that their motivation for this was not so much
the war as the length of the journey, and the apparent impossibility
of crossing the Alps. Calling them back, or keeping them in service
under duress, was a risky business, as it might provoke the fiery
tempers of the others as well. Hannibal therefore sent home more
than 7,000 men whose hearts he had felt were not in the campaign,
and he pretended that the Carpetani, too, had been discharged
by him.
24. Not to have delay and inactivity sap his men’s morale, Hannibal
then crossed the Pyrenees with the rest of his forces and encamped
at the town of Iliberri.
The Gauls had been repeatedly told that the objective of the
campaign was Italy, but there was a rumour that the Spaniards across
the Pyrenees had been reduced by force, with powerful garrisons
imposed on them. Fear of being subjugated themselves now drove
them in panic to arms, and a number of tribes converged on Ruscino.
News of this was brought to Hannibal and he, fearing delay more
than he did a fight, sent spokesmen to their chieftains to say that he
wanted to talk to them in person. Either they could come closer to
Iliberri, or he could advance to Ruscino––their meeting would be
more easily arranged if they were near each other. He would be
happy to welcome them into his camp, he said, and would not him-
self hesitate to come to them, for he had come to Gaul as a friend,
not an enemy, and would not draw his sword before reaching Italy––
if the Gauls made that possible. Such was Hannibal’s communica-
tion by his messengers and, in fact, the chieftains of the Gauls
showed no reluctance in moving camp immediately to Iliberri, and
coming to the Carthaginian. Here, falling prey to his gifts, they
permitted his army to pass quite unmolested through their territory,
past the town of Ruscino.
25. Meanwhile, the only news that had reached Italy––it was
brought to Rome by ambassadors from Massilia––was that Hannibal
had crossed the Ebro. Then, as if it was the Alps that he had crossed,
the Boii rose up, having already incited the Insubres to join them.
The reason was not so much the long-standing animosity of the Boii
towards the Roman people as the rancour they harboured over the
establishment of the colonies of Placentia and Cremona on Gallic
soil on the banks of the Po. As a result, they quickly took up arms
218 bc chapters 23–25 25
and attacked that very region. Here they caused such panic and chaos
that not simply the farming people, but the actual triumvirs who had
come to apportion the land (Gaius Lutatius, Gaius Servilius, and
Marcus Annius) lost all confidence in Placentia’s defences, and fled
to Mutina.
The identification of Lutatius in this episode is not in doubt, but
in place of Annius and Servilius some annalistic accounts carry the
names of Manius Acilius and Gaius Herennius, and others those
of Publius Cornelius Asina and Gaius Papirius Maso.* In question,
too, is whether the envoys sent to protest to the Boii were man-
handled,* and whether the triumvirs were attacked as they surveyed
the land.
The Gauls are unskilled in the techniques for besieging cities, and
uncommonly idle when it comes to soldierly duties, and so when the
Romans were blockaded at Mutina, they sat passively before the
walls, which they left intact. They then proceeded to feign interest in
peace negotiations. Spokesmen for the Romans were invited to par-
ley by the Gallic chieftains, but were then apprehended by them, the
Gauls declaring that they would release them only if their hostages
were returned. Apart from contravening international convention,
this even broke the sworn guarantees given for that particular occa-
sion. When the praetor Lucius Manlius was brought the news about
the envoys, and about the danger facing Mutina and its garrison, he
flew into a rage, and led towards Mutina a poorly ordered column of
troops.
At that time woods surrounded the road, the area being mostly
uncultivated. Since he had set off without reconnoitring, Manlius
fell into an ambush and, after suffering heavy losses, only with dif-
ficulty made it through to open country. There he established a
fortified camp. The Gauls had not the confidence to attack it, and so
the spirits of Manlius’ men rose again, though it was known that
about 500 had been lost. The march then recommenced, and there
was no sign of the enemy while the column was being led through
open terrain. When it entered woodlands once more, the Gauls
attacked the rear and, in the great confusion and general panic that
followed, they killed 700 men and carried off six standards. Only
when the Romans emerged from the trackless and difficult woods
did the intimidating pressure of the Gauls and the Romans’ fear
come to an end. In the open country that followed, the Romans easily
26 book twenty-one 218 bc
defended their column as they advanced to Tannetum,* a village
close to the Po. There they protected themselves against the daily
increasing numbers of the enemy by erecting a temporary fortifica-
tion, and bringing in provisions by river; and they also had help from
the Brixian Gauls.
26. News of this sudden uprising was brought to Rome, and
the senators now learned that the war against Carthage had been
extended to include Gaul as well. They issued orders for the praetor
Gaius Atilius to relieve Manlius with a single Roman legion and
5,000 allied troops, which had been recently conscripted by the con-
sul. Atilius reached Tannetum without a fight, the enemy having
withdrawn in fear.
Publius Cornelius Scipio raised a new legion to replace the one
that had been sent with the praetor, and he then set out from the city
with sixty warships. Skirting the coastline of Etruria and Liguria,
and then the mountains of the Saluvi, he reached Massilia and
encamped at the closest mouth of the Rhône (for the river divides
and runs to the sea by several different channels). Cornelius found it
difficult to believe that Hannibal had crossed the Pyrenees, and when
he realized that he was now in fact planning his crossing of the
Rhône as well, he wondered where he should meet him, as his
men were not yet fully recovered from the rigours of their sea voy-
age. In the meantime he sent out 300 hand-picked horsemen with
Massiliot guides, and some Gallic auxiliaries, to reconnoitre the area
thoroughly, and take a look at the enemy at a safe remove.
Hannibal had now reached the lands of the powerful tribe of the
Volcae, having established peaceful relations with all the other
peoples by intimidation or bribery. The Volcae inhabit an area on
both banks of the Rhône. However, since they lacked confidence
in their ability to keep the Carthaginians out of their western terri-
tory, they had ferried almost all their people across the Rhône, so as
to have the river as a barrier, and were proceeding to secure the
eastern bank with their armed forces. Hannibal bribed the other
peoples living along the river, as well as those Volcae who had not left
their homes, to bring together boats from all around, and to con-
struct others. And, in fact, it was the wish of the natives themselves
to see the army taken across, and their region relieved as soon as
possible of the pressure of such large numbers of men. And so there
was assembled a massive number of ships and of boats that were
218 bc chapters 25–27 27
rough-hewn for local use. The Gauls then began constructing new
vessels, which they hollowed out from individual trees. Their
example was followed by the soldiers, who, encouraged by the plenti-
ful supply of wood and the ease of the work, hurriedly constructed
formless tubs for transporting them and their equipment across the
water––their only concern being that the things could float and carry
a load.
27. All was now ready for the crossing, but the Carthaginians were
fearful of the enemy opposite, who were policing the entire bank with
cavalry and infantry. To dislodge them, Hannibal ordered Hanno
son of Bomilcar* to take a division of troops, Spaniards for the most
part and, setting off at the first watch of the night,* to make a one-
day’s journey upstream. Then, at the earliest opportunity, Hanno
was to cross the river as unobtrusively as he could, and at the
appropriate moment lead the column around to attack the enemy
from the rear. The Gauls assigned to him as guides for this man-
œuvre informed Hanno that, about twenty-five miles upstream from
their present location, the river flowed around a small island. As it
was broader at the point where it divided, they told him, it was also
less deep, and afforded a crossing-place.
At that spot, wood was swiftly cut and rafts constructed, on which
horses, men, and other cargo could be ferried over. The Spaniards
stuffed their clothing into skins and crossed the river, lying on their
shields, with no difficulty at all. The rest of the army crossed on rafts
that they lashed together, and they made camp close to the river.
The men were exhausted from their overnight march and the hard
work, but they were granted only a day’s repose to recover, their
leader being intent on putting the plan into effect at just the right
moment.
Setting off again the next day, they used a smoke-signal from an
elevated point, as had been agreed, to show that they had made the
crossing, and were not far away; and, not to miss his opportunity,
Hannibal gave the order to cross when he received the signal. The
infantry had their boats ready and prepared; the cavalry, mostly
because of their horses, had larger vessels.* A line of the larger vessels
made the crossing upstream to absorb the force of the current, thus
providing smooth water for the boats traversing below them. Most of
the horses were swimming, pulled along by their reins fastened to
the boats’ sterns, apart from those that they had boarded already
28 book twenty-one 218 bc
saddled and bridled, ready for use by the cavalry as soon as they set
foot on the bank.
28. The Gauls came rushing towards them on the bank with dis-
cordant yells and their customary war chants, shaking their shields
above their heads and brandishing spears in their hands. But the
huge flotilla, along with the loud roar of the river, unnerved them, as
did the confused shouting of the sailors and soldiers, both those
battling the river-current and those who, from the far bank, were
cheering on their comrades who were making the crossing. They
were startled enough by the commotion before them, but then a more
terrifying uproar arose to the rear, where their camp had been taken
by Hanno. Soon Hanno was there in person, and the Gauls faced
terror on two fronts: a massive force of armed men was disembark-
ing, and an unexpected army was bearing down on their rear. They
attempted resistance on both fronts, but were driven back. They then
forced a passage wherever a way seemed most open, and scattered
and fled in panic to their villages. Hannibal took his time ferrying
over the rest of his troops, no longer concerned about interference
from the Gauls, and pitched camp.
I believe different ideas were put forward for bringing the ele-
phants over the river––certainly, there are differing accounts of how
it was accomplished.* Some claim that the elephants were brought
together on the bank, and that the most fractious of them was goaded
to anger by his driver, who then ran off into the water. As he swam
off, the beast followed, and drew the rest of the herd after him. All
the animals feared the deep water, but as each went out of his depth
the very force of the current carried him to the other bank.
The more reliable version, however, is that they were brought over
on rafts. This would have appeared the safer plan before the event,
and so, after it, it appears the more plausible one. The Carthaginians
pushed a single raft, measuring 200 feet by 50, into the river from the
shore, and secured it with a number of strong ropes, attached to the
bank upstream, so that it would not drift down with the current. On
this they laid a carpet of soil to form a sort of bridge, so that the
animals could confidently walk on it as on dry land. A second raft of
the same width, and a hundred feet in length, and suitable for cross-
ing the river, was fastened to it. Then, females in front, the elephants
were driven over the immobile raft, as though it were a road. When
they had passed over to the smaller raft that was joined to it, the
218 bc chapters 27–29 29
ropes with which it had been loosely attached to the other were
suddenly untied, and the raft was towed to the other bank by a
number of swift boats. After disembarking the first animals, the men
went back and brought over the others. The elephants showed no
real agitation while they were driven over what seemed to be a bridge
attached to land, and the first signs of disquiet came only when the
raft was disconnected from the other* and the animals were swept
into the deep part of the river. Then they began jostling each other,
as those on the outside edged back from the water, and that caused
some panic, until fear itself calmed them down when they gazed at
the water all around them. Some, in their frenzy, even fell into the
river. Their riders were thrown off but, buoyed by their own weight,
the animals managed to make it ashore by feeling cautiously for the
bottom with their feet.
29. While the elephants were being ferried over Hannibal had sent
500 Numidian riders to the Roman camp to investigate the position,
strength, and plans of the enemy forces. This cavalry squadron was
met by the 300 Roman horsemen who, as stated above, had been
sent out from the mouth of the Rhône. The ensuing battle was more
ferocious than the number of combatants would have led one to
expect. Many were wounded, and the loss of life was also about equal
on both sides; and, when the Numidians panicked and fled, they
ceded victory to a Roman side that was by then quite exhausted. Of
the victors, some 160 fell––not all Romans, but some Gauls as well––
and of the defeated, more than 200. This marked the start of the war,
and also served as an omen for it, indicating that, while the Romans
would have success in the long run, the victory would certainly not
be bloodless and would follow a close-fought struggle.
When the men returned to their respective commanders after this
engagement, Scipio felt he could not stick to any plan––all he could
do was react to the strategy and moves of the enemy. As for
Hannibal, he was unsure whether to continue the march on Italy that
he had started or to engage with this Roman army, the first that had
appeared before him; but he was kept from an immediate confronta-
tion by the arrival of a delegation of Boians with their chieftain,
Magalus. These promised to act as guides for the routes to be taken
and to share the dangers with him, and they told him that, in their
opinion, he should invade Italy before opening hostilities and with-
out weakening his forces in any other theatre before he did so. Most
30 book twenty-one 218 bc
of Hannibal’s men did, indeed, fear their enemy, for the memory of
the last war had not yet been erased; but they dreaded much more
the interminable march over the Alps––and this, for men with no
experience of it, rumour made terrifying,
30. After deciding to go ahead with his march and make for Italy
as planned, Hannibal called a meeting of the men and roused their
spirits with a mixture of criticism and encouragement.
He was shocked, he said, that hearts ever fearless could have been
subject to a panic attack. They had served, and served victoriously,
for so many years, and they had not left Spain before seeing all the
tribes and lands between its two seas under Carthaginian control.
Then, vexed by the demand of the Roman people that any who
had blockaded Saguntum be turned over to them, as though guilty
of some crime, they had crossed the Ebro to wipe out the name of
Rome and set the world free. At that point it seemed to no one to be
a long journey, though they were travelling from where the sun set to
where it rose again. Now they could see that by far the greater part
of their journey was behind them. They could see that they had
climbed the pass through the Pyrenees where they had been sur-
rounded by truly fierce tribes, and that they had crossed the formid-
able River Rhône, where they had conquered even the violence of
that waterway, in the teeth of so many thousands of Gauls. And
it was only now, when they had the Alps in sight, with Italy on
the other side, and when they were at the very gateway to the
enemy––only now did they halt from weariness.
The Alps––what else did they think them but high mountains? All
right, they might well suppose them higher than the crests of the
Pyrenees, but certainly no points of the earth reached the sky, or
were insurmountable for the human race. In fact, the Alps were
inhabited, and under cultivation. They bore and sustained living
beings, and armies could pass through their gorges. The very envoys
his men saw before them had not come over the Alps flying high on
wings, he said. No, even the ancestors of these men were not natives
of Italy; they were foreign settlers who had safely crossed these very
same Alps on many occasions and in huge numbers, taking children
and wives with them on their migrations. And a soldier carrying
nothing but his implements of war––what is there that he cannot
pass or surmount? Think of the eight months of danger and hard-
ship they had suffered to take Saguntum! Their objective now was
218 bc chapters 29–31 31
Rome, capital of the world. Can any challenge seem sufficiently
daunting or difficult to delay that enterprise? In the past Gauls had
captured those very places the Carthaginians were now losing hope
of approaching! So, he concluded, they ought to admit that, in spirit
and courage, they were inferior to a people they had so often defeated
in recent days! Either that or they should expect that the end of their
journey would be the plain lying between the Tiber and the walls of
Rome.
31. After energizing the men with such words of encouragement,
Hannibal told them to take refreshment and ready themselves for the
march. The next day he set off upstream, along the bank of the
Rhône, heading for the interior of Gaul. This was not because it was a
more direct route to the Alps but because he thought that, the further
he moved from the sea, the less likely he was to meet the Romans––
his intention was not to engage them until he reached Italy.
On the fourth day’s march, Hannibal reached the Island. This is
the confluence of the River Sarar and the River Rhône, which run
down from different Alpine ranges, enclosing a considerable amount
of land; and the plains between them have been given the name ‘the
Island’.* The Allobroges live close by, a tribe that in those days was
already second to none of the Gallic tribes in wealth or reputation.
At that particular time there was internal strife amongst them, with
two brothers locked in a struggle for the throne. The elder brother,
whose name was Branceus, had already been the ruler, but was now
facing the prospect of being deposed by his younger brother and a
clique of younger men, who had greater strength but less justice on
their side. Very opportunely for Branceus, adjudication of this dis-
pute was referred to Hannibal, who, having the disposal of the king-
dom in his hands, supported the view of the senate and leading
citizens, and restored authority to the elder brother. In return for
this service, Hannibal was provided with support in the form of all
manner of supplies and provisions, clothing in particular, the acqui-
sition of which the infamous cold of the Alps made absolutely
necessary.
Hannibal headed for the Alps after settling the Allobrogan dis-
pute, but instead of taking the direct route he veered to the left into
the lands of the Tricastini. He then advanced through the border
territory of the Vocontii into the lands of the Trigorii, meeting no
obstacle anywhere on his route until he reached the River Druentia.
32 book twenty-one 218 bc
Also an Alpine river, the Druentia is, of all the waterways of Gaul, by
far the most difficult to cross. The volume of water it carries is
enormous, but it is not navigable because it has no banks to confine
it. Its flow is divided amongst a number of channels that never remain
the same, and the river is continually forming new shallows and new
pools, making passage hazardous also for a foot soldier. In addition, it
rolls along gravel, thus providing no steady or secure footing for any
one stepping into it. At that time, too, it was in spate from the rains,
which caused terrible problems for the men as they tried to cross, for,
in addition to everything else, they were also thrown off balance by
their own fear and discordant cries.
32. Some three days after Hannibal had moved camp from the
bank of the Rhône, the consul Publius Cornelius had come to the
enemy encampment with his army in battle formation, intending to
engage without delay. But he found their fortifications abandoned,
and saw that catching them would not be easy when they had such a
head start. He accordingly returned to his ships on the coast, think-
ing it would be safer and easier to confront Hannibal while he was
making his descent from the Alps. But he had gained Spain in the
provincial sortition, and was reluctant to leave it lacking Roman aid.
He therefore sent most of his troops against Hasdrubal, under his
brother Gnaeus Scipio, with the aim not merely of defending long-
standing allies of Rome and enlisting new ones, but of actually driv-
ing Hasdrubal out of Spain. Cornelius himself headed back to
Genua with considerably diminished forces, intending to undertake
the defence of Italy with the army now in the vicinity of the Po.
Following a mostly flat route from the Druentia, Hannibal
reached the Alps after being granted a safe passage by the Gauls
inhabiting those parts. The men had been given some forewarning of
their nature from rumour, which usually exaggerates the unknown.
But now, seen close-up, everything served to renew their dread.
They saw the towering mountains with snow almost blending into
the sky; ugly homesteads perched on cliffs; flocks and pack animals
shrivelled with cold; human figures shaggy and unkempt; every-
thing, animate and inanimate alike, stiff with frost; and everything
else a grimmer sight than words could possibly describe. As the
Carthaginians brought the column up the nearest slopes, mountain
dwellers came into view, occupying the heights overlooking them.
Had these instead positioned themselves in the gorges that provided
218 bc chapters 31–33 33
greater cover, they could have suddenly sprung to the attack and
caused a massive flight and loss of life. Hannibal ordered a halt, and
sent forward some Gauls to reconnoitre the area. Learning from
them that there was no way through, he pitched camp in the most
level piece of open ground that could be found in the generally
broken and rocky terrain. Then these same Gauls managed to
insinuate themselves into conversations with the local mountain
men, from whom they differed little in language and customs.
Through them Hannibal gained the further information that the
pass was guarded only by day, and that at night all the men slipped
away to their own homes. And so, at dawn, he approached the
heights, apparently intending to force his way through in broad day-
light. Then, after a whole day of pretending to achieve a goal other
than the true one, the Carthaginians fortified the camp where they
had originally halted. As soon as Hannibal perceived that the moun-
tain men had left the heights and relaxed their guard, he created an
illusion for the enemy by lighting more fires than were required for
the numbers remaining. Then, leaving the baggage behind with all
the cavalry and most of the infantry, he took a number of light-
armed men, the bravest he had, and swiftly made his way up to the
top of the pass. There he took up a position on the very heights that
the enemy had held.
33. At dawn, camp was struck and the rest of the army began to
advance. By now the mountain men, having been given the signal,
were leaving their strongholds and converging on their customary
post. Then, all of a sudden, they caught sight of some of the enemy
above their heads, occupying the vantage-point that had been theirs,
and they saw others coming along the road. Perceiving the two
things together, and realizing what they meant, they were left
momentarily pinned to the spot, motionless. They then observed
some disarray in the pass, with the column thrown into disorder by
its own difficulties, and the horses especially panic-stricken. Think-
ing that whatever they could add to the panic would be enough to
finish off their enemy, they came charging down together at various
points over the rocks, familiar as they were with the paths and track-
less areas alike. At this point the Carthaginians really were under
pressure, both from the enemy and from the roughness of the ground,
and as they all struggled to be the first out of danger there was more
fighting amongst themselves than there was with the enemy. The
34 book twenty-one 218 bc
horses posed the greatest danger for the column. Startled by the
confused shouting, which was intensified by the woods and echoing
ravines, they reared up, and those that chanced to be struck or
wounded became so frantic as to cause severe damage to the men and
all the various kinds of baggage. The pass had precipitously steep
cliffs on either side,* and the crowding caused many to be hurled
down into a sheer abyss, some of them in armour; but it was just like
a building collapsing when pack animals came tumbling down along
with their loads.
Frightful as the scene was, Hannibal none the less halted for a
short while and held back his men for fear of only worsening the
confusion and panic. Then he saw that a break in the column was
occurring and that, if the baggage were lost, he faced the risk of
having wasted his time in bringing the troops through safely. He
therefore swooped down from his higher position and, with his
assault, scattered the enemy, though this also increased the commo-
tion amongst his men. That commotion, however, was calmed in an
instant when the mountain men fled and left the paths clear, and
soon the entire force was brought through not simply unmolested
but almost in silence.
After this Hannibal took the stronghold that served as the regional
capital, along with the villages around it, and with the food and
livestock he captured there he fed his army for three days. No longer
troubled by the mountain men, who were cowed by the initial defeat,
or by the terrain, he made considerable progress during those three
days.
34. The Carthaginians next reached another tribe that was com-
paratively populous for mountain-dwellers, and here Hannibal
almost came to grief, not through open resistance but through
duplicity and subterfuge, his own tricks of the trade. The older
chieftains of the local strongholds came to the Carthaginian as
spokesmen. They had learned a salutary lesson from the suffering of
others, they declared, and preferred to try out the friendship of the
Carthaginians, rather than their military strength. They would fol-
low Hannibal’s instructions to the letter, they said, and he was invited
to take from them provisions, guides for his route and hostages as a
guarantee of their promises.
Hannibal was polite in his response. He felt he should not put
blind faith in them, but that he should not refuse the offer, either, in
218 bc chapters 33–35 35
case rejection made them openly hostile. He accepted the hostages
they offered, and availed himself of the provisions, which the
spokesmen had personally brought down to the road; but in follow-
ing their guides he had his column carefully ordered, not assuming
he was in friendly country.
The vanguard comprised elephants and cavalry; Hannibal himself
brought up the rear with the best of his infantry, anxiously looking
about with every step. When the column reached a narrowing of the
road, overlooked on one side by a mountain ridge, the barbarians
rose up from all their hiding places. They attacked the Carthaginians
front and rear, engaging hand-to-hand and from a distance, and
rolling huge rocks down on the column. An enormous body of men
bore down on the rear, and the infantry wheeled round to face them,
leaving no doubt that, had it not been for the reinforcement provided
for both ends of the column, the Carthaginians would have suffered
a calamitous defeat in that pass. Even as it was, they faced extreme
peril and were almost destroyed. For Hannibal hesitated to send
down his division into the pass––it would mean leaving the infantry
without the support in the rear that he was himself providing for the
cavalry. The mountain men thereupon attacked from the side, cut-
ting the column in half, and occupied the road. Hannibal then spent
a night cut off from the cavalry and baggage.
35. The next day the barbarian assaults slackened, and the
Carthaginian force then reunited and made it through the pass. They
suffered losses in the process, but more pack animals were killed than
men. After this, the mountain men were less in evidence, and they
made predatory raids on the head or the rear of the column, rather
than real strikes, wherever the terrain offered an opportunity, or
where they could take advantage of some of the Carthaginians going
too far ahead, or lagging behind. The elephants could be driven only
at a snail’s pace because the paths were steep and narrow, but they
also provided security from the enemy all the way along: unfamiliar
with the beasts, they feared to come too close to them.
On the ninth day they reached the crest of the Alps. They had
wandered around over mostly trackless terrain because of the dupli-
city of their guides or because, distrusting the guides, they strayed
blindly into gorges while guessing their way. They encamped on the
crest for two days, and the soldiers, exhausted from their exertions
and fighting, were given a rest. A number of pack animals that had
36 book twenty-one 218 bc
fallen along the rocky path reached this camp by following the tracks
of the column.
The men were sick and tired of all their tribulations, and then a
snowfall arrived––for it was now the setting of the constellation
Pleiades––filling them with a new and terrible fear. A deep layer of
snow covered the entire landscape and, when they struck camp at
dawn, the column moved sluggishly, with despondency and despair
written on every face. Hannibal rode ahead of the standards and
ordered his men to halt on a spur that afforded a deep and broad
panorama. Here he pointed out to them Italy, and the plains that
surrounded the Po, at the foot of the Alps.* At that moment, he told
them, they were crossing the defences not merely of Italy but of the
city of Rome. The rest of the way would be flat or downhill; one or at
most two battles and they would have that chief bastion of Italy in
their hands and at their mercy.
The column went ahead, and now, apart from some stealthy
attacks, the enemy did not even take advantage of opportunities to
harass them. But the journey was much harder than on the way up,
the Alpine slopes on the Italian side being as a rule shorter but also
steeper. Almost every step of the way was steep, narrow, and slippery.
As a result the men could not keep from falling and, even after losing
their balance only slightly, they could not, once in difficulties, keep
their footing, so that they would fall over each other, and the pack
animals would fall on the men.
36. They next came to a much narrower passageway on the rock
face, where the cliff fell away so steeply that a soldier free of baggage
could barely make it down by feeling his way and clinging with his
hands to shrubs and roots projecting round about him. The spot had
been naturally steep before, but it had now also been sheered off by a
recent landslide, which had created a drop of fully one thousand feet.
The cavalry halted at this point, thinking they had reached the end
of the road and, as Hannibal wondered what was holding up the
column, word that the cliff was impassable was brought back to him.
He then went off to examine the location for himself.
It seemed clear to him that he had to take the column round on a
detour––no matter how long it might be––through the surrounding
areas, where there was no path and no one had set foot before. But
that avenue proved impossible, too. Over an old, untouched layer of
snow there was a fresh one of some slight depth. On this layer, since
218 bc chapters 35–38 37
it was soft and not too deep, the feet of the marching men could get a
footing. But then it melted as all the men and pack animals walked
over it; and the soldiers began to find themselves stepping on the
glare ice that lay beneath and on the slush of the thawing snow. This
produced a horrific struggle. The slippery path afforded no foothold,
and on the incline it made the feet slide all the more quickly. If they
used hands or knees to help themselves up, these supports them-
selves would slither away from under them, and they would fall
again. And there were no stumps or roots around to provide leverage
for either foot or hand––only glare ice and slushy snow on which
they simply slithered about. The pack animals treading the snow
would occasionally cut even into the bottom layer. They would then
slip forward and, with their hoofs flailing more wildly in their efforts
to get up, would break right through. As a result, a number became
wedged in the ice, which was hardened and frozen to a great depth, as
though they were caught in a snare.
37. Finally, with pack animals and men exhausted to no purpose,
they pitched camp on the crest––and they had a very hard time
clearing ground even for this, so much snow had to be dug up and
removed. The men were then taken off to make a road down the cliff,
which was the only possible way to go on. Solid rock had to be cut.
They felled some massive trees in the area, stripped the branches
from them, and made a huge pile of logs. This they set on fire when a
strong breeze arose suitable for whipping up a blaze, and as the rocks
became hot they made them disintegrate by pouring vinegar on
them.* After scorching the cliff-face with fires in this way, they
opened it up with picks and softened the gradient with short zigzag
paths so that even the elephants, not just the pack animals, could be
brought down.
Four days were spent at the cliff, during which the pack animals
almost starved to death. The mountain peaks are practically bare,
and the snows cover such pasture as there is. The lower regions have
valleys, a number of sunny hillocks, and streams with woods close
by––a more suitable habitat for humans. There the pack animals
were put out to pasture, and the men, exhausted from their road-
building, were given some rest. It took only three days to descend
from here into the plains, the environment and the disposition of the
inhabitants both being less forbidding.
38. Such were the main features of the journey into Italy. Hannibal
38 book twenty-one 218 bc
reached it in the fifth month after leaving New Carthage, according
to some authorities, and after spending fourteen days crossing the
Alps. There is no agreement at all amongst the sources on the size of
Hannibal’s forces when he crossed into Italy. The highest count is
100,000 infantry and 20,000 cavalry; the lowest 20,000 infantry and
6,000 cavalry. The most authoritative account should be that of
Lucius Cincius Alimentus, who records that he was taken prisoner
by Hannibal, but Cincius makes a mess of the numbers by adding in
Gauls and Ligurians. With these included, Cincius asserts that the
total brought into Italy was 80,000 foot and 10,000 horse, but it is
likely, as some authors in fact affirm, that it was within Italy rather
that these peoples flocked to Hannibal’s banner. Cincius also states
that he learned from Hannibal’s own lips that he lost 36,000 men and
a huge number of horses and other beasts after crossing the Rhône.*
On coming down into Italy the people Hannibal reached next were
the Taurini Semigalli.* This is universally accepted, which makes me
all the more surprised at the dispute over Hannibal’s route over the
Alps, and at the prevailing belief that he crossed by the Poenine Alps
(and that this Alpine range was given its name on that account*). I am
likewise surprised at Coelius’ statement that Hannibal crossed by way
of the Cremo ridge. Both of these passes would have brought Han-
nibal down not amongst the Taurini but amongst the Libuan Gauls,
the route traversing the mountain-dwelling Salassi. Moreover, it is
unlikely that those routes to Gaul would have been open at that time
and, in any case, those leading to the Poenine Alps would have been
blocked by the Half-German tribes. And, indeed, there is another
argument that may have some validity. The Sedunoveragri, who
inhabit that particular Alpine range, are unaware of the derivation of
the name of those mountains from any crossing of the Carthaginians,
and draw it instead from the god whom the mountain people call
Poeninus, whose cult is established on their highest peak.
39. Very convenient for Hannibal at the start of his campaign was
the fact that a war had been launched against the Insubres by the
tribe closest to them, the Taurini. But Hannibal could not put his
force under arms to give assistance to one side or the other––it was
now, in the process of recovery, that his men were experiencing the
worst effects of their earlier tribulations. Rest after hardship, plenty
after privation, comfort after filth and disease––all this was having
various physical effects on men who had been reduced to squalor and
218 bc chapters 38–40 39
near-brutalization. This was why the consul Publius Cornelius Scipio
hastened towards the Po after reaching Pisa by sea, even though
the army he had taken over from Manlius and Atilius was one of raw
recruits demoralized by their recent discreditable performance––he
wanted to engage an enemy whose strength was not yet restored.
When the consul reached Placentia, however, Hannibal had already
moved from his camp, and had taken by storm a single city of the
Taurini––in fact, the tribal capital––because its people would not
willingly enter into an alliance with him. Indeed, he could have
enlisted the Gauls living around the Po, who would have come to
him of their own accord, and without intimidation, but for the
prompt arrival of the consul, who checked them as they sought an
opportunity for insurrection. Hannibal then moved from the land of
the Taurini in the belief that the Gauls, undecided on which side to
support, would in fact support whichever was close at hand.
The armies were now almost in sight of each other, and two com-
manders had been brought face to face who, while not yet knowing
each other well, felt a certain admiration for the other. Hannibal’s
name had been very well known to the Romans even before the
destruction of Saguntum; and Hannibal thought Scipio a remark-
able man for the sole reason that it was he who had been chosen
commander to face him. And their mutual esteem had been
increased by recent events: Scipio had been left behind in Gaul, but
had come to face Hannibal after his crossing into Italy; and Hannibal
had had the nerve to attempt the Alpine crossing, and had actually
brought it off.
Scipio crossed the Po before Hannibal. He moved his camp to the
River Ticinus and, to encourage the men before leading them into
battle, proceeded with the following harangue:*
40. ‘Men! Were I leading into battle the army I had with me in
Gaul, I could have dispensed with an address before you. What
would have been the point of words of encouragement to horsemen
who had won a fine victory over the enemy cavalry at the Rhône? Or
to legions with which I chased this very enemy as he fled before me,
when I interpreted as a victory his avowal of defeat in pulling back
and refusing to engage? But that army was mobilized to serve in
Spain, and it is there that, under my auspices, it is seeing action with
my brother Gnaeus Scipio, in accordance with the wishes of the
Roman Senate and People. As for me, I have freely volunteered my
40 book twenty-one 218 bc
services for this battle so you could have a consul leading you against
Hannibal and the Carthaginians and now, as your new commander, I
must say a few words to men who are new to me.
‘I do not want you to be ignorant of the war and of the enemy
you are facing, men. The people you must fight are those whom you
defeated on land and sea in the last war, people from whom you
wrung tribute over a twenty-year period and from whom you seized
Sicily and Sardinia, which you hold now as prizes of war.* So, in this
conflict, you and they will both have the level of morale usually
found in the victors and the vanquished respectively. And now they
are going to fight not because they have confidence, but because
they have to. For you cannot believe that men who refused battle
when their army was intact have higher hopes after losing almost
two-thirds of their infantry and cavalry in crossing the Alps, when
those who perished almost outnumber the survivors!
‘Ah, you may say, few they may be, but their morale and strength
is intact––no force could withstand their toughness and stamina.
Not so! They are mere ghosts, insubstantial shadows of men, lifeless
from hunger and cold, covered with dirt and filth, and battered and
disabled from the rocks and cliffs. In addition, their limbs are frost-
bitten, their muscles stiffened by the falling snow, their bodies para-
lysed with cold. Their weapons are shivered and broken, their horses
lame and spent. This is the cavalry, this is the infantry you will
fight––you will have not an enemy but the last traces of an enemy.
And there is nothing I fear more than this: that after you have
fought, it may appear that it was the Alps that actually defeated
Hannibal. And yet perhaps that is appropriate. Perhaps it should be
the gods themselves who start, and with no human assistance virtu-
ally finish, a war with a treaty-breaking commander and people,
while we, victims of the outrage next after the gods, should simply
mop up after what they began and more or less finished.
41. ‘I have no fear of any of you thinking that this is bluster on my
part, intended merely to encourage you, while my true feelings are
different. I could have gone off to Spain, my area of responsibility,
with my own army––I had already set out for it. There I should have
had my brother involved in my decisions, and sharing my dangers,
and I should have had Hasdrubal rather than Hannibal as my foe,
and a war of clearly lesser proportions. But no! As soon as I received
the news about this enemy, as I skirted the coast of Gaul with my
218 bc chapters 40–41 41
fleet, I disembarked, sent my cavalry ahead and advanced my camp
to the Rhône. I scattered the enemy in a cavalry battle, the only
branch of my forces with which I was given the chance to engage.
Their infantry column was quickly marched off like an army in flight
and, because I could not catch up with it on land, I returned to my
fleet. Then I made a long, roundabout journey over sea and land, with
all the speed I could muster, and have come to meet this formidable
enemy practically in the foothills of the Alps.
‘So what do you think I have done? Come upon him accidentally
when I was trying to avoid battle? Or, rather, dogged his footsteps,
trying to provoke him and draw him into a decisive battle? I want to
see for myself whether the earth has, over these past twenty years,
suddenly produced Carthaginians of a different kind. I want to know
if these are the same as those who fought at the Aegates Islands, and
whom you released from Eryx only after setting a price of eighteen
denarii apiece on their heads. I want to see if this Hannibal really is,
as he himself claims, on a par with Hercules on his travels, or rather
has been left by his father as a mere tribute- and tax-payer, indeed a
slave, of the Roman people. The crime of Saguntum must have
deranged the man. Otherwise he would have given some thought, if
not to his defeated country, then at least to his home, his father, and
those treaties written down in Hamilcar’s hand. It was Hamilcar who
withdrew the Carthaginian garrison from Eryx on the order of our
consul; it was Hamilcar who accepted with rage and sorrow the
harsh conditions imposed on the Carthaginians and who, on his
withdrawal from Sicily, agreed to pay tribute to the Roman people.
‘And so, men, I should like you to fight, not just with the spirit
with which you usually face other enemies, but with resentment and
anger––just as though you are looking at your own slaves who are
suddenly shouldering arms against you. When we blockaded them at
Eryx, we could have starved them to death, the worst of punish-
ments to be inflicted on a human. We could have sent our victorious
fleet across to Africa and destroyed Carthage in a matter of days,
without a fight. Instead, we showed mercy when they begged for
it, raised the siege, and made peace with them after their defeat; and
then, when they were in difficulties with a war in Africa, we regarded
them as being under our protection. As thanks for these favours,
they come following a young maniac to attack our country.
‘And I wish that this battle were only for your glory and not for
42 book twenty-one 218 bc
your survival. It is not for the possession of Sicily and Sardinia, our
earlier bones of contention, that you now must fight, but for Italy.
There is, furthermore, no other army behind us to block the enemy, if
we are not victorious, and no other Alps that would give us the time
to establish fresh defences while they crossed. This is where we must
stop them, men, just as if we were fighting before the walls of Rome.
‘Each one of you must imagine that, by his arms, he is protecting
not only his own person, but his wife and small children, too. And
his thoughts should be focused not merely on his home. Rather, let
him time and again bear this in mind, that it is on our hands that the
Senate and People of Rome now have their attention fixed, and that
the fate of that city and of the Roman empire lies in our strength and
courage.’
42. Such were the consul’s words to the Roman troops. Hannibal
thought his exhortation to his soldiers should take the form of action
rather than words. He formed the army into a circle for a demonstra-
tion, and set in the middle some captives from the mountains, in
chains. He then had some Gallic weapons thrown at their feet, and
told an interpreter to ask whether any of them was prepared to fight
to the death with a sword, if victory meant being relieved of his
chains and given arms and a horse. To a man, they all asked for a
sword and the chance to fight, and lots were cast to decide the matter,
each of them wishing that he was the one fortune would choose for
the fight. As each lot was drawn, the ecstatic winner jumped for joy.
He would break into his native dance, and swiftly grab his weapons,
while his comrades around him offered congratulations. And, during
the fighting, such were the feelings of the spectators at large, and
not just the men facing the same ordeal, that the fortunate victors
received no more applause than the unfortunates who died well.
43. Hannibal put on show a number of pairs to enliven his men.
He then dismissed them and called an assembly, at which he is
reported to have addressed them as follows:
‘Men! A little while ago you demonstrated your spirit as you
watched the fate of others. Demonstrate that same spirit when you
consider your own prospects and we are already victors! For that was
not simply a show; it virtually mirrored your own position. I wonder,
in fact, if fortune has not imposed on you stronger fetters and more
pressing demands than she has on your prisoners. To the right and to
the left, two seas hem you in, and you have not a single ship even to
218 bc chapters 41–43 43
make an escape. Around you is the River Po, bigger and more violent
than the Rhône, and to your rear the barrier of the Alps, which you
could barely cross when your strength was unimpaired and robust.
Here, men, as soon as you meet the enemy, you must either conquer
or die. But, if you prevail, that very same Fortune that has imposed
on you the obligation to fight holds out prizes to you––and prizes
greater than men usually ask for even in their prayers to the immortal
gods! Suppose it were merely Sicily and Sardinia, filched from our
fathers, that we were going to recover. Those would be prizes great
enough themselves. As it is, whatever all their many triumphs have
won and accumulated for the Romans, all that is going to be yours––
along with its owners! Come on, then, take up your arms to win this
rich reward––the gods are with you! You have spent enough time
chasing sheep on the desolate mountains of Lusitania and Celtiberia,
seeing no return for all your tribulation and danger. It is now time to
make your service rich and profitable and, after that enormous
journey over all those mountains and rivers, and through all those
belligerent tribes, it is time you earned the great rewards for all your
efforts. It is here that Fortune has granted an end to your labours,
and here she will give you the reward you deserve when your service
is done.
‘Do not imagine that victory will be as difficult as the fame of the
war might suggest. Often an underrated enemy has put up a bloody
fight, and famous peoples and kings have been defeated with little
effort. For set aside this one thing, the shining name of Rome, and
how are they to be compared with you? I say nothing of the twenty
years you have served with the valour and success for which you are
famous. Now you have come to this place, triumphant, from the
Pillars of Hercules, and from the Ocean and the bounds of the earth,
passing through all the most violent tribes of Spain and Gaul. You
will fight against an inexperienced army that was massacred, beaten,
and blockaded by Gauls this very summer, an army that its com-
mander does not know and which does not know its commander. In
my case, I was practically born––and certainly brought up––in the
headquarters of a distinguished commander, my father. I am the man
who brought Spain and Gaul to heel, and conquered not only
the peoples of the Alps but––a much greater achievement––the Alps
themselves. Am I then to compare myself with this six-month
commander, with this deserter of his own army? If, today, someone
44 book twenty-one 218 bc
should take away the standards and show him Carthaginians and
Romans, I am convinced he would have no idea of which army he is
the consul! And, personally, I do not judge the following consider-
ations to be of little importance. There is not a man amongst you
before whose eyes I have not myself on numerous occasions per-
formed some military exploit. Likewise there is not one whose cour-
age I have not personally observed and witnessed, and whose feats I
could not recount, with details of time and location. I shall take the
field with men I have praised and decorated a thousand times, men
to all of whom I was a stepson before becoming their commander,
and I shall go into battle against soldiers who simply do not know
each other.
44. ‘Wherever my eyes have fallen all I see is courage and strength:
a veteran infantry; cavalry, with and without bridles, drawn from
tribes of noble spirit; you, our allies, loyal and brave; and you
Carthaginians, who will not only fight for your country, but fight also
with righteous indignation. We are on the offensive; we are going
down to attack Italy. We shall fight all the more boldly and courage-
ously––as the invader we have higher hopes, and greater morale,
than the defender. In addition, our hearts are afire and spurred on by
resentment, by our unjust treatment, and by humiliation.
‘The Romans demanded the punishment first of your leader, me,
and then of all of you, for your attack on Saguntum. Had we been
delivered to them, they would have inflicted on us the cruellest of
tortures. They are a barbarous and high-handed nation; they want
everything to be theirs and under their control. They think they have
the right to decide with whom we are to be at war, and with whom to
be at peace. They confine and restrict us, using mountains and rivers
as boundaries that we are not to cross, but they themselves do not
observe those boundaries that they have defined.
‘ “Do not cross the Ebro!” they say. “Keep away from the people
of Saguntum!” But is Saguntum on the Ebro? “Do not take a step in
any direction!” they say. Is it not enough that you have taken from
me my oldest provinces, Sicily and Sardinia? Are you taking the
Spanish provinces, too? And if I cede these as well, will you cross to
Africa? Did I say “will cross”? I mean have crossed. They have sent
out this year’s two consuls, one to Africa and the other to Spain. We
have been left nothing anywhere apart from what we may defend
with our weapons. The people who can afford to be timid and
218 bc chapters 43–45 45
cowardly are those who have a refuge behind them, those who have
lands and farms to receive them as they withdraw along safe and
peaceful routes. But you, you must be men of courage. You must set
aside as absolutely hopeless any result between victory and death,
and either win or, if your fortunes waver, meet your end in battle
rather than in flight. If you are all firmly resolved on this and if it is
fixed in your minds, then––I shall say it again––you are already the
victors. Man has been given by the immortal gods no sharper an
incentive to conquer than indifference to death.’
45. Such were the words of exhortation by which the men’s hearts
were fired for battle on the two sides. The Romans then bridged
the Ticinus, and set a fort on its bank to protect the bridge. While
his enemy was busy with the construction, the Carthaginian sent
Maharbal with a company of Numidian cavalry, 500 strong, to con-
duct raids on the farmland of the allies of the Roman people.
Maharbal had orders to spare the Gauls as far as possible, and to
induce their chieftains to defect.
When the bridge was completed, the Roman army was marched
across into the territory of the Insubres where they encamped five
miles from Victumulae. It was at Victumulae that Hannibal had his
camp. He now swiftly recalled Maharbal and the cavalry, since he saw
a battle was in prospect. Feeling that soldiers could never be given
sufficient advice and encouragement to spur them on, he now called
them to a meeting where he announced specific rewards that they
could hope to win from combat. He would give them land in Italy,
Africa, or Spain, he said, wherever an individual chose, and for the
man receiving it, and for his children, it would be tax-free. To any-
one preferring cash to land he would give the full equivalent in silver.
He would make it possible for allies wishing to become Carthaginian
citizens to do so, and he would do his utmost to see that those
wanting to return to their homes would not wish to change places
with any of their compatriots. He also offered their freedom to slaves
who had accompanied their masters, undertaking to give the masters
two each in their place. Wishing the men to appreciate that these
engagements were binding, he held a lamb in his left hand and a
stone in his right, and made a prayer to Jupiter and the other gods
that they should slay him, as he slew the lamb, if he broke his word.
After the prayer, he smashed the animal’s head with the stone. At this
each man felt the gods were smiling on his hopes, and they all thought
46 book twenty-one 218 bc
that the fact that they were not yet fighting only delayed fulfilment
of those hopes. With one heart and one voice they clamoured for
battle.
46. There was nothing like as much enthusiasm amongst the
Romans. Other concerns apart, they were also frightened by recent
portents. A wolf had entered the camp, savaged the people it
encountered, and escaped unharmed; and a swarm of bees had settled
on a tree overlooking the general’s headquarters. After rites to avert
these omens, Scipio set off with his cavalry and light-armed javelin-
throwers to get a close look at the enemy camp and at the size and
make-up of his troops. In so doing he came upon Hannibal, who had
himself gone forth with his cavalry to reconnoitre the surrounding
area. At first neither party could see the other. Then the dust from so
many men and horses on the move rose thicker, indicating the
approach of the enemy. Both columns came to a halt and proceeded
to prepare for battle.
Scipio positioned his javelin-throwers and Gallic cavalry in front,
with the Roman and the cream of the allied cavalry in reserve.
Hannibal set his bridled cavalry in the centre, and strengthened the
wings with the Numidians. The battle-cry had scarcely gone up when
Scipio’s javelin-throwers ran back amidst the supporting troops to
the second line.* After that there was a cavalry battle, which for some
time remained even, but then the infantry became involved in the
fighting and this startled the horses. Many riders were thrown from
their mounts, or climbed down on seeing their comrades surrounded
and under pressure, and it had become mostly a battle fought on
foot, until the Numidians on the wings effected a slight encircling
manœuvre to appear to the rear of the Romans. At this, panic struck
the Romans, and that panic was increased when the consul was
wounded, the threat to his life averted only by the intervention of his
son (who was at that time just coming to maturity). This was to be
the young man who would have the distinction of terminating this
war, and who would be called ‘Africanus’ for his outstanding victory
over Hannibal and the Carthaginians.
The disordered flight, however, was mostly confined to the javelin-
throwers, whom the Numidians attacked first. The rest of the cavalry
closed ranks and brought the consul into their midst, giving him
protection with their own bodies as well as their arms, and taking
him back to camp, with no hint of panic or disorder in their retreat.
218 bc chapters 45–47 47
Coelius assigns the glory of the consul’s rescue to a slave of Ligurian
nationality. I would rather accept the truth of the version concern-
ing the son, an account passed down by several historians and
entrenched in popular tradition.*
47. This was the first engagement with Hannibal, and it was
patently obvious from it that the Carthaginians had cavalry superior-
ity. It was also clear that, for this reason, the open plains of the kind
between the Po and the Alps were not a suitable battleground for the
Romans. Accordingly, the following night, Scipio ordered his men to
pack up quietly, struck camp from the Ticinus, and marched swiftly
to the Po. His intention was to take his army across by the pontoon
bridge with which he had spanned the river, and which was not yet
dismantled; he could thus avoid confusion and enemy harassment.
They reached Placentia before Hannibal had definite word of their
leaving the Ticinus, but the Carthaginian still captured some 600
who were too slow in unmooring a pontoon on his side of the river. He
could not himself cross by the pontoon bridge since the end sections
had been loosened, and the whole structure was floating downstream.
Coelius claims that Mago, his cavalry, and the Spanish infantry
swam across immediately, but that Hannibal himself took the main
body over by fording the Po upstream, with elephants positioned in a
line to take the force of the current. Those who know the river would
find it difficult to accept this. It is unlikely that cavalry could have
mastered such a strong current while still retaining their arms and
horses, even if one assumes that all the Spaniards were floated over
on inflated skins. And, secondly, to seek out fords over the Po that
would afford a crossing for an army weighed down with baggage
would have meant a detour lasting several days.
More credible, in my view, are the historians who record that it
took a good two days to find a spot for spanning the river with a
pontoon bridge, and that the cavalry and light-armed Spanish troops
were sent over it first, under Mago’s leadership.*
Hannibal spent some time giving audiences to Gallic embassies
before crossing the river. He then took the column of heavy-armed
infantry across, and meanwhile Mago and the cavalry marched
towards the enemy at Placentia, one day’s journey from the river-
crossing. A few days later Hannibal established a fortified camp six
miles from Placentia, and the following day drew up his line of battle
in full view of his enemy, offering them the opportunity to engage.
48 book twenty-one 218 bc
48. During the night that followed there was a bloody coup in the
Roman camp, pulled off by some Gallic auxiliaries, though the
commotion was disproportionate to the actual damage. About 2,000
infantrymen and 200 cavalry killed the sentries at the gates, and
deserted to Hannibal. The Carthaginian welcomed them with kind
words, filled them with expectations of rich rewards, and sent them
off to their various communities to enlist the support of their
compatriots.
Scipio feared that the coup was a signal for wholesale insurrection
by the Gauls, who, becoming infected by this villainous behaviour,
would now rush to arms in a fit of madness. He was still in pain from
his wound, but he nevertheless slipped quietly away towards the
River Trebia with his army at the fourth watch of the following
night, and proceeded to move his camp to a higher elevation where
the hills would obstruct cavalry. His attempt at concealment was less
successful than at the Ticinus. Hannibal sent the Numidians in pur-
suit first, and then the entire cavalry, and would certainly have cre-
ated havoc at least at the rear of the Roman column had not greed for
plunder sidetracked the Numidians to the now unmanned Roman
camp. There they frittered away valuable time rifling through every
corner of the camp, without finding any prize worth the delay, and
the enemy slipped through their fingers. The Numidians sighted the
Romans only when they had already crossed the Trebia, and were
measuring off their camp. They did manage to kill a few of the
stragglers whom they cut off on their side of the river.
Scipio could no longer bear the discomfort caused by the jolting of
his wound on the march; and, besides, he felt he should await his
colleague who, he had been told, had, in fact, already been recalled
from Sicily. He therefore selected and fortified a spot near the river
that seemed the safest location for a stationary camp.
Hannibal dug in not far from there. Elated as he was by the victory
of his cavalry, he was also worried by his lack of supplies; this was
becoming more acute every day as he passed through enemy terri-
tory where no provision had been made for replenishment. He
accordingly sent men to the village of Clastidium, where the Romans
had stockpiled a large quantity of wheat. The Carthaginians were
preparing an assault when the prospect of a sell-out emerged. The
price was not high: the garrison commander, Dasius of Brundisium,
was bribed with 400 gold pieces,* and Clastidium was handed over to
218 bc chapters 48–49 49
Hannibal. The town became the granary of the Carthaginians while
they remained at the Trebia. So that Hannibal could have a reputa-
tion for clemency established right at the start, no harsh treatment
was meted to the prisoners from the surrendered garrison.
49. The war on land had now come to a halt at the Trebia. In the
meantime there had been land and sea operations conducted by the
consul Sempronius*––and some even before Sempronius’ arrival––in
the area of Sicily and the islands off the Italian coast. Twenty quin-
queremes, along with 1,000 marines, had been dispatched by the
Carthaginians to conduct raids on the coastal areas of Italy. Nine of
these headed for the Lipara Islands, eight for the Island of Vulcan.
The other three were swept into the straits by rough seas. These three
were sighted off Messana, and twelve ships were sent to intercept
them by King Hiero of Syracuse,* who happened to be in Messana at
the time awaiting the arrival of the Roman consul. The ships captured
the Carthaginian vessels, meeting no resistance, and brought them to
the harbour of Messana.
From the prisoners it was learned that, apart from the fleet of
twenty ships sent to Italy, to which the prisoners themselves belonged,
a further thirty-five quinqueremes were making for Sicily, with the
aim of spreading disaffection amongst the former Carthaginian allies.
The principal mission of these vessels was to seize Lilybaeum, they
said, but they thought that this fleet had also been driven off course,
towards the Aegates Islands, by the same bad weather by which they
had been scattered themselves. The king made a full report of this,
just as it had been told to him, in a letter to Marcus Aemilius,
who had responsibility for Sicily; and he advised Aemilius to secure
Lilybaeum with a powerful garrison. Officers and tribunes were
immediately sent around the various city-states by the praetor, press-
ing the inhabitants to heighten their caution, and above all to keep
Lilybaeum on a war footing. A proclamation was issued that crews
should take to their ships cooked rations sufficient for ten days, and
that all should immediately embark when the signal was given. In
addition, men were sent the length of the coast to keep watch from
towers for the coming of the enemy fleet.
The Carthaginians had purposely slowed the progress of their
ships in order to arrive at Lilybaeum before dawn, but thanks to this
vigilance on shore they were nevertheless detected, as there was a
moon throughout the night and they were also coming under sail. A
50 book twenty-one 218 bc
signal was immediately given from the watchtowers, there was a call
to arms in the town and the ships were manned. Some of the troops
mounted the walls and patrolled the gates, others boarded the ships.
The Carthaginians could see they would not be engaging men
caught off guard, and they kept their distance from the harbour until
daylight, using the time to stow their tackle and ready the fleet for
action. At daybreak they backed water into the open sea to allow
room for the engagement and ensure that the enemy ships had a
clear passage from the harbour. The Romans did not refuse battle,
either; they drew confidence from the memory of their past suc-
cesses in those very waters and from the numbers and fighting ability
of their men.
50. When they got out to sea, the plan of the Romans was to join
battle and fight at close quarters. The Carthaginians, by contrast,
wanted to manœuvre, to use tactics rather than brute force, and to
make it a battle of ships rather than of men and weapons. Their fleet
was well manned with crews, but short of marines, and any time a ship
was grappled the Carthaginians had nothing like the same number
of soldiers fighting from it. When this was noticed, the Romans’
numerical advantage raised their morale while the Carthaginians’
deficiency lowered theirs. Seven Carthaginian vessels were immedi-
ately surrounded, and the rest took flight. There were 1,700 marines
and sailors in the captured ships, including three Carthaginian
noblemen. The Roman fleet returned to port undamaged; just one ship
was holed, but even she was brought home.
The consul Tiberius Sempronius came to Messana after this
battle, but before news of it reached those in town. As Sempronius
entered the strait, King Hiero came to meet him at the head of a fully
equipped fleet. Hiero crossed from the royal barge to the Roman
flagship, congratulated the consul on having arrived safely with
his army and ships, and prayed that he would have a successful
and favourable crossing to Sicily. He then explained the situation on
the island, and the schemes of the Carthaginians, and promised to
be as committed a helper of the Roman people as an old man as
he had been as a youth in the earlier war. He would supply the
consul’s legions and the crews with grain and clothing, and at no
cost, he said, adding that Lilybaeum and the coastal city-states were
facing great danger and some would be happy to see a regime-
change.
218 bc chapters 49–52 51
The consul therefore felt he should lose no time in heading for
Lilybaeum with his fleet, and the king and the royal fleet set off with
him. During the voyage from Messana they received news from
Lilybaeum of the battle that had been fought there, and of the defeat
and capture of the enemy ships.
51. The consul sent Hiero and the royal fleet back from Lilybaeum
and, leaving the praetor to protect the Sicilian coastline, himself
crossed to the island of Melita, which was occupied by the Cartha-
ginians. On his arrival, Hamilcar son of Gisgo, who commanded
the garrison there, surrendered himself, along with slightly fewer
than 2,000 men, and the town and the island were turned over to
the Romans. A few days later Sempronius returned to Lilybaeum,
and there the prisoners, apart from men of noble birth, were all
auctioned off by the consul and praetor.
Now that the consul felt that Sicily was well enough protected in
that quarter, he crossed to the Island of Vulcan, as there had been a
report of a Carthaginian fleet at anchor there. However, no enemy
was found in the vicinity of the islands. It so happened that the
Carthaginians had already crossed to conduct raids on the coastline
of Italy, and after laying waste the agricultural land of Vibo they
were even threatening the town of Vibo. News of the enemy raid
on the farmland of Vibo reached the consul as he was heading back
to Sicily. Sempronius was also brought a letter from the Senate,
informing him of Hannibal’s crossing into Italy, and instructing him
to bring his colleague help at the earliest possible opportunity.
Sempronius now had many simultaneous concerns on his mind.
He straight away boarded his army on some ships, and sent it up the
Adriatic to Ariminum.* He assigned to his legate Sextus Pomponius
the task of patrolling the territory of Vibo and the coastal areas of
Italy with twenty-five warships, and he brought the fleet of the praetor
Marcus Aemilius up to a full complement of fifty ships. Sempronius
himself settled affairs in Sicily, and then came to Ariminum with
twelve ships, skirting the Italian coast. He marched off from there
with his army, and joined up with his colleague at the River Trebia.
52. At this point the two consuls and all available Roman forces
were facing Hannibal, and it was perfectly clear that either the empire
of Rome could be defended by those troops, or else there was simply
no hope.* However, one of the consuls, disheartened by the single
cavalry engagement and by the wound he had suffered, preferred to
52 book twenty-one 218 bc
see things deferred; the other, his drive still fresh, and so all the more
audacious, would brook no delay.
In those days, the land between the Trebia and the Po was
inhabited by Gauls, and as the two superpowers came into conflict
these peoples vacillated in their support, quite clearly with an eye on
gaining the eventual winner’s favour. The Romans were happy
enough with this situation, as long as the Gauls took no action, but
the Carthaginian leader was not at all happy––he had come to liber-
ate the Gauls, he would say, and at their request. Hannibal’s anger,
and at the same time his wish to enrich his men with spoils, led to his
ordering 2,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry (Numidians mostly, but
with some Gauls among them) to systematically pillage Gallic farm-
lands right up to the banks of the Po. The Gauls had been ambiva-
lent up to that point but, with no help at hand, they were now driven
to turn from the perpetrators of the wrong done to them to those
they hoped would avenge it. They sent a deputation to the consuls
and begged for Roman aid for a land that was suffering damage
because its inhabitants were simply too loyal to Rome.
Cornelius liked neither the reason for taking action nor the tim-
ing. He was wary of the Gallic people because of their many acts of
treachery; and, even if the memory of other things had been erased
by the passage of time, he remembered the recent duplicity of the
Boii. Sempronius, by contrast, was of the opinion that the strongest
bond for maintaining the loyalty of the allies was forged by defend-
ing the first ones who needed help. While his colleague hesitated,
Sempronius sent his cavalry, and some 1,000 javelin-throwing infan-
try, across the Trebia to defend the Gallic farmlands. These took the
Carthaginians by surprise as they were roving around out of forma-
tion, most of them also burdened with loot, and created sheer panic
and great carnage, chasing them right to the outposts of the enemy
camp. From here they were driven back by superior enemy numbers,
and only with the arrival of reinforcements did they resume their
offensive. Fortunes then alternated, the two sides by turns in pursuit
and on the defensive, and, although they finished the combat on even
terms, enemy casualties were greater, and the Romans were credited
with the victory.
53. But in no one’s eyes was the victory greater and more decisive
than in the consul’s. Sempronius was absolutely delighted––he had
carried the day with that branch of the forces with which the other
218 bc chapters 52–53 53
consul had seen defeat. His men’s morale had been restored and
strengthened, he claimed, and nobody wanted to delay an all-out
battle, apart from his colleague. Cornelius’ problem was more psy-
chological than physical, he said; the thought of his wound made
him shudder at the prospect of armed engagement. But they should
not become decrepit in a sick man’s company. Why put things off
further, or fritter away valuable time? Were they waiting for a third
consul, another army? The Carthaginians were encamped in Italy, he
said, almost in sight of the city. What they were after was not Sicily
and Sardinia, which had been taken from them by conquest, or
Spain north of the Ebro. No, what they wanted was to evict the
Romans from their native soil, and from the land in which they had
been born. ‘Our fathers were used to campaigning around the walls
of Carthage,’ he declared. ‘How they would groan to see us, their
descendants––two consuls with consular armies––cowering within
their fortifications, in the heart of Italy, when the Carthaginian has
brought under his sway the lands between the Alps and the
Apennines!’
Such were Sempronius’ comments at his colleague’s sickbed, and
in staff meetings as well, as if he were making a public address. He
was egged on, too, by the approaching elections––he feared that the
war might drag on into the term of the new consuls––and also by the
chance of appropriating to himself all the glory, while his colleague
lay ill. Accordingly, while Cornelius remonstrated in vain, he ordered
his men to prepare for an imminent engagement.
Hannibal could see what his enemy’s best strategy would be, and
he could scarcely hope for any impulsive or foolish move on the
consuls’ part. But he now knew for himself what he had heard
earlier, namely that one of the consuls was by nature hot-headed
and impetuous; and he also believed that Sempronius would have
been made even more impetuous by his successful skirmish with the
Punic raiding party. He was therefore not without hope of soon
having an opportunity for action. He now focused anxiously on not
missing his moment, while his enemy’s soldiers lacked experience,
while the better of the two generals was out of action with a wound,
and while the Gauls were still in good spirits. For he realized that the
further their vast horde was drawn from home, the less eager they
would be to follow him. For these and other such reasons, he was
hoping for an imminent engagement, and he wished to initiate one
54 book twenty-one 218 bc
if the enemy hesitated. Gallic spies were chosen for gathering the
intelligence he required––a safer option since Gauls were serving in
both camps––and when these brought back news that the Romans
were ready for battle he proceeded to seek out a spot for an ambush.
54. Between the two armies was a stream, high-banked on both
sides and overgrown with marsh reeds and the shrubs and prickles
usually found covering wastelands. Hannibal rode around the area
and, after seeing for himself that it provided sufficient cover for
concealing even cavalry, he said to his brother Mago: ‘This will be
the spot to position yourself. Select from your entire force* 100
infantrymen and 100 cavalrymen, and come to me with them at first
watch. Now it is time for rest and refreshment.’
With that the officers were dismissed, and shortly afterwards
Mago appeared with his handpicked soldiers. ‘I see here the toughest
of my men,’ said Hannibal. ‘But to have strength in numbers to
match the strength of your courage, you must each choose nine men
like yourselves from your respective troops and maniples. Mago will
show you the spot for the ambush––you are facing an enemy blind to
such military stratagems.’
So saying, Hannibal sent Mago off with his 1,000 horsemen and
1,000 infantry. At dawn he ordered his Numidian cavalry to cross the
River Trebia, ride up to the gates of the enemy and entice him out to
battle by hurling spears at the sentry-posts. Then, after provoking a
confrontation, they were to draw him over the river by gradually
ceding ground.
Such were the orders for the Numidians. The other infantry and
cavalry officers were instructed to tell all their men to take their
meal, and then await the signal under arms and with horses saddled.
When the Numidians struck, Sempronius first led out all his cav-
alry, supremely confident as he was in that branch of his forces, and
then 6,000 infantry, and finally his entire force––he was eager for the
battle, and was already decided upon fighting it. It happened to be
the winter solstice,* and there was snowy weather in the country
between the Alps and the Apennines, an area that is also subject to
intense cold from the neighbouring rivers and marshlands. In
addition, men and horses had been hurriedly led out, without taking
nourishment or any measures to counteract the cold. They were
chilled to the marrow and, with every step they took towards the
breezes coming from the river, the more intense became the cold
218 bc chapters 53–55 55
blowing in their faces. But then, chasing the retreating Numidians,
they plunged into the water, which had been swollen by overnight
rain and came up to their chests. At that point, and especially as they
emerged from the river, they all felt their limbs so numb with cold
that they could scarcely hold their weapons, and at the same time
exhaustion and, as the day progressed, hunger also sapped their
strength.
55. In the meantime, Hannibal’s men had lit fires before their
tents, oil had been distributed amongst the companies for softening
up the soldiers’ limbs, and they had taken a leisurely meal. When
news came that the enemy had crossed the river, they took up their
weapons, in good form both mentally and physically, and proceeded
to the battle line.
Hannibal deployed his Balearic and light-armed troops, some
8,000 men, before the standards, and behind them he placed his
heavier infantry, which represented the real strength and kernel of
his forces. On the wings he set 10,000 cavalry and, dividing his
elephants in two groups, added these to the two wings as well.
The Roman cavalry had been in disorder giving chase, and then
they were unexpectedly confronted by the Numidians, who sud-
denly made a stand. The consul then called them back by signalling
the retreat, and stationed them on the flanks of his infantry. There
were 18,000 Romans and 20,000 Latin allies, plus some auxiliary
forces from the Cenomani, the one Gallic tribe that had remained
loyal. Such were the troops that faced each other in battle.
The action was initiated by Hannibal’s Balearic troops. However,
being confronted with the superior might of the Roman legions, the
light-armed force was swiftly withdrawn to the wings, and this had
the immediate effect of putting the Roman cavalry under pressure.
Even so, the cavalry could, on its own, barely make a stand against the
Carthaginian cavalry––4,000 men were facing 10,000, and they were
exhausted and facing mostly fresh troops––and now they were also
buried under a virtual cloud of missiles hurled by the Balearic forces.
In addition to this, the elephants standing at the extremities of the
wings caused widespread panic, especially amongst the horses, which
were terrified not just by the sight but also by their unfamiliar smell.
As for the infantry, the engagement was more evenly matched in
terms of courage than strength. The Carthaginians had come into
battle with strength unimpaired, having shortly before taken food
56 book twenty-one 218 bc
and rest; the Romans, by contrast, were hungry and tired, and stiff
and numb with cold. Even so, their courage would have enabled
them to make a stand––had their fight been only against the infantry.
As it was, the Balearic troops, after putting the cavalry to flight, were
hurling spears onto the Roman flanks, and the elephants had begun
to bear down on the infantry in the centre of the field. Furthermore,
as soon as the Roman line had, without realizing it, passed the
Carthaginian hiding-place, Mago and his Numidians rose up to their
rear, causing enormous confusion and panic. But despite these
setbacks all around, the Roman line still held fast for a time,
even against the elephants, which no one could have expected.
Skirmishers, expressly posted for the job, would turn the beasts with
showers of spears; then, when they turned, they would follow and
stab them under the tail where, thanks to the softness of the hide, the
animals are most vulnerable.
56. The beasts were panic-stricken, and roused to fury against
their own side, and so Hannibal ordered them to be driven from the
centre of the fight against the Gallic auxiliaries on the far left wing.
There they immediately occasioned what was undoubtedly a rout,
and this inspired fresh panic in the Romans when they saw their
auxiliaries driven off in defeat.
The Romans were now bunched into a circle as they fought.
Unable to break out elsewhere, about 10,000 men forced a passage
through the African centre, which was reinforced with Gallic aux-
iliaries, and there they inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. Cut off by
the river, they were unable to return to their camp, and because of
the rain it was impossible to see where to bring assistance to their
comrades. They therefore headed directly for Placentia.
After that more of them broke out, and in all directions. Those
who made for the river were either swept away by the waters, or
were caught by the enemy as they hesitated to jump in. Those who
dispersed in flight through the countryside made for Placentia by
following in the tracks of the main body in its retreat. Others again,
sufficiently emboldened to plunge into the river by fear of the enemy,
reached camp after making it across. Rain mixed with snow, and cold
of unbearable intensity, took the lives of large numbers of men and
pack animals, and of almost all the elephants.
The Trebia marked the limit of the Carthaginian pursuit of the
enemy; and they returned to camp so numb with cold as to barely
218 bc chapters 55–57 57
experience the joy of victory.* On the night that followed, the
garrison of the Roman camp and all the soldiers remaining after
the defeat––most of them unarmed––crossed the Trebia on rafts.
The Carthaginians either heard nothing over the noise of the rain or,
unable to stir from exhaustion and wounds, simply pretended to hear
nothing. They took no action, either, as the army was led in silence
to Placentia by the consul Scipio. Scipio then crossed the Po, and
continued to Cremona, to relieve the one colony of the burden of
wintering two armies.
57. Such was the panic brought to Rome by this debacle that people
believed that the enemy would immediately march on the city, that
they had no hope and no means of repelling the attack from their
gates and walls. One consul had been defeated at the Ticinus, they
said, and the other had been brought back from Sicily. Now both
consuls and the two consular armies together had been defeated. So
what other commanders, and what other legions, were there to call to
their aid? Such was the level of anxiety when the consul Sempronius
arrived. He had taken an enormous risk in passing through the
enemy cavalry, which was roaming far and wide on marauding
expeditions. It had been an act of sheer bravado on his part,* and not
a calculated risk, or one taken with some prospect of eluding the
enemy, or making a stand should he fail to elude them. Sempronius
saw to the consular elections, the one pressing need at the moment,
and returned to his winter quarters. The consuls elected were
Gnaeus Servilius and Gaius Flaminius.
In fact, there was no peace for the Romans even in winter quarters.
Numidian cavalry ranged far and wide and Celtiberians and
Lusitanians were doing so wherever the ground proved too difficult
for the Numidians. As a result, all Roman supplies were cut off from
every quarter, with the exception of those shipped up the Po.
There was a Roman storage-depot near Placentia that was well
defended by stout fortifications and a powerful garrison, and
Hannibal set out with his cavalry and light-armed infantry in the
hope of storming this stockade. Since his greatest chance of success
lay in keeping the operation secret, he made the attack at night, but
he failed to elude the sentinels. A cry immediately went up, so loud
that it was heard even in Placentia. The result was that the consul
appeared on the scene at daybreak with his cavalry. He had left
instructions for the legions to follow in battle formation, but in the
58 book twenty-one 218 bc
meantime there was a cavalry engagement. Since Hannibal left the
fight with a wound, the enemy were filled with alarm, and the post
was very successfully defended.
After that, Hannibal took a few days’ repose and then, though his
wound was not yet properly healed, he proceeded to launch an attack
on Victumulae. This had been a storage depot for the Romans dur-
ing the Gallic War.* The place had been fortified during that period,
and subsequently it had been thickly settled by an assortment of
inhabitants from the neighbouring tribes. At that time, too, fear of
Hannibal’s marauding had driven a number of people to the town
from the countryside. Such was the make-up of the band that hastily
took up arms and advanced to face Hannibal, their spirits fired by
word of the resolute defence mounted by the garrison at Placentia.
They were ordered as marching columns rather than battle lines
when the two forces met on the road. But since there was nothing on
one side but a disorganized mob, and on the other a commander with
confidence in his soldiers, and soldiers with confidence in their
commander, some 35,000 men were routed by a mere handful.
The next day the townspeople capitulated and a garrison was
posted within their walls. They were ordered to surrender their
weapons and, when they complied, a signal was suddenly given to
the conquerors to ransack the place like a captured city. The people
were spared none of the atrocities usually recounted by historians as
occurring in such circumstances. Indeed, the wretched inhabitants
were subjected to every imaginable form of sexual abuse, cruelty, and
inhuman oppression. Such were Hannibal’s winter operations.
58. The Carthaginian soldiers were now given a respite of no great
duration while the weather remained unbearably cold. Then, at the
first faint glimmerings of spring, Hannibal left his winter quarters,
and struck out into Etruria.* His aim was to enlist the support of its
people, too, either by coercion or with their compliance, as he had
done with the Gauls and Ligurians. As he crossed the Apennines, he
was overtaken by a storm so severe that it was almost worse than the
foul weather of the Alps. Wind and rain together blew straight into
the men’s faces. At first they simply halted, because either they would
have had to drop their weapons or, if they struggled on against the
blast, they were spun round and bowled over by it. Then, when it
began to block their breathing, and prevented them from getting
their breath, they turned their backs to the wind and sat for a while.
218 bc chapters 57–59 59
At that point there came a huge crash from the heavens, and there
were flashes of lightning, amidst frightening peals of thunder.
Blinded and deafened, they all froze with fear. Finally, there was a
torrential downpour, and the force of the wind rose all the more, so
that pitching camp in the very spot where they had been caught
seemed unavoidable.
That, however, proved to be the start of a fresh set of problems.
The men could not unfold, or set up, their tents, and what was set up
would not stay up, for the wind tore everything apart and swept it
away. Soon the water whipped up by the wind froze above the frigid
mountaintops, and this brought down so much snow and hail that
they dropped everything and fell to the ground, buried under their
shelters rather than protected by them. This was followed by tem-
peratures so low that anyone trying to get up, or extricate himself
from that sad mess of men and pack animals, could not do so for a
long time: their bodies numb with cold, they found they could barely
bend their joints. Finally, shaking themselves, they began to move
about and pull themselves together, and fires started to appear here
and there, but, still helpless, they all looked for help from each other.
For two days they remained in that spot, virtually in a state of siege.
Many men and beasts of burden were lost, together with seven of the
elephants that had survived the battle at the Trebia.
59. After the descent from the Apennines, Hannibal moved his
camp back towards Placentia, halting after he had advanced about
ten miles. The next day he marched on his enemy with 12,000 infan-
try and 5,000 cavalry; and the consul Sempronius, who had by now
returned from Rome, did not refuse battle.
That day the two camps remained three miles distant from each
other, but on the next the sides engaged with great fervour, and with
fluctuating results. At the first clash, the Romans were clearly
superior, so much so that they not only triumphed in the field but,
after driving back the enemy, chased him to his camp, which they
soon had under attack. Hannibal stationed a few men to secure the
rampart and gateways; the rest he withdrew en masse into the centre
of the camp, telling them to be on the alert for the signal for a
counterattack.
It was already about the ninth hour of the day, and the Roman
commander, his men exhausted to no purpose, saw no prospect of
taking the camp. He therefore signalled the recall. Hannibal heard
60 book twenty-one 218 bc
this; he also saw that the fighting had slackened, and that the Romans
had fallen back from his camp. Suddenly he unleashed his cavalry
against his enemy from right and left, and he himself counter-
attacked from the centre of the camp with the elite of his infantry.
Seldom could one have found a battle more savage, and more
remarkable for losses on both sides, had daylight allowed it to go on.
The onset of night, however, broke off an engagement that had
started with enormous ferocity. As a result, the clash was marked
more by its violence than loss of life, and the two sides left the field
with equal losses, after a battle that was pretty much a draw. No more
than 600 infantry fell on each side, and only half that number of
cavalry, but the Romans suffered greater damage than the numbers
would indicate, for the dead included some men of equestrian rank,
five military tribunes, and three allied officers.
After the battle Hannibal withdrew into Liguria, and Sempronius
to Luca.* On his arrival, Hannibal was presented by the Ligurians
with two Roman quaestors, Gaius Fulvius and Lucius Lucretius,
who had been taken in an ambush, and with them two military
tribunes and five men of equestrian rank, for the most part senators’
sons. This gesture was intended to reassure Hannibal of the stability
of his peace treaty and alliance with the Ligurians.
60. Meanwhile Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio had been sent to Spain
with a fleet and an army and, while these events were taking place in
Italy, he had left the mouth of the Rhône and skirted the Pyrenees,
putting in at Emporiae.* Disembarking his army there, he had, start-
ing with operations against the Lacetani, brought under Roman con-
trol the entire coastline as far as the River Ebro. This he had done
partly by renewing old alliances, and partly by forging new ones. The
reputation he here established for clemency served him well, not
only with the coastal peoples, but also with the more recalcitrant
tribes of the interior and the mountains. With them he was able to
conclude not just a non-aggression pact but an offensive alliance, as
well, and some strong cohorts of auxiliary troops were raised from
their number.
Command of the area north of the Ebro lay with Hanno, whom
Hannibal had left behind to safeguard the region. Believing he
should face the Romans before everything fell into their hands,
Hanno now encamped in sight of the enemy, and led his men out for
battle. The Roman commander also thought there should be no
218 bc chapters 59–61 61
postponement of hostilities: he knew that he had to fight Hanno and
Hasdrubal, and he preferred to take them on one at a time rather
than together. The engagement proved to be no great struggle.
Six thousand of the enemy were cut down, and 2,000 captured,
including the camp garrison––for the camp was stormed, and the
commander himself taken prisoner, along with several important
people. The town of Cissis, close to the camp, was also taken by
storm.* But the booty from the town consisted of articles of little
value––some primitive furniture and some worthless slaves. The
camp, however, was a source of riches for the soldiers. It was the base
not only of the army that had been defeated, but also of the army
campaigning in Italy with Hannibal; and almost all valuables had
been left south of the Pyrenees, so that the soldiers would not have
heavy baggage to carry.
61. Hasdrubal had crossed the Ebro with 8,000 infantry and 1,000
cavalry before he received reliable news of this defeat. His aim had
been to meet the Romans as soon as they arrived but, after being told
of the debacle at Cissis, and the loss of the Carthaginian camp, he
veered towards the coast. Not far from Tarraco he encountered the
marines and crews from the Roman fleet, who were wandering aim-
lessly through the countryside––for success almost inevitably leads
to carelessness. Hasdrubal sent out his cavalry in every direction
against them, driving them back to their ships and producing great
carnage and greater havoc. Not daring to linger in the area any
longer for fear of being overtaken by Scipio, he then fell back across
the Ebro. When Scipio received word of this new enemy, he did
indeed lose no time in bringing up his column. Then, after punish-
ing a few of the officers from the fleet, and leaving a small garrison at
Tarraco, he returned with his fleet to Emporiae.
Scipio had scarcely left when Hasdrubal reappeared on the
scene. He pushed the Ilergetes, a tribe that had given hostages to
Scipio, into insurrection and then, accompanied by soldiers from
that tribe, he laid waste the farmlands of allies who had remained
loyal to Rome. Scipio was thus drawn from his winter quarters, but
Hasdrubal once more retired from all the territory north of the
Ebro. Scipio then launched a campaign against the Ilergetes, who
were now abandoned by the man responsible for their uprising. He
drove them all into their tribal capital of Atanagrus, which he block-
aded. In a matter of days he took them back under his authority
62 book twenty-one 218 bc
and control, exacting from them a greater number of hostages
than he had on the earlier occasion, and imposing a fine on them as
well.*
Scipio next advanced against the Ausetani, close to the Ebro, who
were also allies of the Carthaginians, and laid siege to their city. The
Lacetani tried to bring them aid (they were their neighbours), but
Scipio caught them in an ambush at night not far from the city,
which they were intending to enter. About 12,000 were killed; nearly
all the others, their weapons thrown aside, dispersed far and wide
throughout the countryside, and fled to their homes. As for the
Ausetani, now under siege, all that saved them was the winter wea-
ther that plagued their assailants. The blockade went on for thirty
days, and during that time the depth of the snow was hardly ever less
than four feet. Such was the snow-cover on the Roman mantlets and
siege-sheds that it alone provided sufficient protection against the
occasional fire-brand hurled at them by the enemy. Eventually, their
leader Amusicus sought refuge with Hasdrubal, and the Ausetani
surrendered, after agreeing to a payment of twenty talents of silver.
The Romans then returned to their winter quarters at Tarraco.*
62. In Rome or its environs there were many prodigies that
winter, or rather many prodigies were reported, and too readily
accepted, the usual experience when people’s minds have turned to
superstition. They included the following:
A freeborn six-month-old child had shouted ‘Triumph’ in the
vegetable market.
In the Forum Boarium, an ox had of its own accord climbed to the
third floor of a building, and then thrown itself off when frightened
by the alarmed reaction of the tenants.
Glowing ship-like figures had appeared in the sky.
The temple of Hope in the vegetable market had been struck by
lightning.
At Lanuvium, a spear had moved on its own, and a crow had
swooped down into the temple of Juno, actually settling on the
goddess’s couch.
At several places in the countryside of Amiternum, figures of men
had been seen in the distance dressed in white, but these had never
come into contact with anyone.
In Picenum stones had fallen as a rain shower.
At Caere the oracular lots had shrunk.*
218–217 bc chapters 61–63 63
In Gaul, a wolf had unsheathed a sentinel’s sword and made off
with it.
For all the other prodigies the decemvirs were told to consult the
scrolls, but for the shower of stones in Picenum a nine-day sacrifice
was officially prescribed. Then almost the entire citizenry promptly
set about performing other ceremonies of expiation. First of all, the
city was ritually purified, and full-grown sacrificial animals were
killed for the gods specified by the decemvirs. A gold gift weighing
40 pounds was transported to Lanuvium for Juno, and the mar-
ried women dedicated a bronze statue to Juno on the Aventine. A
lectisternium was prescribed for Caere, where the oracular lots
had shrunk, and public prayers were to be made to Fortune on
Mt. Algidus. At Rome, too, a lectisternium was prescribed, here for
Juventas,* and public prayers were to be offered at the temple of
Hercules, who was specifically named; but then the whole population
was also directed to offer them at all the couches of the gods. Five
full-grown animals were sacrificed to the Genius of Rome, and the
praetor Gaius Atilius Serranus was ordered to make vows that would
be discharged on condition that the republic were in the same pos-
ition ten years from then. These expiatory rites, and vows, that were
performed in accordance with the Sibylline Books* did much to allay
religious fears in people’s minds.
63. The legions wintering at Placentia had fallen by lot to
Flaminius, one of the consuls designate, and he sent written instruc-
tions to the consul to have these troops quartered at Ariminum by
15 March.* It was Flaminius’ intention to commence his consulship
right there, in the province. For he remembered his earlier disagree-
ments with the Senate, when he was tribune of the plebs and, later
on, consul––the disagreements first over his entry to the consulship,
which the senators tried to revoke, and then over his right to a
triumph. But he was also unpopular with the senators because of a
new bill, directed against the Senate, which Quintus Claudius
had proposed, and which Gaius Flaminius was the only senator to
support. The proposed law forbade anyone who was a senator, or
whose father had been a senator, to own a sea-going vessel with a
capacity of more than 300 amphorae, that being regarded as suf-
ficiently large for transporting produce from a country estate––for
all commerce was considered unbecoming for senators. It was a con-
tentious issue which had generated hostility amongst the nobility
64 book twenty-one 217 bc
towards Flaminius, who had spoken for the bill, though it had also
won him support amongst the people and, as a result, gained him a
second consulship.*
For these reasons Flaminius felt the senators would keep him in
the city by deliberately misinterpreting the auspices, or by using the
delay imposed by the Latin Festival, or anything else that could
retard a consul. Accordingly, he pretended he had a journey to make,
and slipped away furtively to his province as a private citizen. When
this became public knowledge, it generated fresh anger in the breasts
of the already hostile senators. Gaius Flaminius, they declared, was
now at war not merely with the Senate, but with the immortal gods.
When the auspices were unfavourable on the last occasion that he was
made consul, gods and men tried to call him back from the actual
battlefield, but he had not listened. Guiltily aware of the disrespect
he had shown them, he had this time steered clear of the Capitol and
the formal pronouncement of his vows. He did not want to come to
the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the day of his entry into
office, and did not want to see and deliberate with the Senate by
which he was detested and which he, and he alone, detested. He
wished to avoid giving notice of the Latin Festival, offering the
customary sacrifice to Jupiter Latiaris on the Alban Mount,* pro-
ceeding to the Capitol to make his vows after taking the auspices, and
then setting off for his province dressed in his military cloak and
accompanied by his lictors. No, they said, he had gone secretly,
furtively, without the decorations of office and without lictors, like a
camp-follower, and no differently than if he had left the country to
become an exile. To enter office at Ariminum rather than Rome, they
concluded, and to put on the praetexta in an inn rather than before
his household gods––this, of course, better suited the majesty of his
command!
The vote for recalling Flaminius and making him return was
unanimous.* He was to be compelled to present himself for the per-
formance of all his duties towards gods and men before leaving for
his army and his province. It was decided that a delegation be sent to
him, and Quintus Terentius and Marcus Antistius went as the dele-
gates. However, they made no more impression on him than had the
letter sent to him by the Senate during his previous consulship.
A few days later Flaminius entered his consulship. He was offering
the sacrifice when the calf, which had already been dealt the blow,
217 bc chapter 63 65
charged from the hands of the celebrants, spattering the bystanders
with blood. The commotion and alarm was even greater amongst
those further away, who had no idea of what was causing the
excitement. This was interpreted by a number of people as a
frightful omen.
After that Flaminius assumed command of the two legions from
Sempronius, and two from the praetor Gaius Atilius, and the army
proceeded on its march into Etruria through the Apennine passes.
 BOOK TWENTY-TWO

1. Spring was now approaching, and so Hannibal emerged from his

winter quarters. His earlier attempt to cross the Apennines had been
thwarted by the unbearably cold weather and the waiting period had
been very dangerous and fraught with fear. The Gauls had been
induced to revolt by hopes of plunder and booty, but now they saw
that, instead of taking loot and spoils from the territory of others,
their own lands were the theatre of war, and they were burdened
with providing winter quarters for the armies of both sides. They
therefore transferred their animosity from the Romans back to
Hannibal. He had often been a target of the plots of Gallic chieftains,
but he had been saved from them by the Gauls’ own treachery to
each other, since they betrayed a conspiracy as easily as they had
formed it. He had also protected himself against their plots by con-
fusing them with various changes of clothing and headgear.* But the
fear of such plots was a further reason for his hasty move from his
winter quarters.
It was about this time, on 15 March, that the consul Gnaeus
Servilius entered office in Rome.* When Servilius opened discussion
of the current state of affairs, the senators’ resentment towards Gaius
Flaminius resurfaced. They had elected two consuls, they said, but
had just one––what legal or religious sanction did Flaminius have for
his authority? Magistrates took that authority with them from
home––when they left the state and their own hearths––only after
celebrating the Latin Festival, performing the sacrifice on the Alban
Mount, and making vows in accordance with ritual on the Capitol.
Auspices did not go with a private individual, they said, nor could
someone who had left without them take them for the first time in a
foreign land.
Fears were heightened by prodigies that were simultaneously
reported from several places. In Sicily, the spears of a number of
soldiers had burst into flames, and this also happened in Sardinia to a
staff that a horseman had been holding in his hand while he was
doing the rounds of the sentries on the wall. In Sardinia, too, beaches
had been lit up with numerous fires, two shields had oozed blood, a
number of soldiers had been struck by lightning, and the sun’s orb
217 bc chapter 1 67
appeared to have grown smaller. At Praeneste, burning stones had
fallen from the sky. At Arpi, shields had been seen in the sky and the
sun seemed to be fighting with the moon. At Capena, two moons had
arisen during the daytime. The waters at Caere had flowed mixed
with blood, and the spring of Hercules itself had streaks of blood in
its flow. In the region of Antium, harvesters found that bloody ears
of wheat had fallen into their baskets. At Falerii, a huge fissure
seemed to appear in the sky and a blinding light shone out from the
opening. The oracular lots had spontaneously shrunk in size, and
one of them fell out bearing the words ‘Mars is brandishing his
spear’. During this same period, in Rome, sweat appeared on the
statue of Mars on the Appian Way, and on the figures of the wolves.
At Capua, the sky appeared to be on fire, and the moon seemed to
fall during a rain shower. Then less spectacular prodigies also won
belief––some people’s goats growing wool, and a hen turning into a
cock and vice versa.
These signs were brought to the Senate’s attention just as they
had been reported, along with the individuals who had witnessed
them, and the consul sought the senators’ opinions on the appropri-
ate rites to be observed. Their decision was that full-grown animals
should be used for the expiation of some prodigies, and suckling
animals for others, and that there be a three-day period of public
prayers at all the couches of the gods. For the rest, the decemvirs
were to study the Books, and such measures were to be taken as the
decemvirs interpreted as pleasing to the gods on the basis of the holy
verses.
Following the advice of the decemvirs, the Senate decided that, in
the first instance, a gift of a fifty-pound thunderbolt of gold be made
to Jupiter, and gifts of silver to Juno and Minerva. Sacrifices of full-
grown victims were to be made to Queen Juno on the Aventine and
to Juno Sospita at Lanuvium. In addition, the married women were
to gather together as much money as each could afford and bear it as
a gift to Queen Juno on the Aventine, where a lectisternium was also
to be held. Even freedwomen were required to contribute money,
according to their means, for a gift for Feronia.
When all this was done, the decemvirs held a sacrifice of full-
grown victims in the forum at Ardea. Finally, when December
came round, a sacrifice was offered at the temple of Saturn in
Rome, orders were issued for a lectisternium––which the senators
68 book twenty-two 217 bc
conducted––and there was a public feast. Throughout the city, for a
day and a night, the cry ‘Saturnalia’ went up, and the people were
instructed to keep the day as a holiday which they were to observe
ever after.
2. While the consul was busy at Rome with ceremonies of propiti-
ation and with the mobilization of troops, Hannibal had left his
winter quarters. Word had come to him that the consul Flaminius
had reached Arretium and so, although he was shown an easier but
longer route, he took the shorter path through the marshes of the
River Arno, which at that time was unusually high.
Hannibal directed the Spaniards and Africans––the very best of
his veteran troops––to lead the line of march, taking their baggage
within their ranks so they would not lack vital supplies if compelled
to halt at any stage. He ordered the Gauls to follow them, and form
the centre of the column, while the cavalry were to be in the last
position. Finally, Mago and the light-armed Numidians were to
bring up the rear. Mago had the special charge of keeping the Gauls
in check, preventing them from slipping away, or stopping, if they
tired of the long and gruelling journey (Gauls as a race having little
tolerance for hardships of that kind).
The troops in front simply followed the lead of the guides, and
they managed to keep up through the deep and almost bottomless
morasses left by the river, despite being almost swallowed up by the
mud and submerged in water. But the Gauls were unable to remain
on their feet once they stumbled, or to extricate themselves from the
deep holes; their spirit could not sustain their strength, nor hope
their spirit. Some, physically exhausted, had difficulty dragging
themselves along, and others, their spirit broken from fatigue,
simply collapsed, and perished amongst the beasts of burden that
themselves lay dying all around. Most debilitating of all was the
sleeplessness they endured for four days and three nights. Every-
thing was covered with water, and finding a dry spot to set down
their wearied limbs was impossible. And so they would pile their
baggage packs together in the water and lie down on them; or the
cadavers of pack animals that were strewn in heaps all along their
path provided as much of a bed as they needed. All they sought was
something above water that would give them a moment’s sleep.
As for Hannibal himself, he had been suffering from an
eye-infection since the inclement spring weather with its alternating
217 bc chapters 1–3 69
hot and cold temperatures, and now he rode the one surviving ele-
phant to keep himself higher above the water. However, the sleep-
deprivation, the damp nights, and the swampy atmosphere all had a
bad effect on his head, and since there was no place and no time for
treatment he went blind in one eye.*
3. Many men and pack animals had died horrible deaths by the
time Hannibal finally emerged from the marshes, and he took the
first possible opportunity of encamping on dry land. Here he was
informed by scouts that the Roman army was close to the walls of
Arretium. He thereupon proceeded with a very thorough and det-
ailed enquiry into the consul’s strategy and way of thinking, into the
geography and routes of the area and its capability of providing
supplies, and into everything else that it was valuable for him to know.
The area, the Etruscan plains lying between Faesulae and
Arretium, was amongst the most fertile in Italy, well blessed with
grain, livestock, and all other commodities. The consul had become
headstrong as a result of his earlier consulship, having no respect,
not just for the laws and the Senate, but even for the gods. His
natural recklessness had been further nourished by good luck, which
had secured him success in civilian and in military life. It was there-
fore perfectly clear that Flaminius would have no regard for god or
man, and that his conduct would be characterized throughout by
arrogance and lack of caution. And, to make him more ready to yield
to his natural defects, the Carthaginian was preparing to stimulate
him and stir him to action. Leaving his enemy to the left, Hannibal
made for Faesulae and went on to conduct raids in central Etruria.
There, with slaughter and burning, he provided the consul with a
distant spectacle of as much devastation as he could.
Even if his enemy had remained inactive, Flaminius would not
have remained inactive himself––and now he saw allied property
hauled off and pillaged almost before his eyes. He took it as a per-
sonal insult that the Carthaginian was meandering through central
Italy and meeting no opposition as he advanced to launch an assault
on the very walls of Rome. In council, everybody else was advocating
a prudent rather than a flamboyant course of action. They should
await Flaminius’ colleague, they suggested, so as to have combined
forces and a unified plan and strategy for the campaign, and in the
meantime use their cavalry and light infantry to curb the unchecked
raiding of the enemy. Furious, Flaminius stormed out of the council,
70 book twenty-two 217 bc
and put up the signal simultaneously for marching and engaging the
enemy.
‘Why, yes,’ he said, ‘let us just sit before the walls of Arretium!
This is where our home and our hearths are! Let us have Hannibal
slip through our fingers and make a thorough job of pillaging Italy!
Let him reach the walls of Rome, looting and burning everything on
his way! And let us not move from here until the senators summon
Gaius Flaminius from Arretium, as once they did Camillus from
Veii.’*
With this snide remark he gave the order for the standards to be
quickly pulled from the ground, and he himself leaped onto his
horse. But the horse suddenly took a stumble, throwing the consul
over its head. All the bystanders were terrified at this apparently
dreadful omen for the start of the campaign but, to add to it, word
was brought that, despite the standard-bearer’s greatest efforts, one
of the standards could not be pulled out of the ground.
Flaminius turned to the messenger. ‘It’s not as if you are bringing
me a letter from the Senate forbidding me to engage, is it?’ he asked.
‘If the man’s hand is too numb with fear to pull it up, go back and tell
them to dig up the standard.’
With that the column began to move forward. The officers, as
well as disagreeing with Flaminius’ strategy, were also dismayed by
the twofold portent; but the rank and file in general were delighted
with their commander’s determination––they felt optimism, without
asking themselves what it was based on.
4. Hannibal completely razed the territory between the city of
Cortona and Lake Trasimene, using all the atrocities of war to
sharpen his foe’s resentment and spur him to avenge the injuries
inflicted on his allies. The Carthaginians had by now reached a spot
naturally suited to an ambush, the area where Trasimene is at its
closest to the mountains of Cortona. Between the two there is no
more than a narrow pathway, almost as if just enough space had been
deliberately left for Hannibal’s purpose! After this, the terrain
widens a little to form a plain, and beyond that rise some hills. It was
there, in the open, that Hannibal established camp. He intended to
take up a position in this spot himself, but only with his African and
Spanish troops. The Balearic troops and other light infantry he led
behind the hills, and the cavalry he stationed right at the entry to the
defile, where some hillocks conveniently provided cover. His plan
217 bc chapters 3–5 71
was for the cavalry to block the defile after the Romans had entered,
and the whole enemy force would then be shut in between the lake
and the mountains.*
Flaminius had reached the lake at the sunset of one day, and, when
it was barely light on that which followed, he went through the defile
without reconnoitring. Then, after the column began to spread out
as it reached the more open terrain, all he saw of the enemy was what
was right ahead of him; the ambush to his rear and above his head
remained undetected. The Carthaginian now had his enemy where
he had wanted him, squeezed between lake and hills, and sur-
rounded by his troops, and so he gave all his units the signal for a
simultaneous attack. These swooped down, each taking the shortest
route to the enemy. The attack was all the more surprising and
unexpected for the Romans because of a mist which had risen from
the lake and which had settled more densely on the level ground
than on the heights. As a result, the enemy columns had been quite
visible to each other from the various hills, and had better synchron-
ized their downward charge. When the cry went up on every side,
the Romans realized they were surrounded before they could actu-
ally see it, and fighting broke out at the front and on the flanks
before the line could be drawn up, weapons made ready, or swords
drawn.
5. There was chaos all around but the consul himself showed
considerable composure in such a precarious situation.* The ranks
were in disarray, as men turned in the direction of the confused
shouts, but he formed them up as well as time and their position
permitted. Wherever he could go, and wherever he could make him-
self heard, he encouraged them and told them to stand and fight.
They needed force and courage to get out of there, he said, not
prayers and petitions to the gods. It was by the sword that a way
could be made through the midst of the enemy line, and in general
less fear meant less danger. But, over the din and turmoil of battle,
advice and orders were inaudible. So far from recognizing their own
standards, or their ranks and their places within them, they had
barely the presence of mind to seize their armour and put it on for
the fight. In fact, some were cut down when their weapons proved
more a hindrance than a means of protection. Furthermore, in such
dense fog, ears were more useful than eyes. It was to sounds that they
turned their faces and eyes, to sounds of wounds being dealt, of
72 book twenty-two 217 bc
blows falling on bodies and armour, and of the mingled cries of
confusion and panic. Some tried to flee, only to be brought to a halt
when they ran into batches of comrades still fighting, while others
who were returning to the fray would be driven back by a crowd in
flight. Attempts to force a passage in any direction proved futile.
They were hemmed in on the flanks by the hills and the lake, and to
the front and rear by lines of the enemy. It became clear that they
had no hope of deliverance except by their own right hands and their
swords, and at that point each man became his own leader and
spurred himself to action, and the battle started all over again. It was
not the usual ordered engagement, with principes, hastati, and triarii,
or with the men of the front rank fighting before the standards and
the rest behind, or with soldiers taking their places in the appropri-
ate legion, cohort, or maniple.* Chance threw them together, and
individual courage determined whether each man stood in front or
behind in the fight. So whetted were their spirits, so focused were
they on the fight, that even though there was an earthquake* that
demolished large sections of many Italian cities, made swift rivers
change course, brought tidal waters up rivers, and created huge
landslides on mountains, none of the combatants actually noticed it.
6. The battle went on for some three hours. It was savage at every
point, but around the consul the fighting was even more fierce and
violent. Flaminius had his strongest troops alongside him, and he
was energetically bringing assistance at any point where he had seen
his men under pressure and in difficulties. His armour marked him
out, and so the enemy furiously attacked him, and his own men just
as furiously defended him. Then an Insubrian horseman named
Ducarius recognized the consul by his appearance.
‘Look,’ he said to his compatriots, ‘here’s the man who cut our
legions to pieces and sacked our territory and city! Now I shall make
him a sacrificial offering to the shades of our fellow citizens foully
slain.’ So saying, he put the spurs to his horse and thrust forward
through the thickest of the enemy. He first cut down Flaminius’
armour-bearer, who had thrown himself in the way of his charge,
then ran the consul through with his lance. The triarii raised their
shields to block the man’s attempt to strip the body.
The event triggered the flight of most of the Romans, and now
neither lake nor hills stood in the way of their panic. They ran off
blindly, over ground that was nothing but ravines and cliffs, and
217 bc chapters 5–7 73
arms and men fell tumbling over each other. Most, finding no pas-
sage for their flight, waded through the shallows at the edge of the
lake into the deeper water, sinking up to their heads and shoulders.
Some, in their unthinking panic, were prompted to attempt escape
by swimming, but the distance was interminable and the effort hope-
less. They drowned in the depths, or else with difficulty scrambled
back to the shallows, having exhausted themselves pointlessly, for
they were then butchered all along the shore by enemy horsemen
who rode out into the water.
About 6,000 at the head of the column had made a spirited charge
through the enemy facing them, and thus managed to exit from the
defile, unaware of what was happening behind them. They halted on
a knoll, but heard only the shouting and clash of arms, and because of
the mist they could not see, or know, how the battle was going. It was
only when the issue was decided that the sun’s heat dispersed the
mist, and brought on the light of day. Then, in the now clear sun-
light, the hills and plains revealed to them that the battle was lost, and
the Roman army hideously slaughtered. Frightened of being spotted
and having enemy cavalry dispatched against them, they hurriedly
took up the standards, and made off with all possible speed.
The following day, alongside all their other woes, they were facing
severe hunger. However, Maharbal had caught up with them when it
was still dark, and he gave them an undertaking that, if they sur-
rendered their weapons, he would let them depart with one article of
clothing each. At this the Romans capitulated, but the promise was
honoured by Hannibal with typical Punic scruple, and they were all
clapped in irons.
7. Such was the famous battle of Trasimene; few defeats suffered
by the people of Rome have been as memorable. Fifteen thousand
Romans fell in action. Ten thousand scattered in flight throughout
Etruria, and headed for the city by various roads. Two thousand five
hundred of the enemy died in the battle, and many others later
succumbed to their wounds. Statistics for the fallen on both sides are
many times greater in other authors. Apart from my aversion to the
unfounded exaggeration to which historians are all too prone, I have
myself accepted Fabius as my main source, since he was contemporary
with this war.*
Hannibal released captives of Latin status without ransom, but
Romans he put in irons.* He had the corpses of his own men separated
74 book twenty-two 217 bc
from the piles of the enemy dead, and ordered them buried. He also
made every effort also to seek out Flaminius’ body for burial, but he
failed to find it.
When news of the defeat first reached Rome, the people rushed to
the Forum in sheer terror and panic. Women roamed the streets, and
queried those they met about the unexpected disaster that had been
reported, and the fortunes of the army. Then the crowd, like some
teeming assembly, turned to the Comitium and the Senate house,
and called upon the magistrates. Eventually, not long before sunset,
the praetor Marcus Pomponius declared: ‘We have lost a great
battle.’ They heard no further details from Pomponius, but they
gleaned snippets of gossip from each other, and took home the news
that the consul and most of his army had been killed, and that the
few survivors were wandering as fugitives through Etruria, or else
were prisoners of the enemy.
Numerous though the misfortunes of the defeated army were,
there were just as many anxieties besetting the minds of those whose
relatives had been serving under the consul Gaius Flaminius. They
were ignorant of what had become of their loved ones, and nobody
knew what to hope for, or what to fear. The next day, and on a
number of days following, a crowd stood at the gates––and there
were almost more women than men––waiting for one of their rela-
tives, or for news of them. They encircled new arrivals and plied
them with questions, and could not be torn away from them, at least
if they were acquaintances, until they had fully interrogated them on
every detail. After that, as they left their informants, one might have
seen the different expressions on their faces, according to whether
the news each received was good or bad, and one could have seen
people gathering round them, as they went home, offering congratu-
lations or sympathy. It was the women’s displays of joy and sorrow
that were especially striking. They say that one suddenly came face
to face with a son who had come home safely, and that she expired in
his arms. A second had received a false report of her son’s death and
sat grieving at home; but the son returned and she died from exces-
sive joy at the sight of him.
The praetors kept the Senate sitting in the Curia for several days,
from dawn to dusk, and debated with them which commander and
which troops could be used to face the triumphant Carthaginians.
8. Before the senators could come up with any firm plans, news
217 bc chapters 7–9 75
came of another unexpected reverse, involving 4,000 cavalry that had
been sent by the consul Servilius to his colleague, under the com-
mand of the propraetor Gaius Centenius. On receiving word of the
battle of Trasimene, these had changed course, and had then been
cut off in Umbria by Hannibal. The news inspired different reac-
tions. The hearts of some were in the grip of a greater anguish, and
this fresh loss of the cavalry they thought of little account compared
with what had been lost earlier. Others would not consider the
occurrence in isolation. When a body was sick, they said, any upset,
however slight, was felt more seriously than a graver one was felt in
good health. Likewise, when the commonwealth was ailing and
weakened, any stroke of misfortune should be measured not on an
absolute scale but with reference to its diminished capacity, which
could stand no further burden.
As a result, the citizen body resorted to a measure that had been
neither needed nor employed for a long time, namely the appoint-
ment of a dictator. But a dictator could, it seemed, be named only by
the consul, and he was away from the city. In addition, sending a
messenger or letter through Italy, now occupied by the Carthaginian
army, was no easy matter. Accordingly, the people took the hitherto
unprecedented step of appointing a dictator themselves.* They
appointed Quintus Fabius Maximus, and they made Marcus
Minucius Rufus his master of horse. These two were charged by the
Senate with responsibility for reinforcing the city walls and their
towers, for deploying sentries at points they thought appropriate,
and for cutting down bridges across the rivers. People felt they now
had to fight for their city and homes, since their defence of Italy had
been a failure.
9. Hannibal marched straight through Umbria as far as Spole-
tium.* He wreaked havoc on the surrounding countryside and
proceeded with an assault on the city, but was repulsed with heavy
losses. He now reflected on the strength of this single colony, which
he had attacked with little success, to gauge the difficulty he would
have with the city of Rome, and then he changed course into the
territory of Picenum. The land here was rich in all manner of
produce, and well provided with goods for plunder, as well––and
Hannibal’s voracious and impoverished troops showed no restraint
in seizing them. Hannibal maintained a stationary camp in the
region for a number of days, while his soldiers recovered from the
76 book twenty-two 217 bc
rigours of their winter marches, from their trek through the swamps,
and from the battle, which, successful though it proved to be, had
been no trivial or easy affair. When the men had been given sufficient
rest (and in fact they enjoyed looting and pillaging more than inactiv-
ity and rest) Hannibal went ahead again. He laid waste the land
around Praetutia and Hadria, and after that the territory of the
Marsi, the Marrucini, and the Paeligni, and the parts of Apulia
closest to Arpi and Luceria.
The consul Gnaeus Servilius had fought some minor battles with
the Gauls, and taken one town of little importance. When he heard
that his colleague had been killed, and the army destroyed, he feared
for the defences of the capital and headed for Rome. He did not wish
to be absent at the moment of her greatest peril.
Quintus Fabius Maximus had now been made dictator for the
second time. On the day of his entry into office, he convened
the Senate and, opening the session with matters of religion, told
the senators that the consul Gaius Flaminius’ mistake lay more in
his disregard for ritual and auspices than in his recklessness
and incompetence. The gods, said Fabius, should themselves be
consulted on the means of appeasing heaven’s anger, and he
convinced the senators to take a decision hardly ever taken, other
than when dire prodigies have been reported, namely to have the
decemvirs consult the Sibylline Books. After the decemvirs had
consulted the oracular writings, they reported back to the senators
that there had been some irregularity in the formulation of the vow
made to Mars for that war. It should be formulated again, and on a
more generous scale, with Great Games vowed to Jupiter and
temples to Venus of Eryx and Mens. Public prayers and a lectistern-
ium were also to be held, and a vow taken to hold a Sacred Spring,
if the campaign turned out successfully, and the republic remained
in the same condition in which it had been before the war. Since
Fabius was going to be busy with the conduct of the war, the Senate
followed the advice of the College of Pontiffs and instructed the
praetor Marcus Aemilius to see that all these measures were quickly
implemented.
10. When these senatorial decrees had been passed, the praetor
consulted the pontifical college, and the pontifex maximus, Lucius
Cornelius Lentulus, was of the view that their first priority was to
put the question of the Sacred Spring before the people. That vow,
217 bc chapters 9–10 77
he claimed, could not be made without the authority of the people.
The question was put to the people in the following words:
‘Is it your will and command that such measures be implemented?
Should the republic of the Quirites, the Roman people, be kept safe
for the next five years, as I wish and pray, throughout these wars––
the war of the Roman people with the people of Carthage, and the
wars against the Gauls living this side of the Alps––let the Quirites,
the people of Rome, offer and make this gift. All pigs, sheep, goats,
and cattle that the spring shall have brought forth are to be sacrificed
to Jupiter (provided that they are not already consecrated to a god)
from the day so decreed by the Senate and people. Let whosoever
makes this sacrifice make it when he wishes and in the manner he
wishes; and whatever his manner of making it, let the sacrifice be
considered duly made. If the animal that is due to be sacrificed dies,
let it be considered as unconsecrated, and with no guilt attaching to
it. If anyone should unwittingly damage or kill the beast, let him not
be regarded as culpable. Should anyone steal it, neither the people of
Rome nor the individual from whom it is stolen are to be considered
guilty. If the sacrifice is unknowingly performed on a day of ill omen,
let it still be considered properly made, and if it is performed by day
or night, by a slave or a free man, let it be considered properly made.
If it is performed before the time the Senate and people have
decreed, let the people be considered exempt and quit of the vow.’
For the same purpose Great Games were included in a vow, and
the cost of them was to be 333,333⅓ asses. In addition, 300 oxen
were to be sacrificed to Jupiter, and white oxen, and other sacrificial
animals, to numerous other gods. When the vows had been duly
formulated, a period of public prayer was proclaimed, and these
were attended not only by the urban populace with their wives
and children, but also by such country people as had some property,
and consequently took some thought for the public good. Then a
three-day lectisternium was held under the supervision of the decem-
virs for sacrifices. Six couches were put on display: one to Jupiter
and Juno, a second to Neptune and Minerva, a third to Mars and
Venus, a fourth to Apollo and Diana, a fifth to Vulcan and Vesta, and
a sixth to Mercury and Ceres. After this vows of temples were made.
The dictator Quintus Fabius Maximus made the vow of a temple for
Venus of Eryx, because the oracular books had prescribed that
the vow be formulated by the man holding the highest office in the
78 book twenty-two 217 bc
state, and the praetor Titus Otacilius made a vow of the temple
for Mens.
11. Religious observances completed, the dictator now opened
discussion of the war and the state of the republic, seeking the opin-
ion of the senators on the specific legions, and the number of them,
with which they should face their triumphant foe. It was decided that
Fabius should take over the army of the consul Gnaeus Servilius, but
that he should, in addition, enlist from the citizens and the allies as
great a force of cavalry and infantry as he thought appropriate. He
was also to take all other measures and decisions as he thought to be
in the state’s interests.
Fabius declared that he would add two legions to Servilius’ army.
When he had enlisted these, using the services of the master of
horse, he proclaimed a date on which they were to mobilize at Tibur.
He also issued an edict for all people whose towns and settlements
lacked fortifications to move to places of safety, and for all those in
the area along the route Hannibal was likely to take to leave their
farms. These people were to burn their buildings and destroy their
crops before departing so as to leave the enemy no supplies of any
kind. Fabius then set off along the Flaminian Way to meet the consul
and his army; and near Ocriculum, on the banks of the Tiber, he
caught sight of the column, and of the consul, who was proceeding
towards him with his cavalry. He thereupon sent an attendant to
inform the consul that he should come to the dictator without his
lictors. Servilius complied with the order, and the meeting of the two
men did much to alert citizens and allies to the high standing of the
office of dictator––with the passage of time they had forgotten the
authority it carried.* At this point a letter arrived from the city with
news that transport vessels carrying supplies from Ostia to the army
in Spain had been captured off the port of Cosa by a Carthaginian
fleet.* The consul was ordered to leave for Ostia immediately. He was
instructed to man the ships lying at anchor at the city of Rome or at
Ostia with marines and crews, and, with these vessels, to give chase to
the enemy fleet and patrol the coasts of Italy. Men were conscripted
in large numbers in Rome, and even freedmen who had children and
were of military age had sworn the oath of allegiance. Members of
this urban force who were under thirty-five years of age were
assigned to the ships, and the others were left to guard the city.
12. Assuming command of the consul’s army from the legate
217 bc chapters 10–12 79
Fulvius Flaccus, the dictator marched through Sabine territory to
Tibur. It was there that he had fixed the rendezvous for his new
recruits. He then moved on to Praeneste and, by taking various
byways, emerged on the Latin Way. After that, reconnoitring the
roads with extreme care, he marched towards the enemy, determined
not to trust to luck anywhere unless circumstances forced him to.
On the very first day that Fabius pitched camp within sight of the
enemy––it was not far from Arpi––the Carthaginian leader immedi-
ately led his troops out for action, and offered battle. But he could
see nothing stirring on the enemy side, and no signs of activity in
their camp. He therefore returned to camp uttering disdainful com-
ments: the Romans’ famed military spirit had been crushed, they
were a conquered people and they had openly admitted they were no
match for him in valour and glory, he said. But in his heart he felt
unspoken concern:* his dealings henceforth would be with a com-
mander nothing like Flaminius or Sempronius, and the Romans had
finally been taught by hard experience to choose one who was
Hannibal’s equal. Indeed, he felt immediate apprehension about the
dictator’s wariness. But as yet he had not put the man’s determin-
ation to the test, and so he began to harass and provoke him. He
would frequently move camp, and he would lay waste the lands of
the allies before his eyes. At one moment he would accelerate his
march and disappear from view; then, suddenly, he would take up a
concealed position at some curve in the road, hoping to catch Fabius
unawares, if he came down to the plain.
Fabius led his column along higher ground, keeping a short dis-
tance from the enemy so as not to lose contact with him, but not
engage him either. His men were confined to camp except in case of
pressing need. Food- and wood-gathering expeditions were not
undertaken with small numbers, or over a large area. There was a
unit of cavalry and light infantry drawn up ready to meet any sudden
assault, and this provided complete security for his own men, and
also posed a threat for scattered foragers of the enemy. There was no
question of risking everything on an overall engagement, and minor
and unimportant brushes with enemy, conducted from points of
safety and with shelter close by, brought the men to have fewer
concerns about their fighting capabilities and fortunes, after the
fright of their earlier defeats.
However, Fabius found no more hostility to this sound strategy
80 book twenty-two 217 bc
in Hannibal than he did in his master of horse, and this man’s
subordinate command was all that held him back from destroying
the republic. He was arrogant and impulsive in judgement, and too
quick with his tongue. Talking first to a few men, and then openly
before the ranks, he began to call Fabius’ deliberate hesitation idle-
ness, and his caution cowardice, and he pinned on him faults that
bore some relation to his real virtues. In this way he kept trying to
exalt himself by maligning his superior, a loathsome practice that has
become more widespread because many have found it all too
successful.
13. Hannibal crossed over into Samnium from the territory of the
Hirpini. He laid waste the agricultural land of Beneventum, took the
city of Telesia and deliberately provoked the Roman commander,
hoping to infuriate him with all the humiliation and suffering he
inflicted on the allies, and bring him down to a battle on level
ground.
Large numbers of Italian allies had been taken prisoner by
Hannibal at Trasimene and subsequently released. These included
three Campanian knights, who had been bribed with numerous gifts
and promises from him to enlist the support of their compatriots for
his cause. These men now informed him that he had an opportunity
to capture Capua, if he brought his army into Campania. This was
too important a step to take just on the recommendation of these
men, and Hannibal hesitated, fluctuating between trust and distrust.
Finally, however, they convinced him to make for Campania from
Samnium.
The three men he let go after warning them to strengthen with
actions their repeated promises, and ordering them to return to him
with more of their people, including some prominent citizens. He
then instructed a guide to take him into the territory of Casinum––
he had been told by people familiar with the area that, by seizing
control of the pass there, he could prevent the Romans from getting
through to bring help to their allies. But a Carthaginian speaker has
difficulty in pronouncing Latin names, and this made the guide hear
‘Casilinum’ rather than ‘Casinum’.* He branched off from his cor-
rect path, and went down through the territory of Allifae, Caiatia,
and Cales into the plain of Stellas.* Here Hannibal looked around,
and saw the area enclosed by mountains and rivers, and so he called
the guide and asked where on earth he was. It was only when the
217 bc chapters 12–14 81
guide declared that Hannibal would lodge that day at Casilinum that
the mistake became clear, and Hannibal realized that Casinum was
far off in another direction. He had the guide flogged and crucified
to intimidate the others, established a fortified camp, and sent
Maharbal and his cavalry to raid the territory of Falernum. The raid
extended all the way to the Baths of Sinuessa, the Numidians
causing enormous damage, and spreading panic and fear even fur-
ther. But even intimidation on that scale, with the whole country
aflame with war, failed to shake the loyalty of the allies. That was
evidently because the authority to which they were subject was just
and tolerant, and they did not refuse obedience to a superior
people––the only real bond of loyalty.
14. Hannibal’s camp was now pitched at the River Volturnus. The
most beautiful countryside of Italy was going up in flames, farm-
houses were burning and smoking, and meanwhile Fabius was
marching along the heights of Mt. Massicus. At this point, mutiny
almost flared up again amongst the troops. For a few days they had
been silent; the column had been taken along at a faster pace than
usual, and they had believed the object of the speedy advance was to
keep Campania from enemy depredations. But now they came to the
last heights in the range of Mt. Massicus, and the enemy were,
before their eyes, torching the buildings in the Falernian fields and
those of the colonists at Sinuessa––and there was still no word of
combat.
‘Have we come here as spectators?’ asked Minucius. ‘To enjoy the
sight of our allies being butchered and their property burned? Even
if we feel no shame before anyone else, do we not at least feel it
before these fellow citizens of ours, these men whom our fathers sent
to Sinuessa as colonists, to make this area secure from the Samnite
foe? But now it is not the neighbouring Samnite who is putting it to
the torch, but the Carthaginian from abroad, who, thanks to our
indecision and inertia, has made his way here from the very ends of
the earth. Ah, is this how far we fall short of our forefathers? They
felt that it disgraced their empire to have Punic ships at large along
their coastline––and now we see that coast filled with our enemies,
and taken over by Numidians and Moors! Recently we protested
against the blockade of Saguntum, appealing not only to men, but
also to treaties and the gods that protect them––and now we happily
watch Hannibal scaling the walls of a Roman colony! The smoke
82 book twenty-two 217 bc
from burning farms and fields comes blowing into our eyes and
faces; our ears ring with the weeping and wailing of our allies, who
invoke our aid more often than they do heaven’s. And here we are,
hidden in clouds and forests, leading our army like a flock of sheep
through summer pastures and along remote trails.
‘Imagine if this was how Marcus Furius had proposed to recover
the city from the Gauls––by trailing over hilltops and mountain
passes the way this latter-day Camillus, this superlative dictator that
we have chosen in our hour of need, is attempting to recover Italy
from Hannibal! In that case, Rome would now be in the hands of the
Gauls. So many times did our ancestors save it––but if we keep
delaying like this I fear that they may have done so only for the
benefit of Hannibal and the Carthaginians! But no, Camillus was a
hero, and a true Roman. On the day that the news was brought to
Veii that he had, on the authority of the Senate and at the bidding of
the people, been appointed dictator, he came down into the plain,
even though the Janiculum was high enough to let him sit and watch
his enemy! And on that very day in the city centre––the site of Gallic
graves today––and on the following day this side of Gabii, he cut
down the Gallic legions. And remember how years later we were sent
beneath the yoke by our Samnite foe at the Caudine Forks. How was
it that Lucius Papirius Cursor took the yoke from Roman necks and
set it upon the arrogant Samnite? For heaven’s sake, was it by ran-
ging the hills of Samnium, or was it by attacking and blockading
Luceria, and giving the victorious enemy no rest? More recently,
what, other than speed of action, gave victory to Gaius Lutatius?
The day after he caught sight of the enemy he crushed their fleet,
then laden with supplies and encumbered by its own equipment and
weaponry. It is idiocy to believe a war can be won by sitting around
or making vows. One has to seize one’s arms, go down to the plain,
and engage the enemy man to man. It was daring and action that
enhanced the power of Rome, not policies of inertia like this that
only cowards call “cautious”.’
Tribunes and Roman knights* would crowd around Minucius as he
made these comments like a public orator in action, and his swagger-
ing comments even made their way to the ears of the common sol-
diers. Had the matter depended on a poll of the men, they made it
quite plain that they would have chosen Minucius as their leader
over Fabius.*
217 bc chapters 14–15 83
15. Fabius had his eyes on his own men as much as on the enemy,
and he first of all showed them that he could not be cowed by them.
He well knew that his delaying tactics were now discredited in Rome
as well as in the camp, but he drew out the rest of the summer
sticking resolutely to the same plan of campaign. The result was that
Hannibal was deprived of any hope of the engagement which he had
made every effort to bring on, and he began to look around for a site
for winter quarters. The region he was now in could provision him
for the season, but not indefinitely, for it was a land of fruit trees and
vines, with all its cultivation given over to fruits that were delicacies
rather than basic foodstuff. This was reported to Fabius by his
scouts, and Fabius was quite sure that Hannibal would go back by
the same passes he had used to enter Falernian territory. He accord-
ingly secured, with small garrisons, Mt. Callicula and Casilinum, a
town that is cut in two by the River Volturnus, and marks the bound-
ary between Falernian and Campanian territory. He then sent Lucius
Hostilius Mancinus out with 400 allied cavalry to reconnoitre, while
he personally led the army back by way of the same heights.
Mancinus had been amongst the crowd of young men listening to
the master of horse’s ranting diatribes. He at first went forward, as
scouts do, trying to spy on the enemy from a secure vantage point.
But then he caught sight of some Numidians roaming at large
through the villages, and when the opportunity arose he actually
killed a few of them. Fabius had ordered him to advance only as far
as he could with safety, and to fall back before he could be seen by
the enemy, but suddenly Mancinus’ thoughts were focused on battle,
and the instructions of the dictator slipped from his mind. The
Numidians, some charging, some giving ground, lured him on
almost to their very encampment, tiring the Roman horses and their
riders. Then Carthalo, supreme commander of the Carthaginian
cavalry, bore down on them at a gallop, routing them even before
they came within javelin-range, and maintaining a non-stop pursuit
for about five miles. Seeing that the enemy was not abandoning the
chase and that he had no hope of escape, Mancinus encouraged his
men, and turned back to give battle, though he was outclassed in all
respects. As a result, the commander himself, and his elite cavalry
troops, were surrounded and killed. The others made off in scattered
flight, escaping first to Cales, and then, by almost impassable trails,
to the dictator.
84 book twenty-two 217 bc
It so happened that this was the day on which Minucius had
rejoined Fabius. He had earlier been sent by the dictator to secure
with a garrison the pass that contracts to a narrow gorge above
Tarracina, and which overlooks the sea––the object was to deny the
Carthaginian access to Roman territory from Sinuessa by the Appian
Way. The armies now joined up, and the dictator and his master of
horse encamped down on the path that Hannibal was going to take.
The enemy was two miles away.
16. The following day the Carthaginians filled the entire road
between the two camps with their column. The Romans had stationed
themselves directly in front of their own rampart, clearly in a more
favourable position, but Hannibal nonetheless moved forward with
his light infantry and cavalry to challenge his enemy. The Carthagin-
ians attacked at several points, charging and then retreating, but the
Roman line remained in position. It was a sluggish battle, more
satisfying to the dictator than Hannibal. Casualties numbered 200 on
the Roman side, and 800 on the enemy’s.
Hannibal then seemed to be cut off, since the road to Casilinum
was blocked. Capua, Samnium, and large numbers of produce-rich
allies to their rear could provision the Romans, but the Carthaginians
would be wintering amidst the rocks of Formiae, the sands and
swamps of Liternum, and throughout the inhospitable woodlands.
And it did not escape Hannibal’s notice that his own strategy was
being turned against him. He could not make his way through by
way of Casilinum; he would have to head for the hills, and cross the
heights of Callicula. Fearing that the Romans might attack his col-
umn while it was hemmed in by the valleys, Hannibal thought up a
frightening optical illusion to baffle his enemy, and decided to
approach the hills furtively during the early hours of the night. His
stratagem was set up as follows. Combustible material was collected
from all the surrounding fields, and Hannibal had this, together with
bunches of twigs and dry vine-shoots, attached to the horns of cattle
(he had a large number of these, both domesticated and wild,
amongst the spoils taken from the countryside––the total came to
some 2,000 head). Hasdrubal was given responsibility for driving the
herd at night towards the hills, with their horns alight, and especially,
if he could, over the passes occupied by the enemy.
17. When darkness fell, the Carthaginians silently broke camp,
and the cattle were driven at some distance ahead of the main body
217 bc chapters 15–18 85
of the army. When they reached the foothills, and the narrow defiles, a
signal was immediately given for the horns to be lit, and the cattle
driven up the hills facing them. The very panic instilled in them by
the flames that flashed from their heads, and the burning that went
to the quick at the roots of their horns, drove them into a frenzy.
There was an immediate stampede, and it was as if all the brushwood
in the area was aflame, with woods and hills set on fire. The beasts
shook their heads in vain, merely fanning the flames, and thus cre-
ated the illusion of men rushing about in all directions. Those sta-
tioned to guard the pass could see fires on the hilltops, and some
right above their heads. Thinking they were surrounded, they aban-
doned their posts. They headed for the hilltops, where the blazing
flames were least concentrated, assuming this to be the safest path, but
even so they ran into a number of cattle that had strayed away from
their herd. And when they first saw them in the distance, they froze,
astounded by the miraculous sight of animals apparently breathing
fire. Then it dawned on them that it was a trick, and man-made, and
thinking it was an ambush, they beat a hasty retreat in even greater
panic. They also encountered some enemy light-armed infantry, but
the darkness spread fear equally on both sides, and kept them there
till dawn, with neither opening hostilities. Meanwhile, Hannibal
brought his entire column through the pass, taking a number by
surprise in the pass itself, and encamped in the region of Allifae.*
18. Fabius heard the commotion, but thought it was a trap, and he
was reluctant to fight any battle, especially in the dark. He therefore
kept his men within their defence-works. At dawn there was a battle
close to the crest of the hill. The Carthaginian light infantry were cut
off from their comrades, and the Romans, having some numerical
advantage, would easily have crushed them, but for the arrival on the
scene of a company of Spaniards, sent back by Hannibal expressly
for the purpose of relieving them. These troops had more experience
of the mountains, and were better at skirmishing amongst rocks and
rough terrain. They were also more nimble, both because of their
physical agility and the way they were armed, and thanks to their
mode of fighting they easily outmanœuvred an enemy who was used
to level ground, and who was also heavily armed and trained only in
stationary warfare. Consequently, when they parted after what was
not by any measure an even fight, the Spaniards returned to camp
with almost no casualties, and the Romans with considerable losses.
86 book twenty-two 217 bc
Fabius also struck camp and, after making his way through the
pass, occupied a high and well-protected position overlooking Allifae.
Hannibal then made a pretence of marching on Rome by way of
Samnium but in fact he went all the way back to Paelignian territory
on a marauding expedition. Fabius kept marching along the heights,
midway between the enemy column and the city of Rome, neither
losing contact with Hannibal nor engaging him. After leaving Paelig-
nian territory, the Carthaginians changed direction and, heading back
to Apulia, arrived at Gereonium, a city abandoned by its inhabitants,
who were fearful after the collapse of a section of its walls. The
dictator established a fortified camp in the region of Larinum.
Fabius was then recalled to Rome for religious duties. At this
point he not only brought the authority of his command to bear on
his master of horse, but offered personal advice, too, almost pleading
with him, as he tried to persuade him to trust more to planning than
luck, and to follow his strategy rather than that of Sempronius
and Flaminius. Minucius should not think that almost a summer
spent playing cat and mouse with the enemy had been time wasted,
he said; physicians have sometime found rest more beneficial than
exercise and activity. Besides, he added, it was no small achievement
to have put an end to defeats by an enemy who had so often been
victorious, and to have recovered their breath after an unbroken
string of disasters. Such was the advice Fabius gave the master of
horse before he set off for Rome, but it served no purpose.
19. At the start of the summer in which these events took place,
land and sea operations also commenced in Spain. Hasdrubal had
been given a number of fully manned and fully equipped vessels by
his brother. He added a further ten ships to these, and then passed
on command of this fleet, now forty strong, to Himilco. Hasdrubal
then set off from New Carthage. On the march, he kept close to land
with his fleet, and marched the army along the shoreline, ready to
engage whatever branch of the enemy forces he encountered. When
Gnaeus Scipio heard that his foe had moved from winter quarters,
he at first had the same idea. However, at the rumour of a huge
mobilization of new auxiliary troops by the Carthaginians, he felt
less confident about meeting them on land. Instead, he put some
handpicked troops on board ship, and proceeded to meet his enemy
with a fleet of thirty-five vessels.
On the second day out of Tarraco, Scipio arrived at an anchorage
217 bc chapters 18–19 87
ten miles from the mouth of the River Ebro. From there he sent out
two Massiliot spy-ships, and these came back with the information
that the Punic fleet was at anchor in the river-mouth, with its camp
pitched on the bank. Scipio weighed anchor and bore down on the
enemy, hoping to catch them off guard and unprepared, and to crush
them by spreading panic throughout their force.
There are numerous towers on high elevations in Spain that the
inhabitants use both as observation posts and as defences against
marauders. It was from one of these that the enemy ships were first
spotted, and their coming signalled to Hasdrubal. A mad scramble
broke out on land, and in the camp, before it did on the ships on the
water. For no beating of oars, or any other sounds carried from ships,
had been heard, and the promontories still kept the Roman fleet out
of view. The crews were sauntering around on the beach, or resting
in their tents, and the last thing they had on their minds was the
enemy, or fighting that day. Then, suddenly, one horseman after
another was sent out by Hasdrubal with orders for them to embark
quickly, and take up their arms––the Roman fleet was already close
to their harbour. The riders carried these orders to all points, and
soon Hasdrubal appeared in person with his entire land force.
The scene was now one of utter confusion and uproar, with oars-
men and marines together running for their vessels, more like men
fleeing the land than going into battle. They had all barely got aboard
when some of them cast off the stern-cables, and drifted over the
anchors; and others hacked through the anchor lines so nothing
would be holding them back. And, in their frantic haste to get every-
thing done, the crews were impeded in their duties by the equipment
of the marines, while the marines were prevented from taking up and
fitting on their armour by the panic of the crews.
By now the Romans were not just approaching but had actually
formed up their ships for battle. The Carthaginians were thrown
into disarray less by the enemy and the upcoming engagement than
by their own panic, and after a token resistance rather than a real
fight they turned and fled. The river current was running against
them, and for the broad column of ships to enter its mouth was
certainly impossible, with so many vessels converging on it simul-
taneously. And so the Carthaginians drove their ships ashore at vari-
ous points. Some of the men stepped out into shallow water, others
onto dry land, some with weapons and some without, and they ran
88 book twenty-two 217 bc
for cover to the line of their comrades drawn up on the shore. But
two Carthaginian ships had been captured at the beginning of the
charge, and four had been sunk.
20. The Romans could see that the land was under the control of
the enemy and that his armed troops were lined up all along the shore,
but they did not hesitate to go after the demoralized Carthaginian
fleet. They tied towing ropes to the stern of all those enemy ships
that had not shattered their prows on impact with the shore, or did
not have their keels stuck fast in the shallows, and they towed them
out to sea. In this manner they captured some twenty-five of the
forty vessels. But for the Romans this was not the sweetest aspect of
that particular victory––it was the fact that, with a single effortless
battle, they had gained mastery of that entire seaboard.
They now set sail for Onussa.* Landing there, they took the city by
storm, pillaged it after capturing it, and then headed for New
Carthage. Here they raided all the farmlands around the city, and
eventually set fire to the buildings adjoining the wall and gates. From
there, the fleet, well laden with plunder, came to Longuntica, where
large quantities of esparto grass had been laid up by Hasdrubal for
the use of his fleet. The Romans removed what they could use, and
all the rest was put to the torch. In addition to skirting the coastline
of the mainland, they now also sailed over to the island of Ebusus.
Here they spent two days in an intensive but fruitless assault on the
island’s capital city, turning then to pillaging the countryside when
they realized that their time was being wasted on a futile enterprise.
After looting and burning a number of villages, they returned to
their ships in possession of greater spoils than they had taken from
the mainland, and delegates from the Balearic Islands now came to
Scipio suing for peace.
The fleet then turned back and returned to the more northerly
parts of the province. Here the Romans were met by numerous
ambassadors from all the peoples living north of the Ebro, as well as
from many of the peoples of the furthest reaches of Spain. In fact,
the number of peoples who actually put themselves under Roman
jurisdiction and authority by surrendering hostages came to more
than 120. The Roman commander now felt ample confidence in his
land forces as well, and he went ahead all the way to the pass of
Castulo.* Hasdrubal meanwhile pulled back into Lusitania, closer to
the Atlantic.
217 bc chapters 19–22 89
21. The remainder of the summer, so it seemed, was going to be
uneventful, and indeed would have been as far as the Carthaginians
were concerned. But the Spaniards are by nature a fractious people,
always eager for violent change, and now there was the problem of
Mandonius and the former chieftain of the Ilergetes, Indibilis.* As
soon as the Romans retired from the pass to the coast, these two
roused their compatriots to insurrection, and came to pillage the
peaceful lands of the allies of Rome. Some military tribunes and light-
armed auxiliaries were sent by Scipio to confront the insurgents, and
they easily routed their makeshift force in battle, killing a thousand
men, taking some prisoner, and disarming most of the others. Even
so, this uprising had the effect of making Hasdrubal, who was now in
retreat towards the Atlantic, turn back north of the Ebro to defend his
allies. The Punic camp was located in the territory of the Ilergavon-
enses, the Roman at Nova Classis,* but a piece of news suddenly
arrived that moved the theatre of operations elsewhere.
The Celtiberians had sent the leading men of their territory
as spokesmen to the Romans, and had also given hostages. Now,
prompted by a message they were sent by Scipio, they took up arms
and overran the Carthaginian area with a powerful army. They
stormed three towns, and then put up a magnificent fight against
Hasdrubal himself in two battles, killing 15,000 of the enemy and
capturing 4,000, along with some military standards.
22. This was how matters stood in Spain when Publius Scipio
came into the province. His command had been extended after his
consulship, and he had been sent by the Senate with thirty warships,
8,000 fighting men, and a large quantity of supplies. This armada,
huge thanks to its large column of transport vessels, was seen in the
distance, and, to the great jubilation of the Romans and their allies, it
came in from the open sea and docked in the harbour of Tarraco.*
After disembarking his men, Scipio set out and joined his brother,
and from that point they fought the war together, with a joint
strategy.
Thus, while the Carthaginians were preoccupied with the war
against the Celtiberians, the Scipios lost no time in crossing the Ebro.
Seeing nothing of the enemy, they moved on to Saguntum, for rumour
had it that the hostages that had been taken from all over Spain had
been placed there by Hannibal, and were being guarded in the citadel
by a small garrison. All the peoples of Spain were favourable to an
90 book twenty-two 217 bc
alliance with Rome, and the hostages’ position as pawns was all that
had been holding them back, for they feared that an uprising might
be punished with the blood of their children.
One man removed this constraint on Spain, employing a scheme
of greater ingenuity than integrity. This was Abelux, a Spanish
nobleman then living in Saguntum. He had earlier been a loyal
adherent of the Carthaginians, but had changed his allegiance as his
own fortunes changed, such being the nature of barbarians. He
assumed that, if he came to the enemy as a deserter but with nothing
of great value to betray to them, he would be no more than another
worthless, discreditable individual. He therefore set his mind on
making himself as useful as possible to his new allies. He considered
everything that fortune could put within his reach, and settled on
returning the hostages as being the best idea. That one thing, more
than anything else, he thought, would win for the Romans the
support of the Spanish chieftains.
Abelux was well aware, however, that those guarding the hostages
would make no move without authorization from Bostar, their com-
mander, and so he craftily approached Bostar himself. The latter had
his camp right on the beach outside the city, in order to cut the
Romans off from access from that direction. In the camp, Abelux
took Bostar aside, and explained to him how matters stood, as
though Bostar were ignorant of the fact. Until that day fear had
curbed the spirit of the Spaniards because the Romans were far off,
said Abelux, but now the Roman camp stood south of the Ebro,
providing a secure stronghold and refuge for all who looked for
violent change. Accordingly, he concluded, since fear would not keep
the Spaniards in check, they should be put under obligation to
Carthage by a gesture of generosity and good will.
Bostar, taken aback, asked what offering could now suddenly be so
important to the Spaniards. ‘Send the hostages back to their com-
munities,’ said Abelux. ‘That will win you gratitude on a personal
level from the parents––the people who have the greatest respect in
their communities––and on the official level from the various tribes.
Everybody wants to be trusted, and giving a person one’s trust gen-
erally secures his true loyalty. I claim for myself the duty of return-
ing the hostages to their homes. I should like to assist my own plan
with a special effort, and increase as much as I can the gratitude for
an act that by its very nature will make people grateful.’
217 bc chapters 22–23 91
The man was not very quick-witted compared with other
Carthaginians, and Abelux managed to win him over. Abelux then
set off furtively at night to the enemy outposts, and there was met by
a number of Spanish auxiliaries, by whom he was conducted to
Scipio. The Spaniard explained his proposition, assurances were
exchanged, and the time and location fixed for the transfer of the
hostages were arranged. He then returned to Saguntum.
Abelux spent the next day with Bostar, receiving instructions on
how the business was to be conducted. He then took his leave, having
decided with Bostar that he would make the journey at night, so as
not to be spotted by enemy sentinels. At the time he had established
with them, he woke the men who were guarding the boys and set off,
leading the party into the trap he had treacherously prepared, and of
which he pretended to be unaware. They were brought into the
Roman camp. After that, all the other measures for returning the
hostages were taken in line with the agreement made with Bostar,
and in the same sequence as if the affair were under the direction of
the Carthaginians.
For the very same service the Romans earned considerably more
gratitude than the Carthaginians would have done. For the Spaniards
had found the Carthaginians hard to bear and domineering when
things were going well for them, and the softening of their attitude
could have been attributed to their changing fortunes, and to their
fear. The Romans, on the other hand, had been strangers up to that
point, and now, at the moment of their arrival, they had begun with
an act of kindness and generosity. And Abelux, it would appear, was
a prudent man who must have had good reason to change his allies.
As a result, there was massive support for the defection which they
were all contemplating; and in fact fighting would have broken out
immediately but for the intervention of winter, which obliged
Romans and Carthaginians alike to retire to their billets.
23. Such were operations in Spain during the second summer of
the Punic War. In Italy, meanwhile, the shrewd delaying tactics of
Fabius had brought a short interruption to the Roman defeats. This
caused Hannibal no small concern: he could see that the Romans had
chosen for their campaign the sort of leader who was guided by
reason in his conduct of the war and did not trust to luck. At the
same time, however, the tactics were unpopular with Fabius’ fellow
citizens, both military and civilian. This was particularly so during
92 book twenty-two 217 bc
Fabius’ absence, when the recklessness of his master of horse had led
to an engagement that I could more honestly say provided short-term
joy rather than long-term advantage.
In addition, two incidents had increased the dictator’s unpopular-
ity, one of them a crafty scheme on Hannibal’s part. A farm that
belonged to the dictator had been pointed out to the Carthaginian by
some deserters, and he ordered everything in the area to be razed to
the ground except the farm––that was to be shielded from fire and
the sword, or any kind of damage an enemy might inflict. The object
was to create the impression that some secret pact had been made,
and this was Fabius’ payment for it. For the other incident Fabius
was himself responsible and, though it might initially have been
questioned because he failed to await senatorial endorsement, the
action undoubtedly redounded greatly to his credit in the long
run. The Roman and Carthaginian commanders had followed the
precedent of the First Punic War with regard to the exchange of
prisoners; they had decided between them that the side recovering
more prisoners than it gave would pay two and a half pounds of
silver for each extra soldier. The Roman commander recovered 247
more than the Carthaginian, but the payment of the money owing
for these was, despite numerous debates in the Senate, rather slow in
coming, since Fabius had not consulted the senators on the matter.
Fabius therefore sent his son Quintus to Rome, sold the land that
had been left untouched by the enemy, and then used his private
resources to discharge the public debt.
Hannibal was now encamped before the walls of Gereonium. He
had captured the city and put it to the torch, but had left a few
buildings standing to serve as grain-depots. From there he regularly
sent two-thirds of his force on foraging expeditions. To protect the
camp and also guard against attacks on his foragers from any direc-
tion, Hannibal himself remained on watch with the other third,
which was kept ready for action.
24. The Roman army was, at that point, in the territory of Larinum,
under the command of Minucius, the master of horse, since the
dictator had, as noted above, left for the city. Camp had earlier been
pitched in a safe location on a lofty hill, but now it was brought down
into the plain. Given the general’s disposition, more hot-headed plans
were now being mooted––attacking either the scattered Carthaginian
foragers, or the camp that had been left only lightly guarded.
217 bc chapters 23–24 93
Hannibal was aware that the strategy of the war had changed with
the commander, and that his enemy’s moves would be impulsive
rather than cautious. However, Hannibal himself now made a move
that it would be hard to credit: despite the proximity of the enemy,
he sent a third of his men on a foraging expedition, keeping the other
two-thirds in camp. He then moved the actual camp closer to the
enemy, establishing himself on a hillock visible to them, about two
miles from Gereonium. This was to let them know that he was at the
ready to protect his foragers, should they come under attack. From
that point, another hillock came into sight, closer to the enemy, and
actually overlooking their camp. If Hannibal made a move to seize
this in broad daylight, there was no doubt that the enemy would get
there before him––their path to it was shorter––and so some of his
Numidians were sent out to take it secretly at night.
The following day, with disdain for the slight enemy numbers, the
Romans dislodged the Numidians holding the position, and moved
their own camp to the hillock. Thus, there was but a short distance
between one rampart and the other, and that space had been almost
entirely filled by the Roman battle line. At the same time cavalry and
light infantry were sent forth from the rear of the camp against the
Carthaginian foragers, and these killed or chased off the scattered
enemy over a wide area. Hannibal did not dare commit himself to
battle because, with numbers so small, he could barely defend the
camp if it came under attack. And now he proceeded to fight the war
with Fabian tactics, sitting and waiting, and he had drawn his troops
back to their earlier camp, before the walls of Gereonium.
Some sources have it that a pitched battle, with lines drawn up, was
fought that day. They claim that, at the first clash, the Carthaginians
were driven in disarray right back to their camp, but then counter-
attacked, suddenly terrifying the Romans in their turn, until the
fortunes of the battle were restored by the arrival of the Samnite
Numerius Decimus. He was the leading man, in terms of family and
wealth, not just of his home town of Bovianum, but of the whole of
Samnium. According to this version, Numerius was, at the com-
mand of the dictator, bringing to the camp 8,000 infantry and some
500 cavalry. When he appeared to Hannibal’s rear, he gave both sides
the impression that these were reinforcements coming from Rome
with Quintus Fabius. Hannibal also feared it might be some sort of
trap, and withdrew his men, and the Romans, pushing ahead with
94 book twenty-two 217 bc
the help of the Samnite, took two strongholds by storm that day. Six
thousand of the enemy were reportedly killed, and a good 5,000
Romans. But, though the losses on both sides were so nearly equal,
a gushing report was brought to Rome, along with an even more
gushing dispatch from the master of horse, of a superlative victory.
25. These events were the subject of frequent discussions in both
the Senate and meetings of the people. The community was full of
joy; only the dictator would give no credence to the report or the
dispatch. Even if it were all true, he said, he feared a success more
than he did a reverse. At this the tribune of the plebs, Marcus Metil-
ius, declared that this really was intolerable. Not only had the dicta-
tor opposed an operation that promised success when he was present
in the field, but now in his absence he was also refusing to recognize
success achieved. He was purposely temporizing, in order to stay in
office and be the only person with imperium, both in Rome and in the
field. For, said the tribune, one of the consuls had fallen in action,
and the other had been taken far from Italy, ostensibly in pursuit of
the Punic fleet; and the two praetors were engaged in Sicily and
Sardinia, though neither province was in need of a praetor at that
time. And as for Marcus Minucius, the master of horse, he had been
virtually kept under lock and key to prevent him getting a glimpse of
the enemy, or engaging in any military action!
And so, the tribune continued, it was not just Samnium that had
been totally devastated, its territory ceded to the Carthaginians as if
it were the other side of the Ebro. So, too, for heaven’s sake, had the
territory of Campania, of Cales and of Falernum! And, meanwhile,
the dictator sat around in Casilinum, using the legions of the Roman
people to protect his private lands. The army had been eager to
engage, he said, but along with the master of horse it had been virtu-
ally kept imprisoned within the rampart, and had been deprived of
its weapons, like enemy prisoners. It was only when the dictator left
that they had finally emerged from behind their rampart, like men
delivered from a blockade––and then they drove back and routed the
enemy. In view of which, added Metilius, he would have confidently
proposed the annulment of Quintus Fabius’ imperium––if the Roman
people still had its mettle of days gone by. As matters stood, he
would bring forward only a modest bill to give the master of horse
and the dictator the same constitutional powers.* That notwithstand-
ing, he concluded, Quintus Fabius must not be sent back to his army
217 bc chapters 24–26 95
until he had seen to the election of a consul to replace Gaius
Flaminius.
The dictator avoided assemblies of the people, enjoying as he did
no popularity in public speaking. Not even in the Senate did he
receive an impartial hearing when he paid tribute to his enemy,
blamed the defeats of the past two years on the recklessness and
incompetence of commanders, and said that the master of horse
should be called to account for engaging against his orders. If
supreme command and strategic planning lay with him, he said, he
would soon make people aware that, when the general is good, luck is
of little consequence, and that intelligence and reason are the
important factors. Indeed, he added, there was greater glory in having
kept the army safe at the appropriate time, and without dishonour,
than there was in slaughtering thousands of the enemy.
The speeches that he made in this vein had no effect. He then saw
to the election to the consulship of Marcus Atilius Regulus* and, to
avoid being present for the squabble over the rights of command,
slipped away to his army after dark on the day before the motion was
to be brought forward.
The plebs came together for the meeting at dawn. Their inner
feelings were animosity towards the dictator, and approval for the
master of horse, but men still did not have the nerve to come forward
to speak on behalf of a measure that had public support. Thus, in
spite of overwhelming enthusiasm for it, the motion lacked substan-
tive endorsement. One man alone was found to speak in favour of the
bill: Gaius Terentius Varro, praetor the previous year, a man whose
family background was not merely lowly but downright sordid.*
They say his father had been a butcher who had kept his own stall,
and had employed that very son in the degrading activities of his
trade.
26. As a young man, Varro inherited from his father the money
that had come from this sort of business, and it gave him the con-
fidence to hope for a more respectable position in the world. Public
life and the courts appealed to him and, by using a noisy rhetoric on
behalf of disreputable individuals and causes, and against the prop-
erty and reputations of decent people, he achieved notoriety with the
masses, and then civil office. He gained the quaestorship, two aedile-
ships (plebeian and curule), and eventually the praetorship, at which
point he presumed to entertain hopes of a consulship. With no lack
96 book twenty-two 217 bc
of cunning, he now attempted to exploit the animosity against the
dictator to win over the wavering support of the masses, and he alone
gained the credit for the passing of the resolution.
Whether they were in Rome or in the army, everybody, Fabius’
friends and foes alike, took the passing of the bill as a deliberate slap
in the face for him. Not so the dictator. He accepted the slight of the
people’s rage against him with the same dignified composure with
which he had borne the slanderous remarks that his enemies made
against him before the popular assembly. He was actually on the road
when he received the letter from the Senate informing him of the
equal division of the command, but he was quite sure that, while
there may have been an equal sharing of authority, there was no
equal sharing of the general’s skills. He returned to his army, his
spirit broken neither by his fellow citizens nor by the enemy.
27. Even before this, Minucius’ success, and his support from the
masses, had made him quite insufferable, but at this juncture he
proceeded to boast impudently and arrogantly that Quintus Fabius
had come off second best to him no less than Hannibal had done.
Fabius, he said, had been chosen in hard times as sole commander,
one who could be a match for Hannibal. But now something histor-
ically unparalleled had happened––the superior officer had, by order
of the people, been put on the same level as the junior, the dictator
on the same level as the master of horse. And this had happened in
the same society in which it had been the norm for masters of horse
to tremble and shake at the sight of the dictator’s rods and axes. So
brilliant, said Minucius, had been his own success and valour. He
was therefore going to follow his own fortunes, he concluded, if the
dictator persisted with his policy of delaying and doing nothing, a
policy condemned by gods and men alike.
And so, on the day that he first met up with Quintus Fabius,
Minucius told him that what needed to be established first was how
to put their shared command into effect. The best idea, in his opin-
ion, was for each to have absolute authority and power in turn, either
on alternate days or, if longer periods seemed preferable, for equal
blocks of time. In this way, he said, each man could hold his own
against the enemy numerically as well as tactically, should he have
the opportunity for action.
Quintus Fabius did not like this at all: everything would depend
on the luck that came his headstrong colleague’s way. His imperium
217 bc chapters 26–28 97
had been divided between himself and another, he argued, but had
not actually been taken from him. He would therefore never will-
ingly relinquish his discretion in directing the campaign, which he
could still retain. He would not, he said, agree to a division by
periods, or days, of command shared with him. He would, however,
split the army, and would use his own strategy to save what he could,
since he was not permitted to save everything. With this Fabius
gained the division of the legions between the two, after the normal
practice of the consuls. The first and fourth legions then fell to
Minucius, and the second and third to Fabius, and they similarly
split equally the cavalry and the auxiliary troops of the allies, and
those with Latin status. The master of horse also wanted separate
camps.
28. Nothing taking place amongst the enemy escaped the notice of
Hannibal, for he had ample intelligence from deserters, as well as
information from his spies. Now he had two reasons to be happy:
Minucius’ recklessness had been set free for him to capitalize on it as
he would; and the effectiveness of Fabius’ resourceful strategy had
been halved.
Between the camp of Minucius and that of the Carthaginians was
a low hill, and it was clear that whoever took it first would have
territorial advantage over his enemy. Hannibal’s aim was not to take
it without a fight, though that in itself was a worthwhile objective,
but to use it to bring on a battle with Minucius, since he was well
aware that the Roman would sally forth to stop him.
All the land between the two forces looked, at first sight, to be of
no use for laying a trap: not only was there no woodland, but it did
not even have a covering of bushes. But, for that very reason, it was
just the spot for concealing an ambush, for there could be no fear of
such a trap in a bare valley; and in fact there were rocky hollows in its
ravines, some able to hold 200 men. Five thousand infantry and
cavalry were set in these hiding-places, distributed according to how
many each hollow could conveniently hold. Fearing that the move-
ment of a man carelessly stepping out, or the glint of armour, might
give away the trap in such an open valley, Hannibal distracted the
enemy’s attention by sending a few men out at dawn to take the hill
mentioned above.
At the first sight of these men, the Romans scoffed at their paltry
numbers, and all demanded for themselves the task of dislodging the
98 book twenty-two 217 bc
enemy and taking the position. Their leader was himself one of the
most senseless and reckless of them, calling the men to arms and
hurling empty threats at the enemy. He began by sending out his
light infantry, and after them, in close formation, he sent the cavalry.
Finally, seeing reinforcements also being brought up for the enemy,
he marched forward with his legions in battle order. As the battle
gained momentum and his men came under pressure, Hannibal also
sent in wave after wave of reinforcements, both infantry and cavalry,
until he had brought his battle line up to its full complement. The
two sides were now locked in all-out combat.
It was the Roman light infantry that was driven back first, just as
they were advancing from lower ground up the hill taken earlier by
the enemy. As they were pushed back, they spread panic amongst the
cavalry, who were coming up behind them, and then they fled back to
the legionary standards. The heavy infantry line alone remained
unwavering in the general panic, and it appeared that they would not
have been found wanting had it been a regular and straightforward
battle––so great was the courage that their success a few days earlier
had inspired in them. But the men who were lying in ambush sud-
denly rose up, and such was the alarm and terror they produced with
their attacks on both flanks, and on the rear, that none of the Romans
had any spirit left for the fight, or any hope of making good his
escape.
29. Fabius heard their cries of panic first; then he saw the line
thrown into disorder in the distance. ‘Just as I thought,’ he said to his
men. ‘Fortune has overtaken his recklessness, and as quickly as I
feared it would. He was made Fabius’ equal in command, but he now
sees that Hannibal is his superior in valour and fortune. But there
will be another time for reproaches and anger. Now carry the stand-
ards forward from camp. Let us wrest victory from the enemy, and
an admission of their error from our fellow citizens!’
By now large numbers of Minucius’ men had been cut down, and
others were looking around for a way to escape. Then, suddenly,
Fabius’ army appeared, as though sent from heaven to help them.
Before coming within javelin-range, or getting down to hand-to-
hand fighting, Fabius checked his own side’s headlong flight, as well
as the enemy’s furious onslaught. Those who had broken ranks, and
scattered far and wide, came running from all parts to join the new
line of battle. Others who had turned and run off in large groups
217 bc chapters 28–30 99
now swung round to face the enemy again. They formed a circle, and
at one moment slowed their retreat and at the next bunched together
to stand their ground. By now what was almost a single line had been
formed from the defeated army and the fresh one, and this was
advancing on the enemy––but at that moment the Carthaginian
commander sounded the retreat. This was Hannibal openly declar-
ing that, while Minucius had been beaten by him, he had been
beaten by Fabius.
This day of wavering fortunes was mostly done when the two
sides returned to camp. Minucius then summoned his men. ‘Men!’
he said, ‘I have often been told that the best man is he who gives
helpful advice, that the man who accepts good advice stands next to
him; and that the most inadequate man is he who cannot give advice,
but cannot accept it from another, either. We have been denied the
top rank of intellect and ability, so let us grasp the second––the
intermediate––ranking and, while we learn to command, let us
resolve to be guided by a man of good judgement. Let us join our
camp with that of Fabius. Let us carry the standards to his head-
quarters, where I shall address him with the title “father”, as his
benefit conferred on us, and his exalted position, requires. You, men,
must salute as “patrons” those who just now gave you protection
with the weapons in their right hands and, if nothing else, this day
will at least have brought us credit for showing our gratitude.’
30. The signal was given, and the call for breaking camp went up.
They set off and, in marching order, proceeded to the dictator’s
encampment, taking the dictator himself and those around him by
surprise. The standards were set up before the tribunal, and the
master of horse marched forward ahead of the others. He addressed
Fabius with the title ‘father’, and his entire army saluted as ‘patrons’
those of the dictator’s men who were standing around him.
‘Dictator,’ said Minucius, ‘I have just made you equal to my par-
ents in the name I applied to you, the best I can do with language.
But to them I owe only my life, whereas to you I owe these men’s
salvation as well as my own. And so, that decree of the people,
onerous to me rather than an honour, I am the first to reject and
repeal. I put myself once more under your command and auspices,*
and restore to you these standards and legions, praying that this
might turn out well for you, for me, and for these armies of yours,
the rescued one and the rescuer alike. Please forgive us, and give me
100 book twenty-two 217 bc
the order to hold the position of master of horse, and these men to
retain their various ranks.’
Handshakes followed, and at the meeting’s end the soldiers
received warm and cordial hospitality from acquaintances and
strangers alike. And so a festive day emerged from one that, shortly
before, had been particularly dismal and almost under a curse.
Word of the episode reached Rome, where it was corroborated by
correspondence, not just from the two commanders but from the
rank and file in both armies as well. Everybody now praised Maximus
to the skies. His prestige was just as high with Hannibal and the
Carthaginian foe, who were now finally realizing that their war was
against Romans, and that it was being fought in Italy. For they had,
over the past two years, developed such a low opinion of the Roman
officers and fighting men that they had found it difficult to believe
that the war was with the same people about whom they had heard
frightening tales from their fathers. And they say, too, that Hannibal,
when he was returning from the battle, commented that the cloud
that usually sat on the mountaintops had now come down as a
rainstorm.
31. While this was going on in Italy, the consul Gnaeus Servilius
Geminus sailed around the coastline of Sardinia and Corsica with a
fleet of a hundred and twenty ships. He took hostages from both
islands, and sailed on to Africa. Before landing on the mainland he
laid waste the island of Meninx, and then received ten talents of
silver from the inhabitants of Cercina* as the price for not burning
and pillaging their land, as well. He proceeded to the coast of Africa
where he disembarked his troops. From there, soldiers and ships’
crews were led off on plundering expeditions, and they spread
out as widely as if their raids were being conducted on uninhabited
islands. Their lack of caution soon brought them into an ambush.
Stragglers were surrounded by bands of natives, men ignorant of the
land surrounded by men who knew it, and they were driven back to
the ships in ignominious flight, and with heavy casualties. Some
1,000 men were lost, including the quaestor Tiberius Sempronius
Blaesus.
The fleet cast off in panic from shores that were swarming with
the enemy, and held a course for Sicily. At Lilybaeum, it was trans-
ferred to the praetor Titus Otacilius, to be taken back to Rome by
Otacilius’ legate, Publius Cincius. The consul himself set off on foot
217 bc chapters 30–32 101
through Sicily, crossing then to Italy by the strait, since he and his
colleague Marcus Atilius had been sent for in a dispatch from Quintus
Fabius. They were to take over the dictator’s armies, since Fabius’
six-month imperium had almost expired.
Practically all the annalistic accounts record Fabius’ position as
that of dictator for his Hannibalic campaign, and Coelius also
recounts that Fabius was the first dictator appointed by the people.
However, Coelius and the others have lost sight of the fact that the
right to appoint a dictator lay with the one surviving consul, Gnaeus
Servilius, at that time far off in Gaul, his province. Panic-stricken
after the defeat it had suffered, the state could not brook the delay
this would involve, and so resorted to the measure of having a
provisional dictator appointed by the people. Subsequently,
Fabius’ achievements and outstanding reputation, together with the
additions his descendants made to the inscription on his bust, all
made it easy to believe that a man who had been made a provisional
dictator had actually been dictator.*
32. The consuls Atilius and Geminus Servilius* assumed com-
mand of the armies of Fabius and Minucius respectively. They con-
structed winter quarters early and, in complete harmony, spent the
rest of the autumn prosecuting the war with Fabius’ tactics. When
Hannibal went out to forage, they would appear at the appropriate
moment at various points, hounding his column and waylaying
stragglers. They would not risk an all-out battle, which the enemy
was doing all he could to bring on, and Hannibal was reduced to
such a state of deprivation that he would have headed back to Gaul
had he not feared that his leaving would be necessarily seen as flight.
For he was left with no hope of provisioning his army in those parts,
if the incoming consuls followed the same tactics for the war.
The difficulties of winter had now brought the war around Ger-
eonium to a halt, and at this time ambassadors from Neapolis came
to Rome. They brought into the Senate forty golden bowls of con-
siderable weight, and made a speech declaring that they were aware
that the treasury of the Roman people was being depleted by the war.
This war was being fought as much for the cities and farmland of the
allies as for the city of Rome––Italy’s capital city and bastion––and
its empire, they said. Accordingly, the people of Neapolis had voted
that it was only right for them to assist the Roman people with gold
that had been left them by their ancestors for beautifying their
102 book twenty-two 217 bc
temples, and also as a fund to help them in adversity. Had they
believed their personal assistance would help, they would have been
just as ready to offer that, they said. The Roman senators and people
would be doing them a favour, they declared, if they regarded as
their own everything the Neapolitans possessed, and if they saw fit to
accept a gift whose value lay more in the good will of those who
gladly gave it than in its intrinsic worth. The ambassadors were
formally thanked for the generosity and concern, and only the
lightest one of their bowls was accepted.
33. At about this time a Carthaginian spy, who had escaped detec-
tion for two years, was arrested in Rome; he was released after having
his hands cut off. Twenty-five slaves were also crucified for conspir-
ing together in the Campus Martius, and the informer in the affair
was given his freedom and 20,000 full asses.* A delegation was also
sent to King Philip of Macedon to demand the surrender of
Demetrius of Pharus, who had sought asylum with him after being
defeated in war. Another party of delegates was sent to the Ligurians
to complain about the assistance they had given the Carthaginians in
material and men, and at the same time to get a close look at what
was happening amongst the Boii and Insubres. An embassy was also
sent to King Pinnes in Illyria to demand payment of his indemnity,*
the due date for which had expired, or to take hostages from him if
he wanted the date for payment extended. Such was the extent to
which the Romans refused to overlook their interests anywhere in
the world, even those far away, despite having the burden of this
massive war on their backs.
Religious concerns also arose over a temple of Concord that had
been promised in a vow two years earlier in Gaul, during a mutiny
of the troops, by the praetor Lucius Manlius. The building of the
temple had not to that day been put up for contract. Accordingly,
duumvirs were appointed expressly for the purpose by the urban
praetor Marcus Aemilius. These were Gaius Pupius and Kaeso
Quinctius Flamininus, and they contracted out the building of the
temple on the citadel.
A letter from the same praetor, Manlius, was sent to the consuls,
on the authorization of the Senate, requesting one of them, if they
saw fit, to return to Rome to arrange the consular elections. Manlius
added that he would announce the election for the date they ordained.
The answer that came back from the consuls was that they could not
217 bc chapters 32–34 103
leave the enemy without prejudice to the state, and so it was prefer-
able for the elections to be held by an interrex than for one of the
consuls to be called away from the war. The senators felt that it was
more appropriate for a dictator to be appointed by one of the consuls
to hold the elections.* Lucius Veturius Philo was appointed, and he in
turn appointed Marcus Pomponius Matho to be his master of horse.
But there was an irregularity in the appointment process, and they
were ordered to resign their posts after fourteen days. The state then
returned to an interregnum.
34. The consuls had their imperium extended for a year, and the
interreges appointed by the senators were Gaius Claudius Cento, son
of Appius, and then Publius Cornelius Asina. The elections were
held during Cornelius’ interregnum and saw bitter antagonism
between the senatorial party and the plebeians.*
The commons were striving to raise to the consulship Gaius
Terentius Varro, a man of their own class, who had ingratiated him-
self with the plebeians by his attacks on leading citizens, and by his
crowd-pleasing methods. Indeed, thanks to the attack he had mounted
on Quintus Fabius’ influence, and on his authority as dictator, Varro
had gained some distinction through another man’s unpopularity.
The senatorial party were using every means to block him; they
wanted to prevent it becoming common practice for people to rise to
their level by scurrilous attacks on them. Quintus Baebius Herennius,
a tribune of the plebs and a kinsman of Gaius Terentius, cast asper-
sions not only on the senators, but also on the augurs who, he
claimed, had stopped the dictator from holding the elections, and by
disparaging them he won support for his own candidate. The nobles
had been thirsting for war for many a year, he said. It was by them
that Hannibal had been brought to Italy, and by them, too, that the
war was being fraudulently prolonged when it could be finished
off. Operations could be successfully conducted by four united
legions, Herennius continued, as had been demonstrated by Marcus
Minucius’ successful engagement during Fabius’ absence. But now
two legions had been thrown before the enemy to be slaughtered,
and then brought back from the brink of slaughter––just so that the
words ‘father’ and ‘patron’ could be applied to the man who had
prevented the Romans from conquering, before he prevented them
from being conquered. After this, the consuls had used Fabian tac-
tics to draw out the war when they could have finished it off. This
104 book twenty-two 217 bc
was a pact the nobles had all made amongst themselves, he said, and
the Romans would not see an end to the war until they had elected to
the consulship a real plebeian, that is, a ‘new man’. For the plebeians
who had been made nobles were now initiates in the same rites as
them, and they had been looking down on the plebs ever since they
had stopped being looked down upon by the senators. The aim of all
this activity and manœuvring for an interregnum was clear to see––it
was so that the elections would remain under the control of the
Senate. That was what lay behind the two consuls’ staying behind
with the army. Later, when, against the senators’ wishes, a dictator
was appointed to hold the elections, that was what lay behind their
forcing through a declaration by the augurs that the dictator’s
appointment was invalid. So, he said, the senators now had their
interregnum. But one consulship did at least belong to the Roman
plebs, and the people would make free use of it, and give it to a man
who wanted a quick victory rather than a long tenure of command.
35. The plebeians were inflamed by such speeches. There were
three patrician candidates, Publius Cornelius Merenda, Lucius
Manlius Volso, and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and two plebeian
candidates from already ennobled families, Gaius Atilius Serranus
and Quintus Aelius Paetus (of whom one was a pontiff, the other an
augur). But only one consul, Terentius Varro, was elected, and as a
result the elections for the appointment of his colleague lay in his
hands.
Discovering that those running against Varro had lacked the
necessary electoral strength, the nobles now forced Lucius Aemilius
Paulus to stand, though for a long time he steadfastly refused to do
so. Paulus had served as consul with Marcus Livius, and he had been
a bitter enemy of the plebs ever since the condemnation of his for-
mer colleague, an affair in which his own reputation almost went up
in flames.* On the next election day all those who had been in com-
petition with Varro withdrew, and Paulus joined the consul less as a
colleague than as a rival in opposition to him.
The praetorian elections were held next, and Marcus Pomponius
Matho* and Publius Furius Philus were returned. Philus was allotted
the urban judicial administration, and Pomponius jurisdiction
between citizens and foreigners. There were two additional praetors,
Marcus Claudius Marcellus for Sicily, and Lucius Postumius Albinus
for Gaul. These magistrates were all elected in absentia, and apart
217–216 bc chapters 34–37 105
from Terentius (the consul elect) none of them was given an office
that he had not already held. A number of intrepid and active men
were passed over because it was felt that, under the circumstances,
no one should be assigned an office that was new to him.
36. There was also a substantial increase in military personnel, but
such are the discrepancies in the sources regarding numbers and
kinds of troops involved that I would not venture to give precise
information on the size of the additions to infantry and cavalry
forces. Some record a supplementary mobilization of 10,000 men,
others of four new legions, to make a total of eight for the campaign.
A number of authors claim that the legionary complement was also
increased in terms of infantry and cavalry. According to these, 1,000
infantry and 100 cavalry were added to each legion, bringing the
strength of each up to 5,000 foot and 300 horse, with the allies
contributing double that number of cavalry and the same number of
infantry. There were, they claim, 87,200 men under arms in the
Roman camp when the battle was fought at Cannae.* On one point
there is no disagreement: the effort and vigour devoted to the cam-
paign was greater than in previous years because the dictator had
given reason to hope that the enemy could be defeated.
Before the new legions marched from the city, however, the
decemvirs were instructed to go and consult the Sacred Books, for
there was general unease over some strange prodigies. There had
been reports of showers of stones falling on the Aventine in Rome
and also, at about the same time, at Aricia. It was reported, too,
that blood had flowed profusely from statues amongst the Sabines,
and also amid the waters at Caere; and this caused greater alarm
because it had occurred quite frequently. In addition, a number of
people had been fatally struck by lightning on the vaulted street that
used to lead to the Campus Martius. Expiation for the prodigies was
conducted as prescribed by the Books.
Ambassadors from Paestum brought golden bowls to Rome. As in
the case of the people of Neapolis, they were formally thanked, but
their gold was not accepted.
37. At about this time, a fleet that had been sent by Hiero reached
Ostia bearing a large cargo of provisions. Ushered into the Senate,
Hiero’s ambassadors announced that King Hiero had been extremely
distressed by the news of the death of the consul Gaius Flaminius,
and the destruction of his army––he could not have been more
106 book twenty-two 217–216 bc
distraught at any misfortune that overtook him personally, or his
realm. So, they said, while Hiero well knew that the greatness of the
Roman people was almost more remarkable in adversity than in good
times, he had nevertheless sent all the means of assistance usually
provided in wartime by good and faithful allies. These he earnestly
begged the senators not to refuse. First of all, they said, they were
bringing a 220-pound golden Victory to serve as a good omen, and
they asked the senators to accept it, and hold it and keep it as theirs
in perpetuity. They had also brought 300,000 measures of wheat and
200,000 of barley, they said, so that the Romans would have no
shortage of provisions, and they would ship any further quantities
they needed to whatever destination they specified. Hiero was aware
that the Roman people made use only of infantry and cavalry that
were Roman or of Latin status, they added, but he had also observed
foreign light-armed auxiliaries in the Roman camp. He had therefore
sent them a thousand archers and slingers, a force well suited to
combat Balearic and Moorish troops, and other peoples who fought
with projectiles.
To these gifts the ambassadors added a word of advice. The prae-
tor allotted the charge of Sicily should take a fleet across to Africa––
the enemy would then be facing hostilities in his own land, as well,
and thus be granted less leeway for sending assistance to Hannibal.
The reply given to the king by the Senate was as follows. Hiero
was a good man and an outstanding ally, they said, one who had
shown unflagging loyalty ever since he had established a treaty of
friendship with the Roman people, and who had on every occasion,
and in every place, generously supported the Roman cause. The
Roman people were grateful to him, as well they should be. Gold had
also been brought to them by other communities, they said, but the
Roman people had not accepted it, appreciative though they were of
the kind gesture. They did, however, accept Hiero’s Victory, and the
good omen it represented, and they accordingly gave and assigned to
her, as her residence, the Capitol, the temple of Jupiter Optimus
Maximus. Sanctified in that citadel of the city of Rome, she would be
gracious and propitious, and firm and constant, in her support of the
Roman people.
The slingers and archers, along with the grain, were passed along
to the consuls. The fleet of fifty ships under the command of Titus
Otacilius in Sicily was strengthened with twenty-five quinqueremes,
216 bc chapters 37–38 107
and Otacilius was granted permission to sail to Africa with the fleet,
if he thought that served the interests of the state.
38. The enrolment of forces completed, the consuls waited a few
days for the troops from the allies and men of Latin status to arrive.*
At this time an unprecedented step was taken: the oath of allegiance
was administered to the enlisted men by the military tribunes. Until
that day, there had been only the oath the men took to mobilize when
the consuls gave the order and not to disband without their order.
When they had mobilized for division into decuries* or centuries,
the cavalry (by decuries) and the infantry (by centuries) would sim-
ply swear an informal oath amongst themselves. They would swear
not to break ranks for flight, or from fear––indeed, for no reason
other than to fetch or retrieve a weapon, to strike an enemy, or to
rescue a fellow citizen. This discretionary pact, made amongst the
men themselves, was now superseded by an official administering of
the oath of allegiance by the tribunes.
Before the troops marched from the city, there were a large num-
ber of blustering addresses made by the consul Varro. He claimed
that the war had been brought on Italy by the nobility, and would
remain stuck in the vitals of the state if she had more generals like
Fabius. He, however, was going to end the war on the day he set eyes
on the enemy. Varro’s colleague Paulus made only one speech, the
day before he left the city, and it had more truth to it than popular
appeal. He had no disrespectful comments about Varro, except one.
Varro, he said, did not yet know his own army, or that of his enemy,
and did not know the lie of the land and geographical features of the
region of his campaign. So, said Paulus, he was amazed that such a
leader would know, while still wearing civilian clothes in the city,
what his tactics should be when under arms, and that he was even
able to predict the day on which he would meet the enemy in pitched
battle. As for himself, he continued, he would not formulate plans
before the appropriate time; for the situation dictated strategy for
men: men could not impose strategy on the situation. His wish was
that a strategy of caution and prudence might prove successful;
recklessness was intrinsically foolish, and, apart from that, it had to
that point achieved nothing. It was quite clear that Paulus would
choose safety over impetuous plans and, to make sure that he stuck
to it all the more firmly, Quintus Fabius Maximus is said to have
addressed him in the following words* on his departure:
108 book twenty-two 216 bc
39. ‘Lucius Aemilius, if you had a colleague like yourself––my
own preference––or if you yourself were like your colleague, then
what I have to say would be unnecessary. If you were both good
consuls, all your actions would be loyally taken for the good of the
republic, no matter what I said. Likewise, if you were both bad men,
you would not listen to my words, or pay attention to my advice,
anyway. As matters stand, as I look at your colleague’s qualities, and
your own, all my words are directed to you alone. I do, nevertheless,
see that your being a good man and good citizen will serve no pur-
pose, if half our state is crippled, and bad policies have the same
force and support as good ones. For you are wrong, Lucius Paulus, if
you think you will have any less of a fight with Gaius Terentius than
you will with Hannibal, and I wonder if you might not in future have
this man as a more dangerous adversary than that redoubtable enemy
of ours. With Hannibal you will fight only in the battlefield; with
Varro you are going to be fighting in all places, and at all times.
Against Hannibal and his legions you will have to do battle with your
cavalry and infantry; Varro, as commander, is going to attack you
with your own soldiers.
‘I should not mention Gaius Flaminius––it might prove a bad
omen for you. But I must say that his delusion took effect only when
he was consul, and when he was in his province, and with his army.
Varro was out of control before he stood for the consulship, and
again during his campaign for it––and is so now, before even setting
eyes on his camp and his enemy. And when a man causes such a stir
with blustering talk of battles and warfare amongst civilians, imagine
what he will do when surrounded by young soldiers, and in a situ-
ation where action follows hard on the heels of talk! But if he
engages immediately, as he threatens to do, then either I have no
knowledge of military tactics, or of the nature of this war and of this
enemy, or else there is going to be another place more famous for our
defeats than Trasimene.
‘This is no time for self-glorification before an audience of one,
and also I would rather go too far in shunning glory than in courting
it. But the fact is this: the only way of fighting the war against
Hannibal is as I have fought it. And it is not merely the result––that
notorious teacher of fools––which illustrates this. The same reason-
ing that obtained in the past will remain unchanged in future, as long
as the situation remains the same. We are fighting the war in Italy, in
216 bc chapter 39 109
our homeland, and on our own soil. All around us there are only
fellow citizens and allies, and they are assisting us––and will con-
tinue to assist us––with armaments, fighting men, horses, and provi-
sions. Such is the evidence of their loyalty that they have already
given us in our times of trouble! And every passing day gives us
greater expertise, judgement, and perseverance.
‘Hannibal, by contrast, is in a strange and hostile land, facing
opposition and peril on every side, and far from his home and coun-
try. He has no peace on land or sea, and no cities, no protective walls
to shelter him––he sees nothing anywhere that is his. He lives on
what he pillages day by day, and has barely a third of the army he
took across the Ebro. More have died from starvation than in battle,
and for the few that remain food is in short supply. Can you have
any doubt, then, that it is by non-aggression that we shall overcome
this man, who grows weaker by the day, and has no provisions, no
reinforcements, and no money? How long has he been sitting before
the walls of that feeble Apulian town of Gereonium as though he
were defending the walls of Carthage! I shall not brag about my own
performance, not even before you; just see how the last consuls,
Servilius and Atilius, toyed with him!
‘This is the one road to safety, Lucius Paulus, and it will be your
fellow citizens, not your enemy, who will make it difficult and
treacherous for you. For your own soldiers will want the same thing
as the enemy’s soldiers, and the Roman consul Varro will hanker
after the same thing as the Carthaginian Hannibal. All on your own
you must resist two generals. But resist them you will, if you remain
sufficiently unmoved before people’s gossip and tittle-tattle, and if
you are not influenced by the hollow reputation of your colleague,
and by your own ill-deserved notoriety. The truth is all too often in
difficulty, but is never extinguished, the saying goes, and the man
who despises glory will have true glory. Let people call you cowardly
rather than cautious, lethargic rather than judicious, spineless rather
than a shrewd tactician. I prefer to have a discerning enemy fearing
you than foolish compatriots praising you. Hannibal will despise the
risk-taker, but he will fear the man who makes no foolhardy move. I
am not encouraging you to take no action, but to let reason, not
chance, direct that action. Always control yourself and all your
actions; be under arms and on the alert; do not let slip your own
opportunity and do not give the enemy his. Everything is clear and
110 book twenty-two 216 bc
in focus for the man who is not in a rush; haste is improvident and
blind.’
40. The consul’s response to this was not very promising. While
admitting that what Fabius said was true, he added that it was not
easy to put into effect. The dictator had been unable to cope with his
master of horse, so what power or authority would a consul have over
an unruly and reckless colleague? He had in his previous consulship
come away badly burned from the fiery wrath of the people, he said,
and, while he wanted everything to turn out successfully, he would
rather face the spears of the enemy than the votes of the angry
citizens.
They say that Paulus left after this conversation, with the leading
senators at his side. The plebeian consul was attended by his ple-
beian adherents, a group impressive in numbers, but lacking men of
distinction.
On their arrival in camp, the new and the old forces were com-
bined, and the camp split in two parts. The newer and smaller of the
two was closer to Hannibal, but the old one contained the greater
part of the troops, and all the best and strongest of them. Marcus
Atilius, one of the consuls of the previous year, asked to be relieved
of command on grounds of age, and the commanders sent him back
to Rome. The other ex-consul, Geminus Servilius, they put in com-
mand of a Roman legion, and 2,000 allied infantry and cavalry, in the
smaller camp.
Hannibal noted the fifty per cent increase in the enemy’s troops,
but even so he was remarkably cheered by the arrival of the consuls.
Nothing remained of the supplies acquired by his daily pillaging,
and there was no place left for him to plunder––throughout the area,
the grain had been transported into the fortified towns by all the
locals, when the countryside became unsafe. As a result (so it was
ascertained later), Hannibal was left with barely enough grain for
another ten days, and, because of the shortage of food, his Spaniards
were preparing to desert. The Romans, however, did not wait long
enough for them to do so.*
41. In fact, fortune also provided fuel for the consul’s recklessness
and impatient character. While some Carthaginian foragers were
being driven off, a haphazard engagement occurred, with a spon-
taneous charge from the soldiers rather than one planned and
ordered by the commanders. In this, the Carthaginians in no way
216 bc chapters 39–42 111
measured up to their enemy. Some 1,700 of them were killed, with
no more than 100 Roman and allied casualties. The consul Paulus,
however, feared an ambush, and halted a disorderly pursuit by the
victors––the consuls were alternating command on a daily basis, and
this was Paulus’ day. Varro was furious, screaming that the enemy
had been allowed to slip through their fingers, and the war could
have been finished off if they had not halted.
Hannibal was not too upset by the loss––in fact, he believed that
the trap had now been baited for the recklessness of the hot-headed
consul, and especially for that of his newly recruited men. He was as
fully aware of how matters stood on the enemy side as on his own––
he knew that the commanders differed in character and were at log-
gerheads, and that nearly two-thirds of their army consisted of raw
recruits. Accordingly, believing that the place and time were right for
an ambush, he set off the following night, his men carrying nothing
but their weapons, and he left the camp behind him filled with all
manner of property, state- and privately owned. On the other side of
some nearby hills he posted his men out of view, and ready for battle,
infantry on the left, cavalry on the right, and led the baggage-train
along the valley between the two. His aim was to take the enemy by
surprise while they were completely preoccupied with ransacking a
camp, which they would assume had been abandoned when its
occupants fled. Numerous fires were left burning in the camp. This
was to make the Romans believe that Hannibal had tried to keep the
consuls where they were by creating the illusion of a functioning
camp while he, meanwhile, got a good head start in his flight––the
same ploy with which he had duped Fabius the previous year.
42. At daybreak, the Romans were taken by surprise, first by the
fact that the Carthaginian outposts had been withdrawn, and after
that, as they approached, by the unusual silence. Then, when they
were quite sure the camp was empty, the men converged on the two
headquarters of the consuls. They reported that the enemy had fled
in such panic that they left the camp with the tents still standing;
and, they added, a large number of fires had also been left burning,
to cover up the flight. A cry went up for the consuls to order the
advance––they should lead the men in pursuit of the enemy, and
pillage their camp immediately. And one of the consuls was acting
just like one of the crowd of common soldiers, though Paulus time
and time again said that they should show caution, and keep their
112 book twenty-two 216 bc
wits about them. In the end, however, having no other means to
check the mutiny, or the leader of the mutiny, he sent the prefect
Statilius to reconnoitre with a squadron of Lucanian cavalry.
Statilius rode up to the camp gates. Telling the rest of his men to
remain outside the fortifications, he passed beyond the palisade with
two cavalrymen, and, after carefully examining the whole camp, he
reported that it had to be a trap. The fires that had been left alight were
on the side of the camp facing the Romans, the tents were open and
all their precious objects left exposed to view, he said, and in places
he had seen silver carelessly strewn about, as if inviting plunder.
The report, which was intended to discourage the men’s rapacity,
only served to excite them and, when the cry went up from them
that, unless the signal were given, they would go without their lead-
ers, a leader was not lacking––for Varro immediately gave the signal
to advance. Paulus was holding back in any case, but in addition the
chickens refused their approval* when the auspices were taken, and
so he ordered the news to be taken to his colleague, who was already
marching the troops through the gate. Varro was angry, but Flamin-
ius’ recent disaster and the consul Claudius’ famous calamity at sea
in the First Punic War filled him with superstitious fears.
In fact, it was almost as if, that day, the gods took it upon them-
selves to defer––but not prevent––the disaster that was awaiting the
Romans. For it so happened that two slaves, one belonging to a
knight from Formiae, and the other to a knight from Sidicinum,
appeared just when the men were refusing to obey the consul’s order
to return to camp. These men had been amongst a group of foragers
intercepted by the Numidians during the consulship of Servilius and
Atilius, and on that day they escaped to rejoin their masters. Brought
before the consuls, they reported that Hannibal’s entire army was
lying in ambush on the other side of the nearby hills. The timely
arrival of these men re-established the authority of the consuls, but
not before one of them, by courting popularity with a misguided
permissiveness, had compromised the dignity of his office.*
43. Hannibal saw that, while the Romans had acted imprudently,
they had not been completely carried away, and so, his ambush dis-
covered, he returned disappointed to camp. He could not remain
there for many days because his grain was running out, and now
fresh plans were every day being mulled over, not just by the common
soldiers, who were a motley rabble drawn from every race, but even
216 bc chapters 42–44 113
by the Carthaginian general himself. Amongst the soldiers there
had initially been some muttering, and then open protests. They
demanded pay that was owing to them, and complained first about
the high price of food, and eventually about hunger, and there was
also a rumour circulating that the Spanish mercenaries had decided
to defect to the enemy. It is said that even Hannibal himself
occasionally considered a flight into Gaul by making a swift depart-
ure with his cavalry, and leaving behind all his infantry. Such being
the ideas bandied about, and such the mood in the camp, Hannibal
decided to move to the warmer regions of Apulia where the harvests
would be earlier. An additional consideration was that the further he
withdrew from the enemy, the more difficult it would be for his less
reliable troops to desert. He set off at night after lighting fires as he
had done earlier, and leaving a few tents in place for the enemy to see,
hoping that fear of an ambush would hold the Romans back as before.
However, the Lucanian Statilius was sent out on reconnaissance
again, and after a sweep of all the land beyond the camp and beyond
the mountains he reported that the enemy column had been sighted
in the distance. This prompted discussion of whether they should
pursue it. Each consul stuck to the view he had persistently advo-
cated in the past, but Varro had the support of almost everybody, and
Paulus of no one apart from the previous year’s consul, Servilius.
Thus, accepting the majority vote, and with destiny thrusting them
on,* they set off to make Cannae famous as the site of a Roman
disaster.
Near that village Hannibal had pitched camp, facing away from
the Volturnus wind,* which blows clouds of dust over the dry, torrid
plains. While very convenient for the actual encampment, this was to
prove especially advantageous when the Carthaginians deployed
their battle line. They would be facing away from the wind, which
would be only at their backs, and they would be fighting an enemy
half-blinded by clouds of dust.
44. After thoroughly reconnoitring the pathways, the consuls pro-
ceeded to follow the Carthaginians. Coming into the area of Cannae,
and now having them in sight, they fortified two camps roughly the
same distance apart as at Gereonium, dividing up the troops in the
same manner as before. The River Aufidus flowed close to both
encampments, affording their water-carriers more or less convenient
access to it, though not without a fight. However, it was from the
114 book twenty-two 216 bc
smaller camp on the far side of the Aufidus that the Romans could
more easily provision themselves with water because of the lack of
any enemy presence on the far bank.
Hannibal had come to hope that the consuls would give him the
chance to do battle, the area being naturally suited for a cavalry
engagement, the branch of his forces in which he was unbeatable.
He, therefore, deployed his battle line, and provoked his enemy
with sudden charges from his Numidian troops. At this, there
was upheaval once more in the Roman camps, with the men in an
insubordinate mood and the consuls in disagreement. Paulus taunted
Varro with the recklessness of Sempronius and Flaminius, and Varro
taunted his colleague by citing Fabius as merely a convenient model
for leaders who were cowardly and indolent. Varro also called on
gods and men to witness that no blame lay with him for Hannibal’s
occupation of Italy virtually through right of possession. His hands
remained tied, thanks to his colleague, he said, and soldiers who were
angry and eager to fight were having their swords and weapons taken
out of their hands. Paulus replied that, if the legions were betrayed
and sacrificed to a hasty and ill-advised engagement, he for his part
would be free of all blame for any misfortune befalling them, but
he, too, would have to share the consequences with his colleague. So
he said that Varro should see to it that those men with glib and
impetuous tongues demonstrated as much strength of arm in battle.
45. Rather than being devoted to consultation, time was now
being wasted in slanging-matches. Hannibal, meanwhile, who had
kept his line in formation till late in the day, took all his other troops
back to camp, but sent his Numidians over the river to attack the
water detail from the smaller of the Roman camps. The carriers were
an ill-ordered crowd, whom the Numidians, on barely reaching
the bank, chased off merely with their shouting and clamour.
The Numidians then rode on to the guard-emplacement before the
Roman rampart, and almost to the very gates of the camp. That a
Roman camp should now be threatened by a group of allied irregu-
lars did indeed seem humiliating, and the only thing that kept the
Romans from immediately crossing the river, and forming up for
battle was the fact that that day’s command lay with Paulus.
The next day it was Varro’s turn to take charge. Without confer-
ring with his colleague in any way, he put up the signal, and led his
troops over the river in battle order. Paulus followed him; he might
216 bc chapters 44–46 115
disapprove of the plan, but he could not refuse assistance. After
crossing the river, the two attached to their forces the troops that
they had kept in the smaller camp. When the line was deployed, they
had the Roman cavalry stationed on the right wing, the one closer to
the river, and next to them the Roman infantry. The extreme left
flank was made up of the allied cavalry. Further in, adjoining the
Roman legions towards the centre, were the allied infantry. The front
line comprised javelin-throwers and the other light-armed auxiliary
forces. The consuls commanded the wings, Terentius Varro the left
and Aemilius Paulus the right, while Geminus Servilius was given
charge of the centre.
46. Sending his Balearic troops and other light-armed infantry
ahead, Hannibal crossed the river at dawn and placed his men in line
in the order in which he had brought them over. The Gallic and
Spanish cavalry he set on the left wing, near the river bank, and facing
the Roman cavalry. The right wing was assigned to the Numidian
cavalry, and the centre was composed of infantry arranged in such a
way that there were Africans on both sides, with Gauls and Spaniards
between them. One might have taken the Africans to be a Roman
battle line, for they were armed with captured weapons, some taken
at the Trebia, but most of them at Trasimene. The Gauls and the
Spaniards had shields almost identical in shape, but their swords
differed in size and appearance. Those of the Gauls were very long
and without a point, whereas those of the Spaniard, whose practice
was to lunge at his enemy rather than to slash, were short and easy to
wield, and were pointed. These tribes provide a more terrifying
spectacle than others because of their large physique and general
appearance. The Gauls were bare above the navel; the Spaniards
took their positions dressed in purple-fringed tunics that shone with
an incredible whiteness. The infantry standing in line that day num-
bered 40,000, the cavalry 10,000. On the wings, the commanders
were Hasdrubal (on the left) and Maharbal (on the right), while
Hannibal personally held the centre along with his brother Mago.*
Whether they owed their positions to calculation or pure chance,
both sides were fortunate enough to have the sun at an angle, the
Romans facing south and the Carthaginians north. The wind, locally
known as the Volturnus, now rose in the direction of the Romans,
rolling large clouds of dust right into their faces, and obstructing
their vision.
116 book twenty-two 216 bc
47. When the battle-cry was raised the auxiliary forces charged
forward, and the fighting began with the light infantry of the two
sides. Then the Carthaginian left wing, composed of Gallic and
Spanish cavalry, clashed with the Roman right; but it was a very
atypical cavalry engagement. Because there was no room left for an
encircling manœuvre––they were hemmed in by the river on one
side, and by the lines of infantry on the other––they were forced to
charge head-on. Both sides drove straight ahead but, as horses came
to a standstill, and were then crowded together in a mass, rider
grappled with rider, each trying to drag the other from his mount. It
had now for the most part turned into an infantry engagement, but
the fighting was more ferocious than it was long-lived. The Roman
cavalry was driven back, and took to flight.
As the cavalry engagement was coming to an end, the infantry
battle got under way. This was at first fought with equal strength,
and equal confidence, by the two sides, as long as the Gallic and
Spanish ranks remained unbroken. But these were standing ahead of
the rest of the line, in a wedge-formation that was too thin, and so
lacking in strength, and, while the Roman front equalled theirs in
length, that line was densely ordered. Thus, after persistent and
frequent efforts, the Romans eventually pushed their adversary back.
Then, the enemy repelled and retreating in confusion, the Romans
charged ahead and, in one surge, drove through the terror-stricken
column of fleeing men, and into the Carthaginian centre. Meeting no
resistance, they finally reached the African reserves, who had taken
up a position on the two wings. The wings had been drawn back
from the main body on both sides, while the centre, formed of Gauls
and Spaniards, had protruded some way ahead of them. This convex
formation had now been driven back, first of all straightening out the
Carthaginian front, and then, as the Carthaginian retreat continued,
even forming a depression in the centre. The Africans had now
completed the crescent-formation at both ends and, as the Romans
charged recklessly into the centre, they outflanked them, and soon
extended the crescent to enclose them to their rear as well.
At this point the Romans found the one battle they had now
finished was to no purpose, and leaving the Gauls and Spaniards,
whom they had been cutting down as they retreated, they entered
into a fresh combat with the Africans. But the fight was one-sided,
not simply because they were penned in by an enemy that completely
216 bc chapters 47–49 117
surrounded them, but also because they were exhausted, and were
beginning a struggle with troops that were fresh and full of energy.
48. By this time, battle had also been joined on the Roman left,
where the allied cavalry faced the Numidians. The fighting was slug-
gish at first, and commenced with a Carthaginian trick.* Some 500
Numidians kept swords hidden under their corslets, in addition to
their regular weapons and javelins. Pretending to desert, they rode
over from their side, keeping their shields behind their backs. Swiftly
dismounting, and throwing down their shields and spears at the feet
of the enemy, they were welcomed into the centre of the Roman
ranks, taken to the rear of the lines and told to wait at the back.
While the engagement got under way at all points they remained
there quietly. But after everyone’s thoughts and eyes had become
fixed on the battle, they seized shields that lay scattered here and
there amongst the piles of corpses, and attacked the Roman line from
behind. Hacking at the soldiers’ backs, and cutting their hamstrings,
they caused enormous loss of life, and considerably more panic and
confusion. In one spot men would be running off in terror, in
another fighting on obstinately, when little hope now remained. Then
Hasdrubal, commander in that quarter, withdrew the Numidians
from the centre of the line since they were showing little spirit in
fighting their opponents, and sent them in pursuit of the scattered
fugitives. He now brought in the Spaniards and the Gauls to support
the Africans, who by this time were well-nigh exhausted, more from
massacring their enemy than fighting them.
49. In the other sector of the fighting, Paulus had been seriously
wounded, at the very start of the engagement, by a projectile from a
sling. Even so, he made frequent charges against Hannibal, his men
in a compact body, and restored the battle at several points. Roman
horsemen were giving him cover, but eventually these abandoned
their mounts, for the consul was now losing the strength even to
control his horse. Someone then brought word to Hannibal that
the consul had ordered his cavalrymen to dismount, and he is
reported to have said: ‘I should have prefered him to have handed
them to me in irons!’ The cavalry were now on foot and fighting as if
the enemy victory was no longer in doubt. Though defeated, they
preferred to die where they stood rather than to flee, while the vic-
tors, furious at the men delaying their victory, massacred those they
could not dislodge. They did, however, drive off a few survivors,
118 book twenty-two 216 bc
exhausted from their efforts and their wounds. All the Romans then
scattered, and those who could were chasing after their horses to
make their escape.
The military tribune Gnaeus Lentulus was riding by when his
eyes fell on the consul sitting on a rock and covered with blood.
‘Lucius Aemilius,’ he said, ‘on you alone the gods should look
with favour, the one man free of blame for today’s debacle. Take this
horse while you still have some strength left. I shall be at your side; I
can raise you up and protect you, so that you do not add tragedy to
this battle with the death of a consul. Even without that there is
enough to weep and grieve for!’
‘God bless your courage, Gnaeus Cornelius,’ replied the consul,
‘but do not waste in useless pity the little time you have to escape the
enemy’s clutches. Go, take this official message to the Senate: they
must see to the fortifications of the city of Rome, and secure them
with troops, before the victorious enemy arrives. But take Quintus
Fabius aside, and tell him that Lucius Aemilius Paulus lived to this
point, and now dies, with his precepts in mind. For myself, let me
breathe my last amidst my men, the victims of this massacre. Thus I
can avoid standing trial again after my consulship, or coming forward
as my colleague’s accuser, to defend my innocence by blaming
another.’
As they conversed, they were overtaken first by a crowd of their
fellow citizens in flight, then by the enemy. The enemy, unaware of
his identity, showered the consul with projectiles, and in the confu-
sion Lentulus was whisked away to safety by his horse. With that,
there was disordered flight in every quarter. Seven thousand men
made good their escape to the smaller camp, 10,000 to the larger.
About 2,000 escaped to the actual village of Cannae, but they were
immediately surrounded by Carthalo and his cavalry, since the town
had no fortifications to protect it. Whether by accident or design, the
other consul had joined none of these particular groups of fugitives.
He slipped away to Venusia with about 50 cavalrymen.
Roman casualties are reported to have been 45,500 infantry and
2,700 cavalry, with numbers of citizens and allies being roughly
the same. They included both quaestors of the consuls, Lucius
Atilius and Lucius Furius Bibaculus, as well as 29 military tribunes,
some of whom were former consuls, praetors, and aediles. (Numbered
amongst these are Gnaeus Servilius Geminus, and Marcus Minucius,
216 bc chapters 49–50 119
who had been master of horse the year before and consul a number
of years earlier). There were also 80 senators, or men who had held
offices that qualified them for selection for the Senate––these had
themselves chosen to serve as soldiers in the legions. Three thousand
infantry and 1,500 cavalry were reportedly taken prisoner in the
battle.*
50. So went the battle of Cannae. Its fame rivals that of the dis-
aster at the Allia,* and, while it was less critical in its outcome (since
the enemy stalled thereafter), it was, in losses, even more serious and
appalling. For while the rout at the Allia meant the loss of the city, it
still saved the army; at Cannae the fleeing consul had with him
barely 50 men, and almost the entire army shared the fate of the
other consul who died there.
In the two Roman camps there was now a poorly armed crowd of
men without leaders. Those in the larger camp dispatched a message
to the smaller asking their comrades to join them while the enemy,
exhausted from the battle and from the jubilant feasting that would
follow it, would be deep in sleep during the night. They would then
leave for Canusium in a single column, they said. Some rejected the
suggestion out of hand, asking why the men issuing the invitation
could not come themselves, as that would be as good a way of their
joining up. The reason was evident, these men said: the ground
between them was all in enemy hands, and they preferred to put
other people’s safety at risk rather than their own. Others were not
averse to the suggestion, but lacked the nerve to follow it.
However, the military tribune Publius Sempronius Tuditanus
declared: ‘So, you prefer to be taken by a greedy and ruthless foe, do
you? To have a price set on your heads and payment demanded by
men who ask you if you are a Roman citizen or a Latin ally––
humiliating and tormenting you to give another man some recogni-
tion? No, you do not prefer that, at least not if you are the fellow
citizens of the consul Lucius Aemilius––who chose to die well rather
than live in disgrace––and of all those courageous men who lie
heaped about him. The enemy clamouring before our camp gates are
in chaotic disorder. Let us break through them before dawn comes
upon us and their troops block our path in greater numbers. With a
sword and pluck one can find a way through the thickest enemy line.
And with a wedge-formation you could scatter this sprawling and
disorganized crowd as though nothing blocked your path. Go with
120 book twenty-two 216 bc
me, then––those of you who want to save yourselves and the
republic!’
So saying, he drew his sword, formed up a wedge of men, and
marched through the enemy’s midst. The right flank was exposed,
and at this the Numidians directed their javelins; but the men trans-
ferred their shields to their right side and some 600 made good their
passage to the larger camp. Then, joined by another large group,
they came through directly to Canusium without losses. This was a
feat brought off by conquered men, the result of a surge of courage
that came from the character of each individual, or from pure
chance. It was not planned by the men, or conducted under any
one’s command.
51. All the Carthaginians were gathered around Hannibal, con-
gratulating him on his victory and urging him, now that he had
finished off this great war, to take what remained of that day, and the
oncoming night, for rest, both for himself and for his exhausted men.
Not so the cavalry commander Maharbal, who was of the opinion
that they should not let up for a moment. ‘No,’ said Maharbal. ‘So
you may realize the significance of this battle, you will be holding
your victory dinner on the Capitol in four days! Follow behind me. I
shall go ahead with the cavalry––so the Romans will know of our
arrival before they are aware of our coming!’
To Hannibal the idea seemed too good to be true, too great for
him to absorb immediately. He declared that, while he appreciated
Maharbal’s enthusiasm, he would need time to consider his sugges-
tion. Then Maharbal quipped: ‘Yes, indeed, the gods do not give
everything to the same man. You know how to win a battle,
Hannibal; you do not know how to use the victory!’* That day’s
delay is generally believed to have been the salvation of the city and
the empire.*
At first light the next day, the Carthaginians proceeded to gather
the spoils and inspect the slaughter, which was a shocking sight even
to the enemy. Romans, infantry and cavalry, lay in their thousands all
over the field as the fighting, or their flight, happened to have
brought them together. Some gory figures rose up from the midst of
the carnage when their wounds, smarting in the cool of the morning,
roused them to consciousness, and they were cut down by the enemy.
Some the Carthaginians found lying there, alive, with thighs and
knee-tendons severed, exposing their necks and telling them to shed
216 bc chapters 50–52 121
the last of their blood. Others were discovered with their heads
buried in freshly dug earth––they had evidently made holes and
suffocated themselves by covering their faces with the soil. What
especially caught everybody’s attention was a Numidian, with nose
and ears torn off, who was pulled out alive from beneath a dead
Roman who was lying on top of him. When the Roman found his
hands no longer able to hold a weapon, his anger had turned to fury
and he had died while he was tearing his enemy apart with his teeth.
52. Hannibal spent most of the day gathering up the spoils. He
then led an attack on the smaller camp, where he first of all con-
structed an earthwork that cut its occupants off from the river. In
fact, the Romans were all fatigued from their efforts and sleep-
deprivation as well as their wounds, and their capitulation came even
sooner than Hannibal had expected. They negotiated an agreement
whereby they surrendered their weapons and horses for a ransom
price of 300 quadrigati* per head for Romans, 200 for allies, and 100
for slaves. They would leave with one piece of clothing each once the
payment was made. They then admitted the enemy into their camp,
and were all put under guard, citizens and allies in their own separate
groups.
While time was being spent on this, some 4,000 infantrymen and
200 cavalrymen––those with the strength and nerve for the venture––
left the larger camp and escaped to Canusium, some in a body, others
randomly drifting through the fields, which proved no less safe an
option. The camp itself was surrendered to the enemy, on the same
terms as the other, by the wounded and the faint-hearted who were
left behind.
The spoils accumulated were enormous. Apart from the horses,
prisoners, and whatever silver there was (most of it in the form of
trappings from horses, since the Romans used very little silverware
at table, at least on campaign), everything else was to be parcelled out
as plunder for the army. Hannibal then had the bodies of his men
gathered together for burial, and these, it is said, represented some
8,000 of his finest soldiers.* Some sources have it that the Roman
consul was also sought out and accorded burial.
Those who had escaped to Canusium were afforded only the shel-
ter of the city walls and plain lodging by the townspeople. However,
an Apulian woman called Busa, renowned for her nobility and
wealth, also assisted them with gifts of grain, clothing, and money
122 book twenty-two 216 bc
for travelling. Later, on the conclusion of the war, she was honoured
by the Senate for her generosity.
53. There were four military tribunes in Canusium: from the first
legion Quintus Fabius Maximus, whose father had been dictator the
previous year; from the second legion Lucius Publicius Bibulus and
Publius Cornelius Scipio; and from the third Appius Claudius
Pulcher, who had recently been aedile. But by general agreement
supreme command was vested in Publius Scipio, who was just a
young man,* and in Appius Claudius. These were discussing with a
few others how matters stood for the state when Publius Furius
Philus, son of a former consul, announced that they were idly nour-
ishing hopes that were lost––the republic was completely finished,
as good as dead! Some young noblemen, with Lucius Caecilius
Metellus at their head, were contemplating taking to the sea in ships,
leaving Italy to seek asylum with one of the kings, he said.
This terrible news was shocking in itself but, coming also as a
fresh blow on top of all the disasters they had suffered, it left all
present stunned and numb with astonishment. They voted to hold a
meeting on the issue, but the young Scipio, destined by fate to be the
leader in this war, declared that it was not a matter for discussion. In
such a crisis they needed courage and action, not deliberation, he
said, and those who wanted the state out of harm should immedi-
ately take up their weapons and go with him. No camp is more truly
an enemy camp than one that harbours plans like this within it, he
added.
With a few following him, Scipio then made for Metellus’ quar-
ters, and there came upon the young men of whom he been
informed, holding a meeting. With his sword drawn over their heads
as they conferred, he exclaimed: ‘On my sacred oath I swear that I
myself shall not abandon the republic of the Roman people, nor will
I allow any other Roman citizen to do so. If I knowingly break my
oath, then, Jupiter Optimus Maximus, visit the most terrible
destruction on my home, my family, and my possessions! Lucius
Caecilius, I demand that you, and the rest of you here present, take
an oath using these words of mine. Anyone not swearing––let him
know that this sword is drawn against him!’
They were as frightened as if they were looking upon the victori-
ous Hannibal. They all took the oath, and put themselves under
Scipio’s charge.
216 bc chapters 52–54 123
54. At the same time as these events were taking place in Canusium,
some 4,500 infantry and cavalry, who had scattered in flight over the
countryside, came to the consul in Venusia. The people of Venusia
assigned all of them to various households, where they were to be
given a warm welcome and looked after. The townspeople also gave
each cavalryman a toga, a tunic, and twenty-five quadrigati, and each
infantryman ten quadrigati and such arms as he was lacking. In all
other respects, too, the treatment they received was hospitable on
both the official and personal level, and every effort was made to
ensure that the people of Venusia were not surpassed in acts of
kindness by the lady of Canusium.
In fact, the large numbers of refugees were proving too onerous a
burden for Busa; the total had now reached close to 10,000 men.
When Appius and Scipio were told that the other consul had sur-
vived the battle, they immediately sent him a message to report on
their infantry and cavalry strength, and to ask whether his instruc-
tions were for their army to be brought to Venusia or to remain at
Canusium. Varro actually led his own troops to Canusium, and
there was now some semblance of a consular army, and it looked as
if they would at least be able to defend themselves behind their
fortifications, though not in open battle.
The report that had been brought to Rome made no mention of the
survival even of these remnants of citizen and allied troops; there it
had been reported that the army and its leaders were completely
annihilated, their forces totally wiped out. At no time ever was there
such panic and uproar within the walls of Rome while the city was still
safe. My abilities will not meet the task, and I shall not attempt a
description which, whatever details I record, will fall short of the
truth. A consul and his army had been lost at Trasimene the year
before, and now it was not a case of the blow being followed by another
blow, but by a disaster many times greater. Two consular armies,
along with the two consuls, were reported lost. They were left with
no Roman camp, no commander, no common soldier. Apulia,
Samnium, and practically all of Italy were in Hannibal’s hands.
There is surely no other nation that would not have been crushed
by such an overwhelming disaster. One might think of comparing
the defeat of the Carthaginians in the sea battle off the Aegates
Islands, which crushed their resolve, and made them abandon
Sicily and Sardinia* and accept tax-paying and tributary status. Or
124 book twenty-two 216 bc
perhaps one might think of the defeat in Africa later sustained by
Hannibal himself. These disasters can in no respect be compared
with Cannae––except to say that they were borne with less strength
of character than the Romans bore theirs.
55. The praetors Publius Furius Philus and Marcus Pomponius
summoned the Senate to the Curia Hostilia to discuss defensive
measures for the city. They were in no doubt that, following the
destruction of the armies, the enemy would advance to assault Rome,
which was all that remained for him to do in the war. They faced a
situation that was critical, but on which intelligence was lacking, and
they could not come up with a plan to meet it. Meanwhile, ears were
ringing with the noisy lamentations of women while, in almost every
house, with the truth not yet known, mourning went on for the
living and the dead alike. At this point Quintus Fabius Maximus
proposed sending some light cavalry along the Appian and Latin
Ways. These men would make enquiries of those whom they met––
some were sure to be soldiers who had scattered after the rout––and
report back on what had befallen the consuls and their armies. Also,
if the immortal gods had shown pity on their empire, and allowed
some Romans to survive, they were to report on where those forces
were located. They were to bring word, too, of where Hannibal had
gone after the battle, what his plans were, what he was then doing,
and what he was likely to do. Active young men should be used for
searching out and retrieving this information, said Fabius, and the
senators, meanwhile, had jobs to do. Given the shortage of magis-
trates, they had to suppress any public disturbance or panic. They
had to keep women from appearing in public, compel them all to
remain within their homes, and place restrictions on family mourn-
ing. They should impose city-wide silence, and see that bearers of
any news were brought before the praetors––people should wait at
home for news touching themselves. In addition, they were to post
sentinels at the gates to stop anyone from leaving the city, and thus
force people to see that their only hope lay in preserving the city and
its defences. Fabius concluded by saying that when the unrest died
down, the senators should be recalled to the house and defensive
measures for the city should then be brought up for discussion.
56. There was unanimous support for this proposal without debate.
The crowds were removed from the Forum by the magistrates, and
the senators went off in different directions to quell the disturbance.
216 bc chapters 54–57 125
Then, finally, a letter arrived from the consul Gaius Terentius with
the report of the death of the consul Lucius Aemilius and the
destruction of his army. Varro added that he was then at Canusium,
attempting to bring together the remnants of that catastrophic
defeat. He had about 10,000 men with him, he said, in no order and
unassigned to companies, and the Carthaginian––displaying neither
the spirit of a victor nor the behaviour of a great leader––was
ensconced at Cannae haggling over prisoners’ ransoms and other
plunder.
Personal losses were then made known from house to house, and
so overwhelmed with grief was the whole city that the annual rites of
Ceres were suspended. There was a religious interdiction against
participation in the ceremony by people in mourning, and at that
time there was no married woman left untouched by bereavement.
So, to prevent other rites, whether state-sponsored or private, being
abandoned for the same reason, a thirty-day limit was imposed on
the period of mourning by senatorial decree.
When the unrest settled down in the city, the senators were
recalled to the house. A further letter was now delivered, this time
from the propraetor Titus Otacilius in Sicily. Otacilius reported that
the kingdom of Hiero was being laid waste by a Punic fleet. He
wished to respond to Hiero’s appeals for help, but he had received a
report that a second fleet, equipped and ready for action, was
anchored off the Aegates Islands. For, he explained, the Carthaginian
plan was to launch an immediate attack on Lilybaeum and other
parts of the Roman province, when they became aware that Otacilius
had turned to the defence of the Syracusan coastline. A fleet was
therefore necessary if the senators wished to protect Sicily and the
allied king.
57. The letters from the consul and the praetor were read out,
and the senators took the following decision. The praetor Marcus
Claudius, commander of the fleet lying off Ostia, was to be sent to
the army at Canusium. The consul was then to be given written orders
to turn his army over to the praetor, and come to Rome at the earliest
possible opportunity that was consistent with the interests of the state.
These terrible disasters aside, the Romans were also alarmed by a
number of prodigies, especially the conviction that year of two Vestals,
Opimia and Floronia, on charges of sexual misconduct.* One had
received the traditional penalty of being buried alive near the Porta
126 book twenty-two 216 bc
Collina, and the other had committed suicide. The man guilty of the
misconduct with Floronia, Lucius Cantilius, was the secretary of a
pontiff––one of those officers that are these days called minor pon-
tiffs––and he was so badly flogged in the Comitium, at the orders of
the pontifex maximus, that he expired under the lash.
Occurring as it did along with all the other misfortunes, this piece
of sacrilege was naturally interpreted as a portent, and the decemvirs
were therefore instructed to consult the Books. Quintus Fabius Pictor
was also sent to the oracle at Delphi to ask what prayers and acts of
supplication they could employ to appease the gods, and further
enquire when the Romans would see an end to their great disasters.*
Meanwhile a number of outlandish sacrifices were conducted on
instructions from the Books of Fate.* These included a Gallic man
and woman, and a Greek man and woman, being interred alive in the
Forum Boarium, in a spot enclosed with stones which had already
been the scene of this very un-Roman practice of human sacrifice.
When, in the opinion of the decemvirs, enough had been done to
placate the gods, Marcus Claudius Marcellus sent 1,500 men from
Ostia to Rome, for the defence of the city. These were men whom he
had under his command as recruits for the fleet. A few days later, he
sent ahead to Teanum Sidicinum the naval legion (that is, the third
legion) under its military tribunes, and he transferred command of
the fleet to his colleague Publius Furius Philus. A few days later
Marcellus himself hurried by forced marches to Canusium.
At this point, Marcus Junius, who had been named dictator by the
authority of the Senate, and the master of horse, Tiberius Sempron-
ius, held a troop-levy, and recruited younger men who were seventeen
or over, and some who were still wearing the praetexta. From these
were constituted a force of four legions and 1,000 cavalry. The two
men also sent instructions to the allies and those of Latin status for
troops to be supplied to them, as prescribed by the treaty. They issued
orders for the preparation of armour, weaponry, and other equip-
ment, and removed old enemy spoils that had been hanging in the
temples and porticoes. There was also a novel form of recruitment
occasioned by the shortage of free men, and by the crisis: they bought
and armed, at state expense, 8,000 sturdy young men from the slave
population, asking them first on an individual basis if they were
willing to serve. Such soldiers were preferred even though the
Romans had the chance of ransoming their captives at a lower price.
216 bc chapters 57–59 127
58. Following his enormously successful engagement at Cannae,
Hannibal had busied himself with affairs that were more properly
the concern of a victor than a soldier still at war. He brought forth
the prisoners, and separated them into groups. As earlier at the
Trebia and Lake Trasimene, he had kind words for the allies, whom
he once again released without ransom. But he also did something he
had never done before: he summoned the Romans and addressed
them in gentle terms. His war with the Romans was not a fight to
the death but a struggle for honour and power, he told them.* As
his ancestors had capitulated before the valour of Rome, so his goal
now was to see others in turn capitulating before his success and
valour. Accordingly, he concluded, he was giving the prisoners
the opportunity of ransoming themselves: the price would be 500
quadrigati per cavalryman, 300 per infantryman, and 100 per slave.
This was a considerable increase in the price for the cavalrymen
that they had negotiated on their surrender, but they gladly accepted
any condition that would lead to a settlement. It was decided that ten
spokesmen should be elected by them to go to the Senate in Rome, and
the only guarantee taken from these was their word that they would
return. A Carthaginian nobleman, Carthalo, was sent along with
them; he was to offer the terms, if the Romans inclined towards a
peace.
After leaving the camp one of the spokesmen––a person of truly
un-Roman character––pretended he had forgotten something, and
returned to it, simply to discharge the oath. He then caught up with
his companions before nightfall. When the news reached Rome that
the men were on their way, a lictor was sent to meet Carthalo and
inform him, in the name of the dictator, that he was to leave Roman
territory before dark.
59. The prisoners’ spokesmen were granted an audience with the
Senate by the dictator. Their leader then spoke as follows:
‘Marcus Junius and members of the Senate: None of us is
unaware that no community has ever put less value on prisoners of
war than ours. Even so, unless we have undue confidence in our
cause, no other men have ever been less deserving of your neglect
after falling into the hands of the enemy. For we did not surrender
our arms from cowardice in the field of battle. No, we carried on the
battle till almost nightfall, standing on the mounds of our dead,
before we fell back to our camp. For the rest of the day, and the night
128 book twenty-two 216 bc
that followed, we defended our rampart, exhausted though we were
from our efforts and our wounds. We were surrounded and cut off
from water by a victorious army, with no prospect of breaking through
the dense enemy lines; and, after 50,000 men of our army had been
slaughtered, we thought it no crime for a few Roman soldiers to
survive the battle of Cannae. So, the next day, we finally negotiated a
price for our ransom and release, and surrendered to the enemy the
weapons that could help us no more.
‘We had also been told that our ancestors secured their release
from the Gauls by a ransom paid in gold, and that your own fathers,
very much opposed to the peace-terms though they were, neverthe-
less sent representatives to Tarentum to ransom prisoners of war.*
And this despite the fact that both battles, at the Allia with the Gauls,
and at Heraclea with Pyrrhus, were notorious less for the losses
incurred than the cowardly flight of our side. The plains of Cannae
are covered with mounds of Roman corpses, and we survived the
battle for one reason only: the enemy ran out of weapons and
strength in cutting us down.
‘Moreover, there are in our number some who were not even
involved in the pitched battle. Left to defend the camp, they simply
fell into the enemy’s hands when the camp was surrendered. Now I
begrudge none of my fellow citizens or comrades-in-arms his good
fortune or his circumstances, nor would I wish to promote myself by
discrediting another. But consider those men––the ones who ran
from the field, most of them without weapons, and did not stop until
they reached Venusia or Canusium! Unless it is a question of some
prize for being fleet of foot and for racing, even they have no right to
set themselves above us and pride themselves on being better
defenders of the republic. But you will find them good and valiant
soldiers, and us, too, you will find even more ready to fight for our
country simply because we shall have been ransomed and restored to
our fatherland through your generosity.
‘You are recruiting troops of all ages and from every level of
society––I am told that 8,000 slaves are being put under arms. Our
number is no smaller than that, nor is the cost of our ransom greater
than their buying-price. Costs I compare––for comparing ourselves
with those people would mean my insulting the Roman name!
‘This point, too, I would think you ought to take into account in
considering such a question. Suppose you should lean towards
216 bc chapters 59–60 129
harshness (though we have done nothing to deserve it); think of the
kind of enemy to whom you will be abandoning us. Is it to a Pyrrhus,
perhaps, who treated his prisoners like guests? Or is it to a barbarian,
and a Carthaginian to boot––and whether the man’s greed or his
callousness is the greater is hard to say! Could you but set eyes on the
chains on your fellow citizens, and their squalor and filthy state, that
sight would certainly move you no less than the view of your legions
strewn over the fields of Cannae. You can see the anxiety and tears of
our relatives, as they stand at the entrance to the Senate house await-
ing your response. When these feel such anguish and worry for us,
and for those who are not here, what do you think are the feelings of
the actual men whose lives and freedom now hang in the balance?
Suppose––but some chance there is of that, for God’s sake!––that
Hannibal should, contrary to his nature, show mercy on us. We
should none the less think it not worthwhile to have our lives, since
in your eyes we were not worth ransoming. Captives released with-
out payment by Pyrrhus once returned to Rome, but they returned
with ambassadors, leading men of the state, who had been sent to
ransom them. Am I to return to my fatherland a citizen not worth
the payment of 300 coins? Everyone has his own opinions, senators. I
know that my life and my personal safety are in jeopardy, but the risk
to my reputation concerns me more. I fear that we may leave here
condemned and rejected––for people will not believe that it was the
cost of the ransom that worried you!’
60. When he finished speaking, a tearful wail immediately went up
from the crowd in the Comitium. People stretched out their hands to
the Senate house begging the senators to restore their children, their
brothers and their relatives to them. Fear and the dire situation had
also brought women to join the crowd of men in the Forum.
The Senate was cleared of unauthorized personnel and the
debate began. Various opinions were put forward. Some advocated
ransom of the prisoners at state expense; others wanted no public
expenditure, but said that ransoms paid from private sources should
not be disallowed (and any currently lacking immediate funds should
be given treasury loans, with the state protected by guarantors with
collateral). Then Titus Manlius Torquatus, generally regarded as a
man who was old-fashioned and too inflexibly austere, was asked his
opinion, and he is reported to have spoken as follows:
‘If the request of the spokesmen had been limited to the ransom of
130 book twenty-two 216 bc
those who are in the hands of the enemy, I could have presented my
view briefly without criticizing any of them. All you would have
needed to be told was that you should maintain the tradition, passed
on by your fathers, by now providing an example that is vital for
military discipline. As matters stand, however, these men have prac-
tically boasted about their capitulation to the enemy. They have also
expressed the opinion that they should be seen as superior, not
only to the men captured in battle by the enemy, but also to those
who reached Venusia and Canusium––and even to the consul Gaius
Terentius himself ! And so, members of the Senate, I shall not allow
you to remain unaware of what went on over there.
‘I only wish that the comments I shall make before you were
actually being made before the army at Canusium, for that army is
the best witness to acts of cowardice and bravery by each of its
members. Or, at least, I wish that one man were here, Publius
Sempronius. If those fellows had followed Sempronius’ lead, they
would today be soldiers in a Roman camp instead of prisoners of war
in enemy hands. But no! The enemy had, on their side, too, mostly
retired to their camp, exhausted from fighting, and exulting in their
victory. Thus these men had the opportunity provided by the dark-
ness to break out, and it was quite possible for 7,000 men-in-arms to
break through even a dense enemy force. But they made no effort to
do so themselves, and were unwilling to follow another. Publius
Sempronius Tuditanus spent practically the whole night admonish-
ing them, and encouraging them to follow his lead, while enemy
numbers were sparse around the camp, while all was still and quiet,
and while darkness could provide cover for the operation. He told
them that they could reach a safe haven and allied cities before dawn.
‘Suppose Sempronius had said what the military tribune Publius
Decius said in Samnium in our grandfathers’ time, and what in our
youth Calpurnius Flamma said to 300 volunteers in the earlier Punic
War, when he was leading a charge to take a hill situated in the
enemy’s midst. “Men! Let us die, and by our deaths raise the siege in
which our legions are caught!” was what they said. If those had been
Publius Sempronius’ words, he would have considered you to be not
even men, and certainly not Romans, if none of you had stepped
forward to share that act of valour. In fact, it was not the path of
glory Sempronius was pointing out to you as much as the one lead-
ing to safety; he was bringing you home to your parents, your wives,
216 bc chapter 60 131
and your children. You lacked the courage even to save yourselves!
What would you have done if you had had to die for your country?
‘Fifty thousand of your fellow citizens and allies lay cut to pieces
around you that very day. If all those examples of courage make no
impression on you, then nothing will. If a disaster of such magnitude
did not make you hold life cheap, nothing will.
‘You must long for your country while you are still free, with your
rights intact, or rather while it is still your country and while you are
still its citizens. Your longing for it now comes too late; you have lost
your status, forfeited your rights as citizens, become slaves of the
Carthaginians. Is payment to be made for you to return to the
position you gave up through your scandalous cowardice? Your
countryman Publius Sempronius told you to take up your arms and
follow him, and you did not listen; but you did listen to Hannibal
shortly afterwards, when he told you to betray your camp and
surrender your weapons.
‘But why am I accusing those people of cowardice, when I can
accuse them of a criminal act? Not simply refusing to follow a man
who gave them sound advice, they actually tried to impede him and
hold him back––only some courageous men drew their swords and
pushed the cowards aside. I tell you, Publius Sempronius had to
break through a column of his countrymen before breaking through
the enemy column! Will our country miss citizens like this? Had the
others been like that, she would today have not one citizen of all
those who fought at Cannae.
‘Of a total of 7,000 soldiers, there were 600 who had the pluck to
make a sortie, who returned to their native land free and still under
arms; and these 600 met no resistance from the enemy. How safe a
passage do you think a column made up of almost two legions would
have had? Members of the Senate, you would have in service today at
Canusium 20,000 brave and loyal soldiers. As matters stand, though,
how can these men be good and loyal citizens (for “brave” is not a
word even they would use of themselves!)? Unless one can really
believe that they were helping their comrades with the sortie, when
in fact they tried to impede them! Or unless one can believe they do
not look with jealousy on their comrades’ safety, and the renown they
earned by their valour, when they know that it was their own fear
and cowardice that brought about their own degrading captivity!
They preferred to skulk in their tents, awaiting the arrival of dawn
132 book twenty-two 216 bc
and the enemy along with it, though they had the chance to break out
when all was quiet at night.
‘But perhaps you think that, though they lacked the spirit to make
the break, they still had the courage to put up a bold defence of the
camp. Perhaps they spent a number of days under siege, protecting
their rampart with their arms, and protecting themselves with their
rampart. Perhaps it was only after a last-ditch effort and extreme
suffering, only after running out of everything that sustains life and
after they were no longer able to hold their weapons, their strength
sapped by hunger––only then were they overcome, and by the con-
straints of the human condition rather than by the enemy! But no!
At sunrise the enemy approached the rampart. Before the second hour
of the day, without risking any engagement, these men surrendered
their weapons and themselves.
‘This, you see, was the extent of these men’s military action over
the two-day period. Honour called for them to stand in the battle
line and fight; they ran back to camp. They should have fought for
their rampart; they surrendered the camp. Neither in the field of
battle, nor in the camp, did they show themselves to be of any worth.
And we are supposed to ransom you? When you should force your
way out of camp, you hang back and stay there. When you are
required to stay and defend the camp by force of arms, you sur-
render camp, weapons, and yourselves to the enemy. For my part,
members of the Senate, I do not recommend ransoming those people
any more than I would recommend surrendering to Hannibal the
men who made the sortie from the camp, through the midst of the
enemy, and who, by their supreme courage, restored themselves to
their country.’
61. Most of the senators also had relatives amongst the prisoners,
but after Manlius’ address they were concerned not only about the
precedent––from early days the state had shown little regard for
prisoners of war––but also about the amount of money involved.
They did not wish to see the treasury depleted (for they had already
spent a large sum on buying and equipping the slaves for service) and
they also did not want any improvement in the finances of Hannibal
who, rumour had it, was particularly deficient in this respect. The
delegates were given the grim reply that the prisoners were not to be
ransomed. Fresh anguish was now added to the old over the sacrifice
of so many citizens, and it was with flowing tears and lamentation
216 bc chapters 60–61 133
that the people accompanied the delegates to the gate. One of these
went off home, claiming he had fulfilled the obligation of the oath by
his ploy of returning to the camp. When this became known, and
word of it reached the Senate, the senators unanimously voted that
the man be arrested and taken back to Hannibal with an official
escort.
There is another version of the story of the prisoners. According
to this, the ten men came first, and some doubts were expressed in
the Senate over whether or not they should be allowed into the city.
They were admitted, but only on condition that they not be granted
a senatorial audience. Then, since they were away longer than any-
one expected, three further delegates appeared on the scene, Lucius
Scribonius, Gaius Calpurnius, and Lucius Manlius. It was at this
point that the motion for the ransoming of the prisoners was finally
put to the Senate, by a plebeian tribune who was related to Scribonius,
and the Senate voted against the ransom. The three recently arrived
delegates then returned to Hannibal, but the ten earlier ones remained
behind. These had, they claimed, fulfilled their religious obligations
because, after starting their journey, they had gone back to Hannibal
on the pretext of checking the prisoners’ names. The question of
surrendering these was discussed with great acrimony in the Senate,
and those who favoured surrendering them were defeated by only a
few votes. Under the next censors, however, the men were subjected
to all manner of criticism and humiliation, so much so that some
immediately committed suicide and the others spent the rest of their
lives not only avoiding the Forum but virtually avoiding daylight and
public areas. One can easily express surprise at the discrepancy
between these accounts; less easy is telling where the truth lies.
How much greater this defeat was than earlier ones is indicated by
the following. To that day the loyalty of the allies had remained
unshaken, but now it began to waver, and the sole reason for that was
surely loss of faith in the empire. The following peoples defected to
the Carthaginians:* the Atellani, the Calatini, the Hirpini, some
of the Apulians, the Samnites apart from the Pentri, all the Bruttii,
and the Lucanians. In addition to these there were also the Uzentini,
practically all the Greeks on the coast––the peoples of Tarentum,
Metapontum, Croton, and Locri––and almost all the Cisalpine
Gauls. And yet these defeats and allied defections prompted no talk
of peace anywhere amongst the Romans, neither before the consul’s
134 book twenty-two 216 bc
arrival in Rome, nor after his return, which brought back to mind
the disaster they had suffered. Such was the strength of character
of the citizenry at that very time that, on the return of the consul
from the debacle for which he was primarily responsible, people of
all classes streamed out to meet him, and thanked him for not having
lost confidence in the republic. Had he been a Carthaginian leader
there is no manner of punishment that he would not have faced.
 BOOK TWENTY-THREE

1. After the battle of Cannae, and the capture and sacking of the
camps, Hannibal had wasted no time in moving from Apulia into
Samnium. He had been invited into the territory of the Hirpini by
Statius Trebius, who undertook to deliver Compsa to him.
Trebius was a Compsan who enjoyed some distinction amongst
his people, but who faced harassment from the faction of the Mopsii,
a family that was powerful because it enjoyed Roman support. When
news came of the battle of Cannae, and––thanks to pronouncements
from Trebius––word of Hannibal’s coming spread abroad, the sup-
porters of the Mopsii left town. The city was then surrendered to the
Carthaginian without a fight, and a garrison was installed. Leaving
all his spoils and baggage there, Hannibal now divided his army, and
gave Mago orders to take over the cities in that area that were defect-
ing from Rome, or to force them to defect if they refused to do so. He
himself made for the Tyrrhenian Sea through Campanian territory,
his intention being to attack Neapolis so that he would have a coastal
city in his possession.*
On entering Neapolitan territory, Hannibal positioned some of
his Numidians in ambush wherever he could opportunely do so––
and there are many high-banked roads and hidden recesses in the
region. Others he instructed to ride up to the town gates, making a
show of driving before them the animals taken as booty from the
countryside. Since they appeared to be a small and poorly organized
group of men, a cavalry squadron charged out against them, but
this was drawn into an ambush by the calculated retreat of the
Numidians, and surrounded. Not one of the Neapolitans would
have escaped but for the proximity of the sea, where some vessels,
mostly fishing boats, were sighted not far from the shore-line, and
these offered a means of escape to those who could swim. However,
a number of young noblemen were captured or killed in the
engagement, and these included the cavalry commander Hegeas,
who fell as he pursued the retreating Numidians with too little
caution. The sight of its walls dissuaded the Carthaginian from an
attack on the city, for they were no easy proposition for an assault
force.
136 book twenty-three 216 bc
2. Hannibal then veered towards Capua, which had long been
basking in prosperity and the favour of fortune. Of particular signifi-
cance in the general decadence, however, was the licence of its
common people, whose freedom knew no bounds.
One Pacuvius Calavius––a nobleman who was also a supporter of
the popular party, but who had gained power by disreputable means––
had made the senate of Capua submissive to himself and the com-
mons. He happened to be occupying the most senior magistracy in
Capua the year of the defeat at Trasimene, and he believed that,
because of their long-standing hatred of the senate, if given the
opportunity for a revolution, the commons would be ready to com-
mit a monstrous crime. Should Hannibal arrive in the area with his
victorious army, he thought, they would butcher the senate and sur-
render Capua to the Carthaginians. Pacuvius was a rogue, but not
totally unscrupulous.* He preferred to wield power in a republic that
was healthy rather than one brought to ruin, and at the same time he
believed no republic was healthy if shorn of its deliberative council.
He consequently embarked on a scheme to save the senate and also
make it subservient to himself and the commons.
Pacuvius convened the senate and, by way of introduction, stated
that any plan of seceding from the Romans would find no favour
with him, unless it proved essential; he had children by a daughter of
Appius Claudius, and had given his daughter’s hand to Marcus Livius
in Rome. But, he continued, something much greater and more fear-
ful was afoot. The commons did not merely intend to drive the
senate from the state by a revolt, he explained; they actually wished
to murder the senators and surrender a defenceless republic to
Hannibal and the Carthaginians. But, he said, he could free them
from that danger, if they left the matter in his hands and trusted him,
forgetting all their political differences.
Overcome with panic, the senators all agreed to leave matters to
him, and Pacuvius said to them: ‘I am going to lock you in the senate
house. I shall pretend to go along with the plot they are hatching
and, in endorsing plans it would in any case be useless for me to
oppose, I shall find a way to rescue you. You can have any pledge you
wish on this.’
Pacuvius gave the pledge, went out, and ordered the senate house
to be locked. He left a guard at the entrance so that no one could
enter or leave the building without his order.
216 bc chapters 2–3 137
3. He then summoned the commons to a meeting. ‘People of
Capua,’* he said, ‘you now have what you have often wished for, the
power to punish an unconscionable and despicable senate. And you
have it without danger and freely given to you––with no need for
violent attacks, at enormous risk to yourselves, on individuals’
homes that are defended by troops of clients and slaves. Take them
now––they are all locked in the senate house, alone and unarmed.
But take no hasty or random and ill-considered action. I shall give
you the authority to decide the fate of every one of them, so they can
all receive the punishment they deserve. But in gratifying your
resentment you must above all see that your own safety and self-
interest come before your anger. For, in my opinion, it is these par-
ticular senators that you hate; you do not wish to have no senate
whatsoever. Indeed, you must choose between having a king––God
forbid!––or a senate, the one deliberative body in a free state.
Accordingly, you have to do two things at the same time. You must
dissolve the old senate and also select a new one. I shall have the
senators summoned one by one, and I shall consult you on what their
fate is to be. Whatever action you decide on will be put into effect,
but before the guilty party is punished you must select as his
replacement a brave and dynamic new senator.’
Pacuvius then took his seat. The names of the senators were
placed in an urn, and he gave orders for the first name drawn to be
read out, and for that person to be brought from the senate house.
When the name was heard, everyone cried out that the man was a
rogue and a scoundrel, and that he deserved to be executed.
‘I see what your judgement is on this man,’ Pacuvius then
observed. ‘So give me an honest and fairminded senator in place of
this rogue and scoundrel’.
At first there was silence; they could find no one better to suggest.
Then one man overcame his bashfulness and gave some name or
other. The clamour that immediately went up was much louder,
some saying they did not know the man, and others uttering deroga-
tory remarks on his disreputable conduct or his lack of breeding,
his shabby poverty, and his degrading trade or means of livelihood.
The reaction was all the more boisterous with the summoning of the
second and third senator, making it abundantly clear that, while the
commons had no time for the individual in question, they had no one
to put in his place. And, in fact, nominating the same people over
138 book twenty-three 216 bc
again served no purpose, since nomination had merely exposed them
to verbal abuse, and any remaining candidates were much more lowly
and obscure than those who first came to mind. As a result, men
slipped away, proclaiming that the devil one knows best is the easiest
to tolerate, and calling for the senators’ release from custody.
4. In this way, by the gift of life to its members, Pacuvius made the
senate subservient, and more so to himself than to the commons, and
he now held supreme power without the need of weapons, since
everybody deferred to him.* After this, the senators gave no thought
to their position or their independence. They fawned on the com-
mons, greeted them in passing, gave them cordial invitations, and
hosted sumptuous meals for them. They took on their lawsuits, and
always appeared as advocates for the side, or voted as jurymen for the
case, that was closer to the people, and more likely to win favour with
the crowd. In fact, all business in the senate was now conducted just
as if it were an assembly of the commons that was being held there.
Capua was always a city-state inclined to hedonism. This arose
not merely from a flaw in the national character but also because the
town afforded an unstinting supply of entertainment, as well as all
the exquisite delights that come from land and sea. And at that
particular time, too, the sycophancy of the nobles and the licence of
the commons led to such profligacy that lust and extravagance knew
no bounds. There was disrespect for the laws, the magistrates, and
the senate; and to this was now added, following the defeat at Cannae,
disdain for the power of Rome, for which there used to be some
respect. One thing alone held the Capuans back from immediate
secession: the time-honoured right of intermarriage had connected
many of their distinguished and powerful families with Roman fam-
ilies. In addition, while a considerable number of Capuans served
amongst the Romans, a particularly strong link existed in the 300
cavalrymen––Campanians of the best families––who had been
handpicked and sent by the Romans for garrison duty in the Sicilian
city-states.
5. It was the parents and kinsmen of these men who, with some
difficulty, won assent for delegates to be sent to the Roman consul.
The delegates found the consul at Venusia, with a few poorly armed
men, before his departure for Canusium. He cut a figure that was as
poignant as could be for allies who were loyal, but one that would
generate only contempt in those who, like the Capuans, were arrogant
216 bc chapters 3–5 139
and untrustworthy. In fact, by his excessive openness and candour in
discussing the defeat, the consul only increased their disdain for him
and his plight.* The delegates reported to him the distress of the
Capuan senate and people over any misfortune suffered by the
Romans, and undertook to supply all the assistance they might
require for the war.
‘Men of Campania,’ Varro replied, ‘in telling me to ask of you what
we need for the war, you have maintained the usual form of discourse
with allies, instead of adopting a manner of address appropriate to
our current fortunes. For what do we have left at Cannae to justify
our asking allies to make up what we lack––which presupposes that
we actually possess something? Are we to levy infantry from you––as
though we still have cavalry? Are we to tell you we are lacking in
cash, as if that is all we lack? Fortune has left us absolutely nothing
that we can even supplement! Legions, cavalry, weapons, standards,
horses, men, cash, supplies––all perished, either on the battlefield or
in the loss of the two camps the following day. And so, men of
Campania, it is not so much a question of your having to help us in
the war as of your practically fighting the war for us.
‘Think of the time when your ancestors were driven panic-
stricken within their fortifications, and it was not just the Samnite
enemy they dreaded, but the Sidicinian as well. Remember how we
took them under our protection and defended them at Saticula; and
how a war with the Samnites, which we started for your sake, we
fought for almost a century, with mixed success. Consider these
points, too. When you capitulated, we gave you a peace treaty on fair
terms, and allowed you your own legal system; and finally––a very
great concession, at least until the defeat at Cannae––we gave most
of you Roman citizenship, sharing our state with you.
‘And so, men of Campania, you should consider that you have a
share in this defeat that has been sustained, and should think that
you ought to protect the fatherland that we share. Our fight is not
with Samnite or Etruscan, which would at least mean that power
wrested from us would still remain in Italy. This is a Carthaginian
enemy, not even native to Africa, and he brings from the farthest
limits of the earth––from the waters of the Ocean and the Pillars of
Hercules––soldiers who have no knowledge of human law and civil-
ization, and, one can almost say, of human language. These men are
bloodthirsty and brutish in their nature and customs, and their
140 book twenty-three 216 bc
leader has further brutalized them by building bridges and dykes
from piles of human bodies and––one shudders even at the mention––
by teaching them to feed on human flesh.* It would be a crime even
to touch such abominable banquets, but to look upon, and have as
masters, men who have fed on them, to have laws imposed from
Africa and Carthage, to permit Italy to be a Numidian and Moorish
province––one only needs to be born in Italy to find this abhorrent.
‘It will be a noble achievement, men of Campania, if the power
that was prostrated by a defeat of the Romans should prove to have
been sustained and revived by your loyalty and your resources.
Thirty thousand infantry and 4,000 cavalry can, I think, be raised
from Campania, and you have cash and grain to spare. If you have as
much loyalty as you have material assets, then Hannibal will not feel
that he has won a victory, and no more will the Romans feel that they
are defeated.’
6. Following these words from the consul the delegates were dis-
charged. As they made their way home, one of their number, Vibius
Virrius, remarked that the time had arrived when the Campanians
could not merely recover the land of which they had once been
unjustly divested by the Romans but also gain supreme power in
Italy. They would now make a treaty with Hannibal on any terms they
wished, he said, and there was no question but that the Campanians
would be left with sway over Italy once Hannibal finished off the
war, retired in triumph to Africa, and took his army off with him.
Virrius’ words won the approval of all his colleagues, who so framed
the report on their mission as to make everyone think the Roman
name had been wiped out.
The immediate result was that the commons of Capua, and most
of the senate, began to consider abandoning Rome, but matters were
delayed for a few days, thanks to the influence of the older senators.
Eventually the majority opinion won the day: the same delegates that
had gone to the Roman consul were to be sent to Hannibal. I find in
some sources the statement that, before these men went to Hannibal,
and the plan to defect became a reality, a deputation was sent to Rome
by the Campanians demanding that, as a condition for their assisting
the Roman cause, one of the two consuls should be Campanian.
There was an angry outburst. The order was given for the delegates
to be removed from the Senate house, and a lictor was sent to take
them from the city and command them to be out of Roman territory
216 bc chapters 5–7 141
that day. A demand once made by the Latins is too similar for
coincidence, and Coelius and other authors have understandably
omitted the episode. I therefore feel apprehensive about recording it
as a fact.*
7. The envoys came to Hannibal and negotiated a peace treaty
with him on the following terms:
No Carthaginian general or magistrate was to have authority over
a Capuan citizen, and a Capuan citizen was not to perform any
military or other service against his will.
Capua was to have its own legal system and its own magistrates.
The Carthaginian commander was to give 300 of his Roman
prisoners of war to the Campanians. The Campanians themselves
were to choose these, and use them to effect an exchange for the
Campanian cavalry serving in Sicily.
Such were the terms and, in addition to the pact that they made,
the people of Capua also committed some atrocities. There were
prefects of the allies and other Roman citizens in Capua, some in an
official military capacity and others involved in private business
affairs. The commons suddenly arrested all of these and, on the
pretext of keeping them under guard, had them locked in the baths
so they would die a horrible death by asphyxiation in the searing
heat.*
Vigorous opposition to such acts, as well as to the sending of the
delegation to the Carthaginian, had been voiced by Decius Magius.
He was a man who lacked none of the attributes for achieving the
highest position––apart from having compatriots in their right mind.
Hearing that a garrison was being dispatched to Capua by Hannibal,
Decius first of all openly and loudly protested against admitting it,
and he cited the examples of Pyrrhus’ high-handed despotism, and
the wretched subjugation of the people of Tarentum. Then, when
the garrison was admitted, he declared that it should be driven out.
Alternatively, he said, if the people of Capua wished to perform
some bold and memorable act to redeem themselves for the terrible
crime of abandoning their oldest allies, and their kinsmen, they
should murder the Punic garrison and return to their allegiance to
Rome.
These recommendations were not made in secret and, when they
were reported to Hannibal, he first of all sent people to summon
Magius to him in his camp. Magius, in no uncertain terms, refused
142 book twenty-three 216 bc
to go––Hannibal had no authority over a Campanian citizen, he
said––whereupon the Carthaginian, beside himself with anger,
ordered the man to be seized and dragged before him in irons. He
then became afraid that the use of force might precipitate some
disturbance, and that there might be some unwise confrontation if
passions flared. He therefore sent a message to the Capuan praetor,
Marius Blosius,* saying that he would be in Capua the following day.
He then set off from camp with a small escort.
Marius convened a popular assembly at which he told the people
to go in a crowd, along with their wives and children, to meet
Hannibal. His instruction was carried out by the whole population,
not only without demur but with enthusiasm, for the proletariat
supported Hannibal and were eager to see the general now famous
for so many victories. Decius Magius did not go forth to meet him,
nor yet did he keep out of the public eye, for that might suggest some
fear on his part, arising from a guilty conscience. He took a leisurely
stroll in the forum with his son and a few of his clients, while
the entire community was agog at the prospect of welcoming, and
setting eyes on, the Carthaginian.
Entering the city, Hannibal immediately demanded an audience
with the senate. The most prominent Campanians then begged him
not to conduct any serious business on that day and to celebrate with
joy and a light heart the day his arrival had made into a holiday.
Hannibal was irascible by temperament, but he wanted to avoid saying
‘no’ to anything right at the outset. He therefore spent most of the
day touring the city.
8. Hannibal stayed at the home of the two Ninnii Celeres, Sthenius
and Pacuvius, men distinguished for their breeding and wealth. To
this house Pacuvius Calavius brought his young son (Calavius, men-
tioned above, was the leader of the party that had mustered support
for the Carthaginians). He had dragged the boy from the side of
Decius Magius, with whom he had been fervently championing the
Roman alliance against the pact with Carthage, deterred neither by
the fact that his city-state’s sympathies leaned the other way, nor by
deference to his father. For this young man the father at that time
gained Hannibal’s indulgence, more by entreaties than by offering
justification for his behaviour. In fact, overwhelmed by the father’s
tearful pleas, Hannibal even had the boy invited to dinner along with
his father, and this was a gathering at which he would be entertaining
216 bc chapters 7–9 143
no Campanian apart from his hosts and a distinguished soldier,
Vibellius Taurea.
They began dining in daylight, and the banquet had nothing in
keeping with Carthaginian mores or military discipline. On the con-
trary, it suited the wealth and extravagance of the city-state and,
indeed, of the house, and included all manner of titillating delights.
Only one person could not be induced to take a drink, despite invita-
tions to do so from the hosts or, occasionally, from Hannibal himself,
and this was Calavius, the son. He himself pleaded an illness, and his
father proffered the excuse of an emotional upset, which was quite
plausible.
Towards sunset the elder Calavius left the dinner-party, followed
by his son. When they reached the seclusion of a garden to the rear
of the building, the son spoke. ‘Father,’ he said, ‘I have a plan that
will do more than secure us pardon from the Romans for the wrong
we did in going over to Hannibal. It will also give us Campanians
much greater standing and favour with them than ever before.’ The
father, taken aback, asked what the plan could be. The boy threw
back his toga from his shoulder, revealing a sword strapped to his
side. ‘I am now going to ratify our treaty with Rome by shedding
Hannibal’s blood,’ he said. ‘I wanted you to know about it ahead of
time in case you preferred to be absent while the deed is done.’
9. When the old man saw the weapon and heard his words, it was
as if he were already witnessing the coup of which he was being told,
and he was frightened out of his wits. ‘Son,’ he said ‘I beg and
beseech you, in the name of all the rights that bind children to their
parents, do not follow through before your father’s eyes on this
totally unspeakable scenario, and yourself suffer its consequences.
Only a few hours have elapsed since we took a solemn oath, swearing
by all that was holy, and joining our right hands with Hannibal’s.
What for? So that we should leave our conversation with him, and
immediately put weapons to use against him into the hands bound
by that oath? Can you rise from your host’s table––to which only you
and two other Campanians were Hannibal’s invitees––to stain that
very table with the blood of your host? I was able to gain Hannibal’s
indulgence for my son; can I not gain my son’s for Hannibal?
‘But forget about what is sacred; forget about trust, religion, duty.
Dare to do your unspeakable acts––as long as they do not destroy
us, as well as making us criminals! Are you going to attack Hannibal
144 book twenty-three 216 bc
single-handed? What about the crowd of men that he has, free and
slaves? What about the fact that everyone’s eyes will be fixed on you
alone? What about all those hands ready to act? They will do nothing
at that moment of madness? And will you stand up to the look of
Hannibal, which whole armies bearing weapons are unable to face,
which makes the Roman people shudder in terror? And suppose he
has no other help. Will you have the heart to strike me, as I place my
own body before his? For, yes, it is right through my breast that you
must lunge at him, and stab him. Allow yourself to be deterred from
that course of action here rather than be overpowered there. Let my
prayers now carry weight with you, as they carried weight for you
today.’
The father then saw the young man in tears. He put his arms
around him and kissed him, not abandoning his entreaties until he
convinced him to drop the sword and give his word not to take any
such action.
‘For my part,’ said the young man, ‘I shall discharge to my father
the duty I owe to my fatherland. But I feel sorry for you. You must
face the charge of betraying your fatherland three times: first when
you initiated the break with the Romans; secondly when you brokered
the peace-treaty with Hannibal; and, thirdly, today when you are
responsible for delaying and hindering the restoration of Capua to
the Romans. You, my country, take back the sword with which I
armed myself to fight for you, when I entered this bastion of the
enemy––for my father wrests it from me.’ So saying, he flung the
sword over the garden wall into the street, and, to avoid suspicion,
made his return to the banquet.
10. The next day Hannibal was granted an audience with a packed
senate. At first his language was very cordial and affable. He thanked
the Campanians for preferring friendship with him to an alliance
with Rome, and amongst other extravagant promises was a commit-
ment that Capua would shortly be the capital of all Italy, with the
Roman people, and all the other Italian peoples, subject to her laws.
One man alone, he continued, was excluded from friendship with
Carthage, and the treaty that had been struck with him, a man who
did not deserve to be, or to be called, a man of Capua––Decius
Magius. He was demanding that Magius be surrendered to him, he
said, and that the matter be discussed, and a senatorial decree passed
on it, in his presence. There was unanimous support for the proposal,
216 bc chapters 9–10 145
though most members felt Magius did not deserve such a blow,
which they also thought represented no small first step towards the
curtailment of their rights and freedoms.
On leaving the senate house, Hannibal took his seat in the area set
aside for the magistrates. He gave orders for Decius Magius to be
arrested and left alone at his feet to defend himself. Magius’ defiant
attitude was unchanged, and he declared that he could not, under
the terms of the treaty, be compelled to do this. He was thereupon
clapped in irons, and orders were issued for him to be taken to
Hannibal’s camp, a lictor following behind. All the while that he was
being shepherded along with his head uncovered, he delivered a
walking tirade, shouting out to the crowds milling around him on all
sides: ‘People of Capua, you have the liberty you sought! I am second
to no Capuan, but now I am being taken to my execution in irons––
in the midst of the forum, in broad daylight, and before your eyes.
What greater outrage could be committed if Capua were captured?
Go and meet Hannibal! Deck out your city and make the day of his
coming a festival, so that you may come and see his triumph over
your fellow citizen!’
The crowd was clearly being moved as Magius bellowed this out,
and so a hood was put on his head, and the order given for him to be
taken out of the gate at a more rapid pace. He was brought to the
camp, and then immediately bundled onto a ship and sent off to
Carthage,* for Hannibal feared that his own outrageous behaviour in
the affair could lead to civil unrest in Capua, and make the senate
regret having surrendered a prominent citizen. If they then sent a
delegation to him to demand Magius’ return, he would be obliged
either to offend his new allies by refusing their very first request or,
if he acceded, to keep on in Capua someone who would initiate
sedition and rebellion.
A storm drove the vessel off-course to Cyrene, which was then
under the rule of the kings of Egypt. There Magius sought protec-
tion at the statue of King Ptolemy, and was conveyed under guard to
Ptolemy in Alexandria.* Explaining to the king that he had been put
in chains by Hannibal, contrary to the terms of the treaty, he was
relieved of his fetters and given permission to return, either to Rome
or to Capua, as he chose. Magius replied that Capua would not be
safe for him and, at a time when a state of war existed between the
Romans and the Campanians, he would be residing in Rome more as
146 book twenty-three 216 bc
a deserter than a visitor. He would like to live nowhere more than in
the kingdom of the man whom he now regarded as the champion
and guarantor of his liberty, he said.
11. In the course of these events, Quintus Fabius Pictor returned
to Rome from his mission to Delphi, and read out the text of the
oracular response. This listed the gods and goddesses for whom
propitiatory rites were to be held, and procedure involved. The
document continued: ‘If you follow these instructions, men of Rome,
your circumstances will improve and become easier. The future of
your republic will be more according to your wishes, and victory in
the war will go to the Roman people. When your republic’s success
and safety are won, see that you send to Pythian Apollo a gift from
the gains you shall have made, and that you do him honour with the
plunder, booty, and spoils. Guard against gloating over your success.’
After he had read this out, translated from the Greek verse, Pictor
added that, on emerging from the oracle, he had immediately used
offerings of incense and wine to sacrifice to all the deities specified.
Also, he had worn a laurel wreath both coming to the temple and
while performing the sacrifice there, and he had been told by the
temple priest also to wear it to board ship, and not to remove it before
reaching Rome. He had been very particular and precise in carrying
out all the instructions he had been given, he said, and he had set the
wreath on the altar of Apollo in Rome. The Senate decreed that all
sacrifices and propitiatory rites that had been indicated should be
carefully performed at the earliest possible opportunity.
During the course of these events in Rome and Italy, news of the
victory at Cannae had reached Carthage, thanks to Mago, son of
Hamilcar. (Mago had been sent by his brother, though not directly
from the field of battle––he had been held back a number of days
enlisting the Bruttian and <. . .> communities* that were abandon-
ing their allegiance to Rome.) Granted an audience with the senate,
Mago recounted his brother’s exploits in Italy.* Hannibal had met six
commanders on the battlefield, he said, four of them consuls and the
two others a dictator and a master of horse, and with them six con-
sular armies; and he had killed upwards of 200,000 of the enemy, and
taken more than 50,000 prisoners. Of the four consuls, he had killed
two; one of the remaining two was wounded, and the other had fled
with barely fifty men after losing his entire army. The master of
horse––a position as powerful as that of consul––had been defeated
216 bc chapters 10–12 147
and put to flight, while the dictator was hailed as a peerless general
because he had never committed himself to battle! The Bruttii, the
Apulians, and a number of the Samnites and Lucanians had defected
to the Carthaginians, and Capua had surrendered to Hannibal––
Capua, the capital not just of Campania but, after the drubbing the
Romans had received at the battle of Cannae, of Italy, too. For these
victories, so great and numerous, Mago concluded, the immortal
gods should be truly thanked.
12. At that point, to prove how successful the campaign had been,
Mago ordered gold rings to be poured out at the entrance to the
senate house. The mound they formed was so great that, according
to some sources, they amounted to more than three measures
(though the story that has prevailed––and this is closer to the
truth––is that it was no more than one measure). Mago then added a
commentary to make the defeat look even greater: only knights wore
this status symbol, he said, and of knights only the most dis-
tinguished. The nub of his address was that the closer Hannibal came
to realizing his hope of finishing the war, the more he should be
assisted in every way. The campaign was being fought a long way
from home, in the midst of the country of the enemy, he said. Grain
and cash was being used up in large quantities, and all those pitched
battles, while they had indeed wiped out so many enemy armies, had
also involved some attrition to the victor’s forces. Accordingly, Mago
concluded, they should send reinforcements, and they should also
send grain, and money for their pay, to the soldiers who had served
the Carthaginian people so well.
After these comments from Mago everyone was overjoyed, and
Himilco,* a member of the Barca faction, thought he had a chance to
taunt Hanno. ‘Well, Hanno,’ he said, ‘are you still sorry that war was
started with the Romans? Order the surrender of Hannibal now, and
tell us not to offer thanks to the immortal gods when things go so
well! Let us listen to a Roman senator in the senate house of
Carthage!’
‘I would normally have remained silent today, members of the
senate,’ replied Hanno, ‘so as not to make you hear what you would
consider less happy words in the midst of such universal rejoicing.
But now a senator asks me if I am still sorry that war was started with
the Romans. Remaining silent would make me appear either super-
cilious or a lickspittle––a man, in the first case, oblivious to others’
148 book twenty-three 216 bc
independence, or, in the second, oblivious to his own. My reply to
Himilco would be that I have not stopped regretting the war, and
that I shall not stop criticizing your “invincible” general until I see
the war brought to an end on terms that are, at least, acceptable. And
nothing other than a new peace will end my longing for the old
peace.
‘Those boastful remarks that Mago made a moment ago are
pleasing to Himilco and the rest of Hannibal’s partisans. They are
possibly pleasing to me, too––because military successes will give
us a more favourable peace if we are prepared to follow up our
good fortune. This is an opportune moment at which we can be seen
to be offering peace-terms rather than being offered them; let it slip
and I fear that this jubilation of ours may be overindulgent and
prove illusory.
‘But just what is this jubilation all about anyway? “I have wiped
out enemy armies––send me soldiers.” How would your request be
different if you had suffered defeat? “I captured two enemy camps,
which were, of course, full of spoils and supplies––give me grain and
cash.” What else would you be asking for if your own camp had been
seized and taken from you? But, so that I not be alone in marvelling
at all this, I should like to get some answers either from Himilco––
which is only fair and right since I have answered him––or from
Mago. First, since the battle at Cannae has meant the annihilation
of Roman power, and since it is an established fact that all of Italy is
up in arms, has any people from the Latin league gone over to us?
And, secondly, has any individual from the thirty-five Roman tribes
deserted to Hannibal?’
When Mago answered ‘no’ to both questions, Hanno continued:
‘So, in fact, as far as enemies are concerned, we still have all too
many of them! But those large enemy numbers––I should like to
know what their morale is, what hopes they still have.’
13. When Mago said he did not know, Hanno retorted, ‘No know-
ledge is easier to come by. Have the Romans sent Hannibal ambas-
sadors to sue for peace? Have you in fact received any report of peace
being talked about in Rome?’
When Mago’s reply was once more in the negative, Hanno said:
‘So we have a war in which we are no further forward than the day
Hannibal crossed into Italy. There are a large number of us still alive
who remember how victory shifted back and forth in the earlier
216 bc chapters 12–14 149
Punic War. Prior to the consulship of Gaius Lutatius and Aulus
Postumius we seemed successful as never before in land and sea
operations; but when Lutatius and Postumius were consuls we were
defeated off the Aegates Islands. Suppose that on this occasion, too
(God forbid such a thought!), fortune should shift. When we go
down in defeat, do you expect peace-terms such as no one offers now
when we are winning?
‘I do have an opinion to express, if anyone raises the question of
offering peace-terms to the enemy, or accepting them from him. But
if it is the matter of Mago’s requests that you are raising, I do not
think it serves any purpose to send assistance to a force that is
already victorious, and much less will I vote for sending it to men
who are hoodwinking us with false and groundless hopes.’
Hanno’s address impressed few of his hearers. His vendetta with
the Barca family diminished his credibility, and hearts filled with the
joy of the moment refused to listen to anything that might test the
validity of their satisfaction. A little more effort, they thought, and
the war would soon be won. Accordingly, by a huge majority, a
senatorial decree was passed that authorized the sending of 4,000
Numidians to reinforce Hannibal, and with them forty elephants and
<. . .> talents of silver. And a dictator* was also sent to Spain with
Mago to raise a mercenary force of 20,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry,
as reinforcements for the armies in Italy and Spain.
14. However, these resolutions were put into effect in a slow and
casual manner, a common phenomenon in times of success; but
Roman procrastination was ruled out by their circumstances, to say
nothing of the inbred energy of the people. The consul was found
wanting in no sphere for which he was responsible.* The dictator
Marcus Junius Pera completed the religious ceremonies, and then
made the usual proposal to the people that he be authorized to
mount a horse.* He already had the two city legions that had been
mobilized by the consuls at the start of the year, the slave conscripts,
and the cohorts gathered from the countryside of Picenum and
Gaul, but he now descended to the last resort of a state that was
almost desperate, when honour yields to practicality. He issued an
edict that he would order the cancellation of the penalty or the debts
of men who had been condemned and imprisoned for a capital
offence or debt, if they would serve in his army. In this way he
recruited 6,000 men, whom he armed with Gallic spoils that had
150 book twenty-three 216 bc
been carried in Gaius Flaminius’ triumph. He then left the city with
25,000 soldiers.
After taking possession of Capua, Hannibal alternated promises
and threats in a second attempt to win the support of the Neapolitans,
and when this failed he led his army across into the territory of Nola.
He did not immediately strike a threatening pose, as he was not
without hope of a voluntary surrender, but he was ready to spare its
people no suffering or terror if they frustrated his expectations. The
town senate––and especially its most important members––was
solidly for the alliance with Rome. However, the commons, as
usual, were all for change,* and all in favour of Hannibal. They also
feared the devastation of their farmlands, and envisioned the many
serious and shocking ordeals to be faced in a siege. And men to
instigate a revolt were not in short supply.
Gripped by a fear that, if they proceeded openly, the proletariat
would rise up and be impossible to resist, the senators found a way of
postponing the evil moment by pretending to go along with their
wishes. They pretended that they favoured defection to Hannibal,
but that there was little agreement amongst them on the terms for
transfer to the new treaty and new alliance. In this way they gained a
breathing space; and they quickly dispatched delegates to the Roman
praetor Marcus Claudius Marcellus, who was at Casilinum with his
army, and informed him of the parlous situation in Nola. Their
farmlands were in the hands of Hannibal and the Carthaginians,
they said, as the city soon would be, if no help were sent. They
explained that it was only by agreeing with the commons to defect,
at any time the commons chose, that the senate had succeeded in
heading off a hasty defection. Marcellus complimented the Nolan
representatives. He told them that that same pretence should be
continued to drag matters out until his arrival, and that meanwhile
their dealings with him and any prospect of Roman assistance should
remain a secret. Marcellus himself headed for Caiatia from Casilinum.
After that he crossed the River Volturnus and, making his way
through the territory of Saticula and Trebia, reached Nola by a route
through the mountains above Suessula.
15. With the Roman praetor’s arrival, the Carthaginian left the
territory of Nola and came down to the coast near Neapolis, for he
wanted to occupy a coastal town that would afford his ships a safe
crossing from Africa. He then learned that Neapolis was in the hands
216 bc chapters 14–15 151
of a Roman prefect––this was Junius Silanus, who had been called in
by the inhabitants of Neapolis––and so he headed for Nuceria,
bypassing Neapolis, as he had done Nola. He blockaded Nuceria for
some time, making numerous assaults on it, as well as numerous
unsuccessful overtures, to the commons on some occasions and to
the leading citizens on others, but eventually starved it into submis-
sion. The terms of surrender he dictated were that the inhabitants
could leave unarmed and with one item of clothing per person.
From the start, Hannibal had wished to be seen as compassionate
to all Italians except the Romans, and he now offered rewards and
important positions to any of the people of Nuceria who would remain
in the town and were prepared to serve with him. Not even with
promises like that did he get any to stay. The Nucerians all slipped
away to various Campanian cities, particularly Nola and Neapolis,
wherever offers of accommodation or impulse took them. Some
thirty senators––and, as it happened, all the leading members––
made for Capua, but were refused entry for having shut their gates
on Hannibal. They then went to Cumae. The spoils of Nuceria were
given to the Carthaginian rank and file, and the city was sacked and
put to the torch.*
At Nola, Marcellus’ hold on the town rested more on the favour of
the leading citizens than any confidence he had in his garrison. The
commons were a source of anxiety for him, and a certain Lucius
Bantius more than anyone. Bantius’ guilt over the attempted defec-
tion, and his fear of the Roman praetor, were inciting him to betray
his native city or, in the event of fortune failing him, to desert to the
enemy. He was an energetic young man, and at that time close to
being the most famous knight amongst the allies. Found half-dead
amidst a heap of corpses at Cannae, he had been kindly treated by
Hannibal, who had even sent him home with gifts.
Feeling gratitude for Hannibal’s kindness, Bantius had wanted to
put the state of Nola under the authority and control of the Cartha-
ginian, and the praetor could see that he was tense and restless in
his desire for change. He had either to be subdued by punishment, or
else appeased by kindness, and Marcellus preferred to enlist for
himself an ally who was strong and full of energy, rather than simply
take such an ally from the enemy. He therefore had him summoned
and addressed him with kind words.
There were many amongst Bantius’ compatriots who were jealous
152 book twenty-three 216 bc
of him, said Marcellus. This was easily deduced, he explained, from
the fact that no citizen of Nola had made any mention to him of
Bantius’ many outstanding military exploits––and yet his courage
could not be a secret to anyone who had served in a Roman camp.
Many who had campaigned with Bantius would tell him about the
sort of man this Nolan was, and about the dangers he had often faced
to preserve the security and honour of the Roman people. And they
would talk of how, at the battle of Cannae, Bantius did not quit the
field until the point when, well nigh exhausted, he was buried under
the men, horses, and arms that came crashing down on him.
‘So, my compliments to you on your courage!’ continued Marcel-
lus. ‘In my camp, every kind of honour and reward will be yours, and
the more time you spend with me the more you will find that quality
of yours redounding to your prestige and your advantage.’ The
young man was pleased with the Roman’s assurances. Marcellus
then presented him with a superb horse and instructed his quaestor
to pay him 500 denarii.* He also told his lictors to grant Bantius
access to him whenever he wished to see him.
16. The truculent young man’s temper was so softened by this
considerate approach on Marcellus’ part that, from that point on, no
ally served the Roman cause with greater courage and loyalty.
Hannibal was again at the gates, having once more moved camp
from Nuceria to Nola, and the Nolan masses were for a second time
contemplating changing sides. On the enemy’s arrival, Marcellus
withdrew within the walls, not because he feared for his camp, but
simply in order not to give an opportunity of betraying the city to the
all-too-many people who were seeking one. The battle lines then
began to form up on both sides, the Romans before the walls of Nola,
and the Carthaginians in front of their camp. Some minor skirmishes
ensued in the space between the city and the camp, with varying
outcomes. The commanders were unwilling to check the few men
who recklessly charged the foe, but they were also unwilling to give
the signal for a full-scale engagement.
During this daily stand-off between the two armies, leading Nolan
citizens reported to Marcellus that nightly discussions were taking
place between the commons and the Carthaginians. At these, they
said, a decision had been taken to plunder the Romans’ equipment
and baggage when their battle line had marched out of the gates.
The insurgents would then shut the gates, seize the walls, and, when
216 bc chapters 15–16 153
they were masters of the situation and of the city, they would let in
the Carthaginians in place of the Romans. When Marcellus was
advised of this, he commended the Nolan senators and decided to
risk a battle before there could be any trouble within the city. He
marshalled his army in three divisions at each of the three gates
facing the enemy, and he gave orders for the baggage to follow behind,
and for the attendants, camp-followers, and invalids to carry palisade-
stakes. At the centre gate he positioned his strongest legionary troops
and the Roman cavalry, and at the two side gates he placed the new
recruits, the light infantry, and the allied cavalry. The people of Nola
were forbidden to approach the walls and the gates, and the troops
designated as reserves were assigned to the baggage to prevent an
attack being made on it while the legions were engaged in the battle.
Formed up in this way, the Romans now stood within the gates.
Following his practice of the previous few days, Hannibal spent a
large portion of the day in battle formation. He was initially sur-
prised that the Roman army did not emerge from the gate, and also
that there was not a single armed man on the walls. He then assumed
that the secret discussions had been divulged to the Romans, and that
it was fear that kept them inactive. He therefore sent a number of his
men back to camp with orders to bring up to the front line, at the
double, all the equipment needed for an assault on the town. He
was quite sure that, if he put pressure on the Romans while they
wavered, the masses would start some disturbance within the town.
While all were feverishly scurrying to the front ranks to take up
their various duties, and as the battle line was approaching the walls,
the gate suddenly swung open. Marcellus gave the order to sound
the attack and raise the battle-cry, and commanded first the infantry,
and then the cavalry, to charge out at the enemy as hard as they
could. When these had already caused much panic and commotion
in the Carthaginian centre, the legates Publius Valerius Flaccus and
Gaius Aurelius burst out against the enemy flanks from the two side
gates. The uproar was increased by shouts from the camp-followers,
attendants, and numerous other men assigned to guarding the
baggage, and the result was that the Carthaginians, who had nothing
but contempt for their foes’ inferior numbers, suddenly had the
impression of a mighty army before them.
I would not presume, as some authors do, to put the number of
enemy dead at 2,800, with the loss of no more than 500 Romans.
154 book twenty-three 216 bc
However, whether the victory was as decisive as that, or whether it
was smaller, the achievement of that day was enormous, and possibly
the greatest of that war.* For it was more difficult to avoid defeat by
Hannibal at that time than it was to defeat him later on.
17. Cheated of his hope of taking Nola, Hannibal fell back on
Acerrae. Marcellus immediately shut the gates and posted guards to
prevent anyone from leaving, and then, in the forum, publicly inter-
rogated the men who had engaged in the secret talks with the enemy.
Upwards of seventy people were found guilty of treason. Marcellus
had them beheaded, and declared their belongings the common
property of the Roman people. Government of the state was put in
the hands of the senate. Marcellus then set off with his entire army
and took up a position above Suessula, where he established a camp.
The Carthaginians at first tried to coax Acerrae into voluntary sur-
render, but then, when they saw the people were intransigent, they
prepared for a blockade and an assault on the town.
In fact, the people of Acerrae had more determination than
strength. Losing hope of defending their city, and seeing their walls
being ringed with siege-works, they slipped out in the still of the
night before the enemy could complete the circumvallation, passing
through gaps in the enemy breastworks and the neglected sentry-
posts. Then, taking roads or travelling cross-country, and either
following a planned route or drifting aimlessly, they made good their
escape to towns of Campania that they were sure had not switched
allegiance.
Hannibal sacked Acerrae and put it to the torch. Then, when he
was brought a report that the Roman dictator and his new legions were
being summoned to Casilinum, he led his army to that town, fearful
that there might also be some insurgency at Capua, with the enemy
camp in such close proximity. At that time Casilinum was occupied
by 500 men from Praeneste, along with a few Romans and Latin allies,*
news of the defeat at Cannae having brought them to the same spot.
The mobilization at Praeneste had not been completed on schedule,
and these men of Praeneste had thus been somewhat late in leaving
home, so that they had reached Casilinum before there was any word
of the defeat. Others, Romans and allies, had joined them there, and
they had set out together from Casilinum in quite a large column when
a report of the battle of Cannae brought them back to the town.
They remained there for a number of days, eyed with suspicion by
216 bc chapters 16–18 155
the Campanians whom they themselves feared, and they spent the
time guarding against sedition, and in turn fomenting it. On receiving
reliable information that negotiations were under way for Capua’s
defection, and that Hannibal was being welcomed in the city, they
massacred the town’s population at night* and seized the part of
the city north of the Volturnus, a river that cuts the town in two.
These were the men who comprised the Roman military presence in
Casilinum, and that was augmented by a cohort from Perusia, 460
men who had been driven to Casilinum by the same report that had
brought the men of Praeneste a few days earlier. It was a sufficiently
large armed force to defend walls of such limited compass, which
also received cover from the river on one of its two sides––in fact the
shortages of grain made even this group of men seem inordinately
large.
18. When Hannibal was already not far from the town, he sent a
party of Gaetulians ahead under an officer named Isalca.* He told
Isalca to begin with conciliatory words, should he be granted the
opportunity to parley, and to try to coax those inside to open the
gates and admit a garrison. If they remained defiant, Isalca was to
use force and try to break into the city wherever he could.
When the Gaetulians approached the walls, the silence suggested
that they were deserted. The barbarians assumed the Romans had
been frightened into withdrawal, and so they prepared to force the
gates and smash the bolts. Suddenly, the gates opened and two
cohorts, formed up inside expressly for the purpose, burst forth with
a deafening clamour and wreaked havoc on the enemy. The first wave
repulsed in this way, Maharbal was sent in with a stronger force, but
he, too, could not stem the counterattack from the cohorts. Finally,
Hannibal encamped right before the city walls and prepared to storm
this little town, and its little garrison, with an all-out assault and
using all of his troops. While he pressed ahead and attacked the
enemy, completely surrounding the walls with a ring of troops, he
lost a number of men, including his best fighters, to missiles from
the wall and turrets. On one occasion, when the enemy took the
initiative with a sortie, Hannibal almost cut them off from the town
by setting a column of elephants in their way.* He then drove them in
panic into the town with comparatively heavy losses, given their
numerical weakness. There would have been further casualties had
night not broken off the battle.
156 book twenty-three 216 bc
The following day the hearts of all the Carthaginians were fired up
for the attack, especially when the prospect of a golden ‘wall-scaling
crown’ was set before them and after the commander himself
delivered some sharp words. These conquerors of Saguntum were
mounting a lacklustre assault on a small fortress on level ground, he
said, and he reminded them one and all of Cannae, Trasimene, and
the Trebia. Then they began moving up the mantlets and making
tunnels. And the Roman allies did not lack energy or ingenuity in
countering the various designs of the enemy. They set up protective
devices against the mantlets, used intercepting ditches to head off
the enemy tunnels, and took countermeasures against all their oper-
ations, whether open or covert, until eventually humiliation made
Hannibal drop his enterprise. He fortified his camp, established a
small garrison (to avoid the impression of abandoning the campaign),
and withdrew to winter quarters in Capua.
In Capua, Hannibal kept his army in housing for most of the win-
ter. It was a force that many ordeals over a long period had hardened to
face all life’s discomforts, but which had no experience of, or exposure
to, its good things. The result was that men whom the most intense
misery had failed to break were now ruined by excessive comfort and
unlimited pleasure––and the more thoroughly ruined because, thanks
to their inexperience, they had immersed themselves in them all the
more eagerly. Sleep, drink, dinner-parties, whores, baths, and inactiv-
ity that, from habit, became sweeter every day––all this sapped their
physical and moral strength. So much so, in fact, that their protection
now came from past victories rather than their current strength, and
this came to be regarded by military scientists as a greater blunder on
the leader’s part than his failure to march on Rome straight from the
battle of Cannae. For Hannibal’s hesitation on that occasion could
have been seen as merely postponing the victory, but this mistake
could be seen as having deprived him of the strength needed to win.
And so, indeed, when he left Capua, it was as if he were at the head of
another army. No trace remained of its former discipline.* Large
numbers came back from the city embroiled in relationships with
prostitutes and, as soon as they were bivouacked in tents, and were
faced with marching and other military chores, their lack of strength
and morale was like that of a raw recruit. Then, throughout the
summer season, most began to slip away from the standards without
leave, and the deserters’ hiding-place was always Capua.
216 bc chapters 18–19 157
19. As the winter began to lose its harshness Hannibal led his men
from winter quarters and returned to Casilinum. Though the assault
had been suspended, the ongoing blockade had nevertheless brought
the townspeople and its garrison to the depths of deprivation. The
Roman camp in the area was under the command of Tiberius
Sempronius, the dictator having left for Rome to retake the auspices.
Marcellus also wanted to bring assistance to the beleaguered towns-
people, but he was detained by the flooding of the River Volturnus,
and also by the entreaties of the townspeople of Nola and Acerrae,
who feared what the Campanians might do if the Roman garrison
departed. As for Gracchus, he merely stuck close to Casilinum with-
out making any move, for he was under orders from the dictator to
take no initiative during his absence––and yet the news coming from
Casilinum was such as would easily try anyone’s patience. There
were reports of people having hurled themselves from the walls
because they could not bear the hunger, and of others standing on
them unarmed, offering their unprotected bodies to the missiles that
were hurled at them. Gracchus was deeply distressed at this situ-
ation. He dared not open hostilities without the dictator’s authoriza-
tion, and yet he could see that a fight was necessary for him to bring
wheat into the town in the open––and there was no hope of bringing
it in unobserved. His solution was to fill several jars with grain that
he brought together from all the surrounding farmland, and then
send a message to the magistrates in Casilinum telling them to fish
out any jars the river brought down.
The following night the attention of all was focused on the river,
with hopes raised by the message from the Romans; and the jars,
which had been released midstream, came floating down to them.
The grain was then doled out in equal shares amongst the entire
population. This was repeated the next day, and the day after that,
the containers being released, and also reaching their destination, at
night and so escaping the notice of the enemy sentinels. But then,
thanks to an unbroken period of rain, the river began to flow faster
than usual and it drove the jars in a cross-current towards a section
of the bank patrolled by the enemy. There they became caught up in
some willows growing from the banks, and were spotted. A report
was brought to Hannibal, and after that greater care was taken to
prevent anything being sent unobserved down the Volturnus to the
city. Even so, some nuts that were thrown from the Roman camp did
158 book twenty-three 216 bc
float down to Casilinum midstream, and were fished out with wicker
baskets.
Eventually, those inside faced such extreme privation that they
tried chewing straps, and leather stripped from shields, softening it
in boiling water. They did not stop short of eating mice and other
creatures, either, and they pulled up all kinds of grass and roots from
the banks at the base of the city wall. When the enemy then ploughed
up all the patches of grass outside the wall, the defenders planted
turnip seeds, prompting Hannibal to exclaim ‘Am I going to sit
before Casilinum until they begin to sprout?’ And the man who
before that had refused to hear any talk of negotiations now finally
agreed to discuss the ransoming of free men in the town. A price of
seven ounces of gold per person was settled upon and, when they
were given Hannibal’s solemn assurance on this, the people of
Casilinum surrendered. They were kept in irons until the gold was
paid in full, but then they were released just as promised.
This version of events is more credible than the other, that the
released men were murdered by horsemen sent to attack them as
they left. Most of them were men of Praeneste. Of the 570 members
of the garrison, fewer than half lost their lives to the sword or starva-
tion, and the rest returned unharmed to Praeneste with their prae-
tor, Marcus Anicius (a former clerk). Proof of this lay in the statue of
Anicius that was set up in the forum of Praeneste. He wears a cuirass
and a toga, and has his head covered, and there is an inscription on a
bronze plate stating that Marcus Anicius had fulfilled his vow for the
soldiers who served in the garrison at Casilinum. An identical
inscription was placed beneath the three statues set up in the temple
of Fortune.*
20. The town of Casilinum was restored to the Campanians, and it
was furnished with a garrison of 700 soldiers from Hannibal’s army
to prevent a Roman attack when the Carthaginians left. The Roman
Senate passed a decree granting the Praenestine soldiers double pay
and a five-year immunity from military service. They were granted
Roman citizenship in recognition of their valour, but declined to
make the change. The record is less clear on the lot of the men from
Perusia––no light is shed on it by any monument the Perusians set
up themselves, or by any Roman decree.
Amongst the Bruttii, only the people of Petelia had remained loyal
to the Roman treaty, and at this time they came under attack, not
216 bc chapters 19–21 159
only from the Carthaginians who controlled the region, but also––
because of their difference in policy––from the rest of the Bruttii.
Unequal to the difficulties facing them, the Petelians sent an
embassy to Rome to ask for military assistance. When they were told
they must fend for themselves, the ambassadors burst into tearful
protestations in the vestibule of the Senate house, and their
entreaties and weeping moved the Senate and common people to
profound sympathy. The matter was therefore raised for a second
time with the senators by the praetor Marcus Aemilius. The senators
took stock of all the reserves of the empire and were forced to admit
that they had not the resources to assist allies so far removed. They
told the Petelians to go home and, when they had taken their loyalty
to the limit, to look after their future well-being as circumstances
directed.
When the outcome of the mission was reported to the people of
Petelia, deep melancholy and dread instantly gripped their senate. A
number advocated that they all flee as best they could and abandon
the city. Others were for joining the rest of the Bruttii and using
them as intermediaries to surrender to Hannibal, now that they had
been deserted by their traditional allies. The view that prevailed,
however, was that of the men who voted that they should take no
hasty or foolhardy action, and that they should consider the matter
afresh. The issue was raised again the following day when there was
less hysteria, and the most distinguished members successfully
upheld their view that they should bring all produce in from the
fields and strengthen the city and its walls.
21. At about this same time letters were brought to Rome from
Sicily and Sardinia. The one from Sicily, from Titus Otacilius, was
the first to be read out in the Senate, and it recounted that the
praetor Publius Furius had come to Lilybaeum from Africa with his
fleet, but that he had been seriously wounded and his life was hang-
ing by a thread. Soldiers and crews were not being given their pay or
grain rations on time, said Otacilius, and there were no resources to
make this possible. He was therefore strongly urging that these items
be dispatched at the earliest opportunity and, also, if the senators
agreed, that they send out one of the new praetors to succeed him.
Much the same message concerning pay and grain was contained in
the letter from the propraetor Aulus Cornelius Mammula in Sardinia.
The answer given to both men was that there were no resources
160 book twenty-three 216 bc
available, and they were to take personal responsibility for provisions
for their fleets and armies. Titus Otacilius then sent a delegation to
Hiero, a man without peer in his support of the Roman people, and
from him received all the money he needed for his men’s pay, plus
six months’ supply of grain. In Cornelius’ case in Sardinia, the allied
city-states contributed generously to support him.
In Rome, the financial crisis also led to the appointment (on a
proposal from the plebeian tribune Marcus Minucius) of a trium-
virate of treasury officials. These were the former consul and censor
Lucius Aemilius Papus; Marcus Atilius Regulus, former consul on
two occasions; and Lucius Scribonius Libo, currently a plebeian
tribune. Marcus and Gaius Atilius were elected duumvirs, and these
dedicated the temple of Concord that Lucius Manlius had promised
in a vow during his praetorship. Three pontiffs were also elected:
Quintus Caecilius Metellus, Quintus Fabius Maximus, and Quintus
Fulvius Flaccus. These replaced respectively Publius Scantinus, who
had died, and Lucius Aemilius Paulus, the consul, and Quintus
Aelius Paetus, both of whom had fallen in the battle of Cannae.
22. Having now filled––as far as human resourcefulness could––all
the gaps left by the unbroken string of disasters, the senators finally
took account of themselves, specifically of the empty Senate house,
and the paucity of their numbers when meeting to decide public
policy. In fact, there had been no revision of the Senate since the
censorship of Lucius Aemilius and Gaius Flaminius, despite the fact
that, in the intervening five years, so many senators had been carried
off by the defeats as well as by individual misfortunes.
The dictator had finally left the city to join his army after the loss
of Casilinum, and it was the praetor Marcus Aemilius who, in
response to a general demand, raised the matter in the house. Spurius
Carvilius thereupon delivered a long speech deploring not merely
the dearth of senators but the shortage of citizens from whom mem-
bers could be selected for the Senate. He then declared that he
strongly urged the granting of citizenship to two senators of each of
the Latin peoples, these to be chosen by the members of the Roman
Senate; from this pool, he said, men could be selected for the Senate
to replace deceased members. The proposal, he explained, was
aimed at bringing the number of the Senate up to quota, and also at
forging closer ties between the Latin and Roman peoples.
The senators’ reaction to this proposal was no more favourable
216 bc chapters 21–23 161
than when the Latins themselves had earlier made the same request.
There was a buzz of indignation all through the house, and Titus
Manlius, in particular, observed that there still lived a descendant of
the family of that consul who had once, on the Capitol, threatened to
kill with his own hands any Latin he saw in the Senate house. At this
juncture Quintus Fabius Maximus declared that no subject had ever
been raised in the Senate at a more inappropriate time than this one.
The allies’ feelings were unpredictable, and their loyalty uncertain,
he said, and a comment like that could only unsettle them even more.
This foolhardy remark coming from a single individual, he con-
tinued, should be suppressed by everybody else’s silence. If there
ever was anything of an intimate or sacred nature that needed to be
kept secret in the house, then this was certainly it––something to be
covered over, concealed, forgotten, and regarded as unsaid! And so it
was that all mention of the proposal was stifled.*
It was decided that a dictator should be appointed for recruiting
members to the Senate. He was to be a man who had already been a
censor, and was the oldest of all ex-censors still alive, and the Senate
ordered that the consul Gaius Terentius be summoned to make the
appointment. Terentius returned to Rome from Apulia by forced
marches, leaving a military presence in place, and made the
appointment the following night, as was customary. In accordance
with a senatorial decree, he appointed Marcus Fabius Buteo*
dictator for six months, without a master of horse.
23. Fabius climbed the Rostra with his lictors. He did not approve
of the unprecedented situation of there being two dictators in office
at the one time, he said, and he disapproved of his being a dictator
without a master of horse. He likewise disapproved of the censor’s
power being granted to a single individual––and to one who had
already held it, at that––and of a six-month imperium being granted
to a dictator, unless he had been appointed to conduct military oper-
ations. This irregular situation, he continued, was the result of
chance, the times, and the exigencies of their situation, but he was
going to circumscribe it. He would not remove from the Senate any
of the appointees Gaius Flaminius and Lucius Aemilius had as cen-
sors selected for the house; he would merely have their names writ-
ten down and read out. In this way the reputation and character of
senators would not be subject to the judgement and ruling of a single
individual. Moreover, he would replace deceased members in such a
162 book twenty-three 216 bc
way as to let it be seen that preference was given to one rank over
another, not to one man over another.
After reading out the names of the members of the old Senate,
Fabius began by replacing deceased members with men who had
held curule offices after the censorship of Lucius Aemilius and
Gaius Flaminius, but who had not yet been selected for the Senate;
and he prioritized them on the basis of who had been elected first.
He then chose former aediles, plebeian tribunes, or quaestors and,
after these, men who had not gained magistracies but who had spoils
from the enemy affixed to their houses, or who had been awarded the
civic crown.* In this way 177 members were inducted into the Senate,
and with great approval. Fabius then immediately resigned his office
and, telling his lictors to leave, came down from the Rostra a private
citizen. He joined the crowds who were occupied with their own
private business, deliberately frittering away the time so as not to
draw people from the Forum to escort him home. Even with that
interlude men’s support for him did not flag, and he had a large
entourage escorting him to his home. The consul returned to his
army the following night, but did not inform the Senate for fear of
being detained in the city to oversee the elections.
24. The following day, on a motion from the praetor Marcus
Pomponius, the Senate decided that the dictator should be sent writ-
ten instructions to come to Rome (if he deemed it in the public
interest) to oversee the consular elections, bringing with him his
master of horse and the praetor Marcus Marcellus. The senators
could then learn directly from these men how matters stood for the
state, after which they could formulate policy as the situation
required. All three individuals summoned did appear, leaving sub-
ordinates in command of their legions. The dictator spoke briefly
and in modest terms about himself, but passed most of the credit on
to his master of horse, Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus. He
announced the date for the elections, and at these the consuls elected
were Lucius Postumius (elected for the third time and in absentia,
since his sphere of responsibility at the time was Gaul) and Tiberius
Sempronius Gracchus, who was then master of horse and curule
aedile. Then the praetors were elected: Marcus Valerius Laevinus (for
a second time), Appius Claudius Pulcher, Quintus Fulvius Flaccus,
and Quintus Mucius Scaevola. After the election of the magistrates,
the dictator returned to his army in its winter quarters at Teanum.
216 bc chapters 23–25 163
He left in Rome the master of horse, who was going to assume office
in a matter of days and could discuss with the senators the enlistment
and mobilization of troops for the coming year.
Just at the point when these proceedings were under way, news
came of a fresh setback, as fortune piled one disaster on another that
year. The consul designate Lucius Postumius and his army had been
wiped out in Gaul.
Postumius was going to lead his army through a huge wood called
Litana by the Gauls. To the right and left of the road that went
through the forest, the Gauls cut the trees in such a way that, with
no pressure on them, they would remain standing, but if given a
slight push they would topple over. Postumius had under his com-
mand two Roman legions, and he had mobilized a contingent of
allies from the Adriatic coast so large that he was leading 25,000
troops into enemy territory. The Gauls had surrounded the forest
perimeter, and, when the Roman column entered the woods, they
pushed at some of the outer trees that they had severed. These fell
one on another, each of them unsteady itself and barely keeping
upright, and, crashing down on both sides of the road, crushed
weapons, men, and horses. The result was that barely ten men made
good their escape. Most were killed by the tree-trunks and broken
branches, and the Gauls who waited in arms all around the woodland
area dispatched the remainder, panic-stricken as they were after this
unforeseen calamity. From such a large number few prisoners were
taken. These were men who headed for the bridge over the river,
only to find themselves cut off since the bridge had already been
seized by the enemy.
Postumius fell at the battle site as he fought with all his might to
avoid capture. The jubilant Boii carried the spoils from the general’s
body, and his severed head, to what is their most sacred temple.
Then, as is their custom, they scraped out the head and overlaid the
skull with gold, and this served them as a holy vessel for the pouring
of libations at religious ceremonies, and also as a drinking cup for the
high priest and the temple overseers. Indeed, for the Gauls, the
spoils were no less important than the victory. It is true that most of
the animals were crushed in the collapse of the trees, but everything
else was found all along the path of the devastated column, since
there had been no flight to disperse it.
25. Such was the alarm in Rome for several days following the
164 book twenty-three 216 bc
report of the defeat that shops remained closed and a hush like that
at the dead of night descended on the city. The Senate therefore
assigned the aediles the task of patrolling the town, and issuing
orders for shops to be opened and the atmosphere of public gloom
dispelled. Tiberius Sempronius then called a meeting of the Senate.
There he consoled the senators, and, to encourage them, said that
men who had refused to give up after the disaster at Cannae should
not lose heart in the face of lesser setbacks. In the case of the war
with their Carthaginian foes and Hannibal, he said, he simply prayed
that things would go as he hoped. The Gallic war could be shelved
and left in abeyance, and it would be for the gods and the people of
Rome to avenge later the treachery of the Gauls. What they had to
consider and discuss now was the Carthaginian foe, and the armies
to be used for the campaign against him. Sempronius himself first
briefed them on the numbers of infantry and cavalry, and of citizens
and allies, in the dictator’s army, and then Marcellus enumerated the
troops under his command. Intelligence on forces with the consul
Gaius Terentius in Apulia was sought from informed individuals.
But no way could be found of forming two consular armies strong
enough to cope with such an extensive theatre of war. And so, prod-
ded though they were by righteous indignation, they decided that
Gaul be shelved for that year.
The dictator’s army was now allocated to the consul. With regard
to the army of Marcus Marcellus, it was decided that those soldiers
who had been part of the flight from Cannae should be shipped over
to Sicily, to serve there for as long as the war lasted in Italy. All the
weaker soldiers in the dictator’s legions were also to be removed to
this destination, but with no period of service defined apart from
their regular terms. The two city legions were allocated to the other
consul, who would be replacing Lucius Postumius, and he was to be
elected as soon as possible, account being taken of the auguries. It
was further decided that two legions should be brought from Sicily
at the earliest opportunity––from these the consul who was assigned
the urban legions was to take all the men he needed. The consul
Gaius Terentius would have his imperium extended for a year, and
there would be no cuts made to the army he was commanding for the
defence of Apulia.
26. Such were the activities and preparations in Italy. Meanwhile,
in Spain, the war was no less intense, but, to that point, it was more
216 bc chapters 25–26 165
successful for the Romans. Publius and Gnaeus Scipio had divided
their troops, Gnaeus taking charge of land operations, and Publius
those at sea. The Carthaginian commander Hasdrubal, however, had
little confidence in either branch of his forces and gave his enemy a
wide berth, using distance and position to protect himself, until,
finally, in response to his urgent and repeated requests, he was sent
reinforcements of 4,000 infantry and 500 cavalry from Africa. With
that, his hopes finally revived, he moved camp closer to the enemy,
and he, too, issued orders for a fleet to be prepared and equipped to
protect the islands and the mainland coast. Just as he was thrusting
ahead with his renewed operations, he was thrown off balance by the
desertion of his naval captains. These had received a serious repri-
mand from him after they panicked and abandoned the fleet at the
Ebro, and since then they had never been completely loyal either to
their commander or the Carthaginian cause. The deserters had
fomented unrest amongst the Tartesii,* a number of whose cities had,
thanks to their efforts, seceded from the Carthaginians––and one
they had even taken by storm.
Hasdrubal now directed hostilities against this tribe instead of the
Romans, and with an invading army entered the territory of his
enemy. He decided to make an attack on Chalbus, a celebrated chief-
tain of the Tartesii, who was now encamped with a powerful force
before the walls of a city that he had captured a few days earlier.
Hasdrubal sent forward his light infantry to draw the enemy into
battle, and dispatched a section of his cavalry to conduct predatory
raids throughout the countryside and to round up stragglers. At one
and the same moment there was agitation in the enemy camp,
and flight and slaughter throughout the surrounding countryside.
Presently, however, the Tartesii returned to camp by various routes
from every direction, and fear suddenly vanished from their minds––
they now had enough courage not only to defend their fortifications,
but even to launch an offensive against their enemy. They burst from
their camp in a column, performing their traditional war dance, and
this sudden display of bravado struck terror into an enemy that was
on the attack shortly before.
Accordingly, Hasdrubal himself withdrew his troops to a hill that
was quite steep, and further protected a river flowing before it, and
he also pulled back to the same spot the light-armed infantry that he
had sent ahead, and the cavalry that were scattered through the
166 book twenty-three 216 bc
countryside. In addition, having little confidence in the protection
offered by either hill or river, he strengthened his camp with a palisade.
As the panic swung from one side to the other, there were a number
of clashes. In these, the Numidian cavalryman proved no match for
his Spanish counterpart, nor the Moorish javelin-thrower for the
caetra-armed soldier. Their enemy’s equal in agility, the Spanish
troops were considerably superior in determination and physical
strength.
27. The Tartesii were unable to draw the Carthaginian into com-
bat by moving up close to his camp, and an assault on the camp was
not going to be easy. They therefore stormed the city of Ascua,
where Hasdrubal had deposited his grain and other provisions on
entering enemy territory, and took possession of all the surrounding
countryside. After that the Spaniards could be restrained by no
authority, whether on the march or in camp. Hasdrubal took note of
this common phenomenon, the carelessness following on the heels of
success. He urged his men to launch an attack on the enemy while
they were straggling and out of formation, and, descending the hill,
he proceeded to march on their camp in battle order.
Word of his approach was brought by messengers, who came run-
ning back in panic from lookout stations and sentinel posts, and the
call to arms went up. Snatching up weapons as they came to hand,
the Tartesii rushed into the fray without orders, without awaiting a
signal, and in total disarray and confusion. When the first-comers
had already engaged, others were still running up in separate groups,
and yet others had not even left the camp. Even so, their bravado
alone at first unnerved their enemy. But the Tartesii were coming in
small bands against men formed in ranks, and their small numbers
gave them no protection. They all began to look for assistance from
their comrades and, under pressure from every side, formed a circle.
As bodies jostled with bodies and weapons engaged with weapons,
they were driven together into a confined space where they had
scarcely enough room to wield their arms. Completely encircled by
the enemy, they were subjected to wholesale slaughter till late in the
day, and only an insignificant number managed to break out and head
for the woods and hills. In the same panic, the camp was abandoned,
and the following day the entire tribe capitulated.
But the Tartesii did not long abide by the terms of surrender.
Shortly after the battle, Hasdrubal received an order from Carthage
216 bc chapters 26–28 167
to lead his army into Italy at the earliest opportunity and, when news
of that spread through Spain, it diverted the support of almost all
the tribes from the Carthaginians to the Romans. Hasdrubal, there-
fore, immediately sent a letter to Carthage in which he made it
known how much harm rumours of his departure had done. If he
did in fact leave, he said, Spain would be in Roman hands before he
crossed the Ebro. Apart from the fact that he had no military force or
commander to leave in his place, he explained, the quality of the
Roman generals was such that opposition would scarcely be possible,
even if the two sides had equal strength. Accordingly they should
send him a successor with a powerful army, if Spain meant anything
to them; but even if all went well for that man, Hasdrubal concluded,
he would not find his charge an easy one.
28. The letter at first made a deep impression on the Carthaginian
senate. However, Italy was the first and more urgent priority, and no
change was made with respect to Hasdrubal and his forces. Instead,
Himilco was dispatched with a complete army, and an enlarged fleet,
to hold and protect Spain by land and sea. After taking his land and
naval forces over to Spain, Himilco established a fortified camp,
beached his ships, and surrounded them with a palisade. Then he per-
sonally took some of his elite cavalry and made his way to Hasdrubal
with all the speed he could muster, equally vigilant as he passed
through tribes of dubious loyalty and those that were openly hostile.
Himilco acquainted Hasdrubal with the decrees and instructions
of their senate, and was in turn informed of how the war in Spain
should be handled. He then returned to his camp, his safety secured
by his speed more than anything else, since he got away from each
area before its inhabitants could agree on a plan of action.
Before striking camp, Hasdrubal levied funds from all the tribes in
his jurisdiction. He was well aware that Hannibal had occasionally
used money to secure a passage, that it was only by hire that he had
raised his Gallic auxiliary troops, and that he would barely have
made it as far as the Alps had he started his immense journey with-
out funds. Hasdrubal therefore hurriedly levied moneys before
marching down to the Ebro.
When word of the Carthaginian decrees and Hasdrubal’s march
reached the Romans, the two commanders dropped everything else,
joined forces, and prepared to oppose and thwart their enemy’s
designs. Hannibal was an enemy that Italy could barely resist when
168 book twenty-three 216 bc
he was operating on his own, they thought, and if he were joined by a
general like Hasdrubal, and by an army from Spain, that would spell
the end of the power of Rome. Gripped by worries such as this, they
brought their forces together at the Ebro. After crossing the river,
they long debated whether to bring their camp closer to Hasdrubal’s
or whether it would suffice for them to delay the enemy’s projected
march by launching attacks on Carthaginian allies. They finally pre-
pared to attack what was at that time the richest city in the region,
Hibera,* which was named after the nearby river. When Hasdrubal
heard about this, instead of bringing assistance to his allies, he chose
rather to proceed himself with an attack on a town that had recently
surrendered to the Romans. The blockade of Hibera, which had
already commenced, was therefore abandoned by the Romans, whose
operations were now focused directly on Hasdrubal himself.
29. The two sides had their camps five miles apart from each other
for a number of days and, while there were some minor skirmishes,
they avoided pitched battle. Finally, almost as if by agreement, the
signal for battle was hoisted on both sides on the very same day, and
they both went down to the plain in full force.
The Roman army stood three lines deep. Some of the skirmishers
were positioned amongst the front-line troops, and others behind the
standards, while the cavalry covered the flanks. Hasdrubal strength-
ened his centre with Spanish troops. On the flanks, he placed
Carthaginians on the right, and Africans along with mercenary
auxiliaries on the left. His cavalry he positioned on the wings, setting
the Numidian horse alongside the Carthaginian infantry, and the
others beside the Africans. Not all of the Numidians were placed on
the right wing, however*––only those whose practice it was to take
two horses apiece and, like circus performers, jump fully armed
from a weary mount to a fresh one, often when the fighting was at its
most fierce. Such is the agility of these horsemen, and so trainable
this breed of horse.
As the two sides stood drawn up in this manner, their com-
manders differed little in terms of confidence. In numbers or quality
of men one side was not in the slightest superior to the other; but the
morale of the soldiers was very different. Although the Romans were
fighting far from home, their officers had found it easy to persuade
them that their fight was for Italy and the city of Rome. For them,
their return home turned upon the outcome of that battle, and they
216 bc chapters 28–30 169
had resolutely decided to win or to die. The other army consisted of
men less resolute. Most were Spaniards, and they preferred to face
defeat in Spain rather than win and be dragged into Italy.
The result was that, at the very first clash and when the javelins
had barely been thrown, the Carthaginian centre gave ground and, as
the Romans came bearing down on them with a powerful charge,
they took to their heels. The engagement was no less intense on the
wings. Here there was heavy pressure from the Carthaginians on one
side, and the Africans on the other; and these, having virtually
encircled the Romans, were engaging them on the two fronts. But by
then the Roman line had entirely converged on the centre, and so
had sufficient strength to push back the wings on either side. Thus
there were two separate battles in progress, and in both there was no
doubt as to the superiority of the Romans who, after the enemy
centre was driven back, had the edge in the numbers, as well as the
strength, of their men.
The casualties of the battle were extremely heavy, and very few
would have survived from the entire enemy fighting line but for the
wild flight of Spaniards when the battle had barely got under way. As
for cavalry action, there was hardly any. As soon as the Moors and
Numidians saw the centre give way, they immediately took to head-
long flight, driving the elephants before them, and left the wings
without protection. Hasdrubal waited to see the final outcome of the
engagement, and then he too slipped away from the midst of the
slaughter with a few companions. The Romans captured and sacked
the enemy camp.*
That battle brought over to the Romans any wavering elements
that remained in Spain, and left Hasdrubal with no hope, not merely
of taking his army across into Italy, but even of remaining in Spain
with any kind of security. These events were made known in Rome
by a dispatch from the Scipios, and the ensuing rejoicing was less
over the victory than the fact that Hasdrubal’s passage into Italy had
been stopped.
30. While this was going on in Spain, Petelia, the town in Brut-
tium,* fell to Hannibal’s lieutenant Himilco, after a siege that had
begun some months earlier. That victory cost the Carthaginians dear
in blood and injuries, and the pressure that brought the beleaguered
townspeople to their knees was that of hunger more than anything
else. After exhausting their supplies of grain, as well as meat from
170 book twenty-three 216 bc
every kind of quadruped (conventional food or not), they finally kept
themselves alive by eating leather, grass, roots, the soft parts of tree-
bark, and strips of leaves. It was only when they lacked the strength
to man the walls and bear arms that they were finally vanquished.
After taking Petelia, the Carthaginian led his forces over to Con-
sentia, and, as this was defended with less resolve, he accepted its
surrender in a matter of days. At about this time a Bruttian army also
laid siege to the Greek city of Croton.* This had once been a power-
ful and populous town, but it had by now been so devastated by
many brutal reverses that it was left with fewer than 2,000 citizens all
told. As a result the enemy easily took possession of a city devoid of
defenders. Only the citadel remained in the citizens’ hands: in the
confusion following the capture of the town a number fled there
from the slaughter surrounding them. In addition, Locri defected to
the Bruttii and the Carthaginians, the common people having been
betrayed by the aristocrats. In that part of the country only Rhegium
maintained its loyalty to the Romans, and its own independence, to
the end.
The same backsliding reached Sicily, too, where not even Hiero’s
family was untouched by defection. Gelo, eldest of Hiero’s children,
felt only contempt for his father’s advanced years and also, following
the defeat at Cannae, for the alliance with Rome, and he transferred
his allegiance to the Carthaginians. Gelo would, in fact, have
fomented rebellion in Sicily had not his timely death––so timely as
to taint even the father with suspicion––removed him as he was busy
arming the commons and sowing disaffection amongst the Roman
allies. Such were that year’s events, and their varied outcomes, in
Africa, Sicily, and Spain.
At the end of the year Quintus Fabius Maximus asked the Senate’s
permission to dedicate to Venus Eryx the temple that he had prom-
ised in a vow when he was dictator. The Senate decided that the
consul designate Tiberius Sempronius should, when he entered
office, propose to the people that Quintus Fabius be appointed a
duumvir for the dedication of the temple. Also that year, Marcus
Aemilius Lepidus, who had been consul and an augur, was honoured
by his three sons, Lucius, Marcus, and Quintus, with funeral games
lasting three days, including twenty-two pairs of gladiators put on
display in the Forum. The curule aediles Gaius Laetorius and
Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus (a consul designate who had been
216–215 bc chapters 30–31 171
master of horse during his aedileship) celebrated the Roman Games,
three days of which were repeated. The Plebeian Games put on
by Marcus Aurelius Cotta and Marcus Claudius Marcellus were
repeated three times.*
The third year of the Punic War was now at an end, and on
15 March Tiberius Sempronius entered office as consul. As their
jurisdictions, the praetors gained by lot the following: Quintus
Fulvius Flaccus (former consul and censor), urban jurisdiction;
Marcus Valerius Laevinus, jurisdiction over foreigners; Appius
Claudius Pulcher, Sicily; and Quintus Mucius Scaevola, Sardinia.
The people vested Marcus Marcellus with proconsular imperium
because he alone of Roman commanders had operated successfully
in Italy after the defeat at Cannae.
31. On the first day of its session on the Capitol, the Senate
decreed double taxation for that year, with the regular taxes levied
immediately so that from them a cash payment could be made to all
soldiers, apart from those who had served at Cannae. As for dis-
position of the armies, the senators decided that the consul Tiberius
Sempronius should fix a date for the muster of the two urban legions
at Cales, from where they were to be marched to the Castra Claudi-
ana* above Suessula. The legions already in place there––principally
soldiers from the army at Cannae––were to be transferred to Sicily
by the praetor Appius Claudius Pulcher, and those in Sicily would be
shipped to Rome. Marcus Claudius Marcellus was sent to the army
that was scheduled to muster at Cales, and he was under orders to
lead the urban legions to the Castra Claudiana. Tiberius Maecilius
Croto was dispatched by Appius Claudius as his legate to take charge
of the old army and conduct it from the Castra Claudiana to Sicily.
At first, people had said nothing as they waited for the consul to
hold elections for the appointment of his colleague. Then they saw
Marcus Marcellus removed from the scene as though on purpose,
and he was the man they particularly wanted as consul that year
because of his successful record in his praetorship. A murmuring
now arose in the Senate. Hearing this, the consul remarked: ‘Both
decisions were in the interests of the state, members of the Senate. It
is beneficial first for Marcus Claudius to leave for Campania to see to
the exchange of troops, and secondly for the elections not to be
scheduled until he has come home after finishing the business
assigned to him. Thus you may have the consul the state needs at the
172 book twenty-three 215 bc
moment, and the one you want most.’ And so talk of elections was
silenced until Marcellus’ return.
Meanwhile, Quintus Fabius Maximus and Titus Otacilius Crassus
were appointed duumvirs for the dedication of temples, Otacilius for
the temple of Mens, and Fabius for the temple of Venus of Eryx
(both of them are on the Capitol, separated by a single drainage
channel). In addition, a proposal was put before the people to grant
Roman citizenship to 300 Capuan knights who had come to Rome
after loyal service in Sicily. It was further proposed that these should
enjoy the rights of townspeople of Cumae dating from the day before
the people of Capua defected from the Roman people. The prime
impetus behind the proposal was the knights’ own assertion that
they did not know the class to which they belonged. They had aban-
doned the city that had been their home, but had not yet been
granted formal admission to the one to which they had now come on
their return to Italy.
On Marcellus’ return from the army, notice was given of an election
to appoint a single consul as a replacement for Lucius Postumius.
Marcellus was elected with an overwhelming majority, and he was
to take office immediately. But there was a peal of thunder at the
moment of his entering his consulship, and when the augurs were
summoned they declared that there appeared to be something amiss
with his election. The patricians thereupon spread the word that the
gods were displeased at the precedent-setting election of two ple-
beian consuls at the same time. Marcellus withdrew from office, to
be replaced by Quintus Fabius Maximus,* now consul for the third
time.
The sea caught fire that year, and in the area of Sinuessa a cow
gave birth to a foal. Statues near the temple of Juno Sospita in
Lanuvium dripped blood, and around the precinct stones fell as rain.
There were the customary nine days of religious observances because
of this shower, and expiatory rites were attentively discharged for the
other prodigies.
32. The consuls now divided the armies between them. That at
Teanum, formerly under the dictator Marcus Junius, fell to Fabius,
and to Sempronius, at Rome, fell the slave volunteers stationed
there, and 25,000 allied troops. The legions that had returned from
Sicily were officially assigned to the praetor Marcus Valerius. Marcus
Claudius was sent as a proconsul to the army stationed above
215 bc chapters 31–32 173
Suessula for the defence of Nola; and the praetors went off to Sicily
and Sardinia.
The consuls issued a proclamation that, whenever they convened
the Senate, senators and all having the right to express an opinion in
the house should come together at the Porta Capena.* The praetors
charged with administration of justice established their tribunals at
the Piscina Publica. It was here, they ordered, that litigants had to
undertake to make their court appearance, and it was the city’s legal
centre during that year.
Meanwhile, at Carthage, Hannibal’s brother Mago was on the point
of shipping to Italy 12,000 infantry, 1,500 cavalry, twenty elephants,
and 1,000 talents of silver, with an escort of sixty warships.* Then
news reached the city of the reverse in Spain and of the almost
complete defection to the Romans of the tribes in the province.
There was some suggestion that they should forget Italy and redirect
Mago with that fleet and armament to Spain, but then came a sud-
den flicker of hope that Sardinia could be recovered. It was reported
that the Roman army in Sardinia was small, and that the old praetor,
Aulus Cornelius, who knew the province well, was leaving and a
fresh replacement was expected. In addition to this, the Sardinians
were tired of Roman dominion, which had gone on for so long;
during the past year they had found the administration harsh and
rapacious; and they were also burdened with an oppressive tribute
and an unfair grain-levy. All that was needed was a leader to whom
they could defect. This information had been covertly transmitted to
Carthage by some leading Sardinian citizens, the prime mover in the
affair being Hampsicora who at that time far surpassed the others in
influence and wealth.
These two reports brought anxiety and elation to the Carthagin-
ians, almost at the same time. They dispatched Mago to Spain with
his fleet and his troops, but they also selected Hasdrubal as com-
mander for Sardinia, and assigned to him a force of roughly the same
proportions as the one they had assigned to Mago.
At Rome, too, where all necessary dispositions within the city had
been made, the consuls were now preparing for the campaign.
Tiberius Sempronius officially gave his soldiers a date for muster at
Sinuessa and, after first consulting the Senate, Quintus Fabius
ordered the general transportation of grain from the countryside
into fortified towns before the coming 1 June. In the case of anyone
174 book twenty-three 215 bc
failing to effect the transportation, he said, he would lay waste the
man’s land, auction off his slaves and burn his farm buildings. Not
even the praetors voted into office for legal duties were granted
exemption from military administration. The praetor Valerius, it
was decided, should proceed to Apulia to assume command of the
army of Terentius. When the legions from Sicily arrived, Valerius
was to rely mainly on them for the defence of that region, and the
army of Terentius was to be sent to Tarentum under one of his
lieutenants. He was also assigned twenty-five ships to enable him to
give protection to the coastline between Brundisium and Tarentum.
The same number of ships was allocated to the urban praetor Quintus
Fulvius for the protection of the shores close to the city. The pro-
consul Gaius Terentius was given the duty of levying troops in the
territory of Picenum and of defending that area. Finally, after his
dedication of the temple of Mens on the Capitol, Titus Otacilius
Crassus was dispatched to Sicily with imperium to assume command
of the fleet.
33. This was a struggle between the two most prosperous nations
in the world, and all rulers and nations had their attention focused
on it. These included King Philip of Macedon, who was all the more
concerned for being closer to Italy, with only the Ionian Sea separat-
ing him from it. As soon as he got wind of Hannibal’s crossing of the
Alps, he had been overjoyed at the outbreak of war between Rome
and Carthage, but he had also been unsure, their relative strengths
being still unknown, which of the two peoples he wished to see
prevail. Now, after the third battle had been fought, and the third
victory had gone to Carthage, he leaned towards success and sent
emissaries to Hannibal.
The emissaries avoided the ports of Brundisium and Tarentum,
since they were occupied and guarded by Roman ships, and dis-
embarked instead near the temple of Juno Lacinia. From there they
headed through Apulia towards Capua, only to fall in with some
Roman patrols, by whom they were escorted to the praetor Valerius
Laevinus, then encamped in the neighbourhood of Luceria. There
the leader of the delegation, Xenophanes, boldly stated that he was
on a mission from King Philip, the aim of which was to establish a
treaty of friendship with the Roman people. He added that he had
dispatches to convey to the consuls, and to the Senate and People of
Rome. With old allies seceding from Rome, the praetor was delighted
215 bc chapters 32–34 175
at the prospect of a new alliance with such an illustrious king, and he
gave his enemies the warm welcome accorded to guests. He provided
them with an escort, and supplied detailed information about their
itinerary, indicating the areas and passes held by either the Romans
or the enemy.
Xenophanes came through the Roman posts into Campania, and
from there reached Hannibal’s camp by the shortest route. Here he
struck a treaty of friendship with the Carthaginian,* the terms of
which were as follows. King Philip was to cross to Italy with the
largest fleet he could possibly muster––it seemed likely that he
would put together two hundred ships––and there lay waste the
coast, and conduct land and sea operations to the best of his ability.
At the war’s end, all Italy, together with the actual city of Rome, was
to be the possession of the Carthaginians and Hannibal, and all the
plunder was to go to Hannibal. With Italy conquered, the allies
were to sail to Greece and open hostilities against any peoples the
king might choose. City-states on the mainland, and islands off
Macedonia, would belong to Philip and his realm.
34. Such, in essence, were the terms of the treaty struck between
the Carthaginian leader and the Macedonian delegates, and Cartha-
ginian spokesmen, Gisgo, Bostar, and Mago, were then sent along
with the delegates to have the agreement ratified by the king himself.
They came to that same spot near the temple of Juno Lacinia, where
a ship lay at anchor hidden from view. They cast off, but while they
were heading out to sea they were sighted by the Roman fleet that
was patrolling the coastal areas of Calabria, and Valerius Flaccus
then sent some skiffs to give chase to the ship and bring it back. At
first the king’s representatives attempted to run, but when they saw
they were being overtaken, they surrendered to the Romans and
were brought before the admiral of the fleet. Flaccus asked their
identity, where they had come from, and where they were headed.
Xenophanes at first proceeded with the fiction that had already
served him well on one occasion. He was on a mission from Philip to
the Romans, he said, and had made it as far as Marcus Valerius, the
only person he could reach in safety. He had been unable to get
across Campania because it was blocked by enemy guard-posts.
Then the Carthaginian dress and appearance raised suspicions about
Hannibal’s emissaries, and when these were interrogated their accent
gave them away. After this, their attendants were taken aside and
176 book twenty-three 215 bc
subjected to intimidating threats, and a letter from Hannibal to
Philip also came to light along with a text of the agreements made
between the Macedonian king and the Carthaginian leader.
The facts being sufficiently established, it seemed best to send the
prisoners and their attendants to the Senate in Rome as soon as
possible, or, alternatively, to the consuls, wherever they happened to
be. Five swift ships were picked out for this mission, and Lucius
Valerius Antias was sent to take command. Antias was instructed to
distribute the emissaries amongst all his vessels, have them guarded
separately and generally do what he could to prevent any conversation
or exchange of ideas amongst them.
It was at this same time that Aulus Cornelius Mammula, who was
retiring from his province of Sardinia, made his report in Rome
about the state of affairs on the island. The entire population had its
mind set on war and rebellion, he said. His successor, Quintus
Mucius, had on his arrival fallen prey to the oppressive climate and
bad water, and had contracted a sickness which, while not life-
threatening, would be of long duration. This, said Mammula, would
put him out of action for military duties for quite some time; and, in
addition, the army on the island, while strong enough to police a
province that was at peace, was too small for the war that seemed
likely to break out. The senators therefore decided that Fulvius
Flaccus should levy 5,000 infantry and 400 cavalry, and have this
legion shipped to Sardinia as soon as possible. Flaccus was also to
send a man of his own choosing, furnished with imperium, to take
command until Mucius recovered. The man sent on this assignment
was Titus Manlius Torquatus. Twice consul, Torquatus had also
been a censor, and had crushed the Sardinians during one of his
consulships.
At about the same time a fleet had also been dispatched to Sardinia
from Carthage. Commanded by Hasdrubal, surnamed Calvus,* this
had been overtaken by bad weather and driven off-course towards
the Balearic Islands. The ships’ hulls as well as the rigging had
received extensive damage, and so the ships were hauled ashore and
the repairs entailed a considerable loss of time.
35. In Italy the war was flagging after the battle of Cannae: one
side’s strength was shattered, and the other’s morale had been sapped.
At this juncture the people of Capua made an independent effort to
bring Cumae under their control. First, they invited the people of
215 bc chapters 34–35 177
Cumae to secede from Rome and, when little came of that, they
devised a scheme for trapping them. There was at regular intervals a
Pan-Campanian festival at Hamae. The Capuans informed the
people of Cumae that the Capuan senate would be in attendance, and
they invited the Cumaean senate to attend as well, so they could hold
joint discussions on how the two peoples could have the same allies
and the same enemies. They added that they would have a military
presence there to meet any threat from the Romans or the Carthagin-
ians. The Cumaeans suspected that treachery was afoot, but made no
objection, thinking that in this way they would have cover for a ruse
of their own.
Meanwhile, the Roman consul Tiberius Sempronius had con-
ducted a review of his army at Sinuessa, where he had scheduled the
muster of his troops. He then crossed the River Volturnus and
encamped near Liternum. There was too much free time in camp,
and Sempronius insisted on frequent drills for his men so that the
new recruits, most of them slave volunteers, could gain experience in
following the standards and recognizing their place in the ranks in
battle. During the drills the leader was particularly concerned––and
the orders he had given the legates and tribunes were to this effect––
that no uncomplimentary remarks about anyone’s erstwhile status
should sow discord in the ranks. The veteran should allow himself to
be put on the same level as the new recruit, the free man on the same
level as the slave volunteer, he said. They should regard all men to
whom the Roman people had entrusted its arms and standards as
having rank and pedigree enough, and the same unfortunate circum-
stances that had made such measures necessary compelled them to
respect them now they were in place. The men were as punctilious in
observing these rules as the officers were in enforcing them, and in a
short while such harmony had been established amongst the entire
force that what each man’s background had been upon his becoming a
soldier was well-nigh forgotten.
While Gracchus was thus engaged, he received from Cumaean
envoys a report on the delegation that had come from the Capuans a
few days earlier, and of the reply that the Cumaeans had given. The
festival was three days away, they said, and not only would their
entire senate be present, but there would also be a Capuan army
encamped there. Gracchus instructed the Cumaeans to bring every-
thing into the city from the fields, and to remain inside their walls;
178 book twenty-three 215 bc
and, on the day before that fixed for the Campanian rite, he himself
moved his camp to Cumae.
Hamae lies some three miles from Cumae. As agreed, the Capuans
had gathered there in large numbers, but not far away Marius Alfius,
their medix tuticus (the chief Capuan magistrate), was secretly
encamped with 14,000 soldiers. But Alfius was considerably more
focused on preparations for the rite, and on setting the trap during
the preparations, than he was with fortifying the camp or any other
military employment.
It was a nocturnal rite, but one that was to be completed before
the middle of the night. That, thought Gracchus, was the point at
which to bring off his coup. He set guards at the camp gates to
prevent anyone from leaking information on his design, and after the
tenth hour of daylight brought his men together. He told them to
take refreshment and see to it that they got some sleep, so that they
could assemble when the signal was given at dusk. Then, at about the
first watch, he ordered the standards raised, and set off, his column
maintaining silence. Reaching Hamae in the middle of the night, he
made an attack on the Capuan camp through all its gates at the same
moment––it was poorly guarded, as one might expect during a festival
celebrated at night. Some he slaughtered as they lay sleeping, others
as they were returning unarmed from the completed rite. The death
toll from that nocturnal mêlée surpassed 2,000 and included the
commander, Marius Alfius, himself <. . .> and thirty-four military
standards <. . .> were captured.*
36. Gracchus took the enemy camp with the loss of fewer than a
hundred men and then beat a hasty retreat to Cumae, for he felt
uneasy about Hannibal who was encamped in the Tifata Mountains
above Capua. His premonition did not prove incorrect. As soon as
news of the debacle reached Capua, Hannibal surmised that he
would find at Hamae an army of fresh recruits, slaves for the most
part, gloating over their success and busy stripping the bodies of the
vanquished and driving off the captured animals. He therefore took
his army at a rapid pace past Capua, issuing orders for Campanian
fugitives that he met en route to be taken to Capua with an escort,
and the wounded transported to the town on wagons. Hannibal him-
self then came to Hamae, where he found the camp abandoned by
the enemy, and nothing more than vestiges of the recent massacre,
the corpses of his allies strewn everywhere.
215 bc chapters 35–37 179
There were some who recommended that he march directly to
Cumae and attack the town. This Hannibal passionately wished to
do: with Cumae he would at least have a coastal city at his dis-
position, something he had not been able to manage with Neapolis.
However, because of the rapid pace of the march, his men had
brought with them nothing but their weapons, and so he withdrew
once more to his camp on Tifata. Then, the next day, overwhelmed
by the pleas of the Campanians, he returned from the camp to
Cumae bringing with him all the equipment necessary for attacking a
city. He laid waste the Cumaean farmlands and pitched camp a mile
from the city. Gracchus, meanwhile, remained in Cumae, and this
was more because he was ashamed to leave his allies in such a desper-
ate plight––allies who were begging for his protection and that of the
Roman people––than because he had any great confidence in his
army. The other consul, Fabius, who was encamped at Cales, would
not risk taking his army across the River Volturnus, either; he was
preoccupied with retaking the auspices, in the first place, but then
also with prodigies, reports of which were streaming in one after the
other. As Fabius performed the expiatory sacrifices for these, the
soothsayers kept reporting that favourable signs were not easy to
obtain.*
37. Such were the circumstances that kept Fabius in place, and
meanwhile Sempronius was facing a blockade and siege-works that
were now proceeding against him. A massive wooden tower had been
brought up to the city, and to fend this off the Roman consul erected
another tower on the wall itself. This was somewhat higher than the
enemy’s: the wall was quite high in itself, and Sempronius had used
it as a base, bracing it with strong wooden piles. From this structure
the defenders at first defended the walls and the city by hurling
down stones, stakes, and other projectiles. Eventually, they saw that
their enemy, by pushing forward their tower, had brought it into
contact with the wall, and they now set it on fire at several points
simultaneously by hurling flaming torches at it.
The blaze spread panic amongst the crowd of soldiers on the
enemy tower, who flung themselves down from it. At this point, too,
there was a counterattack launched from the two gates of the town at
the same time. This scattered the forward posts of the enemy and
sent them fleeing back to camp, so that on that day the Carthaginians
appeared more like the besieged than the besiegers. The Carthaginian
180 book twenty-three 215 bc
death toll was around 1,300, and 59 were taken alive (these were men
who had been taken by surprise, when they were at ease and off
guard close to the walls and at their posts, and fearing anything but a
counterattack). Before the enemy had time to recover from their
sudden panic, Gracchus signalled the retreat and brought his men
back within the walls.
The following day Hannibal assumed that the consul’s success
would lead him to fight a pitched battle, and so he marshalled his line
between the camp and the city. However, when he saw no movement
from their usual defensive position and nothing being staked on
foolhardy hopes, he returned to the Tifata Mountains with nothing
achieved.
During the very same time that the siege of Cumae was raised,
Tiberius Sempronius, who was surnamed Longus, also fought a
successful engagement against the Carthaginian Hanno near
Grumentum in Lucania.* Sempronius killed upwards of 2,000 men,
losing 280 of his soldiers in the process, and captured about forty-
one military standards. Driven out of Lucanian territory, Hanno
retired into that of the Bruttii.
Three towns of the Hirpini that had revolted from the
Roman people–– Vercellium, Vescellium, and Sicilinum*––were also
recaptured, and the ringleaders of the revolt were beheaded. More
than 5,000 prisoners of war were auctioned off. The rest of the booty
was left to the rank and file, and the army was marched back to
Luceria.
38. In the course of these operations amongst the Lucanians and
the Hirpini, the five ships that were taking the captured Macedonian
and Carthaginian emissaries to Rome had skirted practically the
whole of the Italian coastline on their journey from the Adriatic to
the Tyrrhenian Sea. As they passed Cumae under sail, one could not
tell for sure whether they were enemy or allied vessels, and Gracchus
sent some ships from his fleet to intercept them. In the course of the
questions that each party put to the other, it was established that the
consul was at Cumae. The ships accordingly put in at Cumae, and
the prisoners were escorted to the consul, who was also given the
documents they had been carrying. After reading the correspond-
ence between Philip and Hannibal, the consul sent all the documents
overland to the Senate under seal, but ordered the emissaries to be
transported by sea.
215 bc chapters 37–39 181
The letters and emissaries reached Rome almost on the same
day, and an interrogation found the men’s statements to be in line
with the documents. At first, the senators were seriously worried:
they could see on the horizon a war of massive proportions with
Macedon, at a time when they could barely cope with the Punic War.
But they certainly did not knuckle under, and in fact their immediate
topic for discussion was how they could deflect the enemy from Italy
by actually taking the offensive.
The senators ordered the prisoners to be clapped in irons, and
they sold off their attendants at auction. They next issued a decree
ordering that a further twenty-five ships be equipped to add to the
twenty-five under the command of the prefect Publius Valerius
Flaccus. The new vessels were brought together and launched, and
to them were added the five that had brought the captured emissaries.
The thirty ships then set sail from Ostia for Tarentum. There Pub-
lius Valerius was instructed to take on board the troops of Varro, who
were stationed at Tarentum under the command of the legate Lucius
Apustius, and with this combined fleet of fifty-five ships to patrol the
Italian coastline, and also gather intelligence on the possibility of war
with Macedon. If Philip’s projects squared with the letters and the
data supplied by the emissaries, Publius Valerius was to impart this
information by letter to the praetor Marcus Valerius. Valerius was
then to leave the legate Lucius Apustius in command of the army,
proceed to the fleet at Tarentum, and, at the earliest opportunity,
cross to Macedonia where he was to do all he could to keep Philip
within the confines of his realm. Moneys had been sent to Appius
Claudius in Sicily to be repaid to King Hiero, but these were now
transferred by decree to the maintenance of the fleet and to the war
with Macedon. The cash was transported to Tarentum by the legate
Lucius Antistius, and at the same time 200,000 measures of wheat
and 100,000 measures of barley were sent by Hiero.
39. While the Romans were taking these preparatory measures,
one of the captured Carthaginian vessels that had been sent to Rome
with the other ships slipped away from its course and fled to Philip,
who was thus made aware of the capture of his emissaries and
the letters. The king did not know what understanding had been
reached between his own emissaries and Hannibal, or what proposals
Hannibal’s emissaries had been going to bring to him, and so he sent
off a second deputation with the same instructions as before. The
182 book twenty-three 215 bc
emissaries sent to Hannibal were Heraclitus, who was nicknamed
Scotinus, the Boeotian Crito, and the Magnesian Sositheus. They
were actually successful in taking and bringing back their messages,
but the summer came to an end before the king could react or take
any initiative. So crucial was the capture of one vessel carrying
diplomats for postponing a war that threatened the Romans!
Around Capua, meanwhile, Fabius had crossed the Volturnus
after finally completing the expiatory rites for the prodigies, and the
two consuls were now acting in concert. Fabius forced into submis-
sion the towns of Combulteria, Trebula, and Austicula, which had
gone over to the Carthaginians, and members of Hannibal’s gar-
risons and large numbers of Campanians were taken prisoner in
them.
At Nola, the senate was pro-Roman and the commons pro-
Hannibal, as the year before, and there were covert plots to murder
the leading citizens and betray the city. To forestall such plans, Fabius
took his army on a course between Capua and Hannibal’s camp on
the Tifata Mountains, and ensconced himself above Suessula in the
Castra Claudiana. From there he dispatched to Nola the propraetor
Marcus Marcellus, together with the forces under Marcellus’ com-
mand, to garrison the town.
40. In Sardinia, military operations had been suspended after the
praetor Quintus Mucius succumbed to his serious disease, but these
were now reopened under the command of the praetor Titus Manlius.
Manlius hauled his warships ashore at Carales, and furnished the
crews with arms so he could fight on land. With these and the army
that he received from the praetor Mucius he made up a force of
22,000 foot and 1,200 horse. At the head of such cavalry and infantry
troops he set out into enemy territory, pitching his camp a short
distance from Hampsicora’s. It so happened that Hampsicora had at
that point left on a journey to the Pelliti-Sardinians,* intending to
arm their young men and thereby augment his forces; and his son,
who was called Hostus, was in command of the camp. Youthfully
headstrong, Hostus recklessly committed to battle, and was defeated
and routed. Some 3,000 Sardinians were killed in the battle, and
about 800 taken alive. The rest of the army at first dispersed in flight
through the fields and forests, but then sought refuge in the regional
capital, a city called Cornus, to which it was rumoured their leader
had made his escape. That battle might have marked the end of the
215 bc chapters 39–41 183
war in Sardinia, but for the timely arrival of the Carthaginian fleet
under Hasdrubal’s command. This had been driven off course to the
Balearic Islands by bad weather, but now arrived at a good time to
raise hopes of recommencing hostilities.
On receiving word of the docking of the Punic fleet, Manlius
withdrew to Carales, thus giving Hampsicora the opportunity of
joining up with the Carthaginians. Hasdrubal disembarked his troops,
sent the fleet back to Carthage, and set off, guided by Hampsicora, to
plunder the farmlands of allies of the Roman people. He would have
reached Carales had not Manlius confronted him with his army and
put a stop to his widespread pillaging. Initially, the two camps simply
faced each other, a short distance apart, and then there were some sud-
den charges that provoked minor skirmishes, with varying results.
Finally they took to the field. Clashing in pitched battle, they fought
for four hours. The Sardinians were accustomed to being easily
defeated, but the Carthaginians long kept it an indecisive battle.
Finally, when all that was to be seen was Sardinians being slaugh-
tered or in flight, the Carthaginians, too, were routed; but, as they
turned to run, the Romans cut them off by wheeling round the wing
with which they had driven back the Sardinians. After that it was
more a bloodbath than a battle. Twelve thousand of the enemy,
Sardinians and Carthaginians alike, were cut down, and some 3,700
taken prisoner, with the capture of twenty-seven military standards.
41. What more than anything made the battle famous and memor-
able was the capture of the commander, Hasdrubal, and of the
Carthaginian nobles Hanno and Mago. Mago belonged to the Barca
clan, and was closely related to Hannibal, while Hanno had been
responsible for the Sardinian defection and was unquestionably the
man who had fomented that war. But the fates that overtook the
Sardinian leaders contributed no less to the fame of that particular
engagement. Hampsicora’s son Hostus died on the field of battle.
Hampsicora made off with a few horsemen but, when he received the
news that, in addition to the defeat, his son was also dead, he commit-
ted suicide––and at night so no one would intervene and thwart his
plan. For the others, the town of Cornus again provided shelter in
their flight, as it had done before, but Manlius attacked it with his
victorious army and reduced it in a few days. After that other city-
states that had gone over to Hampsicora and the Carthaginians also
gave hostages and capitulated. Manlius imposed payments of tribute
184 book twenty-three 215 bc
and grain on them, assessed according to their strength or the extent
of their transgressions, and then led his army back to Carales. At
Carales he launched his warships and embarked on them the soldiers
he had brought with him, after which he sailed to Rome and
announced to the Senate that Sardinia had been completely sub-
dued. He also delivered the tribute to the quaestors, the grain to the
aediles, and the prisoners of war to the praetor Quintus Fulvius.
In this same period the praetor Titus Otacilius sailed across to
Africa from Lilybaeum and pillaged the farmland of Carthage.
Heading from there to Sardinia––there were reports of Hasdrubal’s
recent crossing to the island from the Balearics––he encountered the
fleet of Hasdrubal as it was returning to Africa. There was a minor
engagement on the open sea in which Otacilius captured seven ships
with their crews, and panic scattered the other enemy vessels far and
wide just like a storm.
It so happened that during that time, too, Bomilcar arrived in
Locri with troops, elephants, and provisions sent as reinforcements
from Carthage. To take him by surprise, Appius Claudius swiftly led
his army to Messana, on the pretence of doing the rounds of his
province, and then, wind and tide being with him, crossed to Locri.
Bomilcar, however, had already left to join Hanno in Bruttium, and
the Locrians closed their gates on the Romans. Appius headed back
to Messana with nothing to show for his great effort.
That same summer Marcellus made repeated forays out of Nola,
which he was occupying with a garrison, into the farmlands of the
Hirpini and against the Samnites of Caudium. Such was the havoc
he wreaked everywhere with fire and the sword that he revived in
Samnium memories of its disasters of old.
42. As a result, representatives from both tribes were immediately
sent to Hannibal, and they made the following address to the
Carthaginian:*
‘Hannibal, we at first stood on our own as enemies of the Roman
people, for as long as our own arms and resources were sufficient to
give us protection. When we came to have little confidence in these,
we made an alliance with King Pyrrhus. Abandoned by him, we
accepted a peace treaty that was forced upon us, and we stuck to that
for well-nigh fifty years, up to the time when you came to Italy. Your
courage and success won our hearts, but no less so did your singular
courtesy and graciousness towards our citizens, whom you returned
215 bc chapters 41–43 185
to us after capturing them. So much so, in fact, that if you, our
friend, were safe and sound, we had no fear, not merely of the Roman
people but even of the wrath of the gods (if I may say so without
offending them). But now you have actually been not only safe and
victorious, but you have been present with us, able almost to hear the
weeping of our wives and children and to see our homes ablaze. And
yet––for heaven’s sake!––we have at times this summer suffered such
devastation that one would think that it was Marcus Marcellus who
prevailed at Cannae, not Hannibal; and the Romans are now boasting
that you had strength only to strike one blow and that your sting is
spent and you are powerless.
‘We waged a war with the Romans for a century, receiving no
assistance from any foreign general or army––except for a two-year
period, when it was a case of Pyrrhus using our soldiers to augment
his forces rather than using his forces to defend us. I shall not boast
of our triumphs, of the two consuls and two consular armies that
we sent beneath the yoke, and of all our other successes and
accomplishments. As for the difficulties and adversities that befell us
then, we can speak of those now with less resentment than we can of
what is happening to us today. Great dictators would invade our
territory with their masters of horse, the two consuls with their
consular armies. They would conduct reconnaissance and post
reserve troops, and then lead their men in regular order to plunder
our land. But now we are the prey of a single praetor, and of a tiny
garrison left to defend Nola! They come not even grouped in com-
panies but like bandits, overrunning our territory from end to end as
nonchalantly as if they were roaming through the farmlands of
Rome. And this is the explanation. You are not protecting us, and
our own young men, who would be defending us if they were at
home, are all serving in your forces.
‘I would be showing ignorance of you and your army if I did not
say that it would be easy for you to crush these itinerant marauders––
these men wandering around in disorder, each drawn by hope, no
matter how illusory, of gaining plunder. For I know about all the
Roman armies that have been defeated and routed by you. Those
men will fall prey to a few Numidians, and you will have sent us
support, and simultaneously taken it from Nola––but only if you
consider those people whom you thought worthy to be your allies to
be also not unworthy of your defence and protection.’
186 book twenty-three 215 bc
43. Hannibal’s response to these remarks was that the Hirpini
and Samnites* were doing everything at the same time––apprising
him of their losses, asking for military assistance, and complaining
of being undefended and neglected. What they should have done
was to apprise him of the losses first, then taken the step of request-
ing aid, and only in the event of their request going nowhere should
they finally have complained that their appeals for help had been in
vain. He was not going to lead his army into the land of the Hirpini
and Samnites, he said, for fear of making himself a burden on those
peoples, but he would take it into the closest areas belonging to
allies of the Roman people. By pillaging these lands he would sat-
isfy his own men’s hunger for spoils, and also create fear such as
would keep the enemy at a distance from his allies. As for the war
with Rome, if the battle of Trasimene outshone the Trebia, and if
Cannae outshone Trasimene, he was going to win a greater and
more brilliant victory that would eclipse even the memory of
Cannae.
He sent the envoys off with this answer and some splendid gifts.
Then, leaving a small garrison on the Tifata Mountains, he set off in
person with the rest of his army and advanced to Nola. Leaving
Bruttium, Hanno also came to Nola, bringing reinforcements that
had been shipped from Carthage, and a number of elephants.* Estab-
lishing his camp not far from the town, Hannibal investigated the
situation and discovered everything to be very different from
the reports he had received from the representatives of his allies.
Marcellus’ conduct had been such that he could not be said to have
left anything to chance, or recklessly to have given the enemy any
leeway. His raids had come after careful reconnoitring, and were
conducted with strong supporting troops; and he always had his
retreat assured. All precautionary measures had been carefully taken
as if he had been facing Hannibal in person.
At that time, aware of the enemy’s approach, Marcellus kept his
forces within the fortifications, and he instructed the senators of Nola
to walk along the walls and examine all enemy activity in the neigh-
bourhood. Hanno now approached the city wall and invited two of
these senators, Herennius Bassus and Herius Pettius, to parley. When
they came forth, with Marcellus’ permission, Hanno addressed them
through an interpreter. He praised Hannibal for his bravery and good
fortune in war, and denigrated the greatness of Rome, which he said
215 bc chapters 43–44 187
was on the decline, along with her strength. And even if that former
equality between the two powers were still there, he continued, the
allies had nevertheless discovered how oppressive Roman dominion
was, and how lenient Hannibal had been even to all his prisoners of
war of Italian birth. They should therefore choose to have a friendship
and alliance with Carthage rather than with Rome. Even if the two
consuls were at Nola with their armies, he continued, they would still
be no more a match for Hannibal than they had been at Cannae––and
much less would a single praetor be able to defend Nola with a few raw
recruits! It made more difference to the people of Nola than it did to
Hannibal whether the Carthaginian took their town by force or by
surrender––for take it he would, just as he had taken Capua and
Nuceria. But the difference between the fate of Capua and that of
Nuceria they, as Nolans, well knew for themselves, being more or less
placed between the two. He did not wish to predict what would befall
their city if it were captured. Rather, he was making a commitment to
them that, if they surrendered Marcellus and his garrison, along with
Nola, they, and no one else, would dictate the terms on which they
would enter into an alliance and compact of friendship with Hannibal.
44. In reply, Herennius Bassus observed that the bond of friend-
ship between the peoples of Rome and Nola had existed for many
years, and that to that day neither party had reason to regret it. If the
people of Nola ought to have changed their loyalties as fortunes
changed, he added, it was now simply too late for the change. And if
they were going to surrender to Hannibal, why would they have
bothered sending for a Roman garrison? They had fully thrown in
their lot with those who had come to defend them, and that is how it
would be to the end.
The parley removed any hope Hannibal might have had of taking
Nola through betrayal, and he surrounded the town with a cordon of
troops for a simultaneous attack on the walls from all directions.
When Marcellus saw that Hannibal had moved up close to the walls,
he drew up his fighting line within the gate, and launched a deafening
counterattack from the town. A number of the enemy were taken by
surprise and killed at the first onset. Then there was a rush to the
scene of the fighting and, when both sides’ forces evened up, it began
to turn into a ferocious struggle, one that would have been memor-
able as few others had been, had not torrential rain arrived with gale-
force winds to part the combatants. In fact, however, the day saw the
188 book twenty-three 215 bc
Romans return to the city, and the Carthaginians to their camp, after
only a minor tussle, which merely served to stimulate both sides.
Even so there were losses, no more than thirty on the Carthaginian
side––those taken by surprise in the initial counterattack––and fifty
on that of the Romans. The rain persisted without a break throughout
the night, until the third hour of the following day, and so although
both sides were eager for the fight they nevertheless kept within their
fortifications that day.
The following day Hannibal sent a section of his troops out to
conduct predatory raids on Nolan farmland. Observing this, Marcel-
lus straight away led out his troops to form a battle line, and Hannibal
did not decline the offer of combat. There was a distance of about a
mile between the city and the camp, and it was in this space (Nola is
completely surrounded by flat land) that they engaged. The shout
that arose from both sides brought back those who were closest to
the fighting in the cohorts that had gone out to raid the fields, and
they joined the battle that was already in progress. The men of Nola
also came to reinforce the Roman line. After applauding their action,
Marcellus instructed them to remain in reserve, and bear the
wounded from the field, but to keep out of the fighting, unless they
received a signal from him.
45. The battle hung in the balance, with the generals spurring on
their men, and the soldiers fighting, with all their might. Marcellus
told the Romans to put pressure on men they had defeated two days
before and chased from Cumae a few days earlier, men whom he had
himself, with other troops, driven from Nola the previous year. Not
all the enemy were on the battlefield, he told them. Some were
roaming the fields in raiding parties, but those in the battle were
drained of their strength by excesses in Campania, exhausted from a
whole winter of drinking, womanizing, and all manner of depravity.
Gone was their renowned ferocity and vitality, he said, and lost that
physical and mental toughness that enabled them to scale the heights
of the Pyrenees and the Alps. These were the remnants of that band
of men, and they were having difficulty holding their weapons and
standing up to fight. Capua had been Hannibal’s Cannae, he declared.
It was there that the Carthaginians’ military prowess had been snuffed
out, along with their military discipline, their fame of old, and their
hopes for the future.
While Marcellus was trying to boost his men’s morale with these
215 bc chapters 44–46 189
disparaging comments on the enemy, Hannibal was using much
harsher language to chasten his men. He recognized his soldiers’
arms and standards, he said––they were the same that he had seen,
and put into use, at the Trebia, at Trasimene, and finally at Cannae.
But, he added, it was one army that he had taken into winter quarters
at Capua, and another that he had taken out.
‘You are men whom two consular armies could never withstand,’
he told them. ‘Are you finding it hard, despite all your efforts, to face
up to a Roman lieutenant, and to do battle with a single legion and a
cavalry squadron? Is Marcellus getting away with attacking us yet
again, and with recruits and Nolan reservists? Where is that soldier
of mine who dragged the consul Gaius Flaminius from his mount,
and walked off with his head? Where is the man who killed Lucius
Paulus at Cannae? Are your swords now blunted? Are your sword
hands grown weak? Or is this some other strange phenomenon?
You were a handful of men used to defeating superior numbers; now
that you have the greater numbers, are you unable to take on a
handful? You used to boast that you would take Rome by storm if
someone led you there––you were brave in your language! But, look,
this is a lesser task in which I want to test your drive and your
courage. Storm Nola! It is a city on the plains, with no protection
from a river or the sea. I shall take you from here––or––I will follow
you wherever you want, once you are loaded with the plunder and
spoils from this affluent town.’
46. No words of encouragement or reproach could re-establish the
morale of the Carthaginians. They were driven back in every quarter,
and Roman confidence rose, thanks partly to their commander’s
encouragement, but thanks also to the citizens of Nola, who spurred
them to fight with shouts of support. The Carthaginians turned tail,
and were driven back into their camp. The Roman soldiers were
eager to assault the camp, but Marcellus led them back to Nola, to
the sound of rejoicing and applause, which came from the commons
who had earlier favoured the Carthaginians.
More than 5,000 of the enemy were killed that day, and 600 were
taken alive. Nineteen military standards were also captured, and two
elephants, four having fallen in the battle. Roman losses were fewer
than a thousand.* The two sides spent the following day observing
an undeclared truce and burying comrades who were killed in the
field. Marcellus burned the enemy spoils in fulfilment of a vow to
190 book twenty-three 215 bc
Vulcan. Two days later, disgruntled over something, presumably, or
else hoping for better pay for their service, 272 cavalrymen, a mix-
ture of Numidians and Spaniards, deserted to Marcellus. The
Romans subsequently made frequent use of their staunch and loyal
support in that war, and after the war, in recognition of their valour,
these men were awarded grants of land, the Spaniards in Spain and
the Numidians in Africa.
Hannibal then sent Hanno back from Nola to Bruttium with the
troops with which he had come, and he himself headed for winter
quarters in Apulia, where he encamped close to Arpi. On hearing
that Hannibal had left for Apulia, Quintus Fabius transported
grain from Nola and Neapolis to the camp above Suessula. He
strengthened the camp’s fortifications, left a force sufficient to hold
the position through the winter, and moved his camp closer to
Capua. He now wreaked destruction on the farmlands of Capua
with fire and the sword until the Capuans, despite an almost total
lack of confidence in their strength, were forced to come forth from
their gates and establish a fortified camp on open terrain before
their city. The Capuans had 6,000 men under arms. Their infantry
was ineffectual, and they had more strength in their cavalry; and so
it was by initiating cavalry engagements that they challenged their
enemy.
Amongst the many noted Campanian horsemen was one Cerrinus
Vibellius, whose surname was Taurea. He was a citizen of Capua,
and was by far the strongest horseman of the Campanians, so much
so that, when he was serving with the Romans, only a single Roman,
Claudius Asellus, had been able to match his reputation for horse-
manship. This Taurea now spent a long time riding up to the enemy
cavalry squadrons and running his eyes over them. Finally, when
silence fell, he asked where Claudius Asellus was. The two of them
had been in the habit of arguing about their abilities in the field, he
explained, and he wondered why Asellus would not now let the
sword decide the issue, conceding the spolia opima* if he were
defeated and taking them if he won.
47. When this was reported to Asellus in camp, he waited only long
enough to ask the consul’s permission to leave the ranks to fight the
foe who was issuing the challenge. Then, with the consul’s approval,
he immediately seized his weapons, rode forward in front of the
enemy guard-posts and called on Taurea by name, telling him to
215 bc chapters 46–48 191
come and face him wherever he wished. By now the Romans had
come crowding out to view the fight, and the people of Capua had
filled all the space not just on the earthworks of their camp, but even
on the walls of the city, to see it. The combatants’ earlier boasts had
provided great publicity for the event, and now, spears poised, they
spurred on their mounts. But as they weaved and dodged in the open
space, they were only dragging out the fight without injury.
‘This is going to be a test of horses not of horsemen,’ the Cam-
panian then said to the Roman, ‘unless we take the horses from the
level ground and head them down into the sunken road just here.
There we shall have no room for avoiding each other, and we shall
come to grips.’
Almost before the words were out, Claudius galloped his horse
down into the road. But Taurea’s words were braver than his actions.
‘No thanks, nag and ditch don’t mix,’ he said, an expression that was
thereafter passed down as a country proverb.* Claudius covered a
great distance on the sunken road and, failing to encounter any
enemy, rode up again to the level ground, uttering words of reproach
for his enemy’s cowardice. He then returned triumphant to camp
amid jubilant cheering and shouts of congratulation. To this eques-
trian duel there is added in some accounts a detail that is, to say the
least, amazing, though how true it is we must all judge for ourselves.
Taurea, these claim, fled back to the city with Claudius in pursuit.
Claudius rode in through one of the enemy’s gates, which was open,
and exited unhurt by a second gate, leaving the enemy speechless at
the astonishing event.
48. After that the camp remained at peace. The consul even with-
drew his force to let the Campanians get on with their crop-planting,
and did not harm their land again until the grain in the fields was
high and able to provide him with fodder. He then transported that
fodder to the Castra Claudiana above Suessula, where he con-
structed winter quarters. He gave the order to the proconsul Marcus
Claudius to keep at Nola only the force essential for the city’s protec-
tion, and to send his other troops back to Rome so they would not
burden the allies and be an expense for the state. In addition,
Tiberius Gracchus led his legions from Cumae to Luceria in Apulia,
and from there dispatched to Brundisium the praetor Marcus
Valerius at the head of the army that he had commanded at Luceria.
Valerius’ orders were to patrol the coastline of Sallentine territory,
192 book twenty-three 215 bc
and take such precautionary measures as were necessary in regard to
Philip and a Macedonian war.
As the summer of the events I have just narrated came to an end, a
dispatch arrived from Publius and Gnaeus Scipio with news of their
very important and very successful campaigns in Spain. But, the
letter continued, there was need of cash for their men’s pay, and the
army stood in need of clothing and food rations, and the naval crews
in need of everything. In the matter of pay, they said, they would find
some way of extracting it from the Spaniards, if the treasury were
depleted; but everything else certainly had to be sent from Rome
and, without it, maintaining either the army or the province was an
impossibility.
When the dispatch was read out there was not a single senator
who did not accept the veracity of the report, and the fairness of the
requests. But they were aware, too, of the large number of land and
naval forces they were keeping in service, and of the size of the new
fleet they had to equip in the near future, should there be war with
Macedon. They realized that Sicily and Sardinia had, before the war,
paid tribute into the treasury, and that now they could barely afford
the upkeep of the armies patrolling those provinces. The war tax had
helped defray expenses, but the number contributing that tax had
been reduced by the enormous losses at both Lake Trasimene and
Cannae. If the few survivors of those battles were burdened with an
exponential increase in payment, they would be claimed by another
kind of ruin! The republic could not survive on its resources, they
concluded––it would have to survive on credit. They decided that
the praetor Fulvius should go to the public assembly and make clear
to the people the needs of the state. Fulvius was then to urge those
people who had increased their personal wealth through public con-
tracts to grant the state extra time for repayment––since the state
was responsible for their increased wealth––and to take on contracts
for supplying all essential materials for the army in Spain. The con-
tracts would be issued on the understanding that the contractors
would be the first to be paid when there was money in the treasury.
The praetor delivered his speech in the assembly, and specified a
date on which he would put out contracts for furnishing the Spanish
army with clothes and grain, and meeting all the other needs of the
naval crews.
49. When that day arrived, three companies, each made up of
215 bc chapters 48–49 193
nineteen individuals, showed up to bid for the contracts. They had
two requests: first, that they be exempted from military service while
they were engaged in this public service; and, secondly, that the
cargoes they shipped be insured by the commonwealth against risks
from enemy attack and bad weather. When both requests were
granted, the companies accepted the contracts, and state business
was conducted with private funding. Such was the character and
such the patriotism that obtained, more or less uniformly, through-
out the city’s classes. The scrupulousness with which the contracts
were fulfilled* matched the magnanimity with which they were taken
on, and the soldiers were as well provisioned in every respect as if
their support came from a well-stocked treasury, as in the past.
At the time that these supplies arrived, the town of Iliturgi was
under attack from Hasdrubal, from Mago, and from Hannibal son
of Bomilcar, because it had gone over to the Romans. Making their
way between these three enemy camps, the Scipios put up a great
fight to reach their allies’ city, inflicting heavy losses on those stand-
ing in their way. They brought grain, which was in short supply in
the town, and they urged the inhabitants, in defending their walls, to
show the same spirit as they had seen in the Roman army that had
been fighting on their behalf. They then advanced to launch an
attack on the largest of the three camps, the one under Hasdrubal’s
command. The two other Carthaginian leaders, and their two
armies, also converged on the same spot, for they perceived it to be
where the whole issue was being decided.
The engagement began with a charge from the camp. The enemy
had 60,000 in the battle that day, while there were about 16,000 on
the Roman side. And yet the victory was far from indecisive. The
Romans cut down the enemy in numbers greater than they were
actually fielding themselves; they took more than 3,000 prisoners
and captured slightly fewer than 1,000 horses. Also taken were fifty-
nine military standards and seven elephants (five having been killed
in the engagement), and that day the Romans took possession of the
three enemy camps.
With the siege of Iliturgi raised, the Carthaginian armies were
marched overland to assault Intibili. Supplementary troops had been
raised from the province, for it had a greater appetite for war than
any other, provided that plunder or payment were in the offing, and
it then had an abundance of men of serviceable age. Once more there
194 book twenty-three 215 bc
was a pitched battle, which again yielded the same result for the two
sides. More than 13,000 of the enemy were killed and more than
2,000 taken prisoner, with forty-two standards and nine elephants
captured. At that point nearly all the tribes of Spain went over to the
Romans, and the operations in Spain that summer were far more
impressive than those in Italy.*
 BOOK TWENTY-FOUR

1. After his return from Campania to Bruttium, Hanno took the

offensive against the Greek cities in the area, and the Bruttii aided
him and acted as his guides. These cities had found it easier to
maintain their alliance with Rome after seeing that the Bruttii, whom
they both loathed and feared, had espoused the Carthaginian cause.
Rhegium was the first city targeted, and a number of days were spent
there, but without success. Meanwhile the people of Locri hurriedly
gathered grain, wood, and all other vital supplies into their city from
their fields (which served the added purpose of leaving the enemy
nothing to plunder), and each day the crowds issuing from the gates
increased in size. Eventually, the only people left in town were
those who had to effect repairs to the walls and gates, and to stock-
pile weapons on the battlements. As the motley crowd, made up of
people of all ages and classes, roamed through the countryside, most
of them unarmed, the Carthaginian Hamilcar* unleashed his cavalry
against them. Under orders not to inflict injury, the cavalry merely
used some squadrons as a barrier to cut off from the city those who
scattered in flight.
The commander himself took up a position on rising ground so as
to have a view of the countryside and the city, and ordered a cohort
of the Bruttii to approach the walls. The Bruttii were to invite the
leading Locrians to parley, and to urge them, with a promise of
Hannibal’s friendship, to surrender the city. In this exchange, the
Bruttii at first failed to persuade the Locrians with anything they
said. Then the Carthaginians appeared on the hills, and the few
escapees reported that the rest of the crowd in the fields was entirely
in enemy hands. At this point the Locrians caved in from fear, and
replied that they would consult the people. A popular assembly was
immediately convened, at which all the most feckless individuals
opted for a change of policy and a change of alliance. In addition,
those whose kinsmen had been cut off outside the city felt their
loyalties just as compromised as if they had given hostages, and the
few others simply gave unspoken support for staying true to their
allegiance, without daring to express their preference. The result was
capitulation to Carthage with what looked like clear unanimity.*
196 book twenty-four 215 bc
The garrison commander, Lucius Atilius, and the Roman soldiers
under him, were surreptitiously escorted to the harbour and put on
board ships for passage to Rhegium. The townspeople then admitted
Hamilcar and the Carthaginians, on condition that a treaty be
immediately established on equitable terms. This condition came
close to being violated when the Carthaginians charged the Locrians
with duplicity for letting the Romans go free, while the Locrians
claimed that they had escaped unaided. There was even a cavalry
pursuit on the off-chance that the current might hold the ships in
the strait or sweep them to shore. In fact, the cavalry failed to over-
take the men they were chasing, but they did catch sight of other
vessels heading across the strait from Messana to Rhegium. These
were the Roman soldiers who had been dispatched by the praetor
Claudius to hold the city with a garrison. As a result, the Carthagin-
ians immediately abandoned the siege of Rhegium.
On Hannibal’s orders the Locrians were granted peace, with lib-
erty under their own constitution assured them. The city was to be
open to the Carthaginians, but with the port under Locrian control,
and the basis of the treaty was that, in peace and war, Carthage
would aid Locri and Locri Carthage.*
2. Thus it was that the Carthaginians were withdrawn from the
strait, much to the chagrin of the Bruttii––their allies had now left
Rhegium and Locri intact, cities the Bruttii had had their hearts
set on plundering. They therefore took action themselves, enlisting
and arming 15,000 of their young men, and setting off to launch an
attack on Croton. This, too, was a Greek city and it was also on the
coast, and the Bruttii reckoned that possession of a well-fortified
coastal city with a port and defensive walls would greatly increase
their strength.
One thing, however, caused the Bruttii grave concern. They could
hardly omit a request for the Carthaginians to come to their aid––
such conduct would appear inappropriate for allies. And yet, if the
Carthaginian again turned out to be a peace-broker, rather than a
collaborator in the war, fighting for Croton’s liberation from Rome
would be a waste of time, as had been the case earlier with the
Locrians. The best solution seemed to be to send a deputation to
Hannibal and secure a guarantee from him that when Croton was
taken it would be a Bruttian possession. Hannibal’s reply was that
this had to be decided by those on the spot, and he referred them to
215 bc chapters 1–3 197
Hanno, but no clear answer came back from Hanno, either. He was
loath to see a famous and wealthy city pillaged, and he was also hoping
that, when the Bruttii attacked, and it became clear that the assault
had neither the approval nor the support of the Carthaginians, the
people of Croton would defect to him all the more promptly.
In Croton there was no solidarity of purpose or sentiment amongst
the people. It was as if a single disease had infected all the city-states
of Italy:* the commons were always in disagreement with the aristo-
crats, the senate favouring the Romans and the commons advocating
a pro-Carthaginian policy. A deserter reported to the Bruttii such a
conflict in the city of Croton. He informed them that the leader of
the common people was one Aristomachus, and that he favoured
surrendering the city. He also said that in this desolate city, with
its widely scattered fortifications, the senators’ sentry-posts were few
and far between, and where men from the common people were on
guard, the Bruttii had easy access.
Accepting the deserter’s information and guidance, the Bruttii
surrounded the city with a military cordon, and at the first attack
they were admitted by the commons. After that they went on to take
the whole town, apart from the citadel. The nobles held on to the
citadel, which they had earlier prepared as a place of refuge, to meet
just this sort of eventuality. Aristomachus also fled to the same
place, claiming that he had recommended delivering the city to the
Carthaginians, not the Bruttii.
3. Before Pyrrhus’ arrival in Italy, the city of Croton had walls
with a twelve-mile circumference, but after the destruction brought
about by that war barely half the space within them was occupied.
The river that had run through what had been the centre of town
now flowed beyond the built-up sections, and the citadel was some
distance from the inhabited area. Six miles away from the city lay a
famous temple which was even more famous than the town itself––
the temple of Juno Lacinia,* which is venerated by all peoples in the
area. Here there was a grove ringed by thick woods of towering fir-
trees, and in its midst was lush pasture where all manner of livestock,
sacred to the goddess, would graze, unsupervised by any herdsman.
At night the herds would make their way back to their folds, each
species separate from the others, never coming to harm from crea-
tures on the prowl or traps laid by men. As a result, large profits were
derived from these animals, and from these profits a pillar of solid
198 book twenty-four 215 bc
gold was cast and consecrated to the goddess. In fact, the temple was
famed for its riches as well as its sanctity. Indeed, as usually happens
with famous places, people also credit it with paranormal attributes,
and it is said that there is an altar in the forecourt of the temple on
which the ashes are never moved by the wind.
The citadel of Croton looks out over the sea on one side, while the
other side faces its farmlands. At one time its defences lay entirely in
its natural position, but later a protective wall was added at the
sequestered bluff where it had been captured by the stratagem of
Dionysius, tyrant of Sicily.* It was in this citadel––which seemed
secure enough––that the aristocrats of Croton were holding out,
while their own proletariat and the Bruttii lay siege to them.
Eventually the Bruttii saw that taking the citadel was beyond their
capabilities, and they were compelled by their difficulties to beg
Hanno for assistance. Hanno tried to pressure the aristocrats into a
surrender that was conditional upon their accepting the establish-
ment of a colony of the Bruttii, which would allow the city,
depopulated and rendered desolate by war, to recover its earlier
numbers. This impressed none but Aristomachus. The aristocrats
said they would sooner die than merge with the Bruttii, and switch
to the religion, customs, and laws, and eventually even to the language
of foreigners. Unable to bring them to surrender by persuasion, and
finding no opportunity to betray the citadel as he had the city, Aris-
tomachus deserted to Hanno, on his own. Shortly afterwards, with
Hanno’s permission, ambassadors from Locri entered the citadel
and convinced the aristocrats to accept a transfer to Locri rather
than hold on to the bitter end. The Locrians had already gained
clearance for this from Hannibal through a deputation they sent to
him. Croton was therefore abandoned, and the citizens were
escorted down to the sea where they boarded some ships. The whole
population then departed for Locri.
In Apulia, even the winter did not pass without incident for the
Romans and Hannibal. The consul Sempronius spent it at Luceria,
and Hannibal not far from Arpi. Between them there were intermit-
tent skirmishes as the occasion offered or as one or the other side saw
some opportunity. Thanks to these, the Romans improved as soldiers,
and each day became more vigilant and more secure against the wiles
of the enemy.
4. In Sicily, Hiero’s death had changed the entire situation. The
215 bc chapters 3–5 199
throne had passed to Hiero’s grandson Hieronymus,* a boy who was
not likely yet to assume adult independence, and much less
unlimited power, with any restraint. The boy’s guardians took advan-
tage of his years and character to plunge him into all manner of
depravity. Hiero, it is said, had foreseen such an eventuality, and in
the last years of his long life had wanted to leave Syracuse free. He
did not wish a throne that had been acquired and strengthened by
honourable means to become a mockery and go to ruin under a boy’s
tyrannical rule. Hiero’s daughters did all they could to oppose this
plan of his, for they thought that, while the royal title would remain
with the boy, control of everything would rest with them and their
husbands, Adranodorus and Zoippus, who were being left as Hiero-
nymus’ chief guardians. For Hiero, now in his ninetieth year, and
surrounded day and night by these women’s cajoling, it was not easy
to take his mind off other things, and focus on public rather than
private concerns. All he did, therefore, was to leave the boy fifteen
guardians, and on his deathbed he implored them to keep intact the
loyalty that he had shown the Roman people over fifty years, and, in
particular, to see that the young man followed in his footsteps, and
maintained the principles with which he had been reared.
Such were Hiero’s instructions. On his death, the guardians pro-
duced his will and brought the boy, then about fifteen years old,
before a meeting of the people. A few men had been planted at
various points in the assembly to raise, and these voiced their
approval of the will, but the rest felt only fear––it was as though they
had lost a father and their state was orphaned. And so the guardians
took up their duties. The royal funeral followed, marked more by the
love and affection shown by the citizens than any emotion on
the part of the family. In a short while, Adranodorus removed the
other guardians, claiming that Hieronymus was now a young man
and capable of assuming the throne. In fact, he renounced his own
guardianship, which he had held along with several others, but then
channelled into his own hands the power of them all.
5. It would not have been easy even for a good and considerate
king to win support amongst the Syracusans, succeeding, as he was,
someone as much loved as Hiero. But in Hieronymus’ case it was as
though he wanted his own failings to make his grandfather’s loss
truly felt, and on his first appearance he immediately demonstrated
how much everything had changed. These people had, over so many
200 book twenty-four 215 bc
years, seen Hiero and his son Gelo dressed no differently from the
other citizens, and wearing no special regalia. Now they looked upon
a purple robe, a diadem, and an armed bodyguard––and sometimes
they even saw their ruler leaving the palace in a chariot drawn by
four white horses, like the tyrant Dionysius. This swaggering pomp
and posturing was matched by his behaviour: contempt for all people;
disdain for those in audience with him; insulting language; access
rarely granted not only to outsiders but even to his guardians;
bizarre depravities; and inhuman cruelty. Such was the terror that
seized everybody as a result of this that a number of the guardians
forestalled the executions they feared by suicide or flight.
Only three of the guardians could enter the palace on some basis
of familiarity: Hiero’s sons-in-law Adranodorus and Zoippus, and
a certain Thraso. These did not receive much attention generally;
but as two of them were promoting the Carthaginian cause, and
Thraso the alliance with Rome, they roused the young man’s interest
with their antagonism and partisan disputes. And, during this time,
information about a conspiracy against the king’s life was brought
by a certain Callo, a contemporary of Hieronymus, who had from
boyhood enjoyed all the familiarity with him a friend might expect.
The informer could name only one of the conspirators––
Theodotus, the man by whom he had been approached. Theodotus
was immediately arrested, and delivered to Adranodorus for torture,
but while he did not hesitate to confess his own guilt, he concealed
the identity of his accomplices. Finally, afflicted with torments
beyond human endurance, he pretended to be broken by his agonies
and supplied information, which he directed against innocent men
rather than his fellow conspirators. He falsely claimed that Thraso
was the ringleader of the plot. The conspirators would not have
risked such a coup but for their confidence in so powerful a leader, he
said. He added the names of supporters of Hieronymus who were
always at the tyrant’s side, creatures of the slightest worth who
popped into his head while he concocted his story between his
screams of pain.
To the tyrant’s way of thinking it was the naming of Thraso that
gave the charges the most credibility. The man was immediately
handed over for execution, and all the others, men as innocent as
he, shared his punishment. Despite the prolonged torture of their
collaborator in the plot, not one of Theodotus’ associates either went
215 bc chapters 5–6 201
into hiding, or ran away. Such was their confidence in Theodotus’
courage and loyalty, and such was Theodotus’ own capacity to keep
his secret.
6. With Thraso out of the way––the one remaining link with the
Roman alliance––things were clearly moving towards a change of
allegiance. Ambassadors were dispatched to Hannibal, and Hannibal
sent back, in the company of a young nobleman, who was also called
Hannibal,* Hippocrates and Epicydes. These two had been born in
Carthage,* and were themselves Carthaginian on their mother’s side,
but they traced their origins back to Syracuse where their grand-
father had been in exile. Through their agency a treaty was forged
between Hannibal and the Syracusan tyrant, and the two remained
at the tyrant’s court, an arrangement to which Hannibal did not
object.
Appius Claudius was the praetor with responsibility for Sicily, and
when he got word of this development he immediately sent envoys to
Hieronymus. They informed the tyrant that they had come to renew
the alliance that had existed with his grandfather, but their words
met with derision, and they were dismissed by Hieronymus, who, to
poke fun at them, asked how the battle at Cannae had gone for them.
The account Hannibal’s envoys gave of it was scarcely credible, he
said, and he wanted to know the truth of the matter, so that he could
then make a decision on which side to pin his hopes. The Romans
withdrew from the tyrant, saying that they would return when he
started to give serious attention to embassies, and left him with a
warning, rather than a request, not to be too hasty in switching his
allegiance.
Hieronymus now sent a delegation to Carthage to establish a
treaty on the terms negotiated with Hannibal. The agreement
reached by the parties was that when they had both driven the
Romans from Sicily––which would be soon, if the Carthaginians
sent ships and an army––the boundary between the kingdom of
Syracuse and the Carthaginian empire would be the River Himera,
which virtually divides the island in two. But Hieronymus had
become very overbearing from the flattery of men who told him to
remember not just Hiero, but King Pyrrhus, too, his grandfather on
his mother’s side, and he subsequently sent a second delegation.
This time he expressed his opinion that it was only fair that all Sicily
should be ceded to him, and that the Carthaginian people should
202 book twenty-four 215 bc
claim as their right dominion over Italy. The Carthaginians expressed
no surprise at the young madman’s fickleness and bluster, and would
not criticize him––provided they could sever his ties with Rome.
7. But everything was conspiring to hurl Hieronymus to his
destruction. He had sent Hippocrates and Epicydes ahead, each with
2,000 men, to assault the cities occupied by Roman garrisons, and he
had then set off himself for Leontini with the rest of his forces,
which totalled about 15,000 foot and horse. In Leontini, the conspir-
ators, who all happened to be in the armed forces, took over a vacant
building overlooking the narrow road by which the king usually went
down to the forum. There, with a single exception, they all stood
armed and at the ready, waiting for the king to pass. The one other,
whose name was Dinomenes, was a bodyguard of Hieronymus, and
the role he was assigned was to find some way of halting the crowd of
people behind him in the narrow street, at the moment when the
king was approaching the door of the house.
All went as arranged. Dinomenes lifted his foot, pretending to
loosen a lace that was too tight, and held up the crowd. He created
such a gap that the king, attacked as he passed the house without his
armed guards, received several stab wounds before help could be
brought.* When the shouting and uproar were heard, spears were
hurled at Dinomenes, who was obviously creating an obstruction,
but he escaped from under them with only two wounds. When they
saw the king on the ground, Hieronymus’ attendants took to their
heels. Some of the assassins marched to the forum to join the crowds
who were revelling in their liberation, and others went to Syracuse to
nip in the bud any plans that Adranodorus and other supporters of
the king might have.
In this precarious situation, Appius Claudius could see a war
looming on his doorstep, and he informed the Senate by letter that
Sicily’s allegiance was being enticed away from Rome to the Cartha-
ginian people and Hannibal. To counter any plans being hatched
by the Syracusans, Claudius himself massed all his forces on the
boundary between his province and the Syracusan kingdom.
At the end of that year, with the authorization of the Senate,
Quintus Fabius fortified and garrisoned Puteoli, which in the course
of the war had started to become a busy trading centre. En route
from Puteoli to Rome to oversee elections, he gave notice that these
would be held on the first available election day. Then, immediately
215 bc chapters 6–8 203
on his arrival, he bypassed the city and went down to the Campus
Martius. On that day the younger century of the tribe of Anio was
allotted the right to vote first,* and its vote was for Titus Otacilius and
Marcus Aemilius Regillus as consuls. At this point Quintus Fabius
called for silence, and delivered a speech much as follows:
8. ‘If we now had peace in Italy, or a war and an enemy that would
grant us some latitude for sloppiness, then anyone attempting to
curb the enthusiasm you bring to the Campus to bestow office upon
men of your choosing––I would think such a man had too little
consideration for your liberties. But, in the case of this war and this
enemy, no mistake made by any commander has yet failed to precipi-
tate disaster on a massive scale. You must therefore proceed to the
vote for electing your consuls with the same caution that you exer-
cise when you go in armour to the battlefield, and every man should
say to himself: “I propose a consul who can match Hannibal as a
commander.”
‘This year, at Capua, the top Campanian horseman, Vibellius
Taurea, challenged, and was faced by, the top Roman horseman,
Asellus Claudius. When a Gaul once issued a challenge on a bridge
over the Anio, our ancestors sent against him Titus Manlius, a man
confident in his courage and strength. I would not deny, either, that
the same factors were involved a few years later in the confidence
placed in Marcus Valerius when he faced a similar challenge and
took up arms to fight a Gaul. We wish to have infantry and cavalry
that are stronger or, at least, as strong as the enemy’s. We should
likewise seek out a commander who is a match for the enemy leader.
When we have designated the man who is the greatest commander in
the state, he will still have been chosen quickly, and been elected only
for a year. And he will be pitted against a veteran general with
unlimited command, one hindered by no time or jurisdictional limi-
tations from fulfilling all the operational and administrative duties
the war might impose on him at any moment. In our case, by con-
trast, a year goes by while we are in the actual preparation stage and
merely getting started.
‘Enough has been said about the qualities needed in the men you
elect as consuls; it now remains for me to say a few words about those
men most favoured by the century with the prerogative of voting
first. Marcus Aemilius Regillus is the Flamen of Quirinus.* We cannot
send him away from his religious duties, or keep him at home, without
204 book twenty-four 215 bc
abandoning either our obligations to the gods, or our obligations to
the war effort. Titus Otacilius is married to my sister’s daughter and
has children by her. Even so, such are the benefits that you have
conferred on my ancestors and me that I must hold the interests of
state more important than personal ties. When the sea is calm, any
one of the crew or passengers can steer the ship; when a raging
tempest has arisen, and the ship is driven by the wind over a turbu-
lent sea, what is needed then is a man of action, a helmsman. We are
not sailing a calm sea; we have already been almost sunk by a number
of storms. As a result, it is imperative that you exercise the greatest
care and foresight in selecting the man who is to sit at the helm.
‘Titus Otacilius, we have used your services in a less urgent mat-
ter, and you have certainly not given us any grounds for placing our
confidence in you for greater ones. This year we fitted out a fleet,
which was under your command, with three aims. First, it was to
conduct raids on the coastline of Africa. Secondly, it was to maintain
for us the safety of the Italian seaboard. Thirdly, and most important
of all, it was to prevent the transport of reinforcements for Hannibal,
along with cash and provisions, from Carthage. Elect Titus Otacilius
as your consul if he managed to accomplish for the state . . . I shall
not say all of these aims, but at least one of them. But if, while you
commanded the fleet, supplies that Hannibal needed often reached
him from home safe and sound, as if there were no war at sea; if the
coast of Italy has this year been more threatened than the coast of
Africa, what reason can you give for us to put you, of all people, in
command against an enemy like Hannibal? If you were consul, I
would follow the example of our ancestors and vote for the appoint-
ment of a dictator, and you could not be angry over another man in the
Roman nation being considered your superior in warfare. It is to your
advantage, more than anyone else’s, Titus Otacilius, that a burden
under which you would collapse not be put on your shoulders.
‘Suppose, my fellow citizens, that you were standing under arms
in the field of battle, and were obliged to pick two generals under
whose leadership and auspices you were to fight. The considerations
you would bring to that choice I now earnestly beg and urge you to
apply today, when you elect the consuls to whom your children are
to swear their oath, at whose order they are to muster, and under
whose guardianship and care they are to fight. Lake Trasimene and
Cannae––they are depressing cases to recall, but they do serve as a
215–214 bc chapters 8–9 205
warning to us to be on our guard against such disasters. Herald, call
the younger tribe of Anio to retake the vote!’
9. Titus Otacilius stridently cried out in protest that Fabius only
wanted to extend his own period as consul, and Fabius then ordered
the lictors to approach Otacilius. Through them he advised him that
his fasces still had their axes when they were carried ahead of him,
because in coming straight to the Campus after his journey he had
not entered the city. Meanwhile, the first century proceeded to take
the vote, and its decision was to elect Quintus Fabius Maximus consul
for the fourth time, and Marcus Marcellus for the third.* The same
men were unanimously declared consul by all the other centuries.
One of the praetors, Quintus Fulvius Flaccus, was also re-elected,
while the others were new appointments: Titus Otacilius Crassus
(for his second praetorship), Quintus Fabius (the consul’s son, at
that time curule aedile) and Publius Cornelius Lentulus. On the
termination of the praetorian elections, a senatorial decree was issued
giving Quintus Fulvius the city jurisdiction by special appointment,
and vesting in him above all others authority over the city when the
consuls should leave for the war.
There was flooding on two occasions that year; the Tiber inun-
dated farms, and caused widespread destruction of buildings and
animals, and much loss of life.
It was the fifth year of the Second Punic War, and Quintus Fabius
Maximus’ and Marcus Claudius Marcellus’ entry into the consul-
ship (Fabius for the fourth time, Claudius for the third) attracted
more than usual attention from the citizen body. It had been many a
year since a pair of consuls like that had been seen. Old men recalled
the similar circumstances in which Maximus Rullus* had been
declared consul for the Gallic War, with Publius Decius as his col-
league, and later Papirius and Carvilius for operations against the
Samnites, the Bruttii, and against the Lucanian and Tarentine
peoples. Marcellus was elected consul in absentia, since he was with
the army, and Fabius had his consulship prolonged while he was
present and actually supervising the elections. The time, the demands
of the war, and the critical situation facing the state deterred anyone
from looking for a precedent, or from suspecting lust for power on the
part of the consul. In fact, people actually praised his magnanimity.
He knew that what the republic needed was a first-rate commander,
and that he was unquestionably that; and he was less concerned
206 book twenty-four 214 bc
about any unpopularity that might arise from this affair than he was
about the public good.
10. On the day of the consuls’ entry into office there was a meeting
of the Senate on the Capitol. Its very first decree stipulated that the
consuls should decide by lot, or arrange between themselves, which,
before he left to join his army, was to supervise the elections for
appointing the censors. After that, all commanders who were with
their armies had their imperium extended, and were ordered to retain
their current responsibilities. Tiberius Gracchus was to remain in
Luceria, where he was serving with an army of slave volunteers, Gaius
Terentius Varro in Picenum, and Marcus Pomponius in Gallic terri-
tory. The praetors of the previous year were to function as pro-
praetors, Quintus Marcus assuming responsibility for Sardinia, and
Marcus Valerius taking charge of the coastal region at Brundisium.
Valerius was also to keep a watchful eye on all the movements of
King Philip of Macedon. The praetor Publius Cornelius Lentulus
was assigned Sicily as his area of responsibility, and Titus Otacilius
was charged with the fleet that he had commanded against the
Carthaginians the previous year.
There were many reports of prodigies that year, the number
increasing as naive and superstitious people became more inclined to
accept their validity. At Lanuvium ravens were said to have nested in
the inner part of the temple of Juno Sospita. It was claimed that in
Apulia a green palm tree had caught fire, and that in Mantua a pond
formed by an overflow of the River Mincius appeared bloody. At
Cales, a shower of chalk was reported and, in the Forum Boarium in
Rome, one of blood. In the Vicus Insteius* a subterranean spring was
said to have flowed with such violence that, almost like a torrent-
stream, it knocked over and swept away jars and large storage casks
in the area. Lightning was said to have struck the public hall on the
Capitol, the temple of Vulcan in the Campus Martius, a citadel and a
public road in Sabine territory, and the city wall and a gate at Gabii.
Soon talk spread of other supernatural phenomena. At Praeneste,
a spear of Mars purportedly moved forward of its own accord; a cow
talked in Sicily; and amongst the Marrucini a baby still in its mother’s
womb cried out ‘Io, triumphe!’ At Spoletum, a woman turned into a
man and, at Hadria, an altar was seen in the sky, with the forms of
men dressed in white around it. Indeed, right in the city of Rome a
swarm of bees was sighted, and afterwards some men called the
214 bc chapters 9–11 207
citizens to arms claiming that they could see armed legions on the
Janiculum, although the people on the Janiculum declared that no
one had appeared there besides the hill’s usual residents. There were
atonement ceremonies for these prodigies, with full-sized victims in
accordance with the seers’ pronouncements, and an official order was
given for a period of public prayer to be held for all the deities having
couches in Rome.
11. When all had been done to conciliate the gods, the consuls
raised with the Senate questions relating to the state, the conduct of
the war, and the number and disposition of troops. A decision was
taken that the war be waged with eighteen legions.* The consuls were
each to take two for themselves, and Gaul, Sicily, and Sardinia were
each to be secured with two. The praetor Quintus Fabius was to take
charge of Apulia with two, and Tiberius Gracchus was to command
his two of slave volunteers in the area of Luceria. Gaius Terentius,
the proconsul, and Marcus Valerius were each to be left one legion,
in the former case for Picenum, in the latter for naval operations
in the area of Brundisium; and there were to be two legions for the
defence of the city. To reach this number of legions, six new ones
had to be raised. The consuls were instructed to raise these at the
earliest possible moment, and also to assemble a fleet such that, with
the vessels then at anchor defending the coastline of Calabria, the
naval complement for the year would be a hundred and fifty war-
ships. The mobilization completed, and a hundred new vessels
launched, Quintus Fabius proceeded with the elections for the cen-
sorship. In these, Marcus Atilius Regulus and Publius Furius Philus
were elected.
Rumours of war in Sicily were now on the increase, and Titus
Otacilius was ordered to proceed there with his fleet. There was a
shortage of sailors, however, and, in response to a senatorial decree,
the consuls issued an edict on the matter. Any man who, in the
censorship of Lucius Aemilius and Gaius Flaminius, had his own
property, or that of his father, assessed at between 50,000 and
100,000 asses (or if it subsequently reached that level) was required
to supply a single sailor, along with six months’ pay. Anyone assessed
above 100,000 and up to 300,000 was to supply three sailors, along
with a year’s pay. For assessment above 300,000 and up to a million,
it was five sailors, and above a million it was seven. Senators were to
supply eight sailors, with a year’s pay. The sailors who were supplied
208 book twenty-four 214 bc
in accordance with this edict were armed and equipped by their
masters, and they boarded their ships with a thirty days’ supply of
cooked rations. That was the first occasion on which a Roman fleet
was manned with crews raised from private funds.
12. Such extraordinary preparations particularly alarmed the
Campanians, who feared that the Romans might commence the
year’s campaign by blockading Capua. Accordingly they sent a dele-
gation to Hannibal to plead with him to move his army up to Capua.
Fresh armies were being raised at Rome for the purpose of attacking
the city, the delegates told him, and no city’s defection had angered
the Romans more than theirs. The panic with which they delivered
the message made Hannibal think he should lose no time in case the
Romans reached the city first. He set out from Arpi and moved into
his old camp at Tifata, overlooking Capua. Leaving here his Numid-
ians and Spaniards as protection for the camp, and at the same time
for Capua, he went down with the rest of his army to Lake Avernus,
ostensibly to offer sacrifice,* but really to launch an attack on Puteoli
and whatever garrison was stationed there. Brought the report that
Hannibal had left Arpi and was on his way back to Campania, Max-
imus returned to his army without stopping either by day or night.
He then ordered Tiberius Gracchus to move his troops forward to
Beneventum from Luceria, and instructed the praetor Quintus
Fabius (son of the consul) to take over from Gracchus at Luceria.
Two praetors left for Sicily at the same time, Publius Cornelius
to join the army, and Titus Otacilius to assume command of the
littoral, and of naval operations. The other magistrates also left for
their various spheres of command, and the men whose imperium was
extended kept the same regions as they had the previous year.
13. When Hannibal was at Lake Avernus, five young nobles came
to him from Tarentum. Some had been taken prisoner at Lake
Trasimene, and some at Cannae, and they had been sent back to their
homes with the usual courtesy that the Carthaginian had accorded
all the allies of Rome. Remembering his kind treatment of them,
they now reported to him that they had convinced most of the
younger men of Tarentum to choose an alliance of friendship with
Hannibal over one with the Roman people. They had been sent by
their people as official representatives with a request to Hannibal
that he move his army closer to Tarentum, they said. If his standards
and his camp were sighted from Tarentum, the city would be put in
214 bc chapters 11–14 209
his hands without a moment’s delay––the masses were controlled by
the younger men of the town, and political power in Tarentum lay in
the hands of the masses. Hannibal commended the young men, and
showered them with lavish promises, telling them to return home to
finalize their plans, and agreeing to come at the appropriate moment.
Such were the hopes with which the Tarentines were sent on their
way.
Hannibal had himself been overtaken by a keen desire to take
possession of Tarentum. He could see that it was a rich and famous
city, and also that it was on the coast and, conveniently, faced
Macedonia. King Philip would head for this port if the Romans were
in control of Brundisium when he crossed to Italy. Hannibal now
performed the sacrifice for which he had come, and took advantage
of his time in the area to pillage the territory of Cumae as far as the
promontory of Misenum. He then abruptly turned his column
towards Puteoli, his aim being to catch the Roman garrison off guard.
The garrison comprised 6,000 men, their position strengthened by
fortifications as well as natural defences. The Carthaginian spent
three days at Puteoli, striking at the garrison from every side, but,
achieving no success, he went forward to plunder the farmlands of
Neapolis, more from rage than hope of taking the city.*
Hannibal’s arrival in territory neighbouring theirs brought excite-
ment to the common people of Nola, who had long been ill-disposed
towards the Romans, and at odds with their own senate. So it was
that an embassy came to Hannibal to invite him to the city, and
giving him an explicit promise to surrender it. Their initiative was
pre-empted by the consul Marcellus, who had been invited to Nola
by its leading citizens. Marcellus had made the journey from Cales
to Suessula in a single day, despite the delay occasioned by the cross-
ing of the River Volturnus, and the following night had sent 6,000
infantry and 500 cavalry from Suessula into Nola for the senate’s
protection. And while all the measures for securing Nola ahead of his
enemy were energetically carried out by the consul, Hannibal merely
frittered away the time. After two prior attempts had come to nothing,
he was less inclined to feel confidence in the people of Nola.
14. At the same time as this, the consul Quintus Fabius took the
offensive against Casilinum, which was held by a Punic garrison.
Also at this time, and almost as if they had arranged it, Hanno––he
was at the head of a large infantry and cavalry force, and coming
210 book twenty-four 214 bc
from the Bruttii––advanced on Beneventum from one side, while
Tiberius Gracchus approached it from the opposite direction, from
Luceria. Gracchus entered the town first. He was then told that
Hanno had encamped some three miles from the city at the River
Calor, from which position he was raiding the farmlands. Gracchus,
therefore, also left the city and pitched camp about a mile from the
enemy. There he held an assembly of his men.
Gracchus had under his command legions for the most part made
up of slave volunteers who, now in their second year, had preferred
to earn their freedom quietly rather than openly demand it. Even so,
on leaving winter quarters, he had noticed murmuring in the col-
umn, with some of these soldiers asking if the time would ever come
when they would serve as free men. He had then written to the
Senate to report not what the men wanted so much as what they had
merited. To that day, he said, he had received loyal and stalwart
service from them, and all they lacked to be exemplary regular sol-
diers was their freedom. Gracchus had then been given carte blanche
by the Senate to take whatever action in the matter he deemed in the
public interest. He therefore made a proclamation before he engaged
the enemy, telling the men that the time had come for them to have
the freedom for which they had long been hoping. The following
day they would meet the enemy in pitched battle, he said, on a field
that was clear and open, where the encounter could be decided on
pure courage, with no fear of ambush. Any of them bringing back
the head of an enemy he would immediately declare a free man, but
anyone who gave ground he would punish as a slave––so each
man’s fate was in his own hands. He added that it was not only he
who would be responsible for their liberation; the consul Marcus
Marcellus and all the senators would be as well, inasmuch as he had
consulted them, and they had granted him discretion regarding their
freedom.
Gracchus then read aloud the consul’s letter and the senatorial
decree, which met with loud cheers of approval. The men demanded
combat, vehemently insisting that Gracchus give the signal immedi-
ately. He proclaimed that the battle would take place the next day, and
then broke up the assembly. The men were delighted, above all those
who were going to have freedom as the pay of a single day’s efforts,
and they spent the remains of the day preparing their equipment.
15. These men, all ready and formed up, were the very first to
214 bc chapters 14–16 211
muster at the general’s tent when the signals began to ring out the
following day. At sunrise Gracchus led his forces into the line, and
the enemy did not hesitate to take the field, either. The Punic force
comprised 17,000 infantry, for the most part Bruttii and Lucanians,
and 1,200 cavalry, which included a very small number of Italians,
the rest being almost exclusively Numidians and Moors.
The fighting was long and fierce, and for four hours neither side
had the upper hand. And nothing more impeded the Romans than
the fact that the heads of the enemy had been made the price of
liberty. The men all showed great spirit in dispatching an enemy, but
the first thing they did after that was to waste time in the difficult
task of severing the head in the confused mêlée. Then, their right
hands fully employed holding the head, all the most intrepid gave up
the fight, leaving the battle to the laggards and the faint-hearted.
The military tribunes brought this news to Gracchus. The enemy, he
was told, was no longer being dealt wounds while standing up, but
was being butchered on the ground, and in his men’s right hands
there were human heads rather than swords. Gracchus promptly had
the signal given for the men to throw down the heads and attack the
enemy, saying that their courage was sufficiently clear and easy to
see, and that these stouthearted men’s freedom was not in doubt.
With that the fighting was renewed, and the cavalry were also
unleashed against the enemy. These were stoutly opposed by the
Numidians, and the cavalry engagement was no less fierce than that
of the infantry, so that the issue was brought into doubt once more.
On both sides the commanders were hurling abuse, the Roman at the
Bruttii and Lucanians who, he said, had so often been defeated and
crushed by his ancestors, and the Carthaginian at what he called
‘Roman slaves’ and ‘chain-gang soldiers’. Finally Gracchus pro-
claimed that his men had absolutely no hope of freedom unless the
enemy were on that day scattered and put to flight.
16. It was this pronouncement that finally fired their hearts to
raise the war cry again and, suddenly transformed into new men, to
charge the enemy with such force that there was no longer any
question of resistance. First the Carthaginians before the standards
were thrown into confusion, and then those at the standards; and
finally the whole army was driven back. At that point they quite
clearly gave up the fight. In full flight they rushed back into their
camp in such panic and alarm that there was no stopping even at the
212 book twenty-four 214 bc
gates or the rampart. The Romans followed, almost making a single
column with them, and started a fresh engagement within the con-
fines of the enemy rampart. There, with the fighting restricted
within the cramped space, the slaughter was all the more horrific.
There was help from the prisoners in the camp, too. They seized
weapons in the pandemonium, and massed together, slashing at the
Carthaginians from behind and impeding their escape. The result
was that, from such a massive army, fewer than 2,000 men succeeded
in escaping (and most of these were cavalry), the leader himself
being one. All the others were either killed or taken prisoner, and
thirty-eight military standards were captured. Of the victors some
2,000 fell in the battle. All the booty, apart from the prisoners, was
turned over to the men, and an exception was also made of livestock
identified by their owners within thirty days of the battle.
The Romans returned to camp weighed down with booty. Then,
fearing punishment, some 4,000 slave volunteers who had fought
half-heartedly, and not charged the enemy camp with the others,
seized a hill adjacent to their camp. The next day they were brought
down by military tribunes, and they appeared at a meeting of the
troops convened by Gracchus. Here the proconsul first of all pre-
sented the veterans with military rewards, according to the valour
each had shown, and the part he had played in the battle. Then he
declared that, in the case of the slave volunteers, he preferred all to
receive commendations from him, whether they deserved it or not,
rather than that any individual be punished that day, and, with a
prayer that the act prove to be auspicious, fortunate, and advanta-
geous for the state, as well as the recipients, he declared them all free
men. The pronouncement was met with enthusiastic cheers, and at
one moment the men hugged and congratulated each other, and at
the next raised their hands to the sky and prayed that all manner of
blessings befall the Roman people and Gracchus himself.
‘Before I made you all equals by conferring on you the right of
liberty,’ Gracchus then said, ‘I did not want to brand any individual
either as a valiant or as a cowardly soldier. Now my official oath to
you has been fulfilled, and I do not wish to see the distinction between
courage and cowardice entirely lost. I shall therefore have brought to
me the names of those men who, conscious of shirking the fight,
recently parted company with us. I shall summon them individually,
and make them swear an oath that, those with the plea of ill-health
214 bc chapters 16–17 213
excepted, they will take their food and drink in a standing position
only, for as long as their service shall last. This penalty you will accept
with equanimity if you take into account that no mark of disgrace
imposed on you for your cowardice could have been slighter.’
Gracchus then gave the signal to pack up, and the soldiers, carrying
or driving along their booty, returned with jokes and merriment to
Beneventum. So high were their spirits that they gave the impres-
sion of returning not from the battlefield, but from a banquet on
some great festal day. The people of Beneventum all came streaming
out in a crowd to meet them at the gates. They hugged the soldiers,
congratulated them, and offered them hospitality. Dinners had been
made ready in the forecourts of their houses by all the citizens; and
to these they invited the soldiers, begging Gracchus to give his men
permission to join the feast. Gracchus did indeed grant his permis-
sion, but on condition that everyone eat in public, all the hosts before
their own doors. Everything was then brought out. The slave volun-
teers dined wearing caps, or had fillets of white wool on their heads.
Some were reclining and others standing, the latter serving food and
eating at the same time. The event seemed worthy of a picture, and
so on his return to Rome Gracchus had a painting of that festive day*
made in the temple of Liberty which his father had had constructed
and had dedicated on the Aventine.
17. While this was taking place at Beneventum, Hannibal, after his
depredations in the countryside of Neapolis, moved his camp to Nola.
When he discovered that Hannibal was approaching, the consul sent
for the propraetor Pomponius* and the army that was encamped
above Suessula, and prepared to meet the enemy and engage him
without delay. In the dead of night, and by the gate situated at the
furthest point from the enemy, he sent out Gaius Claudius Nero
with the pick of his cavalry. Nero was ordered to make a furtive
detour around the enemy, cautiously follow his column, and, when
he saw the battle had begun, attack him from the rear. He was unable
to carry out this order; whether he lost his way or was short of time is
unclear.
Battle was joined in Nero’s absence, and the Romans quite clearly
were on top. But because the cavalry were not there on time, the
strategy for the operation was thwarted. Marcellus had not the nerve
to pursue the retreating Carthaginians, and he gave his men, tri-
umphant though they were, the signal to fall back. Even so the enemy
214 book twenty-four 214 bc
reportedly suffered more than 2,000 casualties that day, and the
Romans fewer than 400. It was about sunset that Nero returned,
without having even caught sight of the enemy, his horses and men
uselessly exhausted after a march that lasted a day and a night. He
was given a severe reprimand by the consul;* it was thanks to him,
said Marcellus, that the enemy were not being repaid with a defeat
such as the Romans had suffered at Cannae.
The next day the Romans went out to battle stations, and the
Carthaginians, with a tacit admission of defeat, stuck to their camp.
On the third day, abandoning all hope of taking Nola, where he had
never had success, Hannibal set off in the dead of night for Tarentum,
which offered better prospects of a treacherous surrender.
18. The workings of government were as vigorous at home as they
were in the field. Because of the insolvency of the treasury, the
censors were freed from the contracting out of public works, and
they turned their attention to regulating morality and chastening the
vices that had arisen from that war, like the maladies ailing bodies
produce as the result of chronic sickness. The first people they
arraigned were those who were said <to have planned to desert the
republic after the battle of > Cannae. Their leader, Marcus Caecilius
Metellus, happened to be a quaestor at that particular time. He and
the other people accused of the same offence were ordered to present
their case, but were unable to clear themselves. The censors declared
them guilty of making statements and holding conversations injuri-
ous to the state, with the intention of forming a conspiracy to aban-
don Italy. The men brought up after these were those who had been
too clever in judging their oath fulfilled––those Roman prisoners
who had secretly gone back to Hannibal’s camp after leaving it, and
thought they had thus discharged their sworn undertaking to return.
Members of this and the former group who possessed public horses
had them confiscated, and they were also removed from their tribe
and given the status of poll-tax payers.
The attention of the censors was not limited to measures for the
Senate or equestrian order, either. They extracted from the registers
of military-aged men the names of all those who had not served in
four years but had no official exemption from service or plea of ill-
health. More than 2,000 such names were found;* the men were
reduced to the status of poll-tax payers and all banished from their
tribes. To this harsh demotion inflicted by the censors was added a
214 bc chapters 17–19 215
stern decree of the Senate to the effect that all whom the censors had
dishonoured must do military service on foot and be sent to Sicily to
join the remnants of the army that had fought at Cannae. This class
of soldier’s period of service was not to end until the enemy had been
driven from Italy.
Because of the shortages in the treasury, the censors were now
holding back from contracting out the upkeep of temples, the provi-
sion of horses for ceremonial occasions, and other such services, and
they were approached by large numbers of people who had routinely
tendered for such contracts. They urged the censors to carry on and
put out the contracts, just as if there were money in the treasury.
None of them would seek payment from the public purse until the
war was brought to an end, they said. Next to approach the censors
were the owners of the slaves whom Tiberius Sempronius had freed
at Beneventum. These said that they had been summoned by the
three directors of the exchequer to be compensated for the slaves,
but that they would not take the compensation until the war was
over. In this atmosphere of public willingness to sustain the insolvent
treasury, the moneys held in trust first for orphans, and then for
husbandless women, also began to be deposited there. Those making
the deposits felt that their money would nowhere be more securely
deposited, or for a nobler cause, than under state warranty. After that
any purchase or provision made for orphans or husbandless women
was made by a requisition from a quaestor. This generosity shown by
private individuals also spread from the civil to the military sector.
No cavalryman and no centurion would accept his pay, and anyone
who did accept was insultingly dubbed a mercenary.
19. The consul Quintus Fabius was encamped at Casilinum,
which was garrisoned by a force of 2,000 Campanians and 700 of
Hannibal’s soldiers. The garrison commander was Statius Mettius,
who had been sent to the town by that year’s medix tuticus, Gnaeus
Magius Atellanus. Mettius had been indiscriminately arming slaves
and the common people in order to launch an attack on the Roman
camp while the consul was absorbed with blockading the town.
None of this eluded Fabius. He sent a message to his colleague at
Nola to tell him that he needed a second army to face the Campanians,
while Casilinum was under siege. He suggested that Marcellus leave
a small garrison at Nola and come himself; otherwise, if the situation
at Nola required the consul’s presence and Hannibal still posed a
216 book twenty-four 214 bc
threat, he would ask the proconsul Tiberius Gracchus to come from
Beneventum. On receiving this message, Marcellus left 2,000 men to
defend Nola, and came to Casilinum with the rest of his army. The
Campanians were already mobilizing, but on his arrival they
stopped, and the siege of Casilinum began under two consuls.
Incautiously approaching the walls, the Roman soldiers began to
sustain injuries on a large scale, and the effort was not going well.
Fabius therefore suggested that they drop the operation––it was a
minor one, he said, but just as difficult as important ones––and leave
the area. For, he declared, there were greater challenges around the
corner. Marcellus replied that there were, indeed, many operations
that great commanders should not undertake, but, once they had
been undertaken, they should not be abandoned, since they became
very important for one’s reputation, whichever way they went. With
this argument Marcellus won Fabius’ agreement not to abandon the
attempt and leave.
Siege-sheds and all other sorts of structures and equipment were
then moved into place, and the Campanians proceeded to implore
Fabius to let them leave for Capua in safety. A few had come out
when Marcellus seized the gate by which they were leaving, and
indiscriminate slaughter began––of all in the vicinity of the gate in
the first place, and then, after Marcellus’ men burst in, of those
within the city as well. About fifty of the Campanians who had been
the first to come out sought refuge with Fabius and reached Capua
with an escort provided by him. During the parleying, and time spent
in appeals for protection, an opportunity appeared, and Casilinum
was taken. Prisoners who were Campanians, or soldiers of Hannibal,
were transferred to Rome and incarcerated; the majority of the
townspeople were distributed amongst the neighbouring peoples to
be kept under guard.
20. At the time of the withdrawal from Casilinum after this suc-
cessful operation, Gracchus was in Lucania. There he sent out a
number of locally conscripted cohorts, under the command of an
allied prefect, to conduct raids on the enemy’s farmland. Hanno fell
on these as they wandered about in disorder, and repaid his enemy
with a defeat not much less serious than he had himself received at
Beneventum. He then fell back quickly to Bruttium so that Gracchus
would not overtake him. As for the consuls, Marcellus returned to
Nola, whence he had come, and Fabius pushed ahead into Samnite
214 bc chapters 19–20 217
territory to plunder farmland and to recover by force of arms the
cities that had defected. The Samnites of Caudium especially suffered
in the raids, with fields burned far and wide, and livestock and
people driven off as plunder. Towns taken by force in the area were
Conpulteria, Telesia, and Compsa, as well as Fugifulae and Orbita-
nium in Lucania; and Blanda and the Apulian town of Aecae were
also blockaded. Twenty-five thousand of the enemy in these cities
were taken prisoner or killed, and 370 deserters were recovered. The
consul despatched the deserters to Rome, and there they were all
flogged in the Comitium, and hurled down from the rock.*
Such were Fabius’ achievements in just a few days. Marcellus,
however, was detained at Nola by an illness that kept him out of
action. During that period, too, the town of Acuca was taken by
storm, and a permanent camp established at Ardaneae, by the praetor
Quintus Fabius, who was responsible for the area around Luceria.
While these Roman operations were under way in various loca-
tions, Hannibal had reached Tarentum, causing enormous devasta-
tion wherever his path had taken him. Only on reaching Tarentine
territory did his column begin to move forward in a peaceable man-
ner. No damage was done in the area, and there was no leaving the
line of march; and this was evidently not restraint on the part of the
men or their leader, but an attempt to win the support of the people
of Tarentum. When Hannibal approached the city walls, however,
the initial sight of his column did not, to his surprise, bring any
reaction, and he encamped about a mile from the city. In fact, Marcus
Livius had earlier been sent to Tarentum by the propraetor Marcus
Valerius, commander of the fleet at Brundisium. Three days before
Hannibal approached the walls, Livius had taken great pains to draft
young men and deploy guards at all the gates, as circumstances
required. Equally vigilant by night and by day, he gave neither the
enemy nor unreliable allies any opportunity to make a move.
Hannibal consequently spent a number of days at Tarentum to no
purpose. Then, when none of the people who had come to him at Lake
Avernus appeared in person, or sent him any communiqué or letter,
he became aware that he had wasted his time following up idle prom-
ises, and he struck camp. Even at that point he left the lands of
Tarentum intact; although his fake clemency had, as yet, gained
him nothing, he still did not abandon hope of undermining
Tarentine loyalty. On reaching Salapia, he gathered in grain from the
218 book twenty-four 214 bc
surrounding areas of Metapontum and Heraclea, for summer was
now finished, and he fancied the area as a location for winter quar-
ters. From there, Numidians and Moors were sent on predatory
raids throughout the territory of the Sallentini and the grazing lands
bordering Apulia. Herds of horses were driven off––and not much
else in the way of plunder––and of these some 4,000 were distributed
amongst the cavalry to be broken in.
21. A war not to be ignored was now on the horizon in Sicily,
where the upshot of the tyrant’s death had been to provide the
Sicilians with enterprising commanders rather than to change
their circumstances or their sentiments. The Romans therefore
assigned this sphere of responsibility to one of the consuls, Marcus
Marcellus.
The assassination of Hieronymus had been immediately followed
by unrest amongst the troops in Leontini, and there had been furious
demands for the blood of the conspirators in atonement for their
king’s death. Then the sweet-sounding expression ‘liberty restored’
came into circulation; hopes arose of largesse from the tyrant’s
money and of military service under more able officers; and there
were reports of the tyrant’s repulsive crimes, and even more
repulsive sexual practices. This so transformed sentiments that they
left the corpse of their recently regretted monarch to lie unburied.
While the other conspirators stayed behind to keep the army in
check, Theodotus and Sosis took the king’s horses and hurried to
Syracuse with all the speed they could muster. They hoped to catch
the tyrant’s supporters while they were unaware of all that had tran-
spired. But they had been outrun not only by rumour, whose speed
is unbeatable in such situations, but also by one of the palace slaves,
who had arrived with the news. As a result, Adranodorus had
secured the Island with armed guards,* and the citadel, too, and any
other points that he could strengthen and which seemed likely tar-
gets. The sun had set and dusk already fallen when Theodotus and
Sosis rode into the city by way of the Hexapylon. They produced the
monarch’s bloodstained robe and diadem, rode through Tycha, and,
summoning the people to seize their liberty and weapons at the same
time, called for an assembly in Achradina.
Some of the people now rushed out into the streets; some stood in
their doorways; others looked from roofs or windows, asking what
was going on. Everywhere there was a blaze of lights and a confused
214 bc chapters 20–22 219
and noisy uproar. Armed men grouped together in the open spaces;
those without arms took down from the temple of Olympian Jupiter
the spoils of the Gauls and Illyrians, gifts made to Hiero by the
Roman people and hung there by the king. They asked Jupiter in
prayer to lend his sacred arms with his grace and favour to men
arming themselves to defend their country, the shrines of the gods
and their freedom. This whole crowd then joined the guards deployed
at the key points of the city.
On the Island, Adranodorus had secured numerous points,
including the public granaries. The area, which was surrounded by a
wall of dressed stones and fortified like a citadel, was seized by some
soldiers who were posted there to defend it. These then sent mes-
sengers into Achradina to report that the granaries, and the grain in
them, were now under senatorial control.
22. At dawn the whole people, armed and unarmed alike, gathered
at the senate house in Achradina. There, in front of the altar of
Concord situated in the locality, one of the leading citizens, whose
name was Polyaenus, gave a speech that was at once forthright and
yet restrained in tone.
Men, he said, had been provoked to oppose a curse that, from
their own experience of the degradation and humiliation of slavery,
they knew very well––but the disastrous consequences of civil con-
flict Syracusans had heard about from their fathers, rather than
seen themselves. He commended them for their alacrity in taking up
arms, he continued, but would commend them even more if they
used them only as a last resort. For the moment he was of the view
that spokesmen should be sent to Adranodorus to order him to
accept the authority of the senate and people, to open the gates of the
Island, and surrender his garrison. Adranodorus was holding a
throne in keeping for another, he concluded, and if his aim was to
turn that into a throne for himself, then he, Polyaenus, also thought
that they should reclaim their freedom from Adranodorus with
much greater vigour than they had from Hieronymus.
After this harangue the spokesmen were sent on their mission,
and a meeting of the senate began. The senate had remained the
deliberative body of the people during Hiero’s reign, but after his
death had not, until that day, been convened or consulted on any
matter whatsoever. When the spokesmen came to Adranodorus, he
was indeed impressed by the harmony amongst his fellow citizens,
220 book twenty-four 214 bc
and also by the fact that various parts of the city, including the most
strongly fortified section of the Island, had been betrayed and taken
out of his hands. But his wife Damarata, a daughter of Hiero, had
still the pride of royalty combined with the wilfulness of a woman,
and she called him away from the spokesmen and reminded him of
the words often uttered by the tyrant Dionysius. A man should leave
the tyranny, Dionysius had said, dragged by the heels, not mounted
on a horse. It was easy to renounce, whenever one chose, a great
fortune within one’s possession, said Damarata; creating and acquir-
ing it was the difficult and arduous task. Adranodorus should gain
time from the spokesmen to think things over, she said, and use that
time to bring in soldiers from Leontini. If he promised these men
the money left by the tyrant, he would have everything under his
control.
Such was the woman’s advice, and Adranodorus did not reject it
outright, nor did he immediately accept it, for he felt the more
secure road to power lay in accepting circumstances for the time
being. He therefore told the spokesmen to report that he would
accept the authority of the senate and people.
At dawn the next day, Adranodorus threw open the gates of the
Island and came into the forum of Achradina. There he went up to
the altar of Concord, from which Polyaenus had delivered his
address the day before, and proceeded to deliver a speech, which he
began by requesting forgiveness for his hesitation. He had kept the
gates closed, he explained, not to separate his private interests from
those of the state, but because he was afraid of where the killing
would end, once swords had been drawn. He had been wondering
whether they would be satisfied with the tyrant’s death, which suf-
ficed to give them liberty, or whether all connected to the palace by
ties of blood or marriage, or any administrative posts within it,
would also be slaughtered, being blamed for the guilt of another. But
he then realized that those who had freed their country also wanted
to keep her free, and that it was the common good that was in the
minds of all. At that point, he said, he had not hesitated to restore to
the fatherland his own person, and everything in his care and protec-
tion, since the man who had entrusted them to him had been des-
troyed by his own lunacy. Adranodorus then turned to the tyrant’s
killers and, calling on Theodotus and Sosis by name, said: ‘Yours
was a memorable exploit but, believe me, your days of glory have just
214 bc chapters 22–23 221
begun––they are not yet over! There remains a great danger that we
may see the burial of this newly liberated state, unless you take steps
to ensure peace and concord.’
23. After this speech Adranodorus set the keys of the gates and
the tyrant’s treasury at their feet, and, on that day at least, at the
conclusion of the assembly, the people happily visited all the temples
of the gods with their wives and children to give thanks. The next
day elections were held for the appointment of praetors.* Amongst
the first elected was Adranodorus, and the others were mostly men
who had been responsible for the tyrant’s assassination. Two––
Sopater and Dinomenes––they even elected in absentia. When these
two heard of the developments in Syracuse, they brought to the city
the money in Leontini that had belonged to the tyrant, and turned it
over to quaestors expressly appointed to handle it. The money in the
Island was also transferred to Achradina. Further, with everyone’s
agreement, that section of the wall that provided too great a barrier
between the Island and the rest of the city was demolished. The
other measures taken were also in accord with this general tendency
towards liberty.
When word of the tyrant’s death got out, notwithstanding
Hippocrates’ attempts to conceal it (he had gone so far as to kill the
messenger), Hippocrates and Epicydes were deserted by their men.
They then took what seemed to be the safest course in the circum-
stances, and returned to Syracuse. But they did not want their pres-
ence there to be seen as an attempt to destabilize the situation, and so
they first approached the praetors and then, through them, the senate.
They declared that they had been sent by Hannibal to Hieronymus,
who was Hannibal’s friend and ally; and they had simply obeyed the
man whom their own commander wanted them to obey. They
wished now to return to Hannibal, they said, but the way was not
safe, as there were Romans circulating throughout Sicily. They
were therefore requesting an escort of some kind, so they could be
conducted to Locri in Italy; for this small service, the Syracusans
would find Hannibal very appreciative.
The request was willingly granted. The authorities wanted them
gone, for they had been officers of the tyrant, and they were also
accomplished soldiers, and at the same time needy and reckless men.
But the senators failed to put their wishes into effect as promptly as
they should have. The young men had military backgrounds and
222 book twenty-four 214 bc
were used to soldiers, and in the meantime they talked––sometimes
to the soldiers themselves, at other times to the deserters (most of
them from the Roman naval crews), and then even to the dregs of the
common people––denouncing the senate and the nobility. There was
a secret agenda, they claimed, a plan to have Syracuse under Roman
domination under the pretext of re-establishing the alliance. Then a
faction would take power, they said, one made up of a few supporters
of the renewed treaty.
24. People ready to hear and believe such charges began to flood
into Syracuse in greater numbers every day, raising hopes of a coup
not only in Epicydes, but in Adranodorus as well. Adranodorus had
finally bowed to his wife’s admonitions. The time was now ripe for
seizing power, she told him, while the total chaos of the new and
unregulated freedom still reigned, while the soldiers were going
about fattened on the tyrant’s money, and while the officers sent by
Hannibal, who were used to soldiers, could help the enterprise.
Adranodorus therefore entered into partnership with Themistus,
who was married to a daughter of Gelo. A few days later, however, he
indiscreetly revealed the plot to a certain Aristo, a tragic actor to
whom he had regularly entrusted other confidences. Aristo’s family
and social standing were respectable, and not tarnished by his pro-
fession, as that sort of employment is not dishonourable in Greek
society.* Thinking the loyalty he owed his country had priority,
Aristo brought his information before the praetors; and they dis-
covered, on the basis of incontrovertible evidence, that it was no idle
tale he was telling. They therefore consulted the elder senators and,
on their authority, posted a guard at the doors of the senate house,
and had Themistus and Adranodorus killed when they entered.
Uproar followed this act which, since the others present were
ignorant of the facts, appeared particularly monstrous, but when
silence was obtained the praetors brought the informer into the
senate. Aristo gave a step-by-step account of the whole affair.
The conspiracy originated with the marriage of Gelo’s daughter
Harmonia to Themistus, he said. Then African and Spanish auxil-
iaries were mobilized to kill the praetors and other leaders of the
community, the assassins being promised the property of the victims
as their reward. A band of mercenaries who were normally under
Adranodorus’ orders had been poised to retake the Island. Aristo
then gave a detailed picture of what was to be done, and by whom,
214 bc chapters 23–25 223
and of a conspiracy planned to the last detail in terms of manpower
and weapons. To the senate it did indeed seem that the men deserved
their death as much as Hieronymus. In front of the senate house,
however, shouts were rising from a crowd with divided loyalties, and
little grasp of the facts. These people were uttering strident threats,
but the bodies of the conspirators at the entrance of the house
checked them, and frightened them so much that they silently fol-
lowed the more sober members of the commons to the assembly.
Sopater was given the task of addressing them by the senate, and by
his colleagues.
25. Sopater launched into what seemed like a formal prosecution,
beginning with Adranodorus’, and Themistus’ past record, and then
attributing to them every heinous and wanton act that had followed
the death of Hiero. For what could Hieronymus have done on his
own, he asked––he was just a boy, barely a teenager! It was his
guardians and teachers who had been ruling, while another faced the
unpopularity! And so it was right for them to die––either before
Hieronymus or at least with him. But, destined then to die a death
they richly deserved, they had actually gone on to plot new crimes
after the tyrant was killed! They had done it openly at first, he said;
Adranodorus had closed the gates of the Island, and taken the king-
dom as his inheritance, assuming the ownership of what he had held
in trust. But then he had been let down by the men who were in the
Island, and found himself blockaded by all the citizens holding
Achradina. His open and undisguised attempt to acquire the throne
a failure, he now tried to gain it by stealth and trickery. Even when he
was elected praetor along with the country’s liberators, though him-
self a traitor to the cause of freedom––even this promotion and hon-
our could not hold him back! In fact, Sopater explained, these men’s
tyrannical disposition came from having wives from tyrant families,
one being married to Hiero’s daughter, the other to Gelo’s.
At these words the cry arose from all parts of the meeting that
neither of the women should live, and nobody of the tyrants’ line
should survive. Such is the nature of the crowd––it is either abjectly
submissive or ruthlessly domineering. The independence that lies
between these two extremes it cannot assume, or wield, with moder-
ation and, when men have an inordinate lust for punishment, rarely
are there lacking others to indulge and feed their anger and incite
them to bloodshed and murder. So it was on that occasion. The
224 book twenty-four 214 bc
praetors immediately proposed a motion––and it was approved
almost before it was proposed––that all of royal descent be executed.
Agents sent by the praetors then put to death Damarata, daughter of
Hiero, and Harmonia, daughter of Gelo, the wives of Adranodorus
and Themistus.
26. Heraclia was also a daughter of Hiero. She was the wife of
Zoippus who had been sent by Hieronymus as an ambassador to
King Ptolemy, and had decided on voluntary exile for himself. When
Heraclia learned in advance that men were coming for her, too, she
took her two unmarried daughters with her and sought refuge in a
shrine before her tutelary gods, her hair dishevelled, and her appear-
ance generally pitiful. She further added her entreaties, invoking the
gods one moment and the memory of her father Hiero, and brother
Gelo, the next. She was innocent, she declared, and the men should
not let her burn in flames of hatred felt for Hieronymus. She had
gained nothing but her husband’s exile from Hieronymus’ reign; she
had not enjoyed the same fortune as her sister in Hieronymus’ life-
time, and her case was not the same as hers now that he was dead,
either. If Adranodorus’ plans had come off, she said, then her sister
would have shared the rule with her husband, and she, like everyone
else, would have had to obey them. If someone should report to
Zoippus that Hieronymus had been killed, and Syracuse liberated,
she added, it was perfectly clear that he would immediately board
ship, and return home. How human hopes are frustrated, she
exclaimed! Zoippus’ native land had now been liberated, and yet,
within it, his wife and children were fighting for their lives––and
what kind of obstruction to liberty and the rule of law were they?
What risk was she to anyone, a woman alone and virtually a widow,
or her girls, who were living as orphans? Ah, but perhaps it would be
said that, while there was no danger to be feared from her, the line of
the tyrants was nevertheless hated. In that case, she said, they should
banish her and her daughters far from Syracuse and Sicily––order
them transported to Alexandria, the wife to her husband, the
daughters to their father!
Ears and hearts were turned from her.† The men shouted to her
not to waste their time† and she saw some of them drawing their
swords. She gave up entreaties for herself and started begging them
at least to spare the girls––they were of an age even a furious enemy
would not touch, she said, and in taking their revenge on tyrants
214 bc chapters 25–27 225
they should not repeat the crimes they themselves found abomin-
able. As she said this, they dragged her from the sanctuary and slit
her throat. They then turned on the girls, now spattered with their
mother’s blood. Hysterical with grief and terror, the girls dashed
from the shrine as though gripped by frenzy, and with such speed
that, had it been possible for them to get out into the street, they
would have raised pandemonium throughout the city. Even as it was,
within the narrow confines of the house, and with armed men all
around, they more than once escaped unharmed and, despite con-
tending with hands so many and so strong, tore themselves from the
assassins’ clutches. Finally, exhausted from wounds and having
covered everything with their blood, they fell lifeless to the ground.*
The killing was tragic in itself but was rendered more tragic by
the arrival of a message, shortly afterwards, cancelling the execu-
tion––there had been a sudden change of heart and softening of
feelings. Then, after pity, came anger over their haste to inflict pun-
ishment, without leaving themselves any leeway to reconsider or let
passions cool. And so the crowd grumbled, and demanded an elec-
tion to replace Adranodorus and Themistus (for both had been prae-
tors), an election that was certainly not going to be to the praetors’
liking.
27. An election day was scheduled. On that day, to everyone’s
surprise, one individual right at the back of the crowd nominated
Epicydes, and then another nominated Hippocrates. After that,
voices supporting these men increased, clearly with the approval of
the crowd. The gathering was, in fact, made up of diverse elements,
comprising not only citizens but soldiers as well, many of them
deserters with an agenda for radical change. The praetors at first
pretended not to notice, and tried to drag out the proceedings, but
finally, overwhelmed by the solidarity of feeling and fearing a riot,
they declared the two men praetors.
The two did not disclose their intentions as soon as they were
elected, unhappy though they were that delegates had gone to Appius
Claudius to request a ten-day truce, and that, when the truce was
granted, others had been sent to discuss renewing the old treaty. At
the time, the Romans had a fleet of a hundred vessels off Murgantia,
and there they waited to see how the unrest in Syracuse following the
assassination of the ruling family would turn out, and where the
people would be taken by their new and unfamiliar freedom.
226 book twenty-four 214 bc
In the meantime, the Syracusan delegates had been sent on to
Marcellus, on his landing in Sicily, by Appius. After hearing their
peace proposals, Marcellus felt some agreement was possible, and he
dispatched his own delegates to Syracuse to discuss the renewal of
the treaty face-to-face with the praetors. And by this time there was
nothing like the earlier calm and tranquillity in the city. A report of
the arrival of a Carthaginian fleet off Pachynum relieved Hippocrates
and Epicydes of their fears, and they had been making allegations to
the mercenaries, and then the deserters, that Syracuse was being
betrayed to the Romans. And indeed when Appius began to keep
some ships stationed at the harbour mouth, in order to raise the
morale of the supporters of the faction he favoured, these groundless
charges had apparently been given weighty corroboration. At first,
in fact, a crowd had rushed wildly down to the shore to check the
Romans if they tried to land.
28. In the midst of this chaos it was decided that a popular assembly
should be held. Here there was some difference of opinion, and a riot
was imminent, when one of the leading citizens, Apollonides, made
what was, in the circumstances, a salutary address. No state, he said,
had ever come closer either to realizing its hope for security or to
being destroyed. For, he explained, if they were all in agreement in
favouring either the Romans or the Carthaginians, then no state
would be in a more fortunate or favourable position. If, however,
they pulled in different directions, then the war between Carthage
and Rome would be no more bloody than the war the Syracusans
would fight amongst themselves, since, in this war, each side would
have its own armies, its own weapons, and its own commanders
within the very same walls. Accordingly, said Apollonides, they
must do their utmost to achieve unanimity. The issue of which alli-
ance was more advantageous to them was secondary, and of much
less significance. However, he added, in choosing allies, one would
do better to follow the judgement of Hiero rather than that of
Hieronymus––or, rather, to prefer a friendship with which they had
been happy over fifty years to one that was now unfamiliar to them,
and which in the past had been unreliable. There was also another
factor of some importance to their deliberations, he said. The
Carthaginians could be refused a peace treaty without that necessarily
entailing immediate war with them; with the Romans they must
immediately have either war or peace.
214 bc chapters 27–29 227
The speech carried all the more weight for its apparent lack of self-
interest and partisanship. The praetors and a select body of senators
were joined by a committee of military advisers, and the commanders
of army units and prefects of the auxiliaries were also instructed to
take part in their discussions. The issue was frequently and hotly
debated. As it became clear that there was no way in which they could
conduct a war against the Romans, they finally decided that peace
should be made with them, and that an embassy be sent to conclude it.
29. Not many days passed before ambassadors from Leontini came
with a plea for help in defending their territory, and this embassy
seemed to provide a welcome opportunity to unburden the city of a
crowd of unruly subversives and remove their leaders. The praetor
Hippocrates was instructed to take the deserters to Leontini, and a
large contingent of mercenary auxiliaries went with them, bringing
the number of soldiers to 4,000. Those doing the sending and those
being sent were both well pleased with the mission, one group hav-
ing been granted its long-desired opportunity of fomenting revolu-
tion, and the other being delighted with the siphoning off of what it
perceived as the scum of the city. But it was only temporary relief
that they brought to this sick body, which would soon relapse into a
more severe disease.
This was because Hippocrates began to plunder lands lying next
to the area of Roman control. He did so with stealthy raids at first,
but later, when military aid was sent by Appius to defend the fields of
the Roman allies, he launched a full-scale attack on a guard-post that
opposed him, causing heavy casualties.
When this was reported to Marcellus, he immediately sent dele-
gates to Syracuse to say that the peace guaranteed by the Syracusans
had been broken, and that a motive for war would never be lacking
unless Hippocrates and Epicydes were sent far away, not just
from Syracuse, but from the whole of Sicily. Epicydes feared that,
while he remained in Syracuse, he might be charged with his absent
brother’s crime, or that he might fail there to do his part in foment-
ing the war, and so he, too, left for Leontini. He could see that the
citizens of Leontini were already sufficiently incensed with the Roman
people, and he began trying to detach them from the Syracusans, as
well. The basis of the peace treaty that the Syracusans had struck
with the Romans, he told them, was that the peoples formerly ruled
by the tyrants would now also be under Syracusan authority. The
228 book twenty-four 214 bc
Syracusans were no longer satisfied with their own freedom unless
they also had power and dominion over others, he said. So they
should be formally notified that the people of Leontini felt that they,
too, should be free––whether because it was on the soil of their city
that the tyrant was killed, or because it was there that the call for
liberty first went up, when people deserted the tyrant’s captains and
came running to Syracuse. And so, concluded Epicydes, that clause
had to be removed from the treaty, or else the people of Leontini
should reject a treaty that was so worded.
The masses were easily persuaded, and when the Syracusan dele-
gates protested over the killing of the Roman guards, and demanded
that Hippocrates and Epicydes leave for Locri––or for any other
location more to their liking, provided they left Sicily––they received
a truculent reply. They had not entrusted to the Syracusans the
responsibility of making peace with the Romans on their behalf, the
people of Leontini told them, and they were not bound by treaties
that others had made. The Syracusans reported this to the Romans,
adding that Leontini was not under their control. Accordingly, they
said, the Romans could go to war with that city without breaking
their treaty with Syracuse, and the Syracusans would not stay out
of the war, either, provided that the people of Leontini became
subject to them once more when they were defeated, as the peace
treaty provided.
30. Marcellus set out for Leontini with his entire army, summon-
ing Appius to attack the town from the other direction. Such was the
fervour that he found in his men, who were incensed at the killing of
the guards during peace negotiations, that they took the city at the
first assault. When Hippocrates and Epicydes saw the walls being
taken, and the gates smashed in, they retreated to the citadel with a
few men, and then secretly made good their escape to Herbesus
under cover of night.
The Syracusans had now left home in a column of 8,000 men, and
at the River Mylas a messenger met them with the news of the city’s
capture. The rest of the report, however, was a tissue of lies contain-
ing strands of truth. There had been an indiscriminate massacre of
soldiers and townspeople, said the messenger, and he thought no
adult had survived; and the town had been sacked, the property of
the wealthy being given to the troops. The appalling news brought
the column to a halt. There was alarm throughout the ranks, and the
214 bc chapters 29–31 229
leaders (they were Sosis and Dinomenes) discussed what action they
should take. The fact that deserters––some 2,000 men––had been
flogged and decapitated bolstered the lies, adding plausible grounds
for fear. In fact, however, none of the people of Leontini, and none
of the other soldiers, had been harmed after the city was captured;
and property had been returned in full, apart from what was lost in
the initial chaos immediately following the capture. The Syracusan
soldiers protested that their comrades had been betrayed and put
to death, and they could not be constrained either to continue to
Leontini or to wait on the spot for more reliable information. The
praetors could see they were verging on mutiny, but saw, too, that the
agitation would be short-lived if the men responsible for such idiocy
were removed, and so they led the army to Megara. They then set
off themselves to Herbesus with a few cavalrymen, hoping that, in
the general panic, they could take possession of the town through
treachery.
This proved a fruitless undertaking, and they felt they should use
force. The following day they moved camp from Megara, intending
to mount an all-out attack on Herbesus. Hippocrates and Epicydes
now decided to put themselves in the hands of their soldiers, who for
the most part knew them well and were, at that moment, incensed
over the report of the massacre of their comrades. At first sight this
course did not seem very safe, but with hopes dashed on every side
they thought it was the only one possible, and so they went out to
meet the column. As it happened, at the head of the column were
600 Cretans who had served under the two men in Hieronymus’
army, and who were obliged to Hannibal for releasing them after
they were taken prisoner, along with other Roman auxiliary troops,
at Trasimene. When Hippocrates and Epicydes recognized them by
their standards and the style of their armour, they held out olive
branches and other symbols of supplication, begging them to receive
and protect them, and not surrender them to the Syracusans. For,
they said, the latter would soon deliver them to the Roman people to
be put to the sword.
31. The Cretans, in fact, loudly encouraged them to take heart;
they would share with them whatever fortune had in store, they
said. During this exchange, the standards had come to a halt and
the column was held up, but the reason for the delay had not yet
reached the commanders. Word then spread through the ranks
230 book twenty-four 214 bc
that Hippocrates and Epicydes were there, and there was a buzz of
evident approval over their arrival throughout the column, prompt-
ing the praetors to gallop immediately to the head of line. What sort
of conduct was this, they asked. What was this slipshod behaviour
of the Cretans––engaging the enemy in conversation, and bringing
them into the column without an order from their praetors! They
then ordered Hippocrates arrested and clapped in irons. When the
order was given, there was such a deafening outcry––initially from
the Cretans, but then taken up by others––that it was quite clear
that, if the praetors took the matter any further, they would have to
fear for their own safety. Perturbed and unsure how to handle the
situation, they ordered a withdrawal to Megara, their point of depar-
ture, and sent messengers to Syracuse to report their current plight.
At this moment, when everything was regarded with suspicion,
Hippocrates also came up with a piece of trickery. He sent a number
of Cretans to keep watch on the roads, and then read out a letter that
he claimed to have intercepted, but which was really his own com-
position. Headed ‘From the praetors of Syracuse to the consul
Marcellus’, it declared, after the formula of salutation, that the con-
sul’s action in sparing nobody in Leontini had been right and proper.
But, the letter continued, the case was the same for all the mercenary
troops, and there would never be peace in Syracuse as long as any
foreign auxiliaries remained in either the city or the army. Marcellus
should therefore take steps to bring under his authority the men
encamped with the praetors at Megara, and he should free Syracuse
once and for all by executing them.
After the letter was read out, there was a rush to arms with such
an uproar that the praetors, panic-stricken, took advantage of the
confusion and rode off to Syracuse. Even their flight failed to stem
the mutiny, however, and attacks began to be made on the Syracusan
soldiers, none of whom would have been spared had not Epicydes
and Hippocrates stood up to the furious mob. (Not that they felt any
compassion or pity for them; it was simply not to curtail their own
hopes of return. For they could gain the soldiers’ loyalty while they
also kept them as hostages, and they could, furthermore, secure the
support of their relatives and friends, first by the service they had
rendered, and then by using the men as security.) Experience had
also shown them how the crowd could be swayed by a breeze ever so
slight and insubstantial. They therefore acquired the services of one
214 bc chapters 31–32 231
of the soldiers who had been under siege at Leontini, and bribed him
to take to Syracuse information consistent with the false reports
made at the River Mylas. The aim was for the man to stir the people
to fury by presenting himself as an authority on the incident, and
giving an account of the unsubstantiated events as if he were an
eyewitness,
32. The fellow not only gained credence with the common people,
but, when he was brought into the senate house, he also impressed
the senators. Some men who were not without influence openly
proclaimed that it was just as well that the greed and brutality of the
Romans had been brought to light at Leontini; they would have done
the same, or even worse, had they entered Syracuse, the reward for
their avarice being so much the greater there. The result was that the
Syracusans voted unanimously to close their gates and put the city
on a defensive footing.
However, the fears and animosities of the Syracusans were not all
centred on the same people. In the case of all the soldiers and most of
the commons their hostilities centred on the Romans; but the prae-
tors, and a few of the nobility, excited though they were by the
fraudulent report, were more wary of the closer and more immediate
threat. And, in fact, Hippocrates and Epicydes were already at the
Hexapylon. There, by means of relatives of citizens who were in
the army, they were initiating discussions in which they urged the
people to throw open the gates to them, and to allow the country
which they shared to be defended against a Roman attack.
One of the gates of the Hexapylon had actually been opened, and
men had begun to be let in, when the praetors arrived on the scene.
They tried to stop this, first by orders and threats, and then by using
their personal authority. When all their attempts failed, they finally
forgot their dignity and pleaded with the people not to betray their
native land to men who were former henchmen of the tyrant, and
who were now corrupting the army. But the crowd had been stirred
up, and their ears were deaf to all this; and the doors were being
battered as violently on the inside as on the outside. When all of
them were broken down, the army was let in at all points of the
Hexapylon.
The praetors sought refuge with the younger members of the
population in Achradina; and the mercenaries, deserters, and all
the tyrant’s soldiers still left in Syracuse swelled the numbers of the
232 book twenty-four 214 bc
enemy. So it was that Achradina was taken at the first assault, and all
the praetors (apart from those who slipped away during the turmoil)
were put to death. Nightfall brought an end to the killing. The next
day slaves were invited to assume the cap of freedom, and convicts
were released from prison. This motley crowd of people unanimously
elected Hippocrates and Epicydes praetors, and after a fleeting gleam
of liberty Syracuse had relapsed into its servitude of old.
33. When this was reported to the Romans, the camp was promptly
moved from Leontini to Syracuse. Also, it so happened that some
emissaries had been sent through the harbour, in a quinquereme, by
Appius. A quadrireme that had been sent ahead of them was cap-
tured when it entered the harbour mouth, and the emissaries had a
narrow escape. So, by now, not even the rules of peace, much less
those of war, had been left inviolate, and at this point the Roman
army pitched camp a mile and a half from the city, at the Olympium,
a temple of Jupiter.* It was decided that envoys should be sent
from there, but, to prevent them entering the city, Hippocrates and
Epicydes came to meet them outside the gate with their supporters.
The spokesman for the Romans said it was not war, but support
and aid, that they were bringing to the Syracusans, both to those who
had sought refuge with his people after escaping from the midst of
the carnage, and to those who, from fear, were enduring a servitude
worse than exile, worse even than death. The Romans would not, he
said, allow the barbaric slaughter of their allies to go unpunished. So,
if those who had sought refuge with the Romans were granted a safe
return home, if those responsible for the slaughter were sur-
rendered, and if the Syracusans had their freedom and constitution
restored to them, there was no need for war. But if these conditions
were not met, he warned, the Romans would open hostilities against
any who opposed them.
Epicydes replied that if the envoys’ demands had been addressed
to him and his colleague, they would have had an answer for them.
Now they should come back at a time when the people to whom they
had actually come were in power in Syracuse. If the Romans opened
hostilities, he added, they would discover from the results that
attacking Syracuse was not at all the same as attacking Leontini.
With that, Epicydes left the envoys and closed the gates.
After that Syracuse came under attack on land and by sea simul-
taneously, on land at the Hexapylon, and by sea at Achradina, the
214 bc chapters 32–34 233
wall of which is at the water’s edge. The Romans had taken Leontini
by the panic they inspired with their first assault, and so they were
now quite confident that they would find some way of breaking into
a vast city that sprawled over a wide area. They therefore moved up to
the walls all the machinery they had for conducting assaults on cities.
34. In fact an operation that commenced with such vigour would
have been successful, but for the presence in Syracuse at that time
of one man. This was Archimedes.* A peerless observer of the sky
and heavenly bodies, he was an even greater marvel when it came
to inventing and constructing artillery and war engines with which
he would, with very little effort, frustrate any large-scale enemy
operation.
The city wall ran over rising terrain of uneven elevation, with
sections that were high and difficult of access, but with others, too,
that were low and approachable from the flat ground in the depres-
sions. These Archimedes furnished with all manner of artillery, as he
thought appropriate to each location.
With sixty quinqueremes, Marcellus proceeded with an assault
on the wall of Achradina which, as was observed above, stands at the
water’s edge. The ships were, for the most part, manned with archers
and slingers and even with skirmishers equipped with javelins dif-
ficult for any lacking the proper experience to throw back, and these
men made sure that hardly anyone could stand on the wall without
receiving a wound. Because they needed space for their missiles to be
effective, the crews kept the vessels at a distance from the wall. The
remaining quinqueremes were lashed in pairs, and the inner rows of
oars were removed so that the sides of the vessels were touching, and
they could be rowed along like a single ship by the outer banks of
oars. They carried towers that were built up in storeys, and other
apparatus for pounding the walls.
To meet this armada, Archimedes deployed along the walls cata-
pults of varying dimensions. Against ships in the distance he would
launch rocks of massive proportions, but at the closer ones he would
aim projectiles that were light, and therefore able to be shot with
greater frequency. Finally, to give his own soldiers protection as they
showered weapons on the enemy, he pierced the wall from bottom to
top with numerous slits, about a cubit long, through which they
would target the enemy without being seen, some shooting arrows
and others using small ‘scorpions’. Some ships came in closer so as
234 book twenty-four 214 bc
to be beneath the range of the artillery. To combat these Archimedes
had a swing beam projecting over the wall, and from it a grappling
hook attached to a sturdy chain would be dropped onto the prow of
the ship. The beam would then be brought to the ground by a heavy
lead counterweight, standing the ship on its stern by raising its prow
in the air. Then, suddenly released, it would send the ship crashing
down into the water, as though it were actually falling from the wall.
This caused sheer panic amongst the crew, and it fell with such force
that, even coming down upright, it still shipped a considerable
amount of water. In this way the sea-offensive was foiled, and all
hope was now focused instead on a full-scale attack by land.
But on that front, too, thanks to Hiero’s expenditure and vigilance
over many years, and thanks to Archimedes’ incomparable engineer-
ing, a whole panoply of catapults had been deployed. The natural
features of the location also helped. The rocky outcrop on which the
walls’ foundations had been set was, for the most part, so sheer that
not only missiles from a catapult, but even objects rolling under
their own weight, came crashing down heavily on the enemy. The
same factor made approaching the wall difficult, and the men’s
footing unsteady.
The Romans therefore held a meeting, and it was decided that,
since they were foiled at every turn, they should abandon the direct
offensive, and limit themselves to a blockade to cut the enemy off
from supplies by land and sea.
35. In the meantime, Marcellus set out with about a third of
his army to recover the cities which, in the general upheaval, had
defected to the Carthaginians. Helorus and Herbesus he recovered
when their populations surrendered, but Megara he took by armed
force, and then destroyed and pillaged it to inspire terror in the other
cities, especially Syracuse.
Himilco* had long been keeping his fleet at anchor off the pro-
montory of Pachynum, and at about this time he disembarked at
Heraclea (also called Minoa) 25,000 infantry, 3,000 cavalry, and
twelve elephants. In fact, the troops with which he had earlier held
his fleet at Pachynum were far fewer. After the seizure of Syracuse
by Hippocrates, however, Himilco had left for Carthage, where
he had been supported by ambassadors from Hippocrates, and also
by a letter from Hannibal, who asserted that the time had arrived
for a glorious venture to recover Sicily. And being there in person,
214 bc chapters 34–36 235
an adviser not without influence, he had easily convinced the
Carthaginians to ship to Sicily as strong a force of infantry and
cavalry as they possibly could.
Within days of his arrival at Heraclea, Himilco retook Agrigentum;
and he so inspired other states supporting Carthage to hopes of
driving the Romans from Sicily that eventually even those under
siege in Syracuse took heart. In fact, the Syracusans now felt that the
defence of their city required only a part of their troops, and they
divided military duties: Epicydes was to take charge of the city’s
protection, and Hippocrates was to join Himilco in operations
against the Roman consul. Hippocrates set off at night with 10,000
infantry and 500 cavalry, choosing a path through spots free of
Roman sentries, and proceeded to pitch his camp in the environs of
Acrillae. While the men were digging in, Marcellus stumbled on
them on his way from Agrigentum, which was now in enemy hands.
Marcellus had failed to beat the enemy in the race for Agrigentum,
and he was now on his way back, expecting least of all to encounter a
Syracusan army at that time and in that location. However, his fear
of Himilco and the Carthaginians, for whom he was certainly no
match with the forces that he had, meant that he was advancing with
all possible caution, and with his column arranged so as to meet any
eventuality.*
36. The precautions taken for meeting the Carthaginians now
proved effective against the Sicilians. Finding them disordered,
and out of formation, as they established their camp, most of them
without their weapons, Marcellus surrounded their entire infantry
force, though the cavalry, after a slight skirmish, fled to Acrae with
Hippocrates.
With that battle Marcellus kept in line the Sicilians who were
defecting from the Romans, and he now returned to Syracuse. A few
days later, Himilco joined up with Hippocrates and pitched camp at
the River Anapus, about eight miles distant from the city. In this same
period fifty-five Carthaginian warships under Bomilcar, admiral of
the fleet, happened to sail from the open sea into the great harbour of
Syracuse, while a Roman fleet of thirty quinqueremes also put
ashore the first legion at Panormus.* One might well have thought
that the theatre of war had shifted from Italy, so focused on Sicily
were the two peoples.
Himilco believed that the Roman legion that had been landed at
236 book twenty-four 214 bc
Panormus and was now en route for Syracuse, would certainly fall to
him as a prize, but he was cheated out of it by the route he took. The
Carthaginian led his men along an inland path, whereas the Roman
legion, with the fleet escorting it, came through the coastal areas to
Appius Claudius, who had advanced to Pachynum with some of his
troops in order to meet it.
The Carthaginians now waited no longer at Syracuse. Bomilcar
had little confidence in his navy, for the Romans possessed a fleet that
was twice the size of his, and at the same time he was aware that the
only outcome of his pointless delay was seeing his allies’ shortage of
provisions aggravated by his men’s presence. He therefore put to sea
and crossed to Africa. As for Himilco, he had wasted his time follow-
ing Marcellus to Syracuse in the hope of engaging him before the
Roman could be joined by larger forces. The hope had not material-
ized, and he could see that his enemy, well fortified and numerically
strong, was safely ensconced around Syracuse. And so, not to fritter
away time uselessly sitting there and watching the blockade of his
allies, Himilco struck camp. His plan was to bring his army to what-
ever areas the prospect of defections from the Roman might call him,
and there, by his presence, raise the spirits of those espousing his
cause. Murgantia was the town that he first recovered, the Roman
garrison betrayed by the townspeople, and here large quantities of
grain and all manner of provisions had been stockpiled for the use of
the Romans.
37. This defection also gave encouragement to other city-states,
and Roman garrisons now began to be expelled from the citadels, or
crushed after being treacherously betrayed. Henna, however, enjoyed
an impregnable position, located as it was on a high bluff, sheer on all
sides; it also had a strong garrison in its citadel, and a garrison
commander by no means susceptible to duplicity. This was Lucius
Pinarius. He was an intrepid soldier, and a man who would rely more
on making betrayal impossible than he would on the loyalty of the
Sicilians. Furthermore, at that particular time, Pinarius had been
prompted to take every possible precaution by the news of all the
treacherous defections in the various cities and the annihilation of
their garrisons. And so, day and night alike, everything was prepared
and ready, with guards and sentries in position, and no soldier setting
down his arms or quitting his post.
Now the leading citizens of Henna had already made a pact with
214 bc chapters 36–38 237
Himilco to betray the garrison, but when they became aware of the
situation and saw the Roman was leaving no room for treachery, they
thought they had to act openly. They declared that the city and its
citadel should be in their hands, if they had entered an alliance with
the Romans as free men and had not simply been delivered to them
for imprisonment like slaves. They then voiced the opinion that it
was only fair for the keys of the city to be returned to them. The
strongest bond between good allies was mutual trust, they said, and
the only way the people of Henna could have the gratitude of the
Roman people and the Senate would be by remaining on terms of
friendship with them of their own volition, and not under duress.
The Roman’s answer to this was that he had been installed in his
position by his commanding officer, from whom he had also received
the keys of the gates and the task of defending the citadel. It was not
by his own authority, or that of the people of Henna, that he held
these responsibilities, he said, but by the authority of the man who
had put them in his hands. Leaving one’s post was a capital offence
for Romans, Pinarius continued, and fathers had even put their
own children to death in punishment for such an act. The consul
Marcellus was not far off, he said in conclusion, and they should
send a delegation to him, since he had the right and authority to
decide on the matter.
The people of Henna replied that they would certainly not do that,
and declared that if talk got them nowhere they would seek some
way of asserting their liberty. Pinarius then said that, if they objected
to a deputation to the consul, he himself should be admitted to their
popular assembly, so he could ascertain whether the declaration they
were making came from a few, or from the entire citizen-body. It was
agreed that an assembly be called the following day.
38. Leaving that meeting, Pinarius went back to the citadel. He
brought his soldiers together and said:
‘I think you have heard, men, of how Roman garrisons have been
set upon and overpowered by Sicilians in recent days. Such treach-
ery you have avoided, first of all thanks to the goodwill of heaven, and
then thanks to your own courage, standing vigilantly on guard, day
and night, under arms. I only wish that the rest of our time here could
be passed without our suffering, or initiating, barbaric acts! The
precautions we have so far taken have worked in the case of covert
treachery; since treachery has achieved little success, there is now a
238 book twenty-four 214 bc
clear and explicit demand being made for the keys to the city gates.
The moment we surrender these, Henna will immediately be in the
hands of the Carthaginians, and we shall be butchered here with
greater savagery than that with which the garrison at Murgantia was
murdered. I have only with difficulty managed to gain this one night
for a discussion in which to inform you of the peril that lies ahead.
At dawn they are going to hold an assembly; at this their purpose is
to incriminate me, and incite the populace against you. As a result,
Henna will tomorrow run either with your blood or with the blood of
its people. Pre-empted by them, you will have no hope; anticipate
them, and you will face no danger. Victory will go to the man who
first draws the sword. So you must all await the signal, alert and
under arms. As for me, I shall be at the assembly, and there I shall
spin out the time with talk and argumentation until all is prepared.
When I give the signal by moving my toga, I want you at that point
to raise a cry in every quarter, fall on the crowd, and bring down
everything with your swords. See to it that nothing survives whose
brute force or treachery could possibly be cause for fear in future.
‘I pray to you, mother Ceres and Proserpina, and all the other
deities above and beneath the earth who dwell in this city and these
holy lakes and groves: help us with your favour and goodwill, if truly
we have adopted such a plan only to avoid, and not ourselves commit,
a treacherous act.
‘I would address you with a longer speech of encouragement,
men, were the fight ahead with an armed foe. They are unarmed and
unprepared, and you will slaughter them till you tire of it. And, to
relieve you of any possible fear with regard to Himilco and the
Carthaginians, the consul’s camp is in the vicinity.’
39. Following this exhortation the men were sent off to take food
and rest. The next day they were assigned to various locations for
blockading roads and shutting off escape routes. Most of them, since
they had also in the past been regular observers of the assemblies,
took up positions above and around the theatre.
The Roman commander was introduced to the people by the
magistrates. He declared that it was the consul, not he, who had
jurisdiction and authority in the matter, and then added much the
same remarks as he had made the day before. At first there were only
hesitant calls from a section of the crowd for the surrender of the
keys, but soon they were all clamouring with a single voice. When
214 bc chapters 38–39 239
Pinarius became hesitant and evasive, they burst into fierce threats,
and were evidently not going to refrain any longer from extremes of
violence. At that point the commander gave the pre-arranged signal
with his toga. His soldiers, who had for some time been ready and
waiting for action, then raised the shout, and came rushing down
upon the rear of the assembly from the higher ground, while others
massed together and blocked the exits from the theatre.
Enclosed in the seating area, the people of Henna faced a mas-
sacre. The piles of bodies grew, not just from the killing but also
from the stampede, as they charged down over each other’s heads
and ended in heaps, the uninjured falling on the wounded, the living
on the dead. Then the Romans took off in all directions, and the
entire scene was one of flight and panic, as in a city taken by storm.
And the fact that they were butchering an unarmed crowd did not
diminish the fury of the soldiers––danger shared by both sides, and
the heat of battle, would not have excited them more. Henna was
thus retained by an act that was heinous, or necessary.*
Marcellus did not object to what had happened, and in fact ceded
the spoils of Henna to the rank and file––he believed that the Sicilians
would, in future, be deterred by fear from betraying the garrisons.
However, this was a city in the heart of Sicily, famed equally for its
natural defences and for the veneration the whole area received from
having been trodden by Proserpina, who was abducted there; news
of the tragic episode naturally spread throughout the island almost
in a single day. People felt that, by this unspeakable butchery, a
dwelling of the gods, and not simply of men, had been violated; and,
with that, even those who had been vacillating earlier now went over
to the Carthaginians.
Hippocrates then withdrew to Murgantia, and Himilco to Agri-
gentum, for bringing the army to Henna at the invitation of the
traitors had proved a waste of time. Marcellus went back to Leontini,
where he stockpiled grain and other provisions in the camp. He then
left a small garrison in place, and came to Syracuse to continue the
siege. From Syracuse he sent Appius Claudius to Rome to stand for
the consulship, and in his place he put Titus Quinctius Crispinus in
command of the fleet and the old camp. Marcellus himself con-
structed fortified winter quarters five miles from the Hexapylon, at a
place called Leon. Such were operations in Sicily up to the start of
winter.
240 book twenty-four 214 bc
40. That same summer the long-expected war with King Philip also
broke out.* Ambassadors came from Oricum to the praetor Marcus
Valerius, who was standing guard with his fleet over Brundisium and
the nearby Calabrian coastline. They informed Valerius that Philip
had initially sailed upriver with a hundred and twenty light biremes,
and had attacked Apollonia. However, when the operation dragged
on longer than he had expected, Philip had, under cover of night,
secretly moved his army to Oricum, and, since the city stood on a
plain, and had no strength in terms of fortifications, manpower, or
armaments, it had been taken at the first assault. As the ambassadors
reported this, they begged Marcellus to bring them aid and, by land
and sea operations, to keep a man who was undeniably an enemy of
Rome away from the coastal towns, which were under attack for no
other reason than that they faced Italy.
Leaving behind a garrison of 2,000, which he put under the com-
mand of his legate, Publius Valerius, Marcus Valerius set off with his
fleet drawn up and ready for action, and with the men for whom
there was insufficient room on the warships boarded on freighters,
he reached Oricum the next day. Holding the town was a feeble
garrison that the king had left in place on his departure, and Valerius
took it without much of a fight. Envoys from Apollonia came to the
town bringing a report that their people were under siege because
they refused to break with the Romans, and that they could no
longer withstand the pressure being applied by the Macedonians,
unless they were sent Roman aid. Valerius promised to comply with
their wishes, and dispatched 2,000 elite troops to the river-mouth in
warships. The force was under the command of a prefect of the
allies, Quintus Naevius Crista, a man of energy and an experienced
soldier.
Crista set his men ashore, and sent the ships back to rejoin the rest
of the fleet at Oricum, his point of departure. Then, keeping his
distance from the river, he led his men along a path that was little
patrolled by the king’s troops, and slipped into the city at night,
unnoticed by any of the enemy. The following day the force
remained inactive to give the prefect the time to review the men of
fighting age in Apollonia, as well as the town’s armaments and other
strengths. An inspection and review of these gave Crista consider-
able reassurance, and at the same time he learned from his scouts the
extent of the enemy’s slackness and negligence. He therefore slipped
214 bc chapters 40–41 241
noiselessly from the city at the dead of night, and made his way into
the enemy camp. Security here was so slipshod and slack that it was
reliably recorded that more than a thousand men passed over the
rampart before anyone became aware of it, and that, had they
avoided bloodshed, they could have reached the king’s tent. It was
the killing of the Macedonians closest to the gate that awoke the
enemy. With that, sheer panic and trepidation seized them all, so
that no one else took up arms, or tried to drive the foe from the camp.
In addition, the king himself took to his heels, in the almost half-
naked state in which he had been awakened from his sleep, and he
fled to his ships on the river, dressed in a manner that was unbecom-
ing for a common soldier, much less a king. The other Macedonians
poured out in a crowd after him.
Slightly fewer than 3,000 men were either taken prisoner or cut
down within the camp, but considerably more were taken prisoner
than were killed. After the camp had been pillaged, the Apollonians
hauled off to Apollonia catapults, ballistas, and other artillery that had
been concentrated there to lay siege to the city. These they would use
to defend their walls in the event of such a situation arising in future.
All the other plunder from the camp was ceded to the Romans.
When news of the action was brought to Oricum, Marcus Valerius
immediately brought the fleet to the river-mouth to prevent the king
making good his escape by ship. And so Philip began to lose con-
fidence in his ability to match his foe in battle, whether on land or
sea. He beached and burned his ships, and then headed for Macedonia
overland, his army for the most part stripped of its arms and belong-
ings. The Roman fleet, under Marcus Valerius’ command, wintered
at Oricum.
41. The same year’s operations in Spain met with mixed success.
Before the Romans could cross the River Ebro, Mago and Hasdrubal
routed huge forces of the Spaniards.* In fact, Further Spain would
have defected from Rome but for Publius Cornelius, who swiftly took
his army across the Ebro and arrived in the nick of time when the
allies were still wavering. The Romans first encamped at Castrum
Album, which is famed as the spot where the great Hamilcar was
killed. Here the citadel had been fortified, and they had stockpiled
grain in advance. However, the surrounding areas were completely
occupied by hostile forces, and a Roman column had been attacked
by enemy cavalry without being able to retaliate––some 2,000 of
242 book twenty-four 214 bc
them had been killed when they failed to keep up, or were scattered
through the countryside. The Romans therefore withdrew to a loca-
tion closer to more peaceful areas, and established a fortified camp at
Mt. Victory.* To this spot Gnaeus Scipio came with his entire force;
and so, too, did Hasdrubal, son of Gisgo––he was now the third
Carthaginian general––at the head of an army with its full quota of
men. All three Carthaginian generals then took up a position across
the river from the Roman camp.
Taking some light-armed troops, Publius Scipio set off stealthily
to reconnoitre the surrounding area, but he failed to escape the atten-
tion of the enemy, who would have crushed him on the open plains,
had he not taken over a nearby hillock. Even there he was surrounded,
and was only rescued from a siege by his brother’s arrival.
Castulo* then went over to the Romans. This was a powerful and
famous city, so well connected with Carthage that Hannibal’s wife
actually came from there. The Carthaginians now proceeded to
attack Iliturgi: there was a Roman garrison in the town and, mostly
because of food-shortages there, it also seemed likely that they would
take the place. To assist the allies, as well as the garrison, Gnaeus
Scipio set off with a lightly equipped legion, passed between the two
Carthaginian camps, causing heavy enemy casualties in the process,
and entered the city. The next day he fought again, making a charge
from the city which was equally successful. Upwards of 12,000 men
were killed in the two engagements, and more than a thousand taken
prisoner, with the capture of thirty-six military standards. The
Carthaginians accordingly withdrew from Iliturgi. It was then the
turn of the city of Bigerra to come under attack from them––its
people were also Roman allies––but Gnaeus Scipio’s arrival raised
the siege without a fight.
42. The Punic camp was then moved to Munda,* and the Romans
immediately followed. At Munda there was a pitched battle that
lasted almost four hours. The Romans were winning a brilliant vic-
tory when the signal was given to retreat: Gnaeus Scipio had taken
a javelin through the thigh and fear had seized the men around
him that the wound might be fatal. There was no doubt that, but for
this interruption, the Punic camp could have been taken that day.
By that stage, elephants as well as soldiers had been driven right
back to the rampart, and thirty-nine elephants had also been trans-
fixed with javelins. In this battle, too, it is said, some 12,000 men
214 bc chapters 41–43 243
were killed, and almost 3,000 captured, along with fifty-seven
military standards.
The Carthaginians then fell back to the city of Auringis,* and the
Romans followed in order to press their advantage on a demoralized
foe. There Scipio fought a second battle, being carried into the fight-
ing line on a stretcher. The victory was not in doubt, but enemy
casualties were less than half what they were earlier––because fewer
had survived to fight the engagement! But the Spanish people* are
naturally adept at repairing, and making good, the losses of war, and
when Mago was sent by his brother to recruit soldiers, they soon
brought the army up to its complement, and gave it the spirit to
enter the fray once more. The soldiers were mostly new recruits but,
being now on a side beaten so many times in a matter of days, they
fought with the same spirit as those who had gone before them, and
achieved the same result. More than 8,000 men were killed, and little
short of 1,000 taken prisoner, with fifty-eight military standards cap-
tured. The spoils were mostly of Gallic origin––golden necklaces
and armbands, and large numbers of them. Two famous Gallic chief-
tains, called Moeniacoeptus and Vismarus, also fell in the battle.
Eight elephants were captured and three were killed.
As things were going so well in Spain, shame finally overtook the
Romans that the town of Saguntum, the grounds for the war, had
now been seven years in enemy hands.* And so they forcefully ejected
the Carthaginian garrison, and recovered the town, restoring it to
those of its former residents who had survived the ravages of the war.
In addition, the Romans brought under their control the Turdetani,*
who had brought about the conflict between the Saguntines and
the Carthaginians, and then sold them into slavery and destroyed
their city.
43. Such were operations in Spain during the consulship of
Quintus Fabius and Marcus Claudius. At Rome, no sooner had the
new tribunes of the plebs entered office than an indictment to appear
before the people was issued by one of these tribunes, Marcus Metel-
lus, to the censors Publius Furius and Marcus Atilius. The previous
year, when Metellus was quaestor, these men had deprived him of his
horse, expelled him from his tribe, and degraded him to the poll-tax
paying class because of his participation in the conspiracy to abandon
Italy that had been hatched at Cannae. However, the censors were
aided by nine of the tribunes, who ruled against their being tried
244 book twenty-four 214–213 bc
while in office, and the men were released. They were prevented from
performing the ceremony* at the end of their term because Publius
Furius died. Marcus Atilius resigned his office.
The consular elections were presided over by the consul Quintus
Fabius Maximus, and the men elected to the office––both of them in
their absence––were Quintus Fabius Maximus, son of the consul,
and Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus (who was elected for the second
time). Two men who were curule aediles at the time, Publius Sem-
pronius Tuditanus and Gnaeus Fulvius Centumalus, were elected
praetors, along with Marcus Atilius and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus.
It is on record that this was the first year in which theatrical competi-
tions lasting four days were staged by the curule aediles. The aedile
Tuditanus was the man who, at Cannae, led his men through the
middle of the enemy, when others caught in that great disaster were
paralysed with fear.
The elections finished, the consuls elect were, on a proposal made
by the consul Quintus Fabius, summoned to Rome, where they took
up their office. They then consulted the Senate on the conduct of
the war, on the assignment of areas of responsibility––their own and
those of the praetors––and on the armies to be employed and their
commanders
44. The distribution of responsibilities and armies was accord-
ingly made as follows:
The war with Hannibal was assigned to the consuls. They were
to have two armies, one that had been under the command of
Sempronius himself, the other under Fabius, the retiring consul.
The armies comprised two legions each.
The praetor Marcus Aemilius, who had drawn the foreigners’
jurisdiction in the sortition, was to have Luceria as his province, his
judicial responsibilities being reassigned to his colleague Marcus
Atilius, the urban praetor. Aemilius was to have the two legions
which Quintus Fabius, who was now consul, had commanded as
praetor.
Publius Sempronius (Tuditanus) was allotted Ariminum as his
responsibility, Gnaeus Fulvius Suessula. Each was to have two
legions, Fulvius taking the urban legions and Tuditanus receiving
those of Marcus Pomponius.
Extensions of commands and responsibilities were given as follows:
Marcus Claudius: Sicily, within the confines of what had consti-
213 bc chapters 43–45 245
tuted the kingdom of Hiero, with Publius Lentulus taking over the
old province as propraetor.
Titus Otacilius: the fleet.
(There was no assignment of fresh troops for these three officers.)
Marcus Valerius: Greece and Macedonia, with the legion and fleet
then under his command.
Quintus Mucius: Sardinia, along with its former army, which
comprised two legions.
Gaius Terentius: Picenum, with the one legion that was already
under his command.
In addition, orders were issued for the mobilization of two city
legions, and 20,000 allies.
Such were the commanders and forces with which the Romans,
facing multiple wars at the same time, either in progress or thought
to be coming, defended their empire.
The consuls mobilized the two city legions, and raised sup-
plementary troops for other legions; then, before leaving the city,
they saw to the expiation of prodigies that had been reported. The
town wall and a gate had been struck by lightning at Caieta, as had
the temple of Jupiter at Aricia. In addition, there were tricks played
on eyes and ears that were accepted as real. There was the sighting of
non-existent warships on the river at Tarracina; the sound of arms
clashing in the temple of Jupiter Vicilinus, in the area of Compsa;
and the river at Amiternum running with blood. These portents
were expiated in accordance with a decree of the pontiffs, and the
consuls left Rome, Sempronius for Lucania, and Fabius for Apulia.
Fabius the elder came to his son’s encampment in Apulia to serve
as his legate. The son went forward to meet him and (out of respect
for the father’s eminence) his lictors were silent as they went ahead
of him. The old man had ridden past eleven sets of fasces when the
consul told the lictor closest to him to pay attention. The lictor then
called to the elder Fabius to dismount, and at this the father finally
jumped from his mount, saying: ‘My son, I wanted to see if you were
fully aware that you are a consul.’
45. Dasius Altinius, a native of Arpi, came to that camp furtively
during the night with three slaves, and promised to betray Arpi for a
price. When Fabius raised the matter with his council, all except his
father were for having the man flogged and put to death as a deserter.
Altinius was a man of dubious loyalty, they said, and an enemy
246 book twenty-four 213 bc
to both sides. After the debacle at Cannae, he had gone over to
Hannibal, and brought Arpi to defect––for him, it seemed, loyalty
belonged only with success. Now, contrary to his hopes and wishes,
the fortunes of Rome appeared to be radically changing, and experi-
encing a virtual renaissance, and he was therefore undertaking to
compensate those whom he had already betrayed with a new act of
treachery! He was always standing on one side, with his sympathies
on the other, a perfidious ally and ineffectual enemy. He should join
the men who betrayed the Falerii and Pyrrhus as a third object lesson
for deserters.
The elder Fabius disagreed. Men, he said, are forgetting their own
situation if, when war is raging hot about them, they give free rein to
their ideas on any matter as if they were at peace. Instead, their
actions and deliberations should have one goal, namely to prevent, if
it can be done by any means, the defection from the Roman people of
any of its allies. This, Fabius continued, they were not considering;
they were saying instead that an example should be made of anyone
coming to his senses, and looking back wistfully on a former alliance.
If, however, one is allowed to abandon the Romans, but not return to
them, it was perfectly obvious that the Roman cause would soon
entirely lose the support of its allies, and they would see everything
in Italy unified under treaties with Carthage. Now, he was not a man
who would advocate putting the slightest trust in Altinius, he said,
but he would follow a strategy that represented a middle course. His
opinion was that, for the moment, Altinius should be considered
neither an enemy nor a friend; he should be held for the duration of
the war in open custody, not far from the camp, in some community
loyal to them. The war over, they should then consider whether his
earlier defection was more deserving of punishment than his present
return was of pardon.
Fabius won assent. Altinius himself was handed over to some
officials from Cales, along with his companions, and instructions
were given for the large quantity of gold that he had brought with
him to be held in safekeeping. At Cales, he was at liberty all day, but
guards attended him, and at night they kept him confined.
At Arpi it was in his home that Altinius’ absence was first noticed
and a search for him was initiated. Then word of his disappearance
spread throughout the city, causing the commotion one might expect
at the loss of a leader, and fear of a coup prompted them to send off
213 bc chapters 45–46 247
messengers to Hannibal at the double. The Carthaginian leader was
by no means upset at the news. He, too, had long suspected Altinius
to be of dubious loyalty, and he had now gained a pretext for confis-
cating and selling off the property of a man of considerable means.
But to make people think he was motivated by anger rather than
greed, he added to his avarice an act of cruelty as well. He sum-
moned Altinius’ wife and children to the camp, and interrogated
them first about the man’s flight, and then about the amount of gold
and silver that had been left in his house. When he had satisfactory
answers to all his questions, he burned them alive.*
46. Leaving Suessula, Fabius proceeded first with an attack on
Arpi. Encamping about half a mile away, he took a close look at
the lie of the city, and its walls. He then decided to make his assault
right at the point where it was best protected by the walls, because he
saw that that was the spot least attentively guarded. He brought
together all the equipment used for assaults on cities, and then
picked out from his entire army the very best of his centurions,
whom he put under the command of some courageous tribunes. He
assigned to this group a force of 600 soldiers, enough, he thought,
for the job in hand, and ordered them to carry ladders to the
appropriate spot at the sound of the signal for the fourth watch.
In that sector was a gate that was low and narrow: the road there
was not much used as it passed through a sparsely populated section
of the city. Fabius ordered the men first to scale the wall with their
ladders, and then open the gate from the inside, or break its bars.
When they had secured that part of town, they were to give a signal
on a bugle for the rest of the troops to move up––Fabius would have
everything ready and prepared.
The orders were briskly carried out, and what seemed likely to
impede their effort proved of the greatest assistance in tricking the
enemy. A rainstorm started at midnight, forcing the guards and sen-
tries to slip away from their posts, and run for shelter in the build-
ings. Then, because of the beating of the rain, which was heavier at
first, the downpour also prevented the din of the men working on the
gate from being heard. Later, as the defenders heard the rain falling
more gently and steadily, it lulled most of them to sleep. Taking
possession of the gate, the Romans ordered their trumpeters, placed
at equal intervals along the street, to give the signal for calling the
consul. This was done in the manner agreed upon, the consul
248 book twenty-four 213 bc
ordered the advance and, shortly before daybreak, he entered the city
through the gate that had been forced open.
47. It was at this point that the enemy finally woke up, when the
rain was tailing off and dawn was near. Within the city, Hannibal had
a garrison of about 5,000 soldiers, and the people of Arpi had them-
selves put 3,000 men under arms. It was the latter that the Cartha-
ginians put in the front line to face the enemy, so that they would
have no treachery behind them. The fighting started in the dark in
the narrow streets. The Romans seized not only the streets, but the
buildings next to the gate, as well, to remove any possibility of their
being targeted and wounded from the rooftops. Some of the inhabit-
ants of Arpi and some Romans then recognized each other, and
conversations started up between them. The Romans asked what the
people of Arpi thought they were doing, what misdeed of the
Romans, or what benefit from the Carthaginians, was leading them to
wage war against their old Roman allies, in support of foreigners and
barbarians, and to turn Italy into a tax-paying subject of Africa. The
excuse of the people of Arpi was that, unbeknownst to them, they
had been sold out to the Carthaginians by their leaders, that they had
been overpowered and oppressed by a handful of men. Once a start
had been made, the conversations became more widespread, and
eventually the chief magistrate of Arpi was brought before the con-
sul by his compatriots. Amidst the standards and battle lines, assur-
ances were given, and suddenly the citizens of Arpi turned their
weapons on the Carthaginians, and fought for the Romans. The
Spaniards, too, transferred their allegiance to the consul. They num-
bered slightly fewer than 1,000, and the pact they made with the
consul promised no more than the release, with impunity, of the
Punic garrison. The doors were opened for the Carthaginians
who, released with a guarantee of safe conduct, came unharmed to
Hannibal at Salapia. Arpi was then returned to the Romans without
any loss of life, with the sole exception of a long-time traitor who had
recently deserted. Orders were issued for the Spaniards to be given
double rations, and the republic thereafter frequently made use of
their courageous and loyal service.
One of the consuls was in Apulia, and the other in Lucania, when
112 Campanian knights of noble birth left Capua with their magis-
trates’ permission, ostensibly to take plunder from enemy territory.
They came to the Roman camp above Suessula. They gave their
213 bc chapters 46–48 249
identity to the guards on duty, and said they wanted a word with the
praetor. The camp was under the command of Gnaeus Fulvius, who,
when the message was brought to him, ordered ten of the group to
be brought to him unarmed. On hearing their request––they sought
nothing more than the return of their property when Capua was
retaken––he accepted them all under his protection.
The town of Atrinum was stormed by the other praetor, Sempron-
ius Tuditanus, with more than 7,000 prisoners taken, along with a
quantity of bronze and silver coin.
At Rome there was a terrible fire that went on for two nights and
a day. Everything between the Salinae and the Porta Carmentalis
was razed to the ground,* including the Aequimaelium, the Vicus
Iugarius, and the temples of Fortuna and Mater Matuta. The fire
also spread outside the gate, destroying many buildings, religious
and secular.
48. Since things were going well in Spain, and they were enlisting
new allies as well as recovering many of the old ones, Publius and
Gnaeus Cornelius that same year expanded their ambitions to
include Africa as well.* The Numidian king Syphax had been sud-
denly turned into an enemy of the Carthaginians, and to him the
Cornelii sent a delegation of three centurions. These were to conclude
a treaty of friendship with the king, and promise the gratitude of
the Senate and People of Rome if he continued to put military pres-
sure on the Carthaginians, adding that the Romans would, at
the appropriate moment, discharge their obligation to him with
handsome interest.
The barbarian was delighted with the delegation, and he dis-
cussed tactics for the war with the delegates. But when he listened to
the words of these seasoned fighters, and compared their well-
disciplined organization with his own, he realized just how much he
did not know. His first request of them, as good and loyal allies, was
for two of the centurions to carry back to their commanders the
results of their mission while one remained behind as his instructor
in military matters. The Numidian people, he explained, had no
experience in infantry fighting, their expertise being confined to
horses.* This was how his ancestors had conducted their wars since
the earliest days of their nation, he said, and it was in this that his
people had been trained from childhood. But, Syphax added, he had
an enemy who relied on fighting on foot, and, if he wanted to be that
250 book twenty-four 213 bc
man’s equal in military strength, he too had to acquire infantry. In
fact, his kingdom had a large population well suited for that, but
he had no idea how to arm, equip, and train it. In fact it was a
complete and utter shambles, like a randomly assembled crowd of
people, he said.
The delegates replied that they would do what he wanted for the
time being, on condition that he solemnly undertook to send the
man back immediately, if their commanders did not give approval to
their action. The man who remained at the king’s court was called
Quintus Statorius.
The king selected and sent a number of Numidians to Spain along
with the two Romans. These were to act as his representatives, and
gain approval for the treaty from the Roman commanders. But he
also instructed them to lose no time in inciting the Numidian
auxiliaries, who were serving with the Carthaginian troops, to desert.
Meanwhile, Statorius conscripted an infantry force for the king
from amongst the large numbers of Numidian men of fighting age.
He formed them up pretty well after the Roman manner, and, by
putting them through manœuvres and military drill, taught them to
follow their standards and keep their ranks. He also familiarized
them with siege-work construction and the other regular duties of
the soldier. So thorough was he that, in a short while, the king had no
greater confidence in his cavalry than he did in his infantry, and, in
an engagement fought on level ground, he defeated the Carthaginian
enemy in pitched battle. Moreover, the Romans in Spain derived
great benefit from the arrival of the king’s representatives––at the
news of their coming, cases of desertion by the Numidians began to
be commonplace.
So began the friendly relations of the Romans with Syphax. When
the Carthaginians learned of it, they immediately sent a delegation
to Gala,* who was king in another area of Numidia. His people are
called the Maesuli.
49. Gala had a son, Masinissa. He was only seventeen years old,*
but was a young man of such qualities that it was already apparent
that he was going to make the kingdom greater and richer than what
he inherited. The Carthaginian delegates explained that Syphax had
joined the Romans to strengthen himself, by that alliance, against
the kings and peoples of Africa. It would also be better for Gala to
join the Carthaginians as soon as possible, they said, before Syphax
213 bc chapters 48–49 251
crossed to Spain, or the Romans to Africa––Syphax could be caught
off guard before he had derived anything more than nominal benefit
from the alliance.
Persuading Gala to send an army was easy, since his son insisted
on the war, and, when Masinissa joined up with the Carthaginian
legions,* he defeated Syphax in a great battle. In that battle, it is said,
30,000 men were killed. Syphax fled the field with a few horsemen,
and came to the Maurusian Numidians, who live near the Ocean in
the far reaches of the country, opposite Gades. At the news of his
arrival, barbarians flocked to him from all quarters, enabling him, in
a short time, to put under arms huge forces with which he intended
to cross to Spain, separated from him by only a narrow strait. But
Masinissa then arrived with his triumphant army, and there, on his
own and without any assistance from the Carthaginians, he covered
himself with fame, fighting a war with Syphax.
There were no notable events in Spain, apart from the Roman
commanders’ success in enticing the young Celtiberian soldiers to
their side, with the same level of pay these had settled on with the
Carthaginians. The Romans also sent more than 300 Spaniards of
the highest rank to Italy, to encourage disaffection amongst their
countrymen who were serving in the auxiliary troops of Hannibal.
This is all that is worth recording in Spain for that year. Its signifi-
cance lies in the fact that, prior to the hiring of the Celtiberians at
that time, the Romans had never had mercenary soldiers in their
service.
 BOOK TWENTY-FIVE

1. While these events were taking place in Africa and Spain, Han-
nibal spent the summer in the territory of the Sallentini, where he
hoped to take control of the city of Tarentum by means of treach-
ery. During that time, some insignificant cities of the Sallentini
went over to him,* but in the same period, in Bruttium, two of the
twelve peoples who had defected to the Carthaginians the year
before, namely the Consentini and the Tauriani, returned to their
allegiance to the Roman people. In fact, more would have returned
had it not been for Titus Pomponius Veientanus, an officer of the
allies. After a number of successful plundering expeditions in
Bruttian territory, Veientanus had acquired the stature of a regu-
larly appointed commander, and he had come up against Hanno
with a makeshift army that he had raised. Large numbers of
men––though they were really just an ill-organized assortment of
peasants and slaves––were killed or taken prisoner. The least sig-
nificant loss was the commander, who was one of the men taken
prisoner. Veientanus was responsible for the foolhardy encounter
on that particular occasion, and earlier, as a tax-gatherer, he had
been guilty of all manner of corrupt practices, and had swindled
both the state and private companies, and cost them dear. The
consul Sempronius fought many minor engagements in Lucania,
none worth recording, and took a few insignificant Lucanian
towns.
The war dragged on, with success and failure changing the men-
tality of people as much as it did their material circumstances, and
the longer it did so the more superstition––and mostly foreign
superstition––permeated the citizen body.* So much so, in fact, that it
seemed that either human beings or the gods had undergone a sud-
den transformation! Roman ritual was falling into disuse, and not
just in private, and within the home. In public, too––in the Forum
and on the Capitol––there were crowds of women whose sacrifices
and prayers to the gods did not follow traditional practice. Priests and
oracle-mongers had taken possession of the minds of the public, and
the numbers of such people were swollen by the rustic proletariat,
who had been forced into the city, by poverty and fear, from fields
213 bc chapters 1–2 253
that long years of war had left untilled and insecure. There was
also easy money to be gained from the superstition of others,
through an occupation its practitioners conducted as though it were
legitimate.
At first, there were angry comments made in private by reputable
people, but then the matter also came to the notice of the senators
and became the subject of official complaint. The aediles and tri-
umviri capitales were severely criticized by the Senate for their failure
to suppress these practices, but when these magistrates attempted to
remove the crowd from the Forum, and dismantle their ceremonial
apparatus, they were almost physically assaulted. The malaise now
seemed too great to be effectively checked by junior officials, and the
city praetor Marcus Aemilius was given the task by the Senate of
freeing the people of such superstitions. Aemilius read the senatorial
decree aloud at an assembly of the people, and also issued an edict
that anyone in possession of books of oracles, prayer formulae, or a
documented procedure for sacrifice should bring all such records
and literature to him before 1 April. He also forbade anyone to offer
sacrifice, in a public or sacred location, using any unfamiliar or
foreign ritual.
2. There were a number of deaths in the state priesthood that
year: Lucius Cornelius Lentulus, pontifex maximus; Gaius Papirius
Maso, son of Gaius, pontiff; Publius Furius Philus, augur; and Gaius
Papirius Maso, son of Lucius, decemvir for sacrifices. Marcus
Cornelius Cethegus and Gnaeus Servilius Caepio were appointed
pontiffs to replace Lentulus and Papirius respectively; Lucius
Quinctius Flamininus was elected augur, and Lucius Cornelius
Lentulus decemvir for sacrifices.
The date of the consular elections was now approaching, but
the consuls were focused on the war, and it was decided not to call
them away from it. Instead, the consul Tiberius Sempronius
appointed Gaius Claudius Cento dictator for the holding of the
elections, and Cento appointed Quintus Fulvius Flaccus his master
of horse.
On the first available election day the dictator returned as consuls
his master of horse, Quintus Fulvius Flaccus, and Appius Claudius
Pulcher, who had had Sicily as his province during his praetorship.
After that the following praetors were elected: Gnaeus Fulvius
Flaccus, Gaius Claudius Nero, Marcus Iunius Silanus and Publius
254 book twenty-five 213–212 bc
Cornelius Sulla. The elections completed, the dictator resigned his
position.
Publius Cornelius Scipio, the man who later bore the cognomen
Africanus, was curule aedile that year, with Marcus Cornelius
Cethegus as his colleague. When Scipio stood for election to the
aedileship, the plebeian tribunes attempted to block his candidacy,
claiming that he did not have the right to stand because he was not
yet of legal age to seek office.*
‘If all the citizens of Rome want to make me an aedile,’ Scipio
declared, ‘then I am old enough.’ After that, when the people divided
into tribes for the vote, the support for Scipio was so strong that
the tribunes promptly abandoned their efforts. The largesse of the
aediles that year lay in the staging of the Roman Games on what was,
for the resources of the day, a lavish scale (and with a single day’s
repetition*), and gifts of measures of oil being made to each locality.
The plebeian aediles Lucius Villius Tappulus and Marcus
Fundanius Fundulus brought before the people charges of immoral
conduct against a number of married women, and some were found
guilty and sent into exile. The Plebeian Games were repeated for a
period of two days, and there was a banquet for Jupiter in honour of
the games.
3. Quintus Fulvius Flaccus and Appius Claudius now entered
their consulship, Flaccus for the third time. The praetorian sortition
of duties was as follows:
Publius Cornelius SullaUrban and Foreigners’ Jurisdiction
(formerly these had been separate
portfolios*)
Gnaeus Fulvius Flaccus Apulia
Gaius Claudius Nero Suessula
Marcus Iunius Silanus Etruria
The consuls were assigned the conduct of the war with Hannibal, for
which they were to have two legions each; one was to take over the
troops of the previous year’s consul, Quintus Fabius, and the other
those of Fulvius Centumalus. In the case of the praetors, Fulvius
Flaccus was to have the legions that were currently under the com-
mand of the praetor Aemilius in Luceria, Claudius Nero those under
Gaius Terentius in Picenum. Both were to supplement these troops
with levies of their own. Marcus Iunius was assigned the urban legions
212 bc chapters 2–3 255
of the previous year for service in Etruria. Tiberius Sempronius
Gracchus and Publius Sempronius Tuditanus saw their commands
extended in their provinces of Lucania and Gaul respectively, where
they also retained their armies. The same applied to Publius Lentulus
within the old province of Sicily, and to Marcus Marcellus in
Syracuse, and what had been Hiero’s kingdom. Titus Otacilius was
allocated the fleet, Marcus Valerius Greece, Quintus Mucius Scaevola
Sardinia, and Publius and Gnaeus Cornelius the Spanish provinces.
To supplement the old armies, two urban legions were mobilized
by the consuls, and the total number of legions for that year was
twenty-three.*
The consuls’ troop-levy was hindered by the actions of Marcus
Postumius of Pyrgi,* which almost led to a riot. Postumius was a
tax-collector who, in many years, had had no equal in the state for
corruption and avarice, with the exception of Titus Pomponius
Veientanus (the man whom the Carthaginians, under Hanno, had
captured the year before, as he recklessly plundered farmland in
Lucania). Because, in the case of goods shipped to the troops, risks
from violent storms were assumed by the state, these two men had
invented stories of shipwrecks, and even the real ones that they had
reported had been due not to accident, but to their dishonesty. They
would put small quantities of goods of little worth on old ships in
poor repair. They would then sink the ships on the open sea, picking
up the crews in boats kept ready for the purpose, and falsely report
the cargoes to have been many times more valuable than they really
were.*
This swindle had been brought to the notice of the praetor Mar-
cus Aemilius the previous year, and by him it had been brought
before the Senate. It had not, however, been censured by any senator-
ial decree because the senators were reluctant to upset the league of
tax-gatherers at such a critical time. The people proved to be stricter
punishers of embezzlement. Two of the plebeian tribunes, Spurius
Carvilius and Lucius Carvilius, were prompted to take action when
they saw the indignation roused by the scandalous affair, and they
fined Marcus Postumius 200,000 asses. The day arrived for Postumius
to challenge the ruling, and the plebeian assembly was so packed that
the space before the Capitol could barely hold the crowds. After the
trial wound up, the last resort for Postumius seemed to be the possi-
bility of Gaius Servilius Casca, a plebeian tribune, who was a close
256 book twenty-five 212 bc
relative of his, interposing his veto before the tribes could be called
to vote.
The tribunes furnished their witnesses, and pushed back the
crowd, and the urn was brought so that they could decide by lot the
tribe in which the Latins would vote. Meanwhile, the tax-collectors
were putting pressure on Casca to suspend the day’s proceedings in
the assembly. The people objected to this. As it happened, Casca was
sitting in front, in a seat right at the end, fear and shame simul-
taneously preying on his mind. When there was apparently little
help forthcoming from Casca, the tax-collectors, in order to disrupt
the proceedings, formed a phalanx and, hurling abuse at both the
people and the tribunes, charged into the area that had been cleared.
It had almost reached the point of open warfare, when the consul
Fulvius said to the tribunes: ‘Do you not see that your authority has
been slighted, and that a riot is coming unless you quickly dissolve
the assembly of the people?’
4. The people were dismissed, and the Senate was convened. Here
the consuls brought before the meeting the matter of the assembly of
the people that had been disrupted by the tax-gatherers’ shameless
display of force. They cited the example of Marcus Furius Camillus,
whose exile was likely to be followed by the city’s downfall––he had
accepted the sentence that was passed on him by his ungrateful
compatriots. And before Camillus there were the decemvirs, under
whose legislation the Romans were living till that very day, and many
other leaders of the community after them who had also accepted the
judgement passed on them by the people. But Postumius of Pyrgi
had torn the vote from the hands of the Roman people. He had
disrupted an assembly of the plebs, undermined the authority of the
tribunes, formed a line of battle against the Roman people, and
seized a position where he could keep the tribunes away from the
people, and prevent the tribes from being called to vote. The only
thing that had stopped men from killing and fighting each other had
been the understanding shown by the magistrates. They had for the
moment yielded to the rage and recklessness of a few. They had
permitted themselves, and the Roman people, to be overpowered,
and they had, of their own accord, adjourned the assembly that the
defendant intended to obstruct by armed violence. They did not
want a reason for a fight being given to men who were looking for one.
These words were accepted by all the more fair-minded senators
212 bc chapters 3–5 257
as an appropriate response to the scandalous performance, and the
Senate decreed that the act constituted violence against the state and
set a deadly precedent. The Carvilii, the plebeian tribunes, there-
upon abandoned the legal contest for the fine and instead arraigned
Postumius on a capital charge, giving orders for him to be arrested
by an officer of the court, and imprisoned, if he failed to provide a
bond. Postumius provided the bond, but did not appear. The trib-
unes then put a motion to the plebs, which the plebs ratified, that if
Marcus Postumius failed to appear before 1 May, and if he did not
respond to his summons on that day, and had not been excused, then
he should be deemed to be in exile. His goods were to be sold, and he
himself was to be refused water and fire as an outlaw.
After that the tribunes proceeded to arraign on a capital charge all
the individuals who had been agitators in the violent disorder, and to
demand bonds from them. At first they imprisoned those failing to
provide a bond, and later even those who were able to provide one.
Most simply went into exile,* thereby avoiding the danger of this.
5. So ended the episode of the tax-collectors’ fraud and its brazen
cover-up. Elections for the post of pontifex maximus were then held,
and they were run by Marcus Cornelius Cethegus, a new pontiff.
Three men hotly contested the position: Quintus Fulvius Flaccus,
the consul, who had twice been consul and who had also been a
censor; Titus Manlius Torquatus, who was likewise well known for
two consulships and a censorship; and Publius Licinius Crassus,
who was about to run for the curule aedileship. In that contest the
young man defeated the senior men who had already held office.
Before Crassus, no one had, over a period of a hundred and twenty
years, been elected pontifex maximus without his first having held a
curule chair, the one exception being Publius Cornelius Calussa.*
The consuls had problems completing their troop-levy. The
shortage of younger men made it difficult for them to attain their
twin objectives of enrolling fresh city legions and supplementing the
old ones. The Senate instructed them not to abandon their efforts,
and also gave orders for the establishment of two boards of triumvirs.
These were to inspect the entire range of free men in the country
areas, rural towns, and administrative centres, and recruit as soldiers
any who seemed to have the strength to bear arms, even if they were
not yet of military age. One board was to take the area within a fifty-
mile radius of the city, the other the countryside beyond that point.
258 book twenty-five 212 bc
The tribunes of the plebs, if they saw fit, were to bring before the
people a proposal that the service of any who took the oath before the
age of seventeen should be regarded as the same as if they had
entered service at seventeen or older. Following this decree of the
Senate, two triumviral boards were established,* and these conducted
troop-levies of freeborn men throughout the countryside.
In this same period a letter from Marcus Marcellus in Sicily was
read out in the Senate. It dealt with demands made by soldiers
serving under Publius Lentulus. This force––all that remained from
the disaster at Cannae––had been sent off to Sicily, as noted above, and
was not to be brought back to Italy before the end of the Punic War.
6. With Lentulus’ permission, these men had sent their leading
cavalrymen and centurions, and the cream of the legionary infantry, to
Marcus Marcellus in his winter quarters, to act as their representatives.
One of them, given permission to make a statement, spoke as follows:
‘Marcus Marcellus: We wanted to come to you in Italy, during
your consulship, at the time of the passing of this decree of the
Senate which was certainly harsh, if not unfair. What held us back
was wishful thinking. We thought we were being sent into a province
that was in chaos after the death of its rulers, to take on a serious war
against the Sicilians and Carthaginians at the same time. We felt that
by shedding our blood, and accepting our wounds, we would make
amends to the Senate, just as, in our fathers’ time, those captured by
Pyrrhus at Heraclea made amends by fighting against Pyrrhus him-
self. And yet what did we do to deserve your anger at us in the past,
or now, members of the Senate?* (For when I look at you, Marcus
Marcellus, I feel that I am looking at the two consuls along with the
entire Senate; and if we had had you as our consul at Cannae, both
the republic and we ourselves would now be in a better condition.)
‘Before I start an appeal against our treatment, please allow me to
clear us of the transgression with which we are charged. If the catas-
trophe we suffered at Cannae is attributable to human error, and not
to divine wrath or fate, by whose law all human events are immutably
linked together––then whose error was it, for heaven’s sake? The
enlisted men’s or their commanders’? Now I am an enlisted man,
and I would never say anything about my commander. Especially
when I know that he received thanks from the Senate for not having
lost confidence in the republic, and when he has seen his imperium
extended every year since the rout at Cannae. It is the same for those
212 bc chapters 5–6 259
other men who survived that disaster, men whom we had as our
military tribunes. We have been told that they are running for office,
holding office, and being given tours of duty. Can it be, members of
the Senate, that you find it easy to pardon yourselves and your sons,
and yet you vent your rage on us poor creatures? And though it was
no disgrace for a consul, and other leaders of the community, to
escape when there was no hope left, did the common soldiers have to
die, come what may, when you sent them into battle?
‘At the Allia almost the entire army took to flight, and at the
Caudine Forks* the army surrendered its weapons to the enemy
without so much as tasting battle––I make no mention of other
shameful defeats of our armies, but there was no question of those
armies earning any disgrace. No, the city of Rome was actually
retaken by the army that had fled from the Allia over to Veii. And the
legions from Caudium, which had returned to Rome without their
weapons, were rearmed and sent back to Samnium, where they sent
under the yoke the very same enemy that had earlier taken pleasure
in inflicting that humiliation on them.
‘But can anyone accuse the army at Cannae of flight or panic?
More than 50,000 men lost their lives there; the consul fled with a
mere seventy cavalrymen; and there were no survivors except those
left by an enemy physically exhausted from killing. When the
prisoners were refused ransom, we were praised in all quarters for
having preserved ourselves for the good of the state, and for having
returned to the consul at Venusia and presented the general appear-
ance of a regular army. But now we are treated worse than prisoners
were treated in our forefathers’ time. For them, all that changed was
their weapons, their military rank, and the location in which they
pitched their tent in the camp––and this they remedied by one act of
service to the state, by fighting one successful battle. None of them
was sent into exile, none robbed of his hopes of serving out his time.
They were, in short, granted an enemy, fighting whom would once
and for all put an end either to their lives or to their disgrace. In our
case, we can be reproached with nothing, apart from seeing to it that
some Roman soldiers survived the battle of Cannae. And for that we
are banished far away, not only from our home, but even from the
enemy, there to grow old in exile, with no hope or opportunity of
removing our disgrace, allaying the anger of our fellow citizens or
of even dying an honourable death.
260 book twenty-five 212 bc
‘We do not ask for an end to our disgrace or a reward for our
valour. Just allow us to put our spirit to the test and our courage into
action. It is hardship and danger that we ask for, so that we may fulfil
our role as men and soldiers. The war in Sicily is now in its second
year, its ferocity intense. The Carthaginians are assaulting some
cities, the Romans others; infantry and cavalry are clashing on the
field; at Syracuse the war proceeds on land and sea. The shouting of
the combatants and the clash of arms we hear as we idly fritter away
our time, seemingly without weapons and the hands to use them.
The consul Tiberius Sempronius has on many occasions used
legions composed of slaves to engage the enemy in pitched battle;
they have their liberty, and the grant of citizenship, as a reward for
their efforts. Let us at least be regarded as your slaves, bought for this
war; give us the right to engage the enemy and seek our liberty through
battle. Do you want to test our mettle on sea, on land, in the field of
battle, in assaulting cities? We ask for all the harshest tasks and dangers,
so that what should have been done at Cannae can be done as soon as
possible. For our life since then has all been doomed to ignominy.’
7. Saying this, the men fell at Marcellus’ knees. Marcellus replied
that he had neither the right nor the power to grant their request,
but that he would write to the Senate, and follow the ruling of the
members to the letter. The letter was brought to the new consuls, by
whom it was read out in the Senate. When asked for its ruling, the
Senate decided that it saw no reason to entrust state security to men
who had abandoned their colleagues in the battle at Cannae. If the
proconsul Marcus Claudius thought differently, the senators added,
he could take measures that were in accord with the interests of state
and his own conscience. But none of the men were to be excused any
duty, receive any military recognition for his courage, or be taken
back to Italy for as long as the enemy remained on Italian soil.
After that elections were held by the urban praetor, following a
decree of the Senate which was ratified by the people. In these a
board of quinquevirs was elected for the repair of the city’s walls and
towers. Two boards of triumvirs were also appointed, one to search
out sacred objects and make an inventory of temple gifts, and the
other to rebuild the temples of Fortune and Mater Matuta inside the
Porta Carmentalis, and that of Hope outside the gate. The temples
had been destroyed in the fire of the previous year.*
There were some severe storms, and on the Alban Mount it rained
212 bc chapters 6–8 261
stones continuously for two days. There were many places struck by
lightning: two temples on the Capitol, and many points on the ram-
part in the camp above Suessula, where two sentinels were also killed.
The wall and a number of towers at Cumae were not merely struck
by bolts of lightning but actually knocked down. At Reate, a huge rock
seemed to be in flight, and the sun was redder than usual, taking on a
bloody hue. In view of these portents, there was a one-day period of
public prayer, and the consuls devoted themselves to religious obser-
vances for a number of days, which included a nine-day ceremony
during that time.
The defection of Tarentum was something that Hannibal had
long hoped for, and that the Romans had long suspected to be com-
ing; and, as it happened, a reason for advancing its timing came up
from outside. Phileas of Tarentum had already been in Rome for
some time, ostensibly on an embassy. A man of restless character, he
had little patience with his long inactivity, in which he simply felt
he was now growing old. Phileas found a way of gaining access to
the hostages of Tarentum and Thurii. They were under guard in the
Hall of Liberty,* but security was quite lax, because playing the
Romans false served the interests neither of the hostages nor their
states. In the course of numerous meetings Phileas won them over,
and, after bribing the sacristans and temple guards, he brought them
out of their prison, just as darkness fell. He then joined them on
their secret journey, and became a fugitive himself. At daybreak,
news of the escape spread through the city. Men were sent in pur-
suit; and they caught them at Tarracina and brought them all back to
the city. The fugitives were ushered into the Comitium and, with the
approval of the people, they were flogged and hurled down from the
rock.
8. The brutality of this punishment caused ill-feeling in the two
most famous Greek city-states in Italy, and on a personal as well as
national level, in so far as individuals were connected by family or
friendship with the men who had faced such horrible deaths. Some
thirteen such people, young noblemen of Tarentum, formed a con-
spiracy, its leaders being Nico and Philemenus. The conspirators felt
they should discuss matters with Hannibal before making any move,
and so, leaving the city on the pretence of going hunting, they set off
at night to see him.
When they were not far from the Carthaginian camp, the others
262 book twenty-five 212 bc
hid in a wood close to the road while Nico and Philemenus went
ahead to the guard-posts. They were arrested, and, at their own
request, brought to Hannibal. They told him the reasons for their
plot, and what they planned on doing, and for this they received high
praise from Hannibal, who showered them with promises. They
were then instructed to drive back to the city some cattle of the
Carthaginians that had been turned out to graze, in order to con-
vince their compatriots that they had left the city on a plundering
expedition. They were assured that they would be safe doing this,
and would encounter no opposition.
The plunder of the young men received some attention, and their
second and subsequent forays caused less surprise. Meeting Hannibal
again, they secured an assurance from him that, after their liber-
ation, the people of Tarentum would retain their own laws and keep
their possessions, and would not pay any tax to the Carthaginians or
have a garrison installed against their wishes. After its betrayal, the
Roman garrison was to be in the hands of the Carthaginians. After
they reached this agreement, Philemenus made a more regular prac-
tice of leaving and returning to the city at night. He did, in fact, have
a reputation for his passion for hunting, and he always had his dogs
and other hunting equipment with him. He would usually bag some-
thing, or he was brought something by the enemy by previous
arrangement. This he would carry back, and present to the com-
mander, or the guards at the gates, as a gift. His choice of the night as
the time for his comings and goings was, they believed, prompted by
fear of the enemy.
By now Philemenus’ practice had become so routine that, when he
gave his signal with a whistle, no matter what the time of night, the
gate would be opened for him, and Hannibal decided the time for
action had come. He was three days’ march from the town and, to
lessen surprise at his remaining encamped in the same spot for so
long, he feigned illness. Even the Romans in the garrison at Tarentum
had by now ceased to be suspicious at his prolonged inactivity.
9. After deciding to march to Tarentum, Hannibal picked out
10,000 infantry and cavalry, men whom he thought best suited for
the mission by virtue of their speed and light armour, and moved out
at the fourth watch of the night,* He sent ahead a force of about
eighty Numidian horsemen with orders to ride through the area
surrounding the roads and conduct a thorough reconnaissance, to
212 bc chapters 8–9 263
ensure that no peasant spotted his column from a distance
unbeknownst to them. Any peasants who were ahead of them they
were to turn back, and they were to kill any they met, so that the
local people would have the impression they were raiders rather than
a regular army. Hannibal himself marched the army forward at a
swift pace, pitching camp some fifteen miles from Tarentum. Not
even at that point did he announce their objective. He merely sum-
moned the men and told them to keep to the road and not let anyone
stray from it or break ranks as they marched. Above all, they were to
stay alert to catch their orders, and not do anything unless com-
manded to do so by their officers––Hannibal would let them know at
the appropriate moment what he wanted done.
It was at about that same hour of the day that a rumour had
reached Tarentum that a few Numidian horsemen were raiding the
fields and had struck panic into the country people far and wide. The
Roman commander’s reaction* to the news was no more than to issue
orders for some of his cavalry to go out at dawn the following day to
keep the enemy from plundering. So negligible was his vigilance in
all other respects that he even accepted the Numidians’ raid as
evidence that Hannibal and his army had not broken camp.
Hannibal moved forward in the early hours of darkness. His guide
was Philemenus, who had with him his customary load of game; the
rest of the traitors were waiting to make their contribution to the
pact. It had been agreed that Philemenus would take his game in by
the small entranceway he normally used, and bring some armed men
in with him, while Hannibal would approach the Temenid gate from
another direction. That area of town is on the landward side, facing
east, and tombs take up a considerable space inside the walls. As
Hannibal approached the gate, he lit a torch, the pre-arranged signal,
and the same signal gleamed back from Nico. Then both lights were
extinguished. Hannibal led his men to the gate in silence, and Nico
made a surprise attack on the sleeping guards, killed them in their
beds, and threw open the gate. Hannibal entered the town with his
infantry column, but instructed his cavalry to remain behind so they
would be free to charge over the open plain to wherever they might
be needed.
On the other side of town, Philemenus, too, was now approaching
the little entranceway through which he had been regularly coming
and going. His familiar voice and the well-known signal woke the
264 book twenty-five 212 bc
sentry, and, just as Philemenus was commenting that a beast of that
size was almost too heavy to carry, the gate was opened. Two young
men brought in a wild boar, and Philemenus and a hunter who was
carrying little equipment came in after them. The sentry turned to
the bearers with too little caution, amazed at the animal’s size, and
Philemenus ran him through with a hunting-spear. Then some
thirty armed men entered, cut down the other sentries, and smashed
in the gate next to the entranceway; and with that a column immedi-
ately burst into the town, in regular formation. From there they
marched in silence into the forum, where they joined Hannibal. The
Carthaginian formed up 2,000 Gauls in three divisions, and sent
them off through the city, giving each division two men of Tarentum
as guides. He gave orders for the busiest thoroughfares to be secured
and, when the uproar started, for the Romans to be indiscriminately
massacred, but the Tarentines spared. To make that possible, he
issued instructions to his young Tarentine supporters to tell any of
their townspeople that they saw in the distance to remain calm, stay
silent, and keep their hopes up.
10. By now there was the uproar and shouting that occurs when a
city is captured, but what was happening nobody really knew. The
people of Tarentum thought the Romans had risen up to pillage
their city; to the Romans it seemed to be some kind of treacherous
uprising by the townspeople. The garrison commander, awakened
by the initial commotion, slipped away to the harbour, where he was
taken aboard a boat and ferried around to the citadel. Uncertainty
was compounded by a bugle-call heard coming from the theatre. It
was a Roman bugle, acquired ahead of time by the conspirators for
this very purpose, but it was also blown ineptly by a Greek, making
it unclear who was giving the signal, and to whom it was being
given.
When daylight came, the Romans recognized the Carthaginian
and Gallic armour, and this removed all doubt from their minds; and
the sight of butchered Romans lying everywhere made the Greeks
aware, too, that the city had been captured by Hannibal.
The light grew stronger; the Romans who had survived the mas-
sacre had taken refuge in the citadel; and the uproar gradually began
to die down. At this point, Hannibal had the people of Tarentum
summoned, without weapons. They all assembled, apart from those
who had followed the Romans when they retreated to the citadel,
212 bc chapters 9–11 265
ready to share with them whatever fortune had in store. At the
meeting, Hannibal made a conciliatory address to the Tarentines,
reminding them of his kind treatment of their fellow citizens whom
he had taken prisoner at Trasimene and Cannae, and at the same
time berating the Romans for their high-handed governance. He
then told them to return to their homes, and write their names on
their doors. He said that he would immediately give a signal for
houses that were not so marked to be looted, and that he would
regard as an enemy anyone who wrote his name on a dwelling
inhabited by a Roman citizen (for the Romans were occupying
vacant houses). The meeting was then adjourned. When the doors
had been marked with names, distinguishing a friendly habitation
from that of a foe, a signal was given, and men rushed off in all
directions to loot the Romans’ living-quarters. And a substantial
quantity of plunder was taken.
11. The next day Hannibal led his men to launch an attack on the
citadel. He could see, however, that it could not be taken by storm or
by siege-works, since the section facing the sea––and it is mostly
surrounded by the sea, like a peninsula––was protected by towering
cliffs; and, on the side of the city, its defences were a wall and a huge
moat. He was, however, concerned that the effort of safeguarding the
Tarentines would hold him back from more significant operations,
whereas, if these were left without a strong defensive force, the
Romans could attack them from the citadel whenever they liked. He
decided, therefore, to isolate the city from the citadel by means of
earthworks. He was not without hope, too, that the Romans would
try to block the work, and could be drawn into an engagement. In
fact, if their attack were too confident, he hoped that the strength of
their garrison would be reduced by heavy casualties, to the point
where the Tarentines might easily be able to defend the city against
them on their own.
When the construction had got under way, the gate was suddenly
flung open, and the Romans attacked the working parties. The
guards in the post in front of the works allowed themselves to be
driven back so that the Romans, their recklessness growing with
success, would chase their defeated foe in greater numbers, and over
a greater distance. Then a signal was given and the Carthaginians––
whom Hannibal had kept formed up just for this purpose––rose to
the attack on every side. The Romans could not withstand the
266 book twenty-five 212 bc
assault, but the restricted space, and the obstacles they faced in the
works already under construction, and the building materials for
the others, impeded their headlong flight. Large numbers threw
themselves into the moat, and the loss of life was greater in the
retreat than in the fighting. After that there was no obstruction when
work recommenced. A huge ditch was dug, an earthwork was erected
behind it,* and, a short distance away, Hannibal was also preparing a
wall running parallel to them, to give the Tarentines the capability to
defend themselves against the Romans even without a garrison. He
did, nevertheless, leave behind a garrison of modest proportions,
which would also be able to help with the completion of the wall; and
he then set off with the rest of his troops and encamped at the River
Galaesus, which is five miles from the city.
When Hannibal returned from this camp to inspect the work, it
had progressed with considerably greater speed than he had expected,
and he conceived the hope that the citadel could even be taken by
assault. In fact, its security does not lie in its height, as with other
citadels; it is situated on level ground, and is cut off from the city only
by a wall and a moat. The attack was going ahead, with all kinds of
assault machinery and siege-works, when the Romans received armed
assistance from Metapontum,* giving them the courage to launch a
surprise attack by night on the enemy works. They smashed some,
and others they destroyed by fire––and that spelled the end of
Hannibal’s assault on the citadel from that direction.
The only remaining hope was a blockade. That was unlikely to be
very effective, however, because the citadel was on a peninsula, and
overlooking the harbour-mouth, giving those holding it free access to
the sea. The city, by contrast, was cut off from seaborne supplies,
and a besieging force was more likely to starve than the besieged.
Hannibal called the leading Tarentines together and explained all
the problems they faced. He could see no way of taking such a well-
protected citadel by assault, and he had no confidence in a blockade,
either, as long as the enemy controlled the sea. But if he had ships
with which he could head off the conveyance of supplies, he added,
the enemy would either immediately leave the citadel or surrender.
The Tarentines agreed, but said they thought that the man respon-
sible for the idea should also be responsible for providing the means
to carry it out. Punic ships brought from Sicily could achieve his
end, they said, but their own ships were confined within a narrow
212 bc chapters 11–12 267
bay, with the enemy in control of the harbour entrance––how could
they possibly make it out to the open sea?
‘They will make it out,’ said Hannibal. ‘Many problems that
nature puts in one’s way are solved by thinking them through. You
have a city that lies on a plain; you have streets that are level, and
very broad, running in all directions. I shall transport the ships on
wagons along the street that runs through the city centre from the
harbour to the sea. It will not take much effort, and the sea that the
enemy now controls will be ours. Then we shall blockade the citadel
by sea, on the one side, and by land, on the other. No, rather, we shall
soon capture it, either abandoned by its defenders or along with its
defenders!’
These comments aroused not only hopes for success but admir-
ation for the commander. Wagons were immediately assembled from
all quarters and lashed together; cranes were brought up for hauling
the ships ashore; and improvements made to the road to ease the
passage of the carts and lighten the effort of moving them. Then pack
animals and workmen were brought together, and the work started
with gusto. And so, a few days later, a fleet that was equipped and
ready for action sailed around the citadel, and dropped anchor right
before the harbour mouth. This was how Hannibal left matters at
Tarentum when he returned to his winter quarters. Whether the
defection of the Tarentines occurred in the previous year or in this
year is, however, disputed by historians, though most, including
those living closer to the time when the facts were still remembered,
place it in this year.*
12. Back in Rome, the Latin Festival kept the consuls and praetors
in the city until 27 April. On that day they performed the sacrifice on
the Alban Mount, and then set off for their various provinces.
After that, fresh religious impediments arose as a result of the
prophecies of Marcius.* This Marcius had been a famous prophet,
and, during the Senate-authorized hunt for documents of this kind
the previous year, his prophetic verses had fallen into the hands of
Marcus Aemilius, the urban praetor, who was conducting the search.
Aemilius had immediately passed them on to the new praetor, Sulla.
There were two predictions made by this Marcius. One of them was
made public only after the relevant event, but the authority it
acquired by its fulfilment added credibility to the other, the time for
which had not arrived.
268 book twenty-five 212 bc
In the first prophecy the disaster at Cannae had been predicted in
words much as follows:
‘Child of Troy, flee the River Canna,* lest men from abroad force
you to do battle on Diomede’s plain. But you will not believe me
until you have filled the plain with blood, and the river bears your
dead in many thousands from fertile land to the great sea. For fish
and birds and beasts that dwell on the land let your flesh be food. For
this has Jupiter said to me.’
And, indeed, those who had fought in the area recognized in the
prophecy the plains of the Argive Diomedes and the River Canna, as
well as the defeat itself.
The second prophecy was then read out. This was not only more
difficult to fathom because the future is less clear than the past, but
was also more cryptic in the way it was written:
‘Romans: If you wish to drive out the enemy, the tumour* that
comes from afar, my advice is to dedicate games to Apollo, annual
games to be held with good cheer in Apollo’s honour. When the
people have given part from the public purse, then let private indi-
viduals contribute for themselves and their relatives. The praetor
who will be dispensing supreme justice to the people and plebeians
shall be in charge of the conduct of such games. The decemvirs
should offer sacrifice after the Greek manner.* If you do this cor-
rectly, you shall rejoice for ever, and your circumstances shall
improve. For he will wipe out your enemies, that one of the gods
who gently nourishes your fields.’
The authorities spent one day deciphering the prophetic verse,
and on the next came a decree of the Senate bidding the decemvirs
to consult the Sibylline Books about games in Apollo’s honour, and
sacrificial offerings to him. After these had consulted the Books, and
reported their findings to the Senate, the senators decided that
games be offered in a vow to Apollo, and held in his honour. After
the holding of the games, twelve thousand asses and two full-grown
sacrificial victims were to be given to the praetor for the religious
ceremony. A second senatorial decree stipulated that the decemvirs
were to conduct the ceremony after the Greek manner, and with the
following sacrificial victims: for Apollo, an ox with gilded horns and
two white she-goats with gilded horns; for Latona, a cow with gilded
horns.
When the praetor was about to open the games in the Circus
212 bc chapters 12–13 269
Maximus, he made a proclamation that, during the period of the
games, the people should make an offering of money to Apollo that
they could comfortably afford.
Such is the origin of the Apollinine Games, which were vowed
and instituted to secure victory, and not good health, as most people
think. The people watched the events wearing garlands, and matrons
offered prayers. All over the city, dinners were held in the forecourts
of houses, with doors left open, and the day was solemnized with all
manner of ceremonies.
13. Hannibal was now in the neighbourhood of Tarentum, and
both the consuls, though both were in Samnium, clearly intended to
blockade Capua. The people of Capua were, in fact, already experi-
encing hunger, the usual cruel result of a protracted siege, because
the Roman armies had prevented them from seeding their fields.*
They therefore sent spokesmen to Hannibal and begged him to have
grain transported to Capua from the neighbouring districts before
the consuls could bring their legions into the Capuan countryside
and there were enemy roadblocks everywhere. Hannibal instructed
Hanno to cross over with his army from Bruttium into Campania,
and make every effort to have the Campanians provisioned with
grain.
Hanno left Bruttium with his army and, taking care to avoid the
enemy camp and the consuls in Samnium, approached Beneventum,
encamping on some elevated ground three miles from the actual city.
He gave orders for grain to be carted into his camp from the allied
peoples round about, with whom it had been stockpiled in the sum-
mer, and he provided an armed escort for the consignments. He next
sent a message to Capua indicating the date on which people should
be present in the camp to accept the grain, and telling them to come
with all manner of carts and pack animals, which they should gather
in from the countryside. Hanno’s instructions were followed by the
Capuans with their typical lethargy and carelessness, and not many
more than four hundred carts and a few pack animals were actually
sent along. For this they were reproached by Hanno, who told them
that even the hunger that provoked dumb animals to action could
not stimulate them to make an effort, and another date was fixed for
them to come with more equipment to collect their grain.
All these developments were reported, as they happened, to the
people of Beneventum and the Beneventans lost no time in sending
270 book twenty-five 212 bc
ten envoys to the consuls––the Roman camp was close to Bovianum.
When the consuls heard what was happening at Capua, they came to
an agreement that one of them should take his army into Campania.
Fulvius, to whom this area of responsibility had fallen by sortition,*
then set off and entered the fortifications of Beneventum during the
night. Now close to the action, Fulvius learned that Hanno had left
on a foraging expedition with a section of his army; that the
Capuans had been supplied with grain by Hanno’s quaestor;* and
that 2,000 wagons and a motley crowd of unarmed men had arrived.
Confusion and panic reigned everywhere, he was told, and camp
organization and military routine had been undermined by peasants
and slaves who had also come on the scene.
After having this confirmed, the consul instructed his men to get
ready only their standards and weapons for the oncoming night––
they had to attack the Punic camp. Leaving all their kit and baggage
at Beneventum, they set out at the fourth watch, and reached the
camp shortly before dawn. Such was the panic they struck in the
enemy that there was no doubt that the camp could have been taken
at the first assault, had it lain on level ground. It was its elevation and
fortifications––unreachable on any side, except by a steep and dif-
ficult slope––that protected it. At daybreak a fierce battle broke out,
and the Carthaginians not only defended their rampart but also,
having the territorial advantage, flung down their enemies as they
struggled up the heights.
14. Unflagging courage, however, conquers all, and the Romans
reached the rampart and ditches at several places at the same time,
though at a heavy cost in wounds and soldiers’ lives. The consul
therefore summoned his legates and military tribunes, and told them
they had to abandon this reckless venture. It seemed to him safer to
take the army back to Beneventum that day, he said, and then, on the
following, to pitch their camp close to the camp of the enemy, in
order to prevent the Campanians from leaving, or Hanno from com-
ing back. To make that easier, he would also send for his colleague
and his forces, and together they would bring all their military
resources to bear on this one objective.
Such was the commander’s plan of campaign, but it was scattered
to the winds, just as he was sounding the retreat, by the shouts of
soldiers indignantly rejecting the spineless order. The unit closest to
the enemy happened to be a Paelignian cohort.* Its prefect, Vibius
212 bc chapters 13–14 271
Accaus, grabbed the cohort’s banner and hurled it over the enemy
rampart. He then called down curses on himself and on the cohort
if the enemy got their hands on the banner, and, forging ahead of
the others over ditch and rampart, he burst into the Carthaginian
camp.
The Paeligni were now fighting within the enemy rampart while,
on the other side of the camp, Valerius Flaccus, military tribune of
the third legion, was severely reprimanding the Romans for their
cowardice in ceding to allies the distinction of taking the camp. Then
Titus Pedanius, the first centurion of the principes,* took the standard
from the bearer and declared: ‘This standard and this centurion are
soon going to be inside the enemy rampart. Those who are going to
prevent its capture by the enemy, follow me!’ As he crossed the ditch,
his comrades from his maniple were the first to follow him, and then
the whole legion came after them.
The sight of the men crossing the ditch changed the consul’s
mind. Now he turned from recalling them, and trying to bring them
back, to urging them on and giving encouragement, and he pointed
out the dangerous predicament in which the bravest of the allied
cohorts, and a legion of their fellow citizens, now found themselves.
And so, with each man making an effort, they clambered over ground
easy and difficult, under showers of missiles hurled from every direc-
tion, and with the enemy blocking them with their weapons and their
bodies, and burst into the camp. Many of the wounded, even as
strength and blood drained from them, strained to fall within the
enemy rampart. And so, in an instant, the camp was taken, as if it
had been sitting in the plain without fortifications. Then, as the two
sides swarmed together within the rampart, it was a bloodbath, and
no longer a battle.
More than 6,000 of the enemy were killed. More than 7,000 men
were taken prisoner, and captured along with them were the Capuans
who had come for the grain, and the whole array of wagons and pack
animals. There was also a huge store of plunder that Hanno had
hauled from the fields of Roman allies, at the time when he had gone
off on his widespread raids. After that, the Romans destroyed the
enemy camp and returned to Beneventum. There the two consuls––
for Appius Claudius also arrived a few days later––sold the booty
and divided the proceeds. In addition, the men whose efforts had
resulted in the capture of the enemy camp were rewarded, especially
272 book twenty-five 212 bc
Accaus the Paelignian and Titus Pedanius, the first centurion of the
third legion.
News of the loss of the camp reached Hanno at Cominium
Ocritum. He left the town along with a few foragers that he had
happened to have with him, and his return to Bruttium was more
like a flight than a march.
15. When they heard about the disaster that had struck both them
and their allies, the Capuans sent envoys to Hannibal to report that
the two consuls were at Beneventum, a mere day’s march from
Capua, which meant that the war was practically at their gates and
walls. If Hannibal did not come swiftly with aid, then Capua would
fall into the hands of the enemy more quickly than Arpi had done.
The envoys were to impress on him that he should not set such great
store by Tarentum, and much less by just its citadel, as to deliver
Capua, which he had habitually compared with Carthage, to the
Roman people abandoned and undefended.
Hannibal promised to take care of the situation in Campania, and,
as a temporary measure, sent 2,000 cavalry with the envoys so the
Campanians could use this force to protect their farms from enemy
depredations.
The Romans, meanwhile, were preoccupied with a number of
things, including the citadel of Tarentum, and the garrison under
siege within it. On senatorial authority, the legate Gaius Servilius
had been despatched to Etruria to purchase grain by the praetor
Publius Cornelius, and he made it into the harbour of Tarentum
with a number of loaded ships, slipping between the enemy patrols.
Thanks to his arrival, the people who, as hope faded, had been
invited to change sides at various meetings with the enemy now
themselves began to invite and coax the enemy to change sides! And,
in fact, the garrison was now of sufficient strength since men who
had earlier been stationed in Metapontum had been reassigned to the
defence of the citadel of Tarentum. The result of that was that the
people of Metapontum, suddenly unburdened of the fear by which
they had been held in check, went over to Hannibal.
The same thing also happened with the people of Thurii, on the
same coastline. What motivated these was not so much the defection
of the peoples of Tarentum and of Metapontum (with whom they
actually shared a bond of kinship, the two having the same land of
origin, Achaea) as their anger with the Romans over the recent
212 bc chapters 14–15 273
execution of their hostages. The friends and relatives of the victims
sent letters and messages to Hanno and Mago,* who were close by in
Bruttium, informing them that, if the two generals brought an army
up to their walls, they would deliver the city into their hands. The
Roman commander at Thurii was Marcus Atinius, who had only a
small garrison, and the conspirators thought he could easily be
enticed into recklessly engaging in battle through confidence, not in
his men, whose numbers were very small, but in the young men of
Thurii. Atinius had made a point of forming these up in centuries,
and equipping them with weapons, to meet such emergencies.
The Carthaginian commanders divided their forces and marched
into the territory of Thurii. Hanno proceeded to the city with the
infantry column drawn up ready for action, and Mago, with the
cavalry, took up a position under the cover of some hills that were
conveniently situated for concealing an ambush. From his scouts,
Atinius had learned only about the infantry column, and he led out
his troops for battle, unaware of the conspiracy within the city, and
the ambush set by the enemy. The infantry engagement was slug-
gish: there were few Romans in the front line, and the Thurians
were waiting for, rather than helping to achieve, an outcome. The
Carthaginian line now began deliberately to fall back, to draw the
unsuspecting enemy behind the hill occupied by their cavalry. When
they reached that point, the Carthaginian cavalry charged to the
attack with a shout, swiftly driving off the mass of Thurians, who
were almost in chaos, and had little loyalty to the side on which they
stood. The Romans, surrounded and under pressure from the infan-
try on one front, and from the cavalry on the other, still managed to
keep up the fight for a time. Eventually they, too, turned and fled to
the city.
In town the conspirators had banded together and, with the gates
wide open, they let in the body of their compatriots. But when they
saw the defeated Romans surging towards the city, they cried out
that the Carthaginians were hard on their heels, and that the enemy
would also come into the city mixed with the fugitives, if the Thurians
did not swiftly close the gates. And so they shut out the Romans,
offering them up to the enemy for slaughter, though Atinius and a
few others were admitted. Discord followed for a time, as some
advocated remaining true to Rome, and others felt they should accept
what fortune brought, and surrender the city to the victors. As usual,
274 book twenty-five 212 bc
however, fortune and bad advice carried the day. Atinius and his
entourage were taken to some ships on the shore,* more because the
Thurians were concerned for him personally, because of his clement
and fair jurisdiction over them, than from any regard for the Romans.
They then admitted the Carthaginians into the city.
The consuls marched their legions from Beneventum into
Campanian territory, intending not only to destroy the grain that
was already sprouting, but also to make an attack on Capua. They
thought that destroying such a wealthy city would add lustre to their
consulship, and that they would, at the same time, be removing from
the empire the deep disgrace of leaving the secession of a nearby city
unpunished for more than two years. But they did not want
Beneventum left without a garrison, and they also wanted to have the
ability to face military emergencies, and stem the violence of Han-
nibal’s cavalry, should he come to Capua to assist his allies, as they
were sure he would. Accordingly, they instructed Tiberius Gracchus
to come from Lucania to Beneventum with his cavalry and light
infantry, and told him to put someone in command of the legions
and camp in Lucania, in order to retain control of the region.
16. Before moving out of Lucania, Gracchus conducted a sacri-
fice, and there was a grim portent. The sacrificial act completed, two
snakes slithered unobtrusively up to the entrails, and ate part of the
liver; and then, when they were spotted, they suddenly disappeared.
Therefore, on the advice of the seers, the sacrifice was repeated, and
greater care was taken with the entrails, but tradition has it that the
snakes slithered up on a second and third occasion, tasted the liver,
and left unharmed. The seers gave advance warning that the focus of
the omen was on the commander, and that he should be on his guard
against men working and planning against him in secret. However,
his impending doom could be averted by no clairvoyance.
The Lucanian Flavus was leader of the faction of Lucanians that
remained pro-Roman when some of the people defected to Hannibal.
He had been elected praetor by the members of his faction, and was
already in his second year of office. He suddenly changed his sym-
pathies and looked for an opportunity to ingratiate himself with the
Carthaginians. He did not feel that simply deserting and drawing the
Lucanians into defection was enough––he had to endorse his
pact with the enemy by betraying his commander, who was also a
personal friend, and taking the man’s life.
212 bc chapters 15–16 275
Flavus came to talk in secret with Mago, the Carthaginian com-
mander in Bruttium, and was given an assurance that the Lucanians
should live as free men under their own constitution, and enjoy the
friendship of the Carthaginians, if he delivered the Roman com-
mander to them. He then took the Carthaginian to a place to which
he said he would bring Gracchus, along with a small escort. He told
Mago to hide some armed infantry and cavalry there, noting that the
hiding-place could hold a large number of men. When they had
thoroughly inspected and patrolled the location, a date was set for
executing the plan.
Flavus came next to the Roman commander. He had embarked on
an important project, he told him, but he needed Gracchus’ personal
assistance to put the final touches to it. He had convinced the prae-
tors of all those peoples who had defected to the Carthaginian, dur-
ing the general unrest in Italy, to return to their treaties of friendship
with Rome. He had impressed on them that the situation of Rome,
which had come close to ruin with the disaster at Cannae, was
becoming better and stronger each day, while Hannibal’s power was
weakening and had almost vanished. As for their past offence, the
Romans would not be unforgiving, he had told them; no people had
ever shown themselves more clement, or ready to forgive––witness
the number of times even the Lucanians’ ancestors had been for-
given for their insurrections! These points he had himself made to
the praetors, said Flavus, but they preferred to hear the same things
directly from Gracchus, and to have him present so they could grasp
his right hand, and take away with them this assurance of his good
faith. He had fixed a venue for their meeting, he said, one that was
secluded and not far from the Roman camp, and there it would take
only a few words to have all the Lucanian people under the protection
of Rome, and allied with her.
Gracchus suspected no treachery in the man’s words or the pro-
ject, and he was taken in by the plausible scenario. Leaving camp
with his lictors and a cavalry squadron, and guided by his ‘personal
friend’, he fell right into the trap. The enemy suddenly rose up and,
to leave no doubt about the betrayal, Flavus joined them. Missiles
were hurled at Gracchus and his horsemen from every direction. He
dismounted, ordering the others to do the same, and exhorting them
to embellish with their valour the one option that fortune had left
them. They were few in number, surrounded by a host of men in a
276 book twenty-five 212 bc
valley enclosed by forest and hills––what was left to them but death,
he asked. What mattered now was whether they were going to be
butchered without retaliation, offering up their bodies like cattle, or
whether they would, instead, reject completely the idea of submis-
sively awaiting the outcome, and launch a furious attack on the enemy.
Would they take action and show defiance, and fall covered with the
blood of their foe amidst the mounds of their dying enemies’
weapons and bodies? They must all make their target the Lucanian
who betrayed and deserted them, said Gracchus. The man who sent
that victim down to the underworld ahead of himself, would win
outstanding honour, and singular consolation for his own death.
So saying, Gracchus wrapped his general’s cloak around his left
arm––they had not even brought their shields with them––and
rushed at the enemy. The ensuing fight was fiercer than the numbers
involved would have led one to expect. It was to the javelins that the
Romans were most exposed; and by these they were being transfixed,
as the enemy could hurl them down, from their higher positions, into
the sunken hollow. Gracchus was by now stripped of his escort, and
the Carthaginians were attempting to take him alive. But he caught
sight of his Lucanian ‘friend’ in the enemy’s midst, and made such a
furious charge into the closely packed group that sparing his life was
impossible without the loss of many men. Mago immediately sent
the dead body to Hannibal, with instructions for it to be set before
the general’s tribunal together with the fasces that had been taken. If
this is the correct version, Gracchus fell at the so-called ‘Old Fields’
in Lucania.
17. There are some who place Gracchus’ death near the River
Calor in the area of Beneventum. He had left his camp with his
lictors and three slaves to wash himself down, these people claim,
and some of the enemy happened to be hiding among the willows
growing on the river-bank. He was killed, naked and unarmed, as he
fought back with the stones that the river rolled along. There are
others whose accounts have him going a half-mile from the camp, on
the advice of his seers, to expiate on pure soil the portents mentioned
above, and being surrounded by two squadrons of Numidians who
chanced to be lying in ambush there. Such is the uncertainty sur-
rounding where and how such a famous and distinguished man met
his end.*
Accounts of Gracchus’ funeral also vary. Some report that he was
212 bc chapters 16–18 277
buried by his own men in the Roman camp. Others––and this is the
more widespread version––claim that a pyre was erected for him, on
Hannibal’s orders, in the area before the Carthaginian camp. Then
the army paraded in battledress, with the Spaniards performing
dances, and all the tribes using their bodies and weapons to execute
their traditional movements, and Hannibal himself did and said
whatever he could to honour the man’s funeral. Such is the account
of authors who locate the events in Lucania. If one prefers to accept
the version of those who put his death at the River Calor, then
Gracchus’ enemies took possession of his head only. The head was
brought to Hannibal, who immediately despatched Carthalo to take
it to the quaestor Gnaeus Cornelius in the Roman camp. Cornelius
held the commander’s funeral in the camp, and the people of
Beneventum joined the army in the ceremonies.
18. After entering the farmlands of Campania, the consuls were
conducting widespread raids when a counterattack from the towns-
people, and from Mago and his cavalry, filled them with alarm.
Panicking, they called their widely scattered men back to the stand-
ards, but they were routed after barely forming a battle line, with the
loss of more than 1,500 soldiers. The Campanians were a tempera-
mentally arrogant people, and after this incident their belligerence
increased enormously. They began to harass the Romans with
numerous engagements; but the single battle that they had incau-
tiously and unwisely joined had made the consuls more prone to
caution. Nevertheless, one minor event came to restore the confidence
of the one side, and curtail the recklessness of the other––and yet,
in warfare, nothing is so insignificant that it cannot at times have
important consequences.
Titus Quinctius Crispinus had a personal friend from Capua
called Badius, with whom he had very strong ties of hospitality.*
Their friendship had intensified because, before the defection of the
Capuans, Badius had fallen sick in Rome, and had received generous
and obliging treatment at Crispinus’ house.
This Badius now advanced beyond the Roman guard-posts in
front of the camp gate and asked for Crispinus to be summoned.
When Crispinus was given the message, he assumed that the point of
the summons was a friendly, personal conversation, and that, despite
the breakdown of the treaties between their peoples, there still
remained the memory of their private relationship. He therefore
278 book twenty-five 212 bc
went towards Badius slightly ahead of his comrades. When the two
came in sight of each other, Badius said: ‘Crispinus, I challenge you
to a duel. Let us mount our horses, move others aside, and see which
of the two of us is superior in combat.’
Crispinus’ reply was that neither he nor Badius was short of
people on whom to demonstrate their prowess. Even if he met
Badius in battle, he would refuse to fight him, he said, for fear of
sullying his right hand with the blood of a man with whom he had
ties of mutual hospitality. With that, he turned and left. At this point
the Campanian became even more truculent, taunting Crispinus
with being a spineless coward, and showering on the innocent man
insults that he himself deserved. He called Crispinus his ‘social
enemy’, and said that he was simply making a pretence of showing
mercy to a man for whom he knew he was no match. If Crispinus did
not think that their personal relationship was not also shattered with
the rupture of their peoples’ treaties, then he, Badius of Campania,
now publicly declared, in the hearing of the two armies, that he was
renouncing his social ties with the Roman Titus Quinctius Crispinus.
He was Crispinus’ enemy, and had no relationship, no bond with this
enemy who had come to attack his homeland, and the gods of
his people and of his own house. If Crispinus were a man, Badius
concluded, he should face him in battle!
Crispinus hesitated for some time, but his comrades in his squad-
ron pushed him not to let the Campanian get away with his insults.
He waited only long enough to ask his commanders’ permission to
leave the ranks to fight an enemy who was challenging him. Then,
with their leave, he seized his weapons, mounted his horse, and,
calling on Badius by name, summoned him to combat. There was no
hesitation on the Campanian’s part, and the two clashed on charging
steeds. Crispinus thrust his spear into Badius’ left arm, above his
shield, and, when the wound unseated the Campanian, he jumped
onto him from his horse to finish him off, on foot, as he lay on the
ground. Before he could be caught, Badius ran back to his own side,
leaving his shield and his horse behind. Proudly displaying the horse
and the arms that he had taken, and his bloody lance, Crispinus was
conducted to the consuls, resplendent with his trophies, while the
men loudly cheered and congratulated him. There he was given a
magnificent commendation, and presented with gifts.
19. Hannibal now moved camp from the area of Beneventum
212 bc chapters 18–19 279
towards Capua, and two days after his arrival he led his troops into
combat. He had no doubt that, after the Campanians’ successful
engagement during his absence a few days earlier, the Romans would
be much less capable of resisting him and his army, which had won
so many victories. From the start of the battle the Roman line was
under pressure, mostly because of a cavalry charge that subjected it
to a hail of javelins, until the signal was given to the Roman cavalry to
charge the enemy. It thus became a cavalry engagement, but then
Sempronius’ army, now commanded by the quaestor Gnaeus Cor-
nelius, was spotted in the distance, and this struck fear in both sides
alike that fresh forces of the enemy were arriving. On both sides, as
though by agreement, the signal for retreat was given, and the men
were led back to their camps, parting on almost equal terms (though
losses were heavier on the Roman side, thanks to the initial cavalry
attack).* In an attempt to divert Hannibal from Capua, the consuls
left there the following night, moving in opposite directions, Fulvius
heading into the countryside of Cumae, and Claudius into Lucania.
The following day Hannibal was brought word that the Roman camp
was deserted, and that the enemy had gone off as two columns in
opposite directions. Unsure at first which one to follow, he eventu-
ally set off in pursuit of Appius. After leading his enemy where his
fancy took him, Appius returned to Capua by another road.
Hannibal was offered a second chance of success in the area.
There was one Marcus Centenius, surnamed Paenula, who stood out
amongst the leading Roman centurions for his large build and cour-
age. The man, who had completed his term of service, was brought
before the Senate by the praetor Publius Cornelius Sulla, and there he
requested of the senators that he be assigned 5,000 men. He knew
both the enemy and the country, he explained, and he would soon
make the investment worthwhile; he would turn against their origin-
ator those very tactics by which both our commanders and our
armies had been taken by surprise. The promise was foolish, but just
as foolish was the credence it received––as though the skills of a
soldier were the same as those of a commander.
Centenius was assigned not 5,000 but 8,000 men, half of them
citizens, half allies. In addition, he personally raised a number of
volunteers in the countryside en route, and he arrived in Lucania,
where Hannibal had come to a halt after an unsuccessful pursuit of
Claudius, with an army that had almost doubled in size. There was
280 book twenty-five 212 bc
no doubt about the outcome of a battle between a commander like
Hannibal and a centurion, and between an army seasoned from vic-
tory and one completely new that was, for the most part, an assort-
ment of poorly equipped men. The columns caught sight of each
other; neither side declined battle; the lines were immediately drawn
up. But the battle reflected the inequality of the situation, though
hope sustained the Roman line for more than two hours, as long as
the leader stood his ground. But to protect his reputation of old, and
fearing also the disgrace of surviving a disaster brought on by his
own recklessness, Centenius deliberately exposed himself to the
enemy’s weapons, and met his end. After that the Roman line was
immediately driven back. But all the roads were blocked by cavalry,
and so restricted was their avenue of escape that, from such a huge
force, scarcely 1,000 managed to get away, while the others perished,
right and left, by one means or another.*
20. The consuls now recommenced an all-out blockade of Capua,
and all the materials for the operation were being brought together
and made ready for action. Grain was stockpiled at Casilinum, and a
fortress was built at the mouth of the Volturnus, where a city stands
today. A garrison was established in the fort, and also at Puteoli,
which Fabius Maximus had already fortified, so the Romans would
have the river, and the sea nearby, in their power. Grain had recently
been sent from Sardinia, and the praetor Marcus Iunius had bought
more from Etruria. This was now transported from Ostia to these
two maritime strongholds so that the army would be provisioned
through the winter.
To add to the defeat suffered in Lucania, however, the army of
volunteer slaves deserted its standards. It had served with unswerv-
ing loyalty while Gracchus was alive, but felt that the leader’s death
released it from its obligations.
Hannibal was reluctant to leave Capua neglected, and his allies
deserted, at such a critical moment, but, after the success that came
his way from the recklessness of one Roman leader, he was on the
lookout for an opportunity to surprise a second leader and a second
army. Apulian envoys now kept bringing him reports on the praetor
Gnaeus Fulvius. They told him that, at first, while he was attacking
some Apulian cities that had gone over to Hannibal, Fulvius had
done his job with considerable diligence, but that subsequently too
much success had made him and his booty-laden soldiers so neglectful
212 bc chapters 19–21 281
and apathetic that military discipline was non-existent. Hannibal,
who had on many other occasions, and particularly in the past few
days, seen what an army could be like under an inept commander,
moved his camp into Apulia.
21. The Roman legions, and the praetor Fulvius, were in the
neighbourhood of Herdonea and, when news reached them of the
enemy’s approach, they all but broke camp and went into battle
without the praetor’s order. What held them back more than any-
thing was the certainty they felt that they could do this, whenever
they wished, at a moment convenient to them. Knowing that there
had been a disturbance in the camp, with several people raising the
call to arms and aggressively pushing the general to give the signal,
Hannibal had no doubt that he was being offered the chance of a
successful engagement. And so, that night, he stationed 3,000 light-
armed men in nearby farms, and in undergrowth and woods, with
orders to emerge all together from their cover, when given the sign.
He also instructed Mago and some 2,000 horsemen to secure all the
roads at the points where he thought the enemy would flee.
After making these preparations during the night, Hannibal led
his troops out for battle at dawn. Fulvius showed no hesitation
either, drawn into action less by his own hopes than by the impulsive
reaction of his men. They formed up with the same lack of caution
with which they had proceeded to the engagement, and at the whim
of the common soldiers, who ran forward haphazardly to take any
position they fancied, and then abandoned it on impulse or from
fear. The first legion and the left allied wing were drawn up at the
front, and the line was disproportionately long. The tribunes cried
out that there was no firmness or strength within the battle line,
and that the enemy would break through wherever they attacked;
but the men refused to hear, much less accept, any salutary advice.
And there, on the field, was Hannibal, a general not like their own,
and with an army that was not like theirs, or drawn up after their
manner.
The result was that the Romans failed to resist even their war cry
and initial charge. Their leader was Centenius’ equal in stupidity and
recklessness, but was not in his class for courage. When he saw
things go against him, and his men in panic, he grabbed a horse, and
made off with about 200 cavalrymen. The rest of the force, driven
back at the front, and then encircled to the rear and on the flanks,
282 book twenty-five 212 bc
was cut to ribbons––so much so that from 18,000 men not more than
2,000 got away.* The enemy took possession of the camp.
22. When news of these successive defeats reached Rome, deep
anxiety and alarm did, indeed, seize the community; but because
supreme conduct of the war lay with the consuls, and to that point
they had been successful, the defeats excited less emotion than they
might have otherwise. Gaius Laetorius and Marcus Metilius were
sent as envoys to the consuls. They were to instruct them to gather
carefully together what remained of the two armies, and see that fear
and despair did not lead the men to surrender to the enemy, as had
happened after the debacle at Cannae. The consuls were also ordered
to hunt down deserters from the army of slave volunteers. The
same assignment was given to Publius Cornelius, who also had the
responsibility of raising fresh troops. Cornelius made a proclamation
throughout the country towns and administrative centres that the
slave volunteers should be hunted down and brought back into
service. All these instructions were attentively carried out.
The consul Appius Claudius put Decimus Junius in command at
the mouth of the Volturnus, and Marcus Aurelius Cotta at Puteoli;
these were to dispatch grain to the camp the moment ships arrived
from Etruria and Sardinia. Claudius himself returned to Capua
where he found his colleague Quintus Fulvius in the process of
transporting everything from Casilinum, and actively preparing for
the blockade of Capua. The two then proceeded with the investment
of the city, and they also called to their assistance the praetor
Claudius Nero from the Castra Claudiana at Suessula. Claudius left
a small garrison at Suessula to hold the position, and came down to
Capua with the rest of his troops. Thus three generals’ headquarters
were set up around Capua, and three armies got down to work at
different points, making ready to invest the city with a ditch and
rampart, and erecting fortresses at fairly narrow intervals. At the
same time they clashed at many points with the Capuans, who were
trying to block the siege operations, and did so with such success
that eventually the townspeople kept within their gates and
fortifications.
Before these different works could be joined up, however, spokes-
men were sent to Hannibal to protest against his abandonment of
Capua, which, they said, had been practically returned to the Romans,
and to appeal to him to finally bring assistance, now that they were
212 bc chapters 21–23 283
not just under siege but actually surrounded by entrenchments.
The consuls also received written orders from the praetor Publius
Cornelius* to permit any of the Capuans who so wished to leave, and
take with them all their possessions before they completely cut off
the city with their siege-works. Those leaving before 15 March*
would remain free, and retain possession of all their property, but any
leaving after that date, or remaining in the town, would be counted as
enemies. This offer was communicated to the Capuans, who treated
it with such contempt as to respond with insults and threats.
Hannibal had brought his legions to Tarentum from Herdonea,
hoping to take the citadel of Tarentum, either by force or through
intrigue. When that met with little success, he turned instead towards
Brundisium, expecting that town to be betrayed to him. Here, too,
he found that he was simply wasting his time, and it was at this point
that the Capuan spokesmen reached him with their protests and
appeals. Hannibal had a boastful reply for them. He had raised their
siege before, he said, and on this occasion, too, the consuls would not
withstand him when he arrived. Such were the hopes with which the
spokesmen were sent off, and they were barely able to get back to
Capua, which was now surrounded with a double trench and a
double rampart.
23. At precisely the time that Capua was being encircled with
siege-works, the assault on Syracuse came to an end. This was
achieved by the aggressiveness and courage of the general and his
army, but it was facilitated, too, by internal treachery. At the start of
spring, Marcellus had been unsure whether to redirect the war effort
towards Himilco and Hippocrates in Agrigentum, or to intensify the
siege of Syracuse. He could see that taking the city by assault was
impossible since its topography made it impregnable both by land
and sea; and, alimented by supplies arriving almost freely from
Carthage, she could not be starved into submission. But he would
leave no avenue unexplored. There were amongst the Romans some
prominent Syracusan nobles who had been driven out, at the time of
the break with Rome, for disagreeing with the new policy. Marcellus
instructed these refugees to meet, and probe the sympathies of, the
men of their party in the city, and to assure them that they would
have their freedom, and live under their own constitution, if Syracuse
were delivered to the Romans.
No opportunity of arranging a meeting materialized: the loyalty
284 book twenty-five 212 bc
of many people was suspect, and this had made everybody wary, and
put them on guard against such activities taking place undetected.
But then one slave belonging to the exiles was accepted in the city
posing as a deserter, and he met a handful of people and initiated
discussions on the subject. Subsequently a number of men were
transported around to the Roman camp, concealed under some nets
in a fishing boat, and they held discussions with the refugees. The
same men repeated the procedure on a number of occasions, and
were joined by others, and others again, until their total number
eventually reached eighty. Then, just when preparations for the
betrayal were complete, the plot was betrayed to Epicydes by a cer-
tain Attalus, who was incensed at not having been made party to it,
and all the conspirators were tortured to death.
This hope had proved illusory, but another immediately arose in
its place. A Spartan named Damippus had been sent to King Philip
from Syracuse, and had been captured by some Roman ships. Epi-
cydes was anxious to ransom him at any price; and Marcellus did not
object, because at that moment the Romans were courting the
friendship of the Aetolians,* with whom the Spartans were allied.
The men sent to discuss the ransom thought that the most central
location for their meeting, and the one most convenient for both
parties, was at the Trogili port, close to the tower they call Galeagra.*
Their comings and goings to this spot became quite frequent, and, in
the course of them, one of the Romans took a close look at the wall.
By counting the stones, and judging for himself the dimensions of
each of their faces, he calculated the wall’s height as well as one
could by guesswork. He decided that it was considerably lower than
he and everyone else had earlier supposed, and that it could be scaled
with even quite short ladders, and he reported this to Marcellus. The
idea seemed one not to be rejected out of hand. However, access to
that spot was impossible, since it was more carefully guarded for the
very reason just mentioned, and they needed some window of
opportunity. This a deserter provided when he reported that a three-
day festival of Diana* was being held in town, and that, because of
the shortage of other goods during the siege, the feasting involved
more copious quantities of wine than usual. The wine had been
supplied to all the people by Epicydes and distributed amongst the
tribes by the leading citizens.
When Marcellus received the news, he had a word with a few of
212 bc chapters 23–24 285
his military tribunes. Through them, centurions and ordinary sol-
diers who were up to taking on and braving the dangers of such a
bold venture were singled out, and ladders were secretly prepared.
Marcellus ordered the other men to be given the signal to take
refreshment and rest in good time, as they had a night operation
ahead of them. Then, when he felt the point had come at which
people who had been feasting during the day would have had enough
wine and would be falling asleep, he ordered the soldiers of a single
maniple to take up the ladders, and about 1,000 armed men were led
silently to the appropriate point in a narrow column. When the first
men had scaled the wall noiselessly and calmly, the others followed
them up in rows, for the daring of those ahead of them encouraged
even the hesitant.
24. When the 1,000 soldiers had taken possession of a section of
the wall, the rest of the troops were brought forward and they began
to scale it with a greater number of ladders. They had already been
given a signal from the Hexapylon, which the advance party had
reached after coming through a district that was thoroughly deserted,
for most of the sentries had feasted in the towers, and had either
fallen asleep over their cups or were still drinking in a semi-inebriated
state. A few they surprised and killed in their beds.
Near the Hexapylon is a small gate. Work had begun on smashing
this in with extreme force; the agreed trumpet-signal had been given
from the Hexapylon; and by this point the secret operation was
everywhere turning into open violence. For they had reached Epi-
polae, which they found strongly guarded; and it was now a question
of frightening the enemy rather than eluding them––and frighten
them they did. As soon as the blasts of the trumpets were heard, and
the shouting of the Romans who were now in control of the walls and
a section of the city, the sentinels thought the whole town was occu-
pied, and ran off. Some fled along the wall, others jumped from it, or
were pushed off by the frenzied crowds. Most, however, were unaware
of the cataclysmic event. They were all heavy with drink and sleep
and, in a town of such vast dimensions, news of what was going on in
one quarter did not become known to the whole. At dawn, after
breaking into the Hexapylon, Marcellus entered the city with all his
troops, waking everybody and sending them all scurrying for their
weapons, to bring whatever help they could to their almost-captured
city.
286 book twenty-five 212 bc
Epicydes came at a quick march from the Island (which the
Syracusans themselves call the Nassos*), quite certain that it was
only a case of a few men having taken advantage of the sentinels’
negligence to slip over the wall, and that he would soon drive them
out. When he was confronted with people running in terror, he would
tell them they were only increasing the panic, and that their reports
were exaggerated and alarmist. But when he saw the whole area
around Epipolae filled with armed men, he merely assailed his enemy
with a few javelins and then marched his column back to Achradina.
He was, however, less afraid of the strength and superior numbers of
his enemy than he was of the opportunity that might be given for
internal treachery, which, he thought, could result in his finding the
gates of Achradina and the Island closed to him in the upheaval.
When Marcellus came over the fortifications, and from the higher
ground saw what was probably at the time the world’s most beautiful
city stretched out before his eyes, they say he shed tears, partly from
joy over the greatness of his achievement, but partly, too, because of
the city’s glories of old. He was reminded of the Athenian fleets that
had been sunk there, of the two mighty armies that had been des-
troyed along with their leaders, of all the critical wars fought with
the Carthaginians. He thought of all the city’s wealthy tyrants and
kings, and of Hiero above all, a king whose memory was still fresh
and who––a fact more important than everything that his courage
and success had brought him––was remarkable for his services to
Rome. All this came to mind, and it occurred to him that in the space
of an hour it would all be ablaze and reduced to ashes.* Before
advancing his troops to Achradina, he sent ahead some Syracusans
who, as was noted above, were serving with the Roman troops, to see
if they could, with conciliatory language, induce the enemy to
surrender their city.
25. The gates and walls of Achradina were, for the most part, held
by deserters who, having no hope of pardon under terms of sur-
render, permitted no one to approach the walls, or to parley. After
the failure of this approach, Marcellus ordered a retreat to the
Euryalus. This is a hill on the outskirts of the city, away from the sea,
overlooking the road leading into the countryside and to the interior
of the island, and therefore very conveniently situated for receiving
supplies. The man who had been put in command of this vantage-
point by Epicydes was an Argive called Philodemus, and to him
212 bc chapters 24–25 287
Sosis, one of the tyrant’s assassins, was sent by Marcellus. The two
had a long conversation in which Sosis was stalled by the other’s
evasive language, and he reported to Marcellus that Philodemus had
taken time to reflect on the matter. Philodemus then proceeded to
put things off from day to day, waiting for Hippocrates and Himilco
to move up their camp and their legions, for he was certain that, if he
took these into his stronghold, the Roman army could be boxed in
within the city walls and destroyed. Marcellus saw no possibility of
the Euryalus being either surrendered or captured, and he estab-
lished a camp between Neapolis and Tycha (these are the names of
areas in the city which are themselves the size of cities!), for he
feared that, if he entered heavily populated districts, his plunder-
hungry men simply could not be held in check. Spokesmen from
Tycha and Neapolis came to him there wearing woollen fillets and
carrying suppliant branches, and begged him to refrain from slaugh-
ter and burning. Marcellus held a meeting to discuss what constituted
entreaties rather than demands on their part, and, with the agree-
ment of all present, he issued orders to the men that no one should do
harm to any free person. All else, he said, would be regarded as booty.
The camp was enclosed by a series of interconnected house-walls.*
Marcellus placed sentry-posts and pickets at its gates, where they
opened to the streets, to prevent an attack on the camp while the men
were scattered in the town. He then gave the signal and the soldiers
ran hither and thither, smashing in doors, and making the whole city
ring with panic and confusion. But of bloodshed there was none.
There was no end to the looting until the men had carried off the
whole mass of goods that years of prosperity had built up. In the
meantime, Philodemus lost all hope of receiving assistance. He
accepted a guarantee of a safe conduct to return to Epicydes, led out
his garrison, and surrendered the hill to the Romans.
While everyone’s attention was focused on the confusion in the
captured section of the city, Bomilcar seized on a night when a
violent storm made it impossible for the Roman fleet to ride at
anchor on the open sea, and left the harbour of Syracuse through
unpatrolled waters. He headed out to sea with thirty-five ships (leav-
ing fifty-five for Epicydes and the Syracusans), and, after giving the
Carthaginians a full account of the critical situation in Syracuse,
returned a few days later with a fleet of a hundred. He was rewarded
by Epicydes, it is said, with numerous gifts from Hiero’s treasure.
288 book twenty-five 212 bc
26. After taking control of the Euryalus, Marcellus posted a gar-
rison there, and thus freed himself of one particular concern. Now
he need have no fear of an enemy force being taken into the citadel to
his rear, and creating havoc amongst his troops who were enclosed
within the confines of the city walls. He thereupon proceeded to
blockade Achradina, establishing three camps at strategic points, in
the hope of bringing the enemy who were under siege there to the
point of complete privation.
The forward posts of both sides had seen no action for a number
of days when, suddenly, the arrival of Hippocrates and Himilco
actually put the Romans under attack on every side. Hippocrates
established a fortified camp at the great harbour; and then, giving a
signal to the men who were occupying Achradina, he launched an
assault on the old camp of the Romans, which was under Crispinus’
command. Meanwhile, Epicydes made a counterattack on the for-
ward posts of Marcellus, and the Punic fleet also landed on the
shoreline between the city and the Roman camp, in order to make it
impossible for Crispinus to be sent assistance by Marcellus. Even so,
the enemy produced more of a disturbance than a battle. Crispinus
not only flung Hippocrates back from his fortifications, but even
chased him as he fled in panic, and, moreover, Marcellus forced
Epicydes back into the city. In fact, it seemed that enough had been
done to ward off any danger in future from surprise attacks by the
enemy.
Both sides now faced the further problem of a plague, which was
such as to easily distract attention from strategic planning for the
war. It was autumn, and the area was naturally insalubrious, though
much more so outside the city than within; and an unbearable heat
severely affected the health of almost everybody in the two camps. At
first, the instances of sickness and death were the result of the season
and unhealthy locale. Later on, simply nursing the sick, and physical
contact with them, spread the disease, so that those who fell ill died
neglected and alone; or else they infected with the same violent
disease those who visited their bedside and attended to their needs,
and took them off to the grave with them. Funerals and death were
every day before men’s eyes, and cries of lamentation were to be
heard everywhere, day and night. Eventually, familiarity with the
affliction had so desensitized them that they not only ceased to hold
processions for the dead, with tears and the appropriate cries of
212 bc chapters 26–27 289
grief, but they did not even bear them out to the pyre, and bury their
remains. The result was that corpses lay strewn around before the
eyes of people who were anticipating such a death themselves, and,
thanks to this fear, along with the rotting and noxious stench of the
cadavers, the dead were wreaking havoc on the sick, and the sick on
the healthy. Preferring death by the sword, a number charged alone
into the enemy outposts.
The plague had attacked the Carthaginian camp much more
fiercely than it had the Roman, however, since the Romans had, from
their long blockade of Syracuse, become more habituated to the
climate and the water. The Sicilians in the enemy army slipped
away to their various cities nearby as soon as they saw the noxious
environment turning the disease into an epidemic; and, with
nowhere to go themselves, the Carthaginians perished to a man, their
generals Hippocrates and Himilco with them. When the plague
began to develop that level of intensity, Marcellus had brought his
men into the city, where shelter and shade had restored their weaken-
ing physical condition. Even so, many in the Roman army lost their
lives to that same disease.
27. After the land force of the Carthaginians was wiped out, the
Sicilians who had fought under Hippocrates had taken over <. . .>*
These are not large towns, but they are protected by their position
and defences. One of them is three, the other five, miles from
Syracuse. To these towns they proceeded to bring provisions from
their own communities, and they also sent out for military support.
Meanwhile Bomilcar once more set off for Carthage with his fleet.
There he presented the situation of the Carthaginian allies in such a
way as to raise hopes not only that these could be brought salutary
assistance, but also that the Romans could be taken, along with the
city which they had themselves virtually taken. Bomilcar thus
induced the Carthaginians to send back with him as many cargo
ships as they could, laden with supplies of all kinds, and also to
increase the numbers in his fleet. So it was that he set off from
Carthage with a hundred and thirty warships and seven hundred
freighters.* He met with winds favourable enough for the crossing to
Italy, but those same winds prevented him from rounding Pachynum.
The news of Bomilcar’s coming, and then of his unexpected delay,
brought alternating joy and trepidation to Romans and Syracusans
alike. Epicydes was afraid that if the easterly winds, which were
290 book twenty-five 212 bc
holding at the time, continued for several days, the Punic fleet would
head back to Africa, and so he put Achradina in the hands of the
leaders of the mercenaries, and sailed out to Bomilcar. Bomilcar had
his fleet at anchor facing Africa, and was dreading a naval engage-
ment. It was not that he was no match for the enemy in strength, or
the number of his ships––in fact, he outnumbered him––but the
winds favoured the Roman fleet more than his. Even so, Epicydes
convinced him to risk a battle at sea. And when Marcellus saw a
Sicilian army being drawn together from all over the island, and
a Punic fleet also approaching with copious supplies, he too decided,
despite being outnumbered in ships, to stop Bomilcar from
approaching Syracuse. He feared that he might be under pressure in
an enemy city, cut off by both land and sea.
The two fleets faced off against each other around the promontory
of Pachynum, ready to engage as soon as the sea was calm enough for
them to make for the deep water. When the south-easterly wind that
had been at gale force for several days subsided, Bomilcar made the
first move. His fleet seemed at first to be heading out to deep water
simply to make it easier to sail around the promontory, but when he
saw the Roman ships bearing down on him, he took off out to sea,
though what caused his sudden panic is uncertain. He sent messen-
gers to Heraclea to order the freighters to return to Africa, and he
himself skirted the coast of Sicily and headed for Tarentum. Sud-
denly robbed of his high hopes, Epicydes sailed for Agrigentum,
unwilling to return to a city that had been mostly captured, and
where he would be under siege. There he would now await the
outcome, rather than take any initiative.
28. When news now reached the Sicilian camp* that Epicydes
had left Syracuse, and that the island had been abandoned by the
Carthaginians, and, for a second time, virtually delivered to the
Romans, the Sicilians first held meetings to sound out the feelings of
those under siege and then sent spokesmen to Marcellus to negotiate
terms for surrendering the city. There was very little disagreement
between the parties on a settlement that would have the Romans
take control of what had anywhere been under the tyrants, with the
Sicilians keeping everything else, along with their liberty and laws.
Then, calling a meeting of the men who had been left in charge by
Epicydes, the spokesmen told them that they had been sent by the
Sicilian army on a joint mission to them and to Marcellus. The
212 bc chapters 27–29 291
purpose of this was to ensure that those under siege, and those who
were not, might all share the same fortunes, they said, and that one
group could not negotiate a special deal for itself.
The spokesmen were then welcomed into the city by them so they
could speak with relatives and friends. They described to them the
understanding they had already reached with Marcellus, and, by
offering hope of safety, persuaded them to join them in an attack on
Epicydes’ lieutenants, Polyclitus, Philistio, and another Epicydes
(who had the surname Sindon). The three were murdered, and the
citizen body was summoned to an assembly. Here the spokesmen
deplored the food-shortages and the other things that the inhabitants
had often been complaining about in secret amongst themselves, but
they added that, despite all these afflictions, the townspeople could
not blame Fortune, since it was for them to decide how long they
were going to suffer them. What had caused the Romans to mount
their attack on Syracuse had been their affection for the Syracusans,
not hatred, they said. It was only when they heard of power being
seized by Hippocrates and Epicydes––who were lackeys of Hannibal,
and later of Hieronymus––that they had opened hostilities, and pro-
ceeded to blockade the city, their intention being to crush not the
city itself, but its cruel oppressors. Now, however, Hippocrates had
been killed, Epicydes had been cut off from Syracuse and his officers
killed, and the Carthaginians had been repulsed on land and sea and
deprived of any hold over Sicily. So what reason was there left for the
Romans not to wish to see Syracuse out of harm’s way, as much as if
Hiero himself were still alive, that supreme promoter of friendship
with Rome? And so, they concluded, the only danger facing the city
and its inhabitants came from themselves, from their possibly letting
slip the opportunity of settling matters with the Romans. And an
opportunity such as they had at that very moment would never
come again, if it appeared that <Syracuse> had been freed from a
high-handed tyranny <. . .>*
29. The speech received unanimous and enthusiastic support, but
it was decided that praetors should be elected before representatives
were chosen. Then spokesmen, selected from the praetors, were sent
to Marcellus. Their leader spoke as follows:
‘It was not we, the Syracusan people, who originally abandoned
you, but Hieronymus, who was actually far less a blackguard in
his dealings with you than he was with us. Later, too, when peace was
292 book twenty-five 212 bc
concluded at the time of the tyrant’s assassination, it was no
Syracusan who broke it, but the tyrant’s lackeys, Hippocrates and
Epicydes, who used both intimidation and treachery to keep us in
check. Nor can anyone say that we ever had a period of liberty that
was not also a time of peace with you. At all events, the first thing we
have now done, after gaining our independence by assassinating the
men oppressing Syracuse, is to come to you to surrender our arms,
to deliver to you our persons, our city, and our fortifications, and to
refuse no conditions that might be imposed on us by you.
‘Marcellus, the gods have bestowed on you the glory of capturing
the most famous and beautiful city in the Greek world. All our
memorable achievements on land and sea––those are added to the
record of your triumph. Would you wish the greatness of the city
you took as your prize to be entrusted only to word of mouth? Or
would you prefer to have it on view for posterity, exhibiting to any-
one arriving here, by land or by sea, the trophies we won from the
Athenians and Carthaginians, and those you have now won from us,
and permitting you to pass on to your household a Syracuse
unscathed, to be kept under the patronage and protection of the
Marcellus family? Do not let the memory of Hieronymus count
more for you than the memory of Hiero. Hiero was your friend far
longer than Hieronymus was your enemy, and, while you have had
tangible evidence of Hiero’s benefactions, Hieronymus’ madness
served only to destroy him.’
As far as the Romans were concerned, all their requests could be
granted, and their safety assured; it was with the Sicilians themselves
that the prospect of war and danger lay. For the deserters felt they
were being surrendered to the Romans, and they saw to it that the
mercenary auxiliary troops had the same fear. The mercenaries then
seized their weapons and first of all killed the praetors, after which
they scattered to massacre Sicilian citizens, murdering in their rage
any that chance put in their way, and pillaging whatever came to
hand. Then, not to be without leaders, they elected six prefects,
three to take charge of Achradina, and three the Nassos. When the
uproar finally died down, and the mercenaries made persistent
enquiries into the arrangements made with the Romans, the truth
of the matter began to become clear, namely that their situation
differed from that of the deserters.
30. The spokesmen returned from Marcellus at a timely moment.
212 bc chapters 29–30 293
They told the mercenaries that the suspicions that had inflamed
them were groundless, and that the Romans had no reason to want to
punish them.
One of the three prefects in Achradina was a Spaniard called
Moericus, and a member of the Spanish auxiliary troops was
purposely sent to him as a member of the retinue attending the
spokesmen. This man took Moericus aside, and explained to him the
conditions prevailing in Spain when he left––he had just come from
there. Everything, he told him, was under armed occupation by
Rome. Moericus could be a leader of his people, he said, if he made
some valuable contribution, whether he chose subsequently to serve
with the Romans, or go back to his country. If, on the other hand, he
persevered with his choice of remaining under siege, he would be
under blockade from land and sea––and what hope would he have
then? Moericus felt the force of these arguments. When the decision
was made to send representatives to Marcellus, he had his brother
included among them. The brother was brought to Marcellus, apart
from the others, by the same Spanish auxiliary. After receiving a
formal assurance from the commander, and arranging with him how
the deed was to be done, he then went back to Achradina.
At that point, to avert any suspicion on anyone’s part that treach-
ery was afoot, Moericus declared that he was against the idea of
envoys going back and forth. No one, he said, should be either
received or sent out and, to tighten up security, appropriate areas
should be separately assigned to the prefects, with each one respon-
sible for the defence of his particular sector. Agreement was unani-
mous. When it came to parcelling out the assignments, Moericus
himself received the area from the Arethusa fountain* to the mouth of
the great harbour, and he made sure the Romans were aware of it.
And so Marcellus gave orders for a transport ship, manned with
troops, to be towed by a quadrireme to Achradina at night, and for the
troops to disembark in the area of the gate near the Arethusa foun-
tain. This was done at the time of the fourth watch, and Moericus, as
had been agreed, took in through the gate the men who had been set
ashore. At dawn, Marcellus launched a full-scale attack on the walls
of Achradina. This had the effect not only of focusing on him the
attention of the men holding Achradina, but also of making com-
panies of armed men in the Nassus quit their posts, and come run-
ning to stem the furious Roman assault. In the mêlée, some skiffs,
294 book twenty-five 212 bc
which had been made ready ahead of time and brought around to the
Nassus, landed some armed men, who then made a surprise attack
on the half-empty guard-posts and the gate, which was still open
after the earlier exodus of troops. They took the Nassus, encounter-
ing little resistance since it was abandoned by the guards, who ran off
in alarm. None put up a less effective opposition, or showed less
determination to remain at their posts, than the deserters; having
little trust even in their own side, they fled in the midst of the action.
When Marcellus discovered that the Nassus had been taken, that one
sector of Achradina was in his hands, and that Moericus and his
company had joined up with his men, he sounded the retreat. He
wanted to prevent the pillaging of the royal treasures, which were
rumoured to be greater than they actually were.
31. The momentum of the Roman troops was thus checked,
and the deserters in Achradina were given the time and opportunity
to make good their escape. The Syracusans, finally relieved of
their fear, opened the gates of Achradina, and sent spokesmen to
Marcellus, requesting only that he spare their and their children’s
lives. Marcellus called a meeting, to which he also invited the
Syracusan citizens who had been expelled from their homes during
the civil unrest, and had served with the Roman forces. Here, in
response to the Syracusan request, he said that the good deeds of
Hiero over fifty years did not outnumber the criminal acts commit-
ted against the Roman people, during the past few, by those in power
in Syracuse. But, he added, most of those acts had fittingly recoiled
on their perpetrators, and the guilty parties had punished them-
selves for breaking the treaties more harshly than the Roman people
would have wished. His blockade of Syracuse was now in its third
year, he said, and its aim was not to let the Roman people make the
city-state its slave, but to prevent leaders of deserters from keeping it
in captivity and oppression. An example of what the Syracusans
could have done was provided by those citizens of Syracuse serving
among the Roman troops, or by the Spanish leader Moericus, who
surrendered his garrison, or, finally, by the courageous decision now
taken by the Syracusans themselves, late though it was in coming.
For himself, he said, being able to capture Syracuse was quite insuf-
ficient as a reward for all the hardships and dangers on land and
sea that, over such a long period, he had experienced around the
Syracusan walls.
212 bc chapters 30–32 295
A quaestor was then dispatched to the Nassus with a body of
soldiers to take charge of the royal treasury, and keep it under guard.
The city was handed over to the common soldiers for looting, but
guards were posted at the homes of those who had served with the
Roman troops. There were many instances of atrocities committed
from anger and from greed. Tradition has it that amidst the uproar,
such as the fear reigning in a captured city might arouse, with soldiers
running on the rampage everywhere, Archimedes was still concen-
trating intensely on some figures that he had drawn in the dust, and
was killed by a soldier who did not know who he was. Marcellus, it is
said, was upset by this. He made careful arrangements for his
funeral, and also conducted a search for Archimedes’ relatives, who
then received honour and protection, thanks to the man’s reputation
and memory.
Such, by and large, was the capture of Syracuse, and the quantity
of booty taken was so great that more would hardly have been forth-
coming if it were Carthage that had been captured, at a time when
the war was being fought on equal terms.
A few days prior to the capture of Syracuse, Titus Otacilius
crossed from Lilybaeum to Utica with eighty quinqueremes. He
entered the harbour of Utica before dawn, and captured some trans-
port ships with their cargoes of grain. He then disembarked, and
conducted raids on quite a large area around Utica, taking back to his
ships all manner of plunder. He returned to Lilybaeum two days
after setting sail from the town, and brought with him a hundred and
thirty freighters loaded with grain and booty. The grain he immedi-
ately despatched to Syracuse, where, but for its timely arrival on the
scene, conquerors and conquered alike were facing a deadly famine.
32. In Spain there had been no significant development over the
previous two years, and it had been a war of diplomatic manœuvring
rather than armed conflict, but that summer the Roman com-
manders joined forces after leaving their winter quarters.* A meeting
was called, and opinions were unanimous on one point: since their
only achievement to date was to hold back Hasdrubal’s advance into
Italy, it was time for action to bring the war in Spain to an end. They
believed that the 20,000 Celtiberians that had been raised over the
winter were a sufficient addition to their strength to achieve this
purpose. There were three enemy armies. Hasdrubal, son of Gisgo,
and Mago had united their camps, and were about five days’ march
296 book twenty-five 212 bc
from the Romans. Closer to them was a veteran commander in the
Spanish campaign, Hasdrubal, son of Hamilcar, who had his army
near a city called Amtorgis.*
It was Hasdrubal whom the Roman generals wanted to put out of
action first, and they were confident that their forces were more than
sufficient for the task. The one thing that disquieted them was the
possibility that, if Hasdrubal were defeated, the other Hasdrubal and
Mago might withdraw in dismay into the desolate forests and moun-
tains, and so prolong hostilities. They felt the best plan was to split
their forces in two, and carry on simultaneous operations throughout
the whole of Spain. They therefore made a division that gave Publius
Cornelius Scipio command of two-thirds of the combined Roman
and allied troops, for operations against Mago and Hasdrubal, while
Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio took a third of the original army, plus the
Celtiberians, to engage Hasdrubal Barca. The two commanders and
their armies set off together, the Celtiberians in front, and they
pitched camp at the city of Amtorgis, in sight of the enemy but with
a river separating them. There Gnaeus Scipio dug in with the troops
mentioned above, while Publius Scipio set off to undertake the share
of the campaign that had been assigned to him.
33. Hasdrubal noticed that the Roman force in the camp was
small, and that all their hope lay in the Celtiberian auxiliaries. He
was thoroughly acquainted with barbarian perfidy, especially that of
all the tribes amongst whom he had been campaigning over the
years, and communicating with them by language was easy, since both
camps were full of Spaniards. He accordingly held covert meetings
with the Celtiberian chieftains, and, for a large sum of money, got
them to agree to remove their troops from the area. This did not
strike the Celtiberians as a serious transgression on their part. It was
not a question of turning their weapons on the Romans, and they
were being given remuneration large enough for fighting a war for
not fighting one. Then there was the repose itself, the return to their
homes, the pleasure of seeing their own people and their own posses-
sions––all this was very appealing to the common soldier. As a result,
the rank and file were as easily persuaded as their leaders, and, at the
same time, there was not even any fear of the Romans––given their
small numbers––forcibly holding them back. (Roman commanders
will always have to be circumspect in this regard,* and instances of
this kind should truly be taken as object lessons. They must not put
212 bc chapters 32–34 297
such reliance on foreign auxiliaries as to fail to keep Roman strength
and Roman forces predominant in their camp.)
The Celtiberians abruptly pulled up their standards and left.
When the Romans asked why they were going, and pleaded with
them to stay, their only reply was that they were called away by war
at home. When his allies could be detained neither by entreaty nor
by force, and when he saw that he was no match for the enemy
without them, that joining up with his brother again was impossible,
and that there was no other safe course of action available, Scipio
decided to withdraw as far as he could. His one concern in doing so
was to avoid engaging the enemy on level ground at any point, and
the enemy had now crossed the river and was hard on the heels of the
retreating Romans.
34. During this same period Publius Scipio was prey to a fear
equally great, and faced a danger that was even greater, from a new
enemy. This was the young Masinissa, at that time an ally of the
Carthaginians, but whose fame and power came, later, from his
friendship with Rome.
Now Masinissa and his Numidian cavalry confronted Publius
Scipio while he was on the move, and then kept constant pressure on
him day and night. Not only would he capture Romans who wan-
dered too far from camp to gather wood and fodder, but he would
ride right up to the camp and, often charging into the midst of the
sentry-posts, he would cause terrible confusion everywhere. During
the nights, too, there was often panic at the gates, and on the ram-
part, from his surprise attacks. There was no time and no place that
the Romans could be free from fear and worry, and they were pinned
down within their fortifications, deprived of access to all essentials.
They were now virtually under siege, and one that threatened to
become even tighter if Indibilis, who was rumoured to be approach-
ing with 7,500 Suessetani,* joined up with the Carthaginians. Scipio
was a careful and prudent leader, but his dire situation obliged him
to adopt an audacious plan. He would proceed at night to meet
Indibilis, and engage him wherever he found him.
Leaving a small contingent of men in camp under his legate
Tiberius Fonteius, Scipio set off in the middle of the night, and
engaged the enemy when he encountered him. It was a fight between
marching columns rather than battle lines, but the Romans had the
upper hand as far as could be told from such a scrappy encounter.
298 book twenty-five 212 bc
But suddenly the Numidian cavalry, whom the Roman commander
thought he had evaded, surrounded their flanks, and struck great
panic into them. In addition, after beginning their new fight with the
Numidians, the Romans were confronted by a third enemy, the
Carthaginian generals who came upon them from behind, when they
were already engaged. The battle was now on two fronts for the
Romans, who did not know against which enemy, or in which direc-
tion, they should close ranks and charge. As their commander fought,
gave encouragement and placed himself where the pressure was
greatest, his right side was run through by a lance. A group of the
enemy had formed a wedge and attacked the men standing close to
the commander, and these now saw Scipio slipping lifeless from his
horse. Wild with joy, they ran the length of the battle line shouting
out the news that the Roman commander had fallen. The report
spread far and wide, making it clear that the enemy were victorious,
and the Romans beaten. The commander lost, flight from the field
began immediately. Breaking through the Numidians, and the other
light-armed auxiliaries, did not prove difficult, but they could hardly
make good their escape from the large numbers of cavalry, and of
infantrymen who were fast enough to keep pace with the horses.
There were almost more cut down in the flight than in the fighting,
and none would have survived but for the arrival of darkness, the day
by now coming quickly to a close.
35. The Carthaginian generals were not slow in exploiting their
success. Barely allowing their soldiers their much-needed rest, they
hastily marched their column to Hasdrubal, son of Hamilcar,
immediately after the battle, quite confident that the war could be
wound up if they joined up with him. When they arrived, exuberant
congratulations were exchanged between the armies and their gen-
erals, elated as they were with their recent victory: a great com-
mander and his entire army had been wiped out, and they took it to
be a certainty that another such victory lay ahead.
Word of the crushing defeat had not yet reached the Romans, but
there was a dismal silence and the silent foreboding usually present
in men’s minds when they have a premonition of imminent disaster.
The general himself realized that he had been abandoned by his
allies, and that the enemy’s forces had been enormously increased,
and, in addition, deduction and reason led him to suspect that a
defeat had been sustained rather than to entertain any sanguine
212 bc chapters 34–36 299
hopes. For, he asked himself, how could Hasdrubal and Mago have
brought their army to the spot without a fight, unless they had first
wrapped up their own military operations? Or how had his brother
not taken a stand against them, or dogged their footsteps? That
would at least have enabled him to join forces with his brother, if he
could not prevent the enemy armies and generals from joining up.
Tormented by such disturbing questions, Scipio believed the one
safe course for the moment was to retreat as far as he could, and in a
single night, with the enemy unaware of his departure, and accord-
ingly taking no action, he covered a considerable amount of ground.
At dawn, the enemy realized the Romans had gone and, sending
the Numidians ahead, they set off in pursuit with all the speed they
could muster. The Numidians caught up with them before nightfall;
and by directing attacks on their rear, as well as their flanks, they
forced them to halt and defend the column. Scipio, however, repeat-
edly encouraged the men to fight and keep advancing, as far as they
could in safety, before the enemy infantry overtook them.
36. For quite some time, because Scipio kept driving on, and then
halting, the column, little headway was made, and now night was
coming on. Scipio therefore called his men back from the fight,
gathered them in a body, and led them up a hillock, which, while not
affording much security––especially for demoralized troops––was
nevertheless higher than all the surrounding terrain.
Here baggage and cavalry were placed in the centre, and the infan-
try posted around them initially had no difficulty in fighting off the
attacks of the Numidians. Then the three generals came on the scene
with their entire column, comprising three armies with their full
complement of troops, and it became clear that the Romans would
not have the strength to defend the position just with their weapons
and without some means of fortification. Their commander then
began to look around and consider if there were some possible means
of throwing a palisade around the spot. But the hillock was so bare
and composed of such stony soil that there was no brushwood to be
found for cutting stakes, and no earth, either, that would enable them
to make a rampart of turf, dig a ditch, or construct any other defen-
sive structure. And yet no part of the hill was high or steep enough
to make it difficult for the enemy to advance or climb up to them.
Everywhere the ground sloped gently. But to put in the enemy’s
path something that looked like a palisade, they began to encircle
300 book twenty-five 212 bc
themselves with pack-saddles, with the loads still attached, building
them up, like a wall, to the usual height of a defence-work. When
they ran out of pack-saddles for the barricade, they tossed baggage
of all kinds on top.
When the Carthaginian armies arrived, they marched the column
up the hillock very easily. Then the novel appearance of the barrier––
a remarkable sight––stopped them in their tracks, and shouts from
their officers started to go up on every side. Why were they stopped,
they asked, and why were they not tearing down and ripping apart
this ludicrous object that was barely strong enough to hold back
women and children? The enemy was captured and in their hands,
lurking behind their baggage! Such were contemptuous reproaches
of the officers; but jumping over or clearing away the piles of bag-
gage in their path was no easy matter, nor was cutting a path through
the massed pack-saddles buried beneath them. But once they had
removed this barrier of packs by means of poles, thus affording the
soldiers passage, and this was done at several points, the camp was
stormed from every side. The Romans were cut down everywhere;
they were few, the enemy many, they were demoralized and the
enemy triumphant. Even so, a large number of men managed to flee
to the nearby woods and then make good their escape to the camp of
Publius Scipio, which was now under the command of Scipio’s lieu-
tenant Tiberius Fonteius. Some authorities have it that Gnaeus
Scipio was killed on the hillock in the initial charge of the enemy.
Others claim that he slipped away with a few men to a tower near the
camp. According to this version, a fire was lit around the tower, and
it was captured after the door was burned down, the enemy having
been completely unable to force it open. All inside were then killed,
including the general himself.
Gnaeus Scipio was killed in the eighth year after his arrival in
Spain, and on the twenty-ninth day after his brother’s death.* Sorrow
over the deaths of the men was not more intense in Rome than it was
throughout Spain. Indeed, the grief of the citizens of Rome was
partly over the destruction of the armies, the loss of a province, and a
national catastrophe, whereas in Spain it was the loss of generals
themselves that people felt and regretted, and the more so in the case
of Gnaeus. For he had been commander for a longer period, had won
their esteem earlier than his brother, and, in addition, he had been
for them the first example of Roman justice and moderation.
212 bc chapters 36–37 301
37. It seemed that the armies had been destroyed and Spain had
been lost, when a single individual remedied that desperate situ-
ation. There was in Gnaeus’ army a Roman knight, Lucius Marcius,
the son of Septimus Marcius. He was a dynamic young man, whose
courage and intelligence were considerably greater than one might
expect from the station in which he was born. To complement his
natural qualities, he had also had the advantage of Gnaeus Scipio’s
training, which had, over the course of many years, given him a
thorough education in the whole range of military science.
This man brought the soldiers together after their flight, and he
also withdrew a number from the town-garrisons.* Out of these he
had created an army that was by no means contemptible, and he had
joined forces with Tiberius Fonteius, Publius Scipio’s lieutenant.
The Roman knight, however, stood out for the authority and respect
he enjoyed amongst the men. This was made clear when, after a
fortified camp was built north of the Ebro,* the decision was taken for
the commander of the army to be elected by the vote of the common
soldiers. The men then stood in for each other in guard-duty on the
rampart and at the sentry-posts until everyone’s vote was cast, and
with complete unanimity they conferred supreme command on
Lucius Marcius.
The time following that (and it was short) Marcius devoted
entirely to fortifying the camp, and amassing supplies, and the men
followed all his orders energetically and, in addition, with no hint of
discouragement. But then word came that Hasdrubal son of Gisgo
was coming to finish off what remained of war, that he had crossed
the Ebro and was closing in on them; and the men also saw the signal
for battle that had been put up by their new commander. At that point
they recalled the commanders they had recently had, and the officers
and troops they had come to rely on when they went into battle.
They all suddenly burst into tears and beat their heads, some of
them raising their hands to heaven to reproach the gods, others lying
on the ground and calling upon their former commander by name.
Quelling the weeping and wailing was impossible, for all the centur-
ions’ efforts to restore the morale of men in their companies, and
Marcius’ own attempts to calm or chasten them. He scolded them
for abandoning themselves to useless tears like women, rather than
summoning up the courage to defend themselves, and their state
along with them, and he asked them not to let their commanders lie
302 book twenty-five 212 bc
unavenged in their graves. Then, suddenly, shouts were heard, and
the blare of trumpets; for the enemy were already close to their
defence-works.
With that, distress suddenly turned to anger, and the men rushed
to arms. They seemed to burn with fury as they converged swiftly
on the gates, and flew at the enemy who were advancing towards
them in careless disorder. The unexpected occurrence immediately
unnerved the Carthaginians. Where, they wondered, could so many
enemy soldiers have sprung from, when their army had been practic-
ally wiped out? Where had men who were defeated and routed found
such spirit, and such self-confidence? Who had emerged as com-
mander after the two Scipios were killed? Who was in command of
the camp, and who had given the signal for battle? Faced with so
much that they had not expected, they first gave ground, totally
baffled and bewildered; then, pushed back by a determined assault,
they turned and ran. There would now have followed either horrific
slaughter of the fleeing enemy, or an incautious and perilous charge
by the pursuers, had not Marcius swiftly signalled recall. Standing
before his men at the foremost standards, and grabbing some with
his own hands, he checked the over-excited troops. He then led them
back to camp still craving slaughter and bloodshed. As for the
Carthaginians, after being initially driven in chaos from the enemy
rampart, they saw nobody in pursuit, and they returned to camp
nonchalantly and at a leisurely pace, thinking their enemy had
stopped from fear.
There was the same insouciance with regard to the camp’s secur-
ity. Although the enemy was close at hand, they reflected that they
were merely the remnants of the two armies that had been destroyed
a few days earlier. As a result, there was neglect of everything on the
side of the enemy, and, when he had established this, Marcius turned
his thoughts to a plan that was, at first sight, foolhardy rather than
simply daring. He would make a pre-emptive attack on the enemy
camp, for he thought that storming the camp of a single Hasdrubal
would be easier than defending his own would be if the three armies
and the three generals linked up again. At the same time he reflected
that, if his endeavour were successful, he would restore the battered
Roman fortunes; and if he were defeated he would, at least, by taking
the offensive, put an end to the enemy’s disdain for him.
38. But such an impetuous deed, the panic darkness can cause, and
212 bc chapters 37–38 303
a plan seemingly at odds with his present circumstances could alarm
the men, and to prevent that he felt he should address them with
some words of encouragement. He therefore called a meeting, and
spoke as follows:
‘Men: My respect for our commanders, living and dead, com-
bined with the circumstances in which we all now find ourselves,
could make anyone see that this command of mine, though a distinc-
tion conferred at your discretion, is really a heavy and worrisome
burden. Were fear not deadening my distress, I should scarcely now
have the composure to find any solace for my grief-stricken heart,
and this is the very time when I must do what is the most difficult
thing in times of sorrow, to make plans, alone, on behalf of you all.
And yet at a time when I am obliged to think of some way of protect-
ing for our fatherland these remnants of two armies, I cannot take
my thoughts away from my constant sorrow. For that bitter memory
is ever there, and the two Scipios are on my mind day and night,
bringing me worry and sleeplessness. They often wake me from
sleep, telling me not to let them remain unavenged––not themselves,
not their soldiers (your comrades, who, for eight years, were
unconquered in these lands), and not the republic. And they bid me
follow their training and principles and, just as no one was more
obedient to their commands while they lived than I was, now, after
their deaths, they order to me to accept as the best course of action in
any situation the one that I think they would have followed.
‘In your case, too, men, I would not have you show your respect
for them with lamentation and tears as though they were dead––they
live on and flourish, thanks to their glorious achievements. No,
whenever you call them to mind, I want you to go into battle just as if
you can see them encouraging you and giving you the signal. That
was certainly the sight that came to your eyes and hearts yesterday.
That, and no other, brought off that remarkable battle, a battle with
which you proved to the enemy that the Roman name did not die
with the Scipios, and that a people whose might and valour were not
buried at Cannae would surely rise above every cruel stroke of
fortune.
‘Because you, of your own accord, showed such remarkable grit, I
would now like to see how much you would show when your com-
mander asks for it. Yesterday I gave you the signal for retreat when
you were engaged in a disordered pursuit of a routed enemy. My
304 book twenty-five 212 bc
wish was not to curb your valour, only to hold it in reserve for
greater glory, and for a greater occasion when you might, given the
chance, make an attack as a well-prepared force on an enemy off
guard, and as armed men on men unarmed, or even asleep. And the
hope of such an opportunity is not one I have idly or fancifully
conceived, but is in accord with the facts. Suppose someone were to
ask you, in fact, how you managed to protect your camp when you
were but a few, and the enemy many, when you had been conquered
and they were the conquerors. Your reply would be only that it was
from fear of that very imbalance that you fortified all sectors with
defence-works, and kept yourselves on guard and at the ready.
‘That is how things go, in fact. Men are least safe in the face of
what fortune leads them not to fear; for one does not guard or pro-
tect oneself against what one does not care about. At the moment
there is nothing in the world that the enemy fears less than our
attacking their camp, not when we were just now under pressure, and
being attacked ourselves. Let us dare a deed of incredible daring––it
will be easier for the very reason that it seems too difficult. At the
third watch of the night, I shall lead you out in silence. I have
intelligence to the effect that the enemy has no regular shifts of
guards, no regular sentry-posts. Our shout at the gates, and our first
attack, will suffice to take the camp. Then, amongst men drowsy
with sleep, disoriented by the sudden uproar, and caught unarmed in
their beds––that is the time for that massacre from which, much to
your annoyance, you were held back yesterday.
‘I know it seems a reckless plan, but when the situation is dire, and
hopes are dim, the boldest moves are the safest. An opportunity is
soon gone; hesitate a little at the instant when it is offered, and you
can look for it in vain later, for you have missed it. One army is in the
vicinity, two others not far away. Attack now and we have some
chance; and you have already put your might and theirs to the test. If
we put matters off, and if, when word spreads of yesterday’s counter-
attack, we cease to be an object of disdain, there is a danger of all
their commanders and all their armies linking up. Will we then be
able to cope with three commanders of the enemy, and three armies,
which Gnaeus Scipio failed to cope with when his army was intact?
It was through splitting up their troops that our own commanders
perished; and the enemy likewise can be crushed one by one while
they are divided. There is no other way to fight the war, so let us wait
212 bc chapters 38–39 305
only for the opportunity the oncoming night will give us. Go now,
with the gods’ favour, and take your food and rest so that you can,
fresh and strong, burst into the enemy camp with the same spirit
with which you defended your own.’
The men were overjoyed to hear this new plan from their new
leader, and its daring made them like it all the more. The rest of the
day was spent seeing to their weapons and preparing themselves
physically, and most of the night was given over to sleep. At the
fourth watch they moved out.
39. Beyond the closest camp, and separated from it by six miles,
was another division of Carthaginian troops. Between the two lay a
sunken hollow that was thick with trees. Somewhere towards the
middle of the wood a company of Roman infantry and some cavalry
were set in hiding, the usual Carthaginian trick. The path between
the two forces was thus cut off at the midway point, and the rest of
the Roman troops were marched silently to the enemy closest to
them. There, since there was no sentry-post before the gates, and no
guards on the rampart, they met no resistance, and they marched
into the camp as if it were their own. It was then that the trumpets
blared, and the battle-cry went up. Some proceeded to massacre an
enemy half-asleep; others hurled blazing torches on the huts, which
were thatched with dry straw; yet others seized the gates to cut off
any escape. The fire, shouting, and killing all together gave the
enemy, who were in a daze, no chance to hear anything or take any
preventive measures. Unarmed, they wandered amongst groups of
armed soldiers. Some ran to the gates; others leaped over the ram-
part when they found the roadways blocked; and as they all got out,
they ran immediately towards the other camp, only to be cut off by
the Roman infantry company and cavalry that charged from their
hiding-place, killing every last one of them. In fact, even if anyone
had managed to escape from the carnage, so speedy was the Roman
dash from the captured nearer camp to the other that no one could
have reached there before them to report the debacle.
At that camp, in fact, thanks to its greater distance from the
enemy, and the fact that a number of men had slipped away before
dawn to gather fodder, firewood, and plunder, the Romans found
everything in a state of even greater neglect and disarray. In the
sentry-posts there were only weapons that had been laid aside, and
unarmed men were either sitting or lying around, or walking about
306 book twenty-five 212 bc
before the rampart and the gates. Such were the men, carefree and
relaxed, with whom the Romans, still fired up from their recent
engagement and flushed with victory, now went into battle. Stopping
them at the gates was absolutely impossible. Within the gates there
was a rush from all quarters of the camp, when the shouting and
uproar started, and a bloody battle ensued. This would have lasted a
long time but for the sight of the blood on the Roman shields, which
gave the Carthaginians a clue that there had been another defeat, and
that filled them with alarm. The terror turned them all to flight; they
poured out––at least, those not victims of the slaughter––wherever
there was an exit, and lost the camp. So, in a night and a day, two
enemy camps were attacked,* under the leadership of Lucius Marcius.
Claudius,* who translated the annals of Acilius into Latin from the
Greek, puts the number of enemy dead at about 37,000, with some
1,830 taken prisoner and massive amounts of plunder also won. The
plunder, Claudius claims, included a 137-pound silver shield bearing
a portrait of Hasdrubal Barca. In Valerius Antias’ account, only one
camp was taken, that of Mago, and 7,000 of the enemy were killed;
but there was, he says, a second engagement, with Hasdrubal, who
counterattacked from his camp,* in which 10,000 were killed and
4,330 taken prisoner. Piso* records that 5,000 were killed in an
ambush, when Mago was in a disordered pursuit of our retreating
soldiers. In all the accounts Marcius, the commander, is well cele-
brated, and to the praises that genuinely belong to him people also add
the supernatural, saying that, as he was making an address, a flame
arose from his head, without his realizing it, to the great consterna-
tion of his men who stood around him. They also say that, to com-
memorate his victory over the Carthaginians, a shield bearing the
portrait of Hasdrubal and called ‘the shield of Marcius’ hung in the
Capitoline temple right down to the time when the temple burned
down.
There followed a period of inactivity in Spain. After receiving and
inflicting in turn such monumental defeats, both sides were loath to
take a risk on a decisive engagement.
40. Such were events in Spain. Marcellus, meanwhile, had been so
scrupulous and honest in all his dealings in Sicily following the
capture of Syracuse as to increase not only his own reputation but
the majesty of the Roman people, as well. The artwork of the city,
however, the sculptures and paintings with which Syracuse was
212 bc chapters 39–40 307
richly endowed, he shipped off to Rome. True, they were enemy
spoils, won under the rules of warfare, but this was what first started
the appreciation for Greek works of art, and the licence we now see
in the widespread looting of all manner of things sacred and profane.*
This eventually recoiled on the Roman gods, and did so first of all
on the very temple that was superbly furbished by Marcellus.
Temples dedicated by Marcellus close to the Porta Capena used to
be visited by foreigners because of their outstanding art works of this
kind, but only a tiny fraction of these works now remain.
Deputations were now coming to Marcellus from almost all the
communities of Sicily, and the treatment they received differed
according to the case they made. Those that had not defected, or
which had re-established their alliance, before Syracuse was taken,
were regarded, and treated, as faithful allies. Those whom fear had
forced to capitulate after the capture of Syracuse were given terms as
a vanquished people by the victor.
The Romans, however, still had a considerable amount of residual
fighting around Agrigentum. Epicydes and Hanno, commanders of
the earlier war, were still active, and there was a third, a new man
sent out by Hannibal to replace Hippocrates. He was from Hippacra,
and of Libyphoenician nationality.* Called Muttines by his own
people, he was an enterprising individual who had gained a thorough
mastery of the arts of war under Hannibal’s instruction. This
Muttines was given some Numidian auxiliaries by Epicydes and
Hanno, and with them he made a broad sweep of enemy territory,
and kept Carthaginian allies loyal by bringing all of them timely
assistance. So successful was he in this that he soon made a name for
himself throughout Sicily, and he represented the greatest hope for
those espousing the Carthaginian cause. The two other commanders,
the Carthaginian and the Syracusan, had until then been pinned
down within the fortifications of Agrigentum, but on Muttines’
advice, and more because of their confidence in him, they now
ventured forth beyond the walls to encamp at the River Himera.
When this was reported to Marcellus, he immediately moved his
troops forward, and took up a position about four miles from the
enemy, intending to wait and see what they were doing, or preparing
to do. Muttines, however, gave him no room to move, and no time to
pause or plan; he crossed the river and attacked his enemy’s out-
posts, causing enormous fright and consternation. The following
308 book twenty-five 212 bc
day he engaged in what was almost a regular battle, and drove the
Romans back inside their fortifications. But he was then called away
from the front by a mutiny of the Numidians in the camp––some 300
of them had withdrawn to Heraclea Minoa. He set off to calm these
men down, and bring them back to service, and it is said that, as he
left, he gave the commanders an emphatic warning not to engage the
enemy in his absence. This angered the two commanders, Hanno
more than his colleague, because he had already been troubled
over Muttines’ celebrity. He resented the fact that Muttines should
be setting limits on his actions––a low-born African limiting a
Carthaginian general on assignment from his senate and people!
Hanno then convinced the wavering Epicydes that they should cross
the river and offer battle. If they waited for Muttines, he explained,
and the battle turned out successfully, there was no doubt that the
glory would go to Muttines.
41. Now Marcellus felt it would be humiliating for him––the man
who had driven Hannibal from Nola, when the Carthaginian was
still elated with his victory at Cannae––to give way before this enemy
that he had already defeated on land and sea. He therefore issued
orders for his men to take up their weapons immediately, and for the
standards to be carried out. He was deploying his troops when ten
Numidians broke away from the enemy line, and came galloping up.
They reported to him that their compatriots would not take part in
the battle. First, they said, they sympathized with the mutiny involv-
ing the 300 of their number who had withdrawn to Heraclea, but
then they were also concerned that their own officer had been
removed, just before the battle, by generals trying to belittle his
reputation. A duplicitous people, the Numidians were nevertheless
true to their word. As a result, when word passed swiftly through
the ranks that the enemy had been abandoned by his cavalry, which
the Romans had feared most, Roman morale rose. In addition, the
enemy were terrified; apart from losing the support of the strongest
section of their forces, they were also filled with fear that they might
be attacked by their own cavalry. And so it was not much of a fight,
and the first battle-cry and the first onslaught decided the outcome.
The Numidians stood inactive on the wings during the encounter,
and, when they saw their side turn to run, they briefly joined them in
their flight. Then they saw that they were all heading in panic for
Agrigentum and, fearing to be under siege there, they slipped away
212–211 bc chapters 40–41 309
in all directions to the nearest communities. Many thousands of men
were killed, and 6,000* were captured, along with eight elephants.
This was Marcellus’ final battle in Sicily, and after it he returned
triumphant to Syracuse.
The year was now practically at an end, and so, in Rome, the
Senate passed a decree instructing the praetor Publius Cornelius to
write to the consuls in Capua to inform them that, while Hannibal
was far off, and nothing of any significance was going on around
Capua, one of the consuls–– if he saw fit*––should come to Rome to
supervise the election of the next magistrates. On receiving the dis-
patch, the consuls agreed between them that Claudius should con-
duct the elections and Fulvius remain at Capua. The consuls elected
under Claudius’ supervision were Gnaeus Fulvius Centumalus and
Publius Sulpicius Galba, son of Servius Galba. Sulpicius had held
no prior curule office. The praetors elected after that were: Lucius
Cornelius Lentulus, Marcus Cornelius Cethegus, Gaius Sulpicius,
and Gaius Calpurnius Piso. City jurisdiction was allotted to Piso,
Sicily to Sulpicius, Apulia to Cethegus, and Sardinia to Lentulus.
The consuls saw their imperium extended for a year.
 BOOK TWENTY-SIX

1. When, on 15 March, the consuls Gnaeus Fulvius Centumalus and

Publius Sulpicius Galba began their terms of office, they convened
the Senate on the Capitol and sought members’ opinions on matters
of state, the management of the war, and the question of the prov-
inces and armies. Quintus Fulvius and Appius Claudius, the previ-
ous year’s consuls, had their imperium extended, and were assigned
the armies already under their command. They were also instructed
not to break off the blockade of Capua until they had captured the
city. This was the matter that most preoccupied the Romans at that
time. It was not so much because of the resentment they felt towards
Capua––though this was more justified in her case than with any
city-state in the past––but rather because a city of such renown, and
such power, had drawn a number of different peoples with her when
she defected, and it seemed likely that recovering her would again
bring these peoples to respect their former master. The previous
year’s praetors, Marcus Junius and Publius Sempronius, also had
their imperium extended, Junius in Etruria and Sempronius in Gaul,
and they retained the two legions they had each had under their
command.
Marcus Marcellus’ imperium was likewise extended to enable him
to finish off, as proconsul, what remained of the war in Sicily, with
the army then under his command. If he needed that army sup-
plemented, Marcellus was to make up the shortfall from the legions
in Sicily under the command of the propraetor Publius Cornelius.
He was not, however, to select any member in that group of men to
whom the Senate had refused to grant discharge,* or permission to
return home, before the war’s end. Gaius Sulpicius, who had been
allotted Sicily, was assigned the two legions that Publius Cornelius
had commanded, and reinforcements from the army of Gnaeus
Fulvius. (Fulvius’ army had incurred disgrace the year before, when
it was cut to pieces and routed in Apulia, and for soldiers in this
category the Senate had fixed the same term of service as for the men
who had been at Cannae. A further mark of censure for the two groups
was a prohibition against their wintering in towns, or building winter
quarters closer than ten miles from any city.) In Sardinia, Lucius
211 bc chapters 1–2 311
Cornelius was given the two legions that had been under Quintus
Mucius’ command, and the consuls were under orders to raise such
reinforcements as were necessary. The coastlines of Sicily and
Greece were assigned to Titus Otacilius and Marcus Valerius, along
with the legions and fleets that were already under their command
(Greece having fifty ships and one legion, Sicily a hundred ships and
two legions). Land and sea operations were that year conducted with
twenty-three Roman legions.*
2. At the beginning of the year,* the letter of Lucius Marcius was
brought up in the Senate. The Senate found his achievements out-
standing; but how he styled himself caused widespread offence
amongst the members, because he had written ‘From the propraetor
to the Senate’* when his command had been neither mandated by the
people, nor authorized by the Senate. It was felt that a bad precedent
was being set––generals being chosen by armies, and the solemn
electoral process, with its obligatory auspices, being transferred to
unruly soldiers in camps in the provinces, far from the law and
magistrates. Some proposed that the matter be formally raised for
debate in the house, but it was deemed better that such a discussion
be postponed until a time after the departure of the knights who had
delivered the letter from Marcius. On the provision of grain and
clothing for Marcius’ army, it was decided that he should be given
the reply, in writing, that the Senate would give its attention to both
items. However, it was decided that the reply should not be
addressed to ‘Lucius Marcius Propraetor’ for fear of Marcius
thereby attaining, as though it were already decided, the very thing
they had shelved for later consideration.
When the knights had been sent on their way, this was the matter
that the consuls raised for debate before anything else. There was
unanimous agreement that they should discuss with the tribunes of
the plebs their putting before the people, at the earliest opportunity,
the question of who the people wanted to be sent to Spain, with
imperium, to take over the army that Gnaeus Scipio had led as
commander-in-chief. The matter was discussed with the tribunes,
and public notice of the question was given; but now another dispute
had seized public attention.
Gaius Sempronius Blaesus had arraigned Gnaeus Fulvius on a
charge of losing his army in Apulia,* and he was now harassing him
on the subject in public meetings. Many commanders had, through
312 book twenty-six 211 bc
foolhardiness and experience, taken their army into dangerous ter-
rain, Blaesus would say, but Gnaeus Fulvius stood alone in having
corrupted his legions with all conceivable manner of vice before
betraying them to the enemy. Thus it could be rightly maintained, he
would say, that his men were done for before they set eyes on the foe,
and that their defeat had come not at the hands of Hannibal but
those of their own general.
No one proceeding to the vote, said Blaesus, had much idea of the
person to whom he was actually confiding a command, and confiding
an army––as could be seen in the difference between Tiberius Sem-
pronius and Gnaeus Fulvius! Tiberius Sempronius was given an
army of slaves, but he soon ensured, by his discipline and authority,
that none of those slaves gave any thought to lineage and bloodline
when in battle, and that they served to defend their allies, and strike
terror into their enemies. Cumae, Beneventum, and other cities––
these men had virtually snatched them from Hannibal’s jaws and
restored them to the people of Rome. Now Gnaeus Fulvius, he
would say, had an army made up of Roman citizens, men from good
families who had been brought up as free men, and in these he had
instilled the vices of slaves. As a result all he ensured was that
they would be hot-headed ruffians with the allies, and spineless cow-
ards with the enemy––unable to withstand even their war-cry, and
much less their charge. Indeed, that his men gave way in battle was
not a surprise, not when their commander was the very first to flee!
He was more surprised, he said, that some had actually made a stand
to the death, and that they had not all shared Gnaeus Fulvius’ panic-
stricken flight. Gaius Flaminius, Lucius Paulus, Lucius Postumius,
Gnaeus and Publius Scipio––these had preferred to fall in the line of
combat sooner than desert their encircled armies. Gnaeus Fulvius
had returned to Rome, virtually the only man left to tell of his
army’s annihilation! The army that served at Cannae had been
shipped off to Sicily for having fled the battle, he said, and the men
were not to be released from there until the enemy had left Italy; and
now the same conditions had been recently decreed for Gnaeus
Fulvius’ army. But it was a shameful crime that Gnaeus Fulvius’
flight––from a battle that he had himself irresponsibly begun––
should go unpunished, and that he would pass his old age in the
same dives and brothels that he had passed his younger days! It was a
crime that his men, whose only wrong was to have imitated their
211 bc chapters 2–3 313
commander, should be virtually sent into exile and made to submit
to dishonourable service! So different at Rome was freedom for the
rich, and freedom for the poor, so different for a man who had held
office and a man who had not!
3. Fulvius proceeded to defend himself by shifting the blame to
his men. They had been aggressively demanding action, he said, but
they had nevertheless not been led out into the field on the day they
wanted––for it was too late in the day––but on the one that followed,
and the timing and the location of their deployment were both
favourable. Even so, he said, they had still found themselves no
match for the enemy’s reputation, or his violent attack. When his
men were all in disordered flight, he too was swept away in the
crowd, like Varro in the battle of Cannae, and like many other com-
manders. But how could he have helped the republic by holding his
ground on his own, he asked––it was not as if his own death could be
a remedy for national disasters! He had not been brought down
through running short of provisions; he had not been led into
unfavourable terrain through lack of caution; and he had not been
ambushed as he proceeded along a path he had failed to reconnoitre.
He had been defeated with an open attack on the field of battle. His
own men’s courage was no more under his control than his enemy’s;
it was the individual’s own make-up that gave him bravery or
cowardice.
Fulvius was twice accused, with a fine sought both times. On the
third occasion, witnesses were produced and, in addition to the
defendant being subjected to all manner of insults, many swore
under oath that the panic-stricken flight had actually started with the
praetor. The soldiers had been abandoned by him, they said, and had
turned to flee because they believed their leader must have had good
reason for his fear. Such was the anger this testimony produced that
the assembly noisily demanded that Fulvius be arraigned on a capital
charge. And that gave rise to a new squabble. When the plaintiff,
having twice asked for fines, said on the third occasion that he was now
seeking capital punishment, the defendant appealed to the tribunes
of the plebs. The tribunes said they would not obstruct their col-
league’s efforts to press either for capital punishment or a fine against
the defendant, as was his right by their ancestral traditions, whether
he availed himself of the laws or customary practice. Sempronius
then declared that he was seeking Gnaeus Fulvius’ condemnation
314 book twenty-six 211 bc
for treason, and he requested of the praetor, Gaius Calpurnius, a
date for the assembly of the people.
The defendant then took another promising line: perhaps his
brother Quintus Fulvius could attend the trial. Quintus wielded
influence at the time because of the fame of his exploits, and because
of the prospect, now close to realization, of his taking Capua. In a
highly emotional letter in defence of his brother’s life, Quintus
Fulvius then made the request to attend, but the senators replied
that it was not in the interests of the state for him to leave Capua. When
the day of the assembly was at hand, Gnaeus Fulvius went in exile at
Tarquinii, and the plebs confirmed that the exile was justified.
4. In the meantime, the full force of the war had been brought to
bear on Capua. The blockade, however, was having a more severe
effect than direct assaults; the slaves and the masses were finding the
food deprivation intolerable and, because the guard-posts were so
closely spaced, sending messengers to Hannibal was impossible. A
Numidian was found who undertook to get through with a letter and
proved capable of fulfilling his commitment. He made his way at
night through the midst of the Roman camp, and fired the people of
Capua with hopes of mounting a counterattack at all points, while
they had some strength left for it. In fact, in the numerous engage-
ments that followed, the Capuans were actually successful in most
cavalry battles, but their infantry suffered defeat. For the Romans,
however, elation over the infantry victories was nothing like as great
as the dejection they felt at suffering defeat in any area at the hands
of a besieged and practically defeated foe. Eventually, a new tactic
was adopted whereby they could use ingenuity to compensate for
their inadequate strength.
Throughout the legions young men were picked who were pos-
sessed of exceptional speed thanks to their strength and lightness.
They were each equipped with shields smaller than those used by
the cavalry, and with seven javelins, all four feet long and tipped with
iron, like the spears of the light infantry. The cavalrymen would
each take one of these men on their horses, and train them to ride
behind them and to dismount briskly at a given signal. When daily
training seemed to have enabled them to do this with some con-
fidence, they advanced into the plain between the camp and the city
wall, to face the Capuan cavalry who were drawn up for battle.
Coming within javelin-range, the light infantry dismounted when
211 bc chapters 3–5 315
they were given the signal. The result was a line of infantry suddenly
emerging from the cavalry formation to attack the enemy horsemen,
unleashing javelin after javelin as they charged. Hurling these
weapons in large numbers at horses and riders in every quarter, they
inflicted heavy casualties. However, even greater panic was struck in
the Capuans by the novel and unexpected manœuvre, and the cavalry
then bore down on their frightened enemy, chasing them in bloody
flight all the way to the gates. After that the Romans enjoyed cavalry
superiority as well. This was the origin of the practice of keeping
light infantry amongst the legions;* and the man responsible for the
idea of combining infantry with the cavalry was, they say, Quintus
Navius, a centurion, and he was given special recognition for it by
the general.
5. Such was the situation at Capua, and Hannibal was torn
between two conflicting priorities––taking the citadel of Tarentum,
and holding on to Capua. But it was his concern for Capua that
prevailed. He could see that everyone’s attention was focused on the
town, his allies’ as well as his enemy’s, and how Capua’s defection
from Rome turned out would be seen as setting an example for the
future. Accordingly, Hannibal left most of his baggage, and all his
more heavily armed forces, in Bruttium, and hastened into Campania
at the head of some elite infantry and cavalry troops, equipped as
well as they could be for a speedy march. Despite his swift pace
thirty-three elephants* came along with him.
Hannibal took up a position in a secluded valley behind Tifata, the
mountain overlooking Capua. On his arrival, he took the stronghold
of Calatia,* expelling its garrison, and then marched on the force
blockading Capua. He sent messengers ahead to the town to
announce the time at which he would assault the Roman camp––he
wanted the townspeople to be ready for a sortie, and to synchronize
the charge from all the gates with his attack––and, in fact, he struck
great fear into the Romans. For Hannibal himself attacked on one
side while, on the other, the Capuan cavalry and infantry came
charging out in full force, and along with them the Carthaginian
garrison that was under the command of Bostar and Hanno.
It was an alarming situation for the Romans and, not to leave any
point undefended by a simultaneous rush in one direction, they
divided their forces. Appius Claudius faced the Capuans, and Quintus
Fulvius faced Hannibal; the propraetor Gaius Nero was stationed
316 book twenty-six 211 bc
with the cavalry of six legions on the road leading to Suessa; and the
legate Gaius Fulvius Flaccus, with the allied cavalry, was close to the
River Volturnus.
It was not just the customary battle-cry and clamour that marked
the start of this particular engagement. In addition to the noise of the
combatants, horses, and weapons, there was that coming from the
crowd of Capuans on the walls, non-participants in the fighting. So
loud were their cries, which were accompanied by the clattering of
bronze instruments––like that usually raised in the dead of night
during a lunar eclipse––that they distracted even the men engaged in
the battle. Appius easily kept the Capuans away from the rampart;
but the pressure was greater on the other side, where Fulvius faced
Hannibal and the Carthaginians. In that sector the sixth legion gave
ground, and in giving way permitted a Spanish unit with three
elephants to reach the rampart. This unit had broken through the
Roman centre, and was now weighing up its hopes against the pos-
sible danger––hopes of breaking into the camp, on the one hand, and
the danger of being cut off from its own side, on the other.
Seeing the fright this instilled in the legion, and the danger the
camp was facing, Fulvius urged Quintus Navius and other first
centurions to attack the enemy unit that was in combat beneath the
rampart. It was a critical situation, Fulvius told them: they faced the
alternatives of letting through the enemy––and these would find it
less of a challenge to break into the camp than they had found
breaking through the compact Roman line––or else finishing them
off beneath the rampart. That, he said, would not involve a great
fight: the enemy were few in number, and were cut off from their
own men. In addition, while the Romans panicked, their own line
had apparently been broken; and if the two parts of it now turned to
face the enemy on either side, they would catch him in a pincer
movement.
When Navius heard his commander’s words, he grabbed the
standard of the second maniple of the hastati from the standard-
bearer, and carried it towards the enemy, threatening to hurl it into
their midst if his men did not swiftly follow him and join the fight.
He was a mountain of a man, and his weapons made him all the more
impressive. In addition, the standard that he held high in the air had
attracted the attention of citizen and enemy alike. When he reached
the ranks of the Spaniards, however, Navius became the target of
211 bc chapters 5–6 317
spears hurled from every direction, and practically the whole of the
enemy line converged on him alone. Even so, neither enemy numbers
nor the barrage of weapons could stem the man’s charge.
6. The legate Marcus Atilius now proceeded to carry towards the
Spanish unit the standard of the first maniple of that same legion.
Meanwhile, the legates in charge of the camp, Lucius Porcius Licinus
and Titus Popillius, were putting up a spirited defence before the
rampart, and they dispatched some of the elephants right on the
rampart as these were crossing over. The ditch was now filled with
the animals’ carcasses, offering the enemy a passageway, as though a
mole or bridge had been laid down for them; and there, over the
supine bodies of the slaughtered elephants, a furious and bloody
struggle broke out.
On the other side of the camp, the Capuans and the Punic
garrison had already been pushed back, and fighting was going on
right up to the Capuan gate that faced the River Volturnus. The
armed resistance the Romans met as they tried to break into the town
was less of a problem than the fact that the gate was equipped with
ballistas and ‘scorpions’, which kept the enemy at bay with their
projectiles. The Roman thrust was further obstructed when the gen-
eral Appius Claudius was wounded: urging on his men at the front,
he was struck by a Gallic javelin in the upper chest, below the left
shoulder. Even so, large numbers of the enemy were killed before the
gate, and the remainder were driven panic-stricken into the city. And
when Hannibal saw his Spanish unit being cut to pieces and the
enemy camp defended with the maximum effort, he abandoned his
attack. He proceeded to recall his forces, and turn his infantry back,
setting cavalry to their rear to prevent enemy pressure on them as
they withdrew.
The legions were all for pursuing the foe, but Flaccus ordered the
retreat to be sounded. He thought two ends had been sufficiently
achieved: making the Capuans aware of how little support was to be
had from Hannibal, and making Hannibal aware of it, too.
Authors who cover this battle list the enemy casualties on that
day as 8,000 from Hannibal’s army, and 3,000 Capuans, with fifteen
standards taken from the Carthaginians and eighteen from the
Capuans. In other authors I have found the battle to be nothing
like as momentous.* They claim that it was more of a scare than
real fighting, and it was occasioned by the Numidians and Spaniards
318 book twenty-six 211 bc
unexpectedly breaking into the Roman camp with elephants. The
elephants, trumpeting loudly, trampled down the tents as they
passed through the centre of the camp, and stampeded the beasts of
burden, which broke their tethers. These sources also claim that, in
addition to the confusion, there was some trickery afoot. Men dressed
as Italians, and familiar with the Latin language, were sent amongst
the Romans by Hannibal to tell them, in the name of the consuls, to
look out for their own safety and run for the nearest hills, since the
camp had been lost. However, the trick was quickly discovered and
foiled, with heavy enemy losses, and the elephants were driven from
the camp by fire.
Whatever the details of its beginning and end, this was the final
battle before the capitulation of Capua. That year the medix tuticus,
the supreme magistrate amongst the Capuans, was Seppius Loesius,
a man of low birth and slender means. The story goes that his
mother was once performing expiatory sacrifice on his behalf, Loesius
then being a minor,* in connection with an omen affecting the fam-
ily. The priest, in delivering his response, stated that the highest
power in Capua would come to the boy. At this, the mother, who saw
no reason to entertain such hopes, remarked: ‘You must be saying
that the people of Capua will be in a sorry state at the time when
their top office comes to my son!’ This snide interpretation of a
prophecy that came true turned out to be true itself. When the
Capuans were hard pressed by starvation and the sword, and no hope
of resistance remained, all those born to the expectation of public
offices were turning them down. Complaining that Capua had been
abandoned and betrayed by its dignitaries, Loesius became the very
last citizen of Capua to gain the city’s highest office.
7. Hannibal saw that it was no longer possible to lure the enemy
into an engagement, or break through their lines to reach Capua,
and, fearing the new consuls might cut off his supplies, he decided to
abandon his failed venture and move camp away from the city. He
thought long and hard about where to go from there, and the urge
took him to head for Rome, the very epicentre of the war. This had
ever been his wish, but he had let the opportunity slip after the battle
of Cannae––a criticism that others levelled at him, the truth of
which he did not himself conceal. He felt that, if there were a sudden
outbreak of panic and public disorder, seizing some section of the
city was not beyond his hopes; and, if Rome were threatened, then
211 bc chapters 6–8 319
both Roman commanders, or one, at least, would immediately aban-
don Capua. And, if they split their troops, they would, by weakening
both parts, give him or the Capuans some chance of success. Only
one matter was causing him some anxiety: the Capuans might
immediately capitulate when he withdrew.
Hannibal bribed a Numidian, who was prepared to undertake any
risky venture, to take a letter, enter the Roman camp posing as a
deserter, and then slip furtively away on the other side of the camp to
Capua. The letter was full of encouragement. His leaving would
prove their salvation, Hannibal told the citizens: it would divert the
Roman leaders and their armies from the siege of Capua to the
defence of Rome. He told them not to be dismayed––by just holding
out for a few days they would raise the entire siege. He then ordered
ships to be commandeered on the River Volturnus, and brought up
to a fort that he had built earlier as a guard-post. Informed that these
vessels were so numerous that his army could be ferried over in a
single night, he had ten days’ worth of rations prepared and, leading
his legions to the river by night, shipped them over before dawn.
8. Fulvius Flaccus had received intelligence on this operation
from deserters before it took place, and had then reported it in a
dispatch to the Senate in Rome,* where reactions to the news varied
according to people’s temperaments. This being a serious crisis, the
Senate was naturally convened immediately; and at the meeting
Publius Cornelius, whose surname was Asina, with no thought for
Capua or anything else, simply advocated the recall of all generals
and armies from everywhere in Italy for the defence of Rome. Fabius
Maximus felt a withdrawal from Capua, and allowing themselves to
be intimidated by Hannibal, and led around at his beck and call, was
disgraceful. Hannibal had not had the nerve to march on the city
even after his victory at Cannae, he said, and now he had conceived
the hope of taking the city of Rome after being driven from Capua!
No, the goal of his march was not to lay siege to Rome, but to raise
the siege of Capua, he said. As for Rome, Jupiter was witness to the
treaties broken by Hannibal, and he and the other gods would defend
her with the army already in place in the city.
In this clash of opinions it was the compromise position of Publius
Valerius Flaccus that prevailed. Flaccus remained focused on the two
situations, and proposed sending a letter to the generals at Capua.
This would apprise them of the resources available for the defence of
320 book twenty-six 211 bc
Rome, but then say that the generals themselves best knew the size
of the force Hannibal was bringing, and also how great an army was
needed to invest Capua. Perhaps one of them, and some of the
troops, could be sent to Rome without compromising the siege of
Capua, which would be conducted by the general and troops that
remained. If so, then Claudius and Fulvius should agree on who
should continue the siege, and who should come to Rome to prevent
a blockade of their native city.
This decree of the Senate was brought to Capua, and it was the
proconsul Quintus Fulvius who was obliged to return to Rome, his
colleague being incapacitated with a wound. Fulvius selected men
from the three armies, and crossed the Volturnus with about 15,000
infantry and 1,000 cavalry.* Reliably informed that Hannibal would
proceed from there along the Latin Way, he sent messengers ahead
through the townships on the Appian Way, and those in its vicinity
––Setia, Cora, and Lanuvium––ordering the people to have provi-
sions stockpiled in the towns, and, in the case of the more remote
farms, to bring them to the road. The inhabitants were also to muster
troops for the towns, so that each community could look after itself.
9. On the day he crossed the Volturnus, Hannibal pitched camp
not far from the river, and the next day he came past Cales into the
territory of the Sidicini. He spent a day plundering the countryside,
and then took his army along the Latin Way through the country of
Suessa, Allifae, and Casinum. He remained encamped for two days
before the walls of Casinum and conducted widespread raids.
He next came past Interamna and Aquinum to the River Liris, in the
territory of Fregellae, where he found that the bridge had been
broken down by the people of Fregellae to retard his progress.*
Fulvius, too, had been held up by a river, he by the Volturnus:
the boats here had been burned by Hannibal, and because of the dire
shortage of timber Fulvius had problems putting together rafts to
ferry over his army. Once the army was taken across on the rafts,
however, the rest of Fulvius’ march went off without a hitch. For
generous quantities of supplies had been left out for him along the
road, as well as in the towns, and the men, remembering that they
were marching to the defence of the fatherland, enthusiastically
urged each other to pick up the pace.
At Rome, meanwhile, a messenger from Fregellae, who had made
a non-stop journey of a day and a night, brought sheer panic to the
211 bc chapters 8–10 321
city. But people †running about†, adding pure fiction to what they
had heard, threw the entire city into even greater turmoil than had
the initial report of danger. It was now not just a matter of women’s
lamentations being heard coming from private homes: all over the
city married ladies poured into the streets, and ran around the
shrines of the gods. They swept the altars with their dishevelled hair;
they fell to their knees with hands held palm-up to heaven and the
gods; and they begged the gods to rescue the city of Rome from the
hands of the enemy, and save Roman mothers and little children
from abuse. The Senate put itself at the disposal of the magistrates
in the Forum, in case they wanted to bring up any business. Some
were given military assignments, and went off to discharge their
various duties; others volunteered themselves for any service they
could usefully perform. Defensive units were posted on the citadel,
the Capitol, the walls, and around the city, even on the Alban Mount
and the citadel of Aefula. In the midst of all this upheaval news was
brought that the proconsul Quintus Fulvius had left Capua with an
army. To ensure that his imperium would not be invalidated by his
entry into the city, the Senate decreed that Quintus Fulvius’
imperium be on a par with that of the consuls.*
The destruction of the bridges led Hannibal to lay waste the agri-
cultural lands of Fregellae with even greater ferocity. After that he
passed through the territory of Frusino, Ferentinum, and Anagnia
into that of the Labici. He then headed for Tusculum by way of Mt.
Algidus; but he was refused entry to the town, and so he veered to
the right below Tusculum and went down to Gabii. From there he
brought the army down into the area of Pupinia, and encamped eight
miles from Rome. The closer the enemy came, the more the fatalities
mounted amongst those fleeing to the city––thanks to the Numidians
riding in advance of the army––and the greater became the number
of prisoners taken, of all classes and all ages.
10. Amidst the chaos Fulvius Flaccus marched into Rome with his
army by way of the Porta Capena. He came swiftly through the city
centre to the Esquiline, passing through the Carinae, and then, leav-
ing the city once more, pitched his camp between the Porta Esquilina
and the Porta Collina.* Here the plebeian aediles brought him sup-
plies. The consuls and Senate also came to his camp, and the crisis
facing the state was discussed. It was determined that the consuls
should also pitch their camp in the environs of the Porta Collina and
322 book twenty-six 211 bc
Porta Esquilina, and that Gaius Calpurnius, the city praetor, should
take charge of the Capitol and the citadel. The Senate was to maintain
a quorum, with meetings held in the Forum, in case consultation
were needed in this time of crisis.
Hannibal, meanwhile, moved his camp up to the River Anio, three
miles from the city. He established a base there and, taking 2,000
cavalry, he went ahead as far as the temple of Hercules, near the
Porta Collina. Here he rode up to the walls and proceeded to exam-
ine them, and the lie of the city, from as close a point as he could. To
Flaccus it seemed outrageous that Hannibal should be doing this so
brazenly and so nonchalantly, and so he unleashed some cavalry
against him, with orders to push back the enemy cavalry from the
city and drive them back to their camp.
After battle was joined, the consuls ordered some Numidian
deserters, of whom there were at that stage about 1,200 on the Aven-
tine, to go through the city centre and cross the Esquiline. None,
they thought, would be better suited for fighting on land consisting
of hollows, of buildings set in the midst of gardens, and of sep-
ulchres and roads high-banked at every point. But some people in
the citadel and the Capitol spotted the men coming swiftly on horse-
back down the Clivus Publicius,* and they yelled out that the Aven-
tine had been captured. That of itself precipitated such a headlong
stampede that, but for the presence of a Punic camp outside the city,
the panic-stricken crowd would all have gone pouring out of town.
Instead, they sought refuge in their homes and other buildings and,
assuming their compatriots who were wandering the streets to be the
enemy, they began to pelt them with stones and missiles. And there
was no way of suppressing the uproar, or making people see their
mistake, because the roads were choked with crowds of peasants and
farm animals that the sudden panic had driven into the city.
The cavalry engagement proved successful, and the enemy were
pushed back. It was now necessary to suppress the disturbances that
had been breaking out at many points in town for no apparent rea-
son, and it was decided that all former dictators, consuls, and censors
should hold imperium until the enemy left their walls. In fact, during
the rest of that day, and the night following it, there were many such
disturbances that broke out sporadically and were then suppressed.
11. The next day Hannibal crossed the Anio and led out all his
troops for battle; and Flaccus and the consuls did not decline the
211 bc chapters 10–11 323
fight. The two armies were now deployed for an engagement in
which the city of Rome would be the victor’s prize. At that point,
there was a heavy shower of rain, intermixed with hail, and this
caused such havoc in both battle lines that the combatants retired to
their camps barely able to hold their weapons, the enemy now the
least of their fears. The next day the lines were again drawn up in the
same spot, and a storm of similar intensity separated them once
more. And yet their return to camp was on both occasions followed
by amazingly bright and tranquil weather.* On the Carthaginian side
the phenomenon was given a religious significance, and it is said that
Hannibal was heard to remark that on one occasion he had been
denied the will, and on the other the opportunity, to take Rome. Two
other events also dashed his hopes, one of lesser and one of greater
significance. The greater one was to be told that, although he was
himself ensconced before the walls of Rome with an army, Roman
soldiers had set off under their banners as reinforcements for the
Spanish campaign. The lesser one was learning from a prisoner of
war that, at about that time, the land on which he was encamped
had, by chance, been sold, but that, despite the circumstances, there
was no diminution in its price. That a buyer should have been found
in Rome for land that he had taken in war, land that was firmly in his
possession, struck him as so outrageously presumptuous that he
immediately summoned an auctioneer and ordered the bankers’
shops around the Forum to be put up for sale.
All this prompted Hannibal to pull back his camp to the River
Tutia, six miles from the city. From there he marched to the Grove
of Feronia, whose temple at that period was famous for its wealth.
The people of Capena, and others in the neighbourhood of the
shrine, used to bring to the temple their first-fruits, and other gifts,
according to their resources, and they kept it well endowed with gold
and silver. At that time the temple was stripped of all those offerings.
After Hannibal’s departure large heaps of bronze were found, since
his soldiers were drawn by a pious contrition to lay down pieces of
the metal. There is no disagreement in our sources over the actual
pillaging of the temple. Coelius records that Hannibal stopped off
there on his way to Rome from Eretum; and he has him coming
by way of Amiternum, Cutiliae, and Reate. According to Coelius,
Hannibal came to Samnium from Campania, and from Samnium
into Paelignian territory. He then went past the town of Sulmo into
324 book twenty-six 211 bc
the land of the Marrucini, and from there, by way of Alban territory,
into that of the Marsi, after which he reached Amiternum and the
village of Foruli.
There can, in fact, be no uncertainty over the route, either, because
the passage of such a great leader, and such a great army, could not
have become confused in men’s minds after so short an interval. And,
in fact, there is agreement on his itinerary. The only point of dis-
agreement is whether this was the path he took when he was coming
to the city, or when he was returning to Campania from the city.*
12. Hannibal was not as determined to defend Capua as the
Romans were to tighten their blockade. Instead, he moved speedily
through <Samnium, Apulia>, and the land of the Lucanians into
Bruttian territory, reaching the straits and the town of Rhegium, and
this he did with such speed that he took its people by surprise, and
almost overwhelmed them by the suddenness of his appearance.* The
siege of Capua had lost none of its intensity in that period, but the
people were aware of Flaccus’ arrival, and there was some surprise
that Hannibal had not come back at the same time. Then, through
talks held with the enemy, they discovered that they had been left in
the lurch, and that the Carthaginians had lost hope of holding
Capua. In addition, an edict of the proconsuls had been posted in
accordance with a decree of the Senate, and had been made known to
the enemy, that any Capuan citizen going over to the Romans before
a certain date would suffer no harm. Despite this, there was no
defection to the Romans, though it was fear that kept the Capuans on
side rather than loyalty to Carthage, because the atrocities they had
committed in seceding from Rome were, they thought, too great to
pardon. But while nobody made an independent decision to go over
to the enemy, there was no discussion of measures to be taken for
their collective safety, either. The aristocrats had left the government
and could not be brought together for a senate meeting; and in the
top magistracy was a man who had brought no distinction upon him-
self––by his own unfitness for office, in fact, he had diminished the
effectiveness and authority of the position he held. By now none of
the leading people made an appearance even in the forum, or any
other public place; they shut themselves away in their houses and
every day awaited the downfall of their native city, along with their
own destruction.
Overall responsibility for operations had devolved upon Bostar
211 bc chapters 11–12 325
and Hanno, the commanders of the Carthaginian garrison, and what
concerned them was their own danger, not that of their allies. The
two wrote a letter to Hannibal that was not just outspoken but
sharply critical, reproaching him not only with handing Capua to the
enemy, but also with leaving them and their garrison to face all
manner of torture. In going off into Bruttium, Hannibal was virtu-
ally turning his back on them, they said, so as not to have the capture
of Capua before his eyes. And, they added, it had still proved impos-
sible to divert the Romans from the siege of Capua even by an assault
on the city of Rome––the Roman was far more dedicated an enemy
than the Carthaginian was a friend! If Hannibal returned to Capua,
and made it the focus of the whole war, they assured him that they,
along with the Capuans, would be ready to counterattack. It was not
to fight people from Rhegium or Tarentum that they had crossed the
Alps, they added; where there were Roman legions––that was where
the Carthaginian armies ought to be! This was what had given them
success at Cannae, and at Trasimene, too––tackling the enemy head-
on, setting one’s camp down next to his, and putting fortune to
the test.
The letter, written in these terms, was entrusted to some
Numidians, who, on the promise of a reward, undertook the mission
to deliver it. The Numidians came to Flaccus, in his camp, posing as
deserters (and the food-shortages that had lasted so long in Capua
meant that no one lacked a credible pretext for deserting), their plan
being to wait for the right moment, and then slip away. Suddenly,
however, a Capuan woman came into the camp. She had been the
mistress of one of the ‘deserters’, and she informed the Roman
commander that the Numidians’ desertion was a trick, and that they
were carrying a letter to Hannibal. She was, she said, ready to offer
proof of the charge in the case of one of the Numidians, who had
disclosed the affair to her.
The man was brought, and at first he steadfastly claimed not to
know the woman. Then, gradually, his case fell apart before the facts
and, when he saw instruments of torture being called for, and then
being prepared for use, he admitted the truth and the letter was
produced. A further piece of information, which had remained a
secret, also came to light: there were other Numidians at large
in the Roman camp posing as deserters. These men were arrested,
more than seventy in all, and, along with the new ‘deserters’, they
326 book twenty-six 211 bc
were returned to Capua, after being flogged and having their hands
cut off.
13. The sight of such a savage punishment broke the Capuans’
spirit. People converged on the senate house, forcing Loesius to
convene the senate. They also made open threats to the leading
citizens, who had long been absenting themselves from public meet-
ings: if these men failed to appear in the senate, they said, they
would make the rounds of their homes and drag them all out into the
streets. Fear of this happening ensured the magistrate a senate with a
full quorum. At the meeting, they were all discussing the idea of
sending a deputation to the Roman commanders––all but Vibius
Virrius, the man responsible for the Capuan abandonment of the
Roman cause. When Vibius was asked his opinion, he declared that
those talking about a deputation, and about peace and surrender, did
not remember either what they themselves would have done if they
had had the Romans at their mercy, or the treatment they themselves
were bound to face now.
‘Well,’ he continued, ‘do you think surrender is now going to be
the same as on that occasion when we surrendered ourselves, and all
that we owned, to the Romans in order to gain their help against the
Samnites? Have you already forgotten just when it was that we
rebelled from the Roman people and in what circumstances? Have
you forgotten how, when we defected, we could have released the
garrison, but instead put it to death with torture and shameful abuse?
Have you forgotten how often, and how fiercely, we conducted sorties
against the blockading forces, attacked their camps, and called on
Hannibal to come and crush them? And, the most recent thing, have
you forgotten that we sent him from here to attack Rome?
‘On the other hand, think back now on their hostile acts against
us, so that you can judge from them what to expect. There was an
enemy from abroad in Italy; that enemy was Hannibal; and the whole
country was engulfed in the flames of war. The Romans still forgot
everything else, forgot even Hannibal, and sent two consuls and two
consular armies to blockade Capua. This is the second year that they
have us walled in and bottled up with their siege, as they grind us
down with hunger. And they, too, like us, have faced the most severe
of dangers, the most punishing of hardships; often they have been
massacred around their rampart and ditches, and finally they were
almost driven from their camp.
211 bc chapters 12–13 327
‘But I say nothing of such things––there is nothing new or
unusual about hardships and dangers faced in the blockade of an
enemy city. The following, however, is real evidence of their rage,
and of a hatred that is implacable and deadly. At the head of massive
infantry and cavalry forces, Hannibal attacked their camp and took
part of it; not even by danger on that scale could they be dislodged
from their blockade. He then proceeded across the Volturnus, and
put the land of Cales to the torch; not even by such a catastrophe to
their allies could they be deflected from their goal. Hannibal then
gave orders for an offensive against the city of Rome itself; even to
that gathering storm they paid no heed. He crossed the River Anio,
encamped three miles from the city, and finally came right up to its
walls and gates, making it clear that he would take Rome from them
unless they abandoned Capua. They did not abandon it. Even when
wild beasts are in the grip of blind and furious rage, you can still
make them turn aside to help their own by approaching their lairs
and their young. Not the Romans! Rome under siege could not make
them turn aside from Capua, nor could their wives and children––
whose weeping and wailing could be heard almost from here––or
their altars, their hearths, the shrines of their gods, or the desecra-
tion and violation of their ancestors’ tombs. So great is their hunger
to exact punishment, so deep their thirst for our blood! And with
good reason––perhaps, given the chance, we would have done the
same.
‘However, the gods have decided otherwise, and I must not even
balk at the prospect of death. But the tortures and indignities the
enemy is preparing, these I can escape, while I am free and my own
master, by choosing a death that is honourable and even merciful. I
shall not see Appius Claudius and Quintus Fulvius high and mighty
in insolent victory. I shall not be dragged in chains through the city
of Rome as an exhibit in their triumph––†then† to be sent down into
prison or tied to a post, to have my back lacerated by the whip and
place my neck beneath a Roman axe. I shall not see my home city
being destroyed and burned, or the rape of Capuan mothers, girls,
and free-born boys. Alba, from which they trace their descent, the
Romans razed to its foundations,* to leave no memory of their
lineage and origins. So I shall certainly not believe they will spare
Capua, which they hate more than Carthage.
‘And so, for all those of you who intend to let death take them
328 book twenty-six 211 bc
before they witness so many painful sights, a dinner has today been
arranged and made ready at my house. When you have had your fill
of wine and food, the cup that will have been given first to me will
also pass around the company. That is a drink that will rescue your
body from torment, your spirit from humiliation, your eyes and ears
from all the painful and degrading sights and sounds that await the
conquered. Men will be at hand to hurl our lifeless bodies on a pyre
that will be lit in the courtyard of the house. This is the only path to
death that is honourable and befitting a free man. Our enemies will
marvel at our courage, and Hannibal, too, will recognize the fortitude
of the allies he forsook and betrayed.’
14. Of Virrius’ listeners, more agreed with what he said than had
the courage to carry out the plan of which they approved. Most of
the senate had little doubt that the clemency of the Roman people,
which had been witnessed in so many past wars, would also serve
them well; and they decided to send, and then they sent, a delegation to
surrender Capua to the Romans. Some twenty-seven senators went
home with Vibius Virrius. They had dinner with him and, after
doing their best to deaden their minds with wine to the prospect of
the horror before them, they all took the poison. The banquet then
broke up, and they clasped each other’s right hands and embraced
for the last time, shedding tears for their own lot and that of their
country. Some then stayed so they could be burned on the same
pyre; others went home. The fact that their veins were replete with
food and wine diminished the efficacy of the poison to bring on a
swift death. The result was that most of them were in their death
throes throughout the night and part of the next day; but they all
breathed their last before the gates were opened to the enemy.
The following day, on the order of the proconsuls, the Porta Iovis,
which faced the Roman camp, was thrown open, and a single legion
and two cavalry squadrons were sent in, under the command of the
legate Gaius Fulvius. Fulvius’ very first move was to have all the
arms in Capua, projectile and other, brought to him. He then sta-
tioned sentries at all the gates to prevent anyone from leaving or
being let out; he arrested the Punic garrison; and he ordered the
Capuan senate to proceed to the Roman commanders in their camp.
On reaching the camp, the senators were all immediately clapped in
irons and ordered to bring all the gold and silver they owned out to
the quaestors. That amounted to 2,070 pounds of gold, and 31,200
211 bc chapters 13–15 329
pounds of silver. Of the senators whose views were chiefly respon-
sible for the defection from Rome, twenty-five were sent to Cales for
imprisonment, and twenty-eight to Teanum.
15. On the punishment of the Capuan senate there was no agree-
ment at all between Fulvius and Claudius. Claudius was amenable to
the idea of a pardon, but Fulvius was more obdurate. Appius there-
fore began to suggest referring the whole matter back to the Senate
for adjudication, adding that he thought it was correct for the sen-
ators to be given the opportunity to question the prisoners on
whether they had communicated their plans to any of the Latin
allies, and whether they had received any assistance from them dur-
ing the hostilities. Fulvius, however, argued that they must at all
costs avoid a situation in which the loyalty of faithful allies could be
put at risk through vague insinuations, and in which such allies
would be at the mercy of informers who did not care at all about
what they said or did. Accordingly, he said, he would overrule and
quash questioning of that kind.
When they parted after this conversation, Appius was convinced
that his colleague, for all his defiant words, would still await written
orders from Rome on a matter of such importance. Fulvius, however,
fearing that these orders would interfere with what he proposed to
do, dismissed his council, and instructed his military tribunes and
allied officers to pick out 2,000 cavalry and order them to be ready
when the bugle sounded the third watch.
With this cavalry support, Fulvius left for Teanum at night, and at
dawn he passed through the gate of the town and headed straight for
the forum. People gathered around when the cavalry first entered;
and Fulvius then ordered the chief magistrate* to be summoned, and
commanded him to bring out the Capuan citizens that he had in
custody. They were all brought out, flogged, and beheaded. Then
Fulvius rode at a gallop to Cales. There he took his seat on the
podium, and the Capuans were brought out. They were actually
being tied to the stake when a horseman arrived post-haste from
Rome and delivered to Fulvius a dispatch from the praetor Gaius
Calpurnius, along with a decree of the Senate. A murmur then
spread from the podium throughout the gathering that the entire
case of the Capuan prisoners was being deferred for senatorial
adjudication. This was also what Fulvius felt was the case. And so he
took the letter, placed it unopened in the breast fold of his robe,* and
330 book twenty-six 211 bc
instructed the herald to give the order for the lictor to carry out the
lawful sentence.
So it was that the execution of the prisoners at Cales was also
carried out. Only then were the letter and the senatorial decree actu-
ally read, too late to prevent something that had been speeded up by
all possible means just to make preventing it impossible.
Fulvius was now rising to his feet when Taurea Vibellius, a
Capuan citizen,* strode through the midst of the crowd and called on
him by name. Wondering what the man wanted of him, Flaccus sat
down again.
‘Have me executed, too,’ said Vibellius. ‘You could then boast of
having executed a man much braver than you are yourself.’ Flaccus
declared the man was clearly out of his mind and that, anyway, he
was prevented from doing what he asked, even if he wished to, by the
decree of the Senate.
‘My native city has been captured,’ replied Vibellius, ‘and my
relatives and friends are gone––with my own hand I killed my wife
and children to prevent their being subjected to any outrage. But I
do not have the same opportunity to die as did these fellow citizens
of mine, so let my release from this life that I hate come from my
courage.’ With that he took the sword that he had hidden under his
clothes and plunged it straight through his breast, falling dead before
the general’s feet.
16. Because the execution of the Capuans, and several other
things, resulted from a decision unilaterally taken by Flaccus, some
authors record that Appius Claudius was dead before the surrender
of Capua. They add that this man Taurea did not come to Cales of
his own volition, and did not die by his own hand, but that he had
been tied to a stake along with the others, and that Flaccus had called
for silence because what the man was shouting could not be heard
amidst the clamour. Then Taurea reportedly made the declaration
recorded above, that he was a very brave man who was being put to
death by one who was nowhere near his equal in courage. At this the
herald, on the proconsul’s instructions, called out: ‘Lictor, apply the
lash to the brave man, and carry out the lawful sentence on him first!’
Some sources also record that Fulvius read the senatorial decree
before he conducted the execution. But the decree contained the
rider ‘if the proconsul sees fit,* he should refer the whole matter back
to the Senate for adjudication’, and he interpreted that as meaning
211 bc chapters 15–16 331
that it had been left to him to decide what was now in the best
interests of the state.
From Cales, Fulvius returned to Capua, and accepted the sur-
render of Atella and Calatia. There, too, punishment was meted out
to the ringleaders of the secession. About seventy leading members
of the senate were executed. Some 300 Campanian nobles were
imprisoned in Rome, and others, who were kept in custody through-
out the cities of the Latin allies, met their end in various ways. The
rest of the citizens of Capua were sold into slavery.
The question of the city and its lands remained to be discussed,
and some people were advocating the destruction of a particularly
strong city that was close by and hostile to Rome. But immediate
utilitarian considerations prevailed, and it owed its salvation to its
agricultural land, which was widely recognized as the foremost in
Italy for its overall productivity––the city would be a home to the
people farming that land. To keep the city inhabited, its population
of resident foreigners, freedmen, traders, and craftsmen was kept on,
and all the farmlands and buildings became the public property of
the Roman people. But it was decided that Capua should only be
inhabited and populated like a city, but that there should be no
political structure––no senate, no plebeian council, no magistrates.
The idea was that without a public deliberative body and without
real authority, the population would be incapable of any uniform
policy, having no shared interest in anything. The Romans would
send a prefect each year to conduct judicial proceedings.
Thus the matter of Capua was settled by implementing a pro-
gramme that was laudable in every respect.* The punishment of the
most blameworthy was harsh and swift, and the bulk of the citizen
body was dispersed, with no prospect of return. But there was no fire
and destruction wreaking havoc on inoffensive buildings and walls
and, in addition to gaining economic advantage, the Romans also
managed to provide their allies with a demonstration of their clem-
ency. For they were leaving untouched a city of great fame and great
wealth, whose destruction would have caused tears to flow through-
out Campania, and throughout all the peoples living around Campa-
nia. The enemy was obliged to admit the magnitude of Roman power
when it came to punishing disloyal allies, and the complete
inadequacy of Hannibal’s assistance for those whom he had taken
under his protection.
332 book twenty-six 211 bc
17. After fulfilling their duties in regard to Capua, the Roman
senators issued a decree assigning troops to Gaius Nero.* From the
two legions that he had commanded at Capua, Nero was to have
6,000 infantry and 300 cavalry, which he could choose for himself; he
was also to have the same number of infantry, and 800 cavalry, from
the allies and those of Latin status. Nero put this army aboard ships
at Puteoli and transported it to Spain. On reaching Tarraco with the
fleet, he disembarked the troops, hauled the ships ashore, and, to
increase his numbers, armed his crews as well. He then left for the
River Ebro where he took over command of their army from
Tiberius Fonteius and Lucius Marcius. From the Ebro he advanced
on the enemy. Hasdrubal son of Hamilcar was encamped at the Black
Rocks, an area in the land of the Ausetani between the towns of
Iliturgi and Mentisa.* This lay in a pass, and Nero seized the
entrance to it.
Fearful of being penned in, Hasdrubal sent a herald to Nero with
a promise that, if he were allowed out, he would remove his entire
army from Spain. The Roman gladly accepted his offer. Hasdrubal
then requested that the next day be set aside for a meeting, at which,
in a face-to-face discussion, terms for the surrender of the citadels in
the various cities could be drawn up, and a date set for the garrisons
in them to be withdrawn, and for the Carthaginians to remove
their property from them (without penalty). His request granted,
Hasdrubal immediately issued orders for his heaviest troops to make
their way out of the pass, by any means they could, as soon as
darkness fell and throughout the night after that. It was carefully
arranged that not many leave that first night; smaller numbers
would, by their silence, be more capable of eluding the enemy and,
also, of slipping away along narrow and difficult pathways.
The two parties came to the meeting the following day, but since
that day was consumed with inordinately long discussions, and the
(intentional) documentation of irrelevancies, it was then adjourned
to the next. The oncoming night gave Hasdrubal further time to
send out even more men, and not even on the following day did the
business come to a conclusion. So it was that several days were spent
on an open discussion of terms, and several nights on a clandestine
evacuation of Carthaginians from the camp. Then, when most of the
army had been evacuated, there was no longer Carthaginian support
even for provisions they had initially proposed, with agreement less
211 bc chapters 17–18 333
and less forthcoming as their fear and honesty diminished in tan-
dem. The time had now come when nearly all the infantry troops
had left the pass when, at dawn one day, a dense mist covered the
whole pass and the plains around it. Seeing this, Hasdrubal sent a
man to Nero to put off the meeting to the following day, claiming
that the present day was one on which religion forbade Carthagin-
ians to conduct any serious business. Not even then was there any
suspicion of dishonesty, and Hasdrubal was spared that day. He
thereupon immediately left camp with his cavalry and elephants, and
slipped quietly away to safety. By about the fourth hour the sun had
dispersed the mist, and brought back the clear light of day; and the
Romans set eyes on a deserted enemy camp. Only then did Claudius
recognize the Punic trickery* and, when he realized he had been
hoodwinked, he followed hard on the heels of the departing Hasdru-
bal, ready to face him in regular battle. The enemy, however, refused
to engage, though there were some skirmishes between the Punic
rearguard and the advance troops of the Romans.
18. In the meantime, the peoples of Spain who had defected after
the defeat were not returning to the Roman alliance, although there
were no new defections, either. At Rome, too, after the recovery of
Capua, the Senate and people felt as much concerned about Spain as
they did about Italy, and it was decided that the army there should be
augmented and a commander sent out to it. But there was less
agreement about whom to send than there was on the point that,
when two top commanders had perished within a thirty-day period,
extra special care was required in choosing the man to succeed them.
Various candidates were suggested, but the expedient eventually
settled on was that the people should hold an election to create a
proconsul for Spain. The consuls then announced a date for that
election.*
At first people had expected those who believed themselves quali-
fied for such an important command to put their names forward; but
such hopes proved groundless, and feelings of melancholy over
the defeat, and grief for the lost commanders, reappeared. The state
was in mourning, almost at a loss how to proceed, but on election day
the people went down into the Campus. They turned towards the
magistrates and scrutinized the faces of the leading citizens, who
themselves simply looked at each other. And people started to mur-
mur that things were so bad, and confidence in the state so low, that
334 book twenty-six 211 bc
no one dared accept authority for Spain. Then, suddenly, Publius
Cornelius––son of the Publius Cornelius who had fallen in Spain,
and then about twenty-four years of age––declared his candidacy,
and stood on higher ground so he could be seen. Everyone’s gaze
turned on him, and their shouts and cheers immediately predicted a
happy and successful command for him. They were then instructed
to cast their ballots, and it was not just the centuries that voted
unanimously for command in Spain being vested in Publius Scipio;
individuals were unanimous, as well. But, after the event, when their
excitement and fervour had died down, silence suddenly fell as
people silently reflected on what they had done. Had their positive
feelings for the man counted for more with them than reason? It was
his age that caused the greatest concern, but some also had morbid
fears over the family’s fortunes and the man’s name. He would be
proceeding from two ill-fated households, and into those provinces
where his campaigns would necessarily be conducted amidst the
tombs of his father and his uncle.
19. When Scipio detected people’s concern and anxiety after such
an impulsive act, he called an assembly and discussed his age, the
command entrusted to him, and the war that had to be fought. This
he did with such a magnanimous and noble spirit that he revived and
renewed the enthusiasm that had died down, and filled men with
higher expectations than trust in a man’s promise or a rational
assessment based on confidence in his success would usually inspire.
In fact, Scipio won admiration not simply for his unquestionable
merits; from his early years he also had a talent for showcasing
them.* In public speaking he would represent most of his actions as
prompted by dreams at night, or divine inspiration. Perhaps he
genuinely had a superstitious bent, or perhaps he sought unhesitat-
ing acceptance of his orders and plans by vesting them with some
oracular authority. He had, moreover, been preparing people for this
since the beginning, since his adoption of the toga virilis.* For since
that time he had spent no day on any public or private business
without first going to the Capitol where, entering the temple, he
would take a seat and pass some time, usually on his own and in
seclusion. This was a practice he kept up throughout his life, and in
some it generated the belief in the story––perhaps deliberately put
about, perhaps spontaneous––that Scipio was a man of divine origin.
It also brought back into currency the rumour that earlier circulated
211 bc chapters 18–20 335
about Alexander the Great, a rumour as fatuous as it was pre-
sumptuous. It was said that his conception was the result of sexual
union with a snake, that this miraculous creature was often seen in
his mother’s bedroom, and that it slithered away and vanished from
sight when people came in. Scipio himself never ridiculed people’s
belief in these supernatural tales. In fact, he actually strengthened it
by developing a sort of knack for neither rejecting nor openly affirm-
ing anything of this kind. There were many other instances of this
sort of thing, some genuine, some affected, that won this young man
superhuman admiration; and these were what at that time gave the
state the confidence* to vest such great responsibility, and so great a
command, in a man by no means mature in years.
The forces from the old army in Spain, and those that had crossed
from Puteoli with Gaius Nero, were now augmented by 10,000
infantry and 1,000 cavalry, and Marcus Junius Silanus was assigned
to Scipio to assist him in the campaign. And so, with a fleet of thirty
ships, all of them quinqueremes, Scipio set off from the mouth of
the Tiber, skirted the coast of the Etruscan Sea, the Alps, and the
Gulf of Gaul, and then rounded the promontory of the Pyrenees,
putting ashore his troops at Emporiae, a Greek city, whose people
also derive from Phocaea.* Ordering his ships to follow, he set off
overland from there and came to Tarraco, where he held a meeting of
all the allies; for delegations had flooded to him from every part of
the province as soon as they got word of his coming. There he
ordered the ships to be hauled ashore, sending back four triremes
from Massilia that had, as a courtesy, escorted him from their home.
Scipio then proceeded to give replies to the delegations, whose
peoples were perturbed by the many changes of fortune they had
experienced. This he did in a stately manner that derived from a
great confidence in his own abilities, but without letting slip a single
arrogant word, and there was, in everything he said, great conviction
as well as great dignity.
20. After setting off from Tarraco, Scipio paid visits both to allied
communities and the army’s winter quarters. There he was fulsome
in his praise of the soldiers: even after the blow of two serious and
successive defeats, he said, they had still held on to the province.
They had kept the enemy out of all the lands north of the Ebro, not
allowing him to feel any of the benefits of his success, and they had
steadfastly defended their allies.
336 book twenty-six 211 bc
Scipio kept Marcius with him, showing him such respect as to
make it plain that he feared nothing less than anyone standing in the
way of his own glory. Silanus then succeeded Nero, and the new
recruits were led into winter quarters. Scipio had been swift in
making all the obligatory visits and doing everything that was neces-
sary, and he now retired to Tarraco. He enjoyed no less a reputation
amongst the foe than amongst his fellow citizens and the allies; and
the enemy also had some sort of premonition of what was to come
that brought a dread that was all the more intense because of their
inability to rationalize their blind fear. The Carthaginians had left
for winter quarters in different directions, Hasdrubal son of Gisgo
going as far as Gades on the Ocean, and Mago into the interior
(specifically, above the pass of Castulo). Hasdrubal son of Hamilcar
remained closest to the Ebro, wintering in the neighbourhood of
Saguntum.*
At the end of that summer during which Capua was taken and
Scipio arrived in Spain, a Punic fleet had been summoned from
Sicily to Tarentum. In its efforts to cut off supplies to the Roman
garrison in the citadel of Tarentum, this fleet had succeeded in
blocking every approach to the citadel from the sea. The longer it
stayed in place, however, the more acute it was making the problem
of grain provisioning––not for their enemy, but for the Carthaginian
allies! Grain could be shipped in for the townspeople along the
shores that were secure, and through ports that were open under
Carthaginian naval protection; but this was not as much as the fleet
itself consumed, with its motley mixture of sailors of every kind.
The upshot was that the garrison in the citadel, because of its small
numbers, was able to survive on what had been stockpiled earlier,
even without importing food, while even what was imported was
insufficient for the Tarentines and the fleet. Eventually, the fleet
moved off, leaving the townspeople more grateful than they were for
its arrival, though this brought little relief to the food-supply since,
with naval protection gone, grain could not be imported.
21. At the end of the same summer Marcus Marcellus, arriving in
the city from his province of Sicily, was granted by the praetor Gaius
Calpurnius an audience with the Senate in the temple of Bellona.*
After giving an account of his achievements, Marcellus lodged a mild
complaint––more on behalf of his men than himself––that he had
not been allowed to bring his army home from the province on the
211 bc chapters 20–21 337
completion of his mission. He then asked permission to enter the
city in triumph, and his request was denied. There had been a long
discussion in the house about which of two courses made more
sense. Should they refuse a man a triumph now that he was present
when, during his absence, a period of public thanksgiving had been
authorized in his name, and honour formally paid to the gods, for
successes achieved under his command? On the other hand, should a
man celebrate a triumph as though the war were terminated, when
the senators had instructed him to pass his army on to his succes-
sor––a decree that would not have been passed were there not
hostilities continuing in the province? And celebrate it, too, when the
army was not there to bear witness to whether or not the triumph
was merited? A compromise was reached: Marcellus should enter
the city with an ovation.
With senatorial authorization, the tribunes of the plebs then
brought before the people the proposal that Marcus Marcellus should
retain his imperium on the day he entered the city with an ovation.
The day before his entrance into the city, Marcellus celebrated a
triumph on the Alban Mount* and, after that, in his ovation, he had
large quantities of plunder brought into the city before him. Along
with a model of Syracuse after its capture, catapults, ballistae, and a
whole panoply of war engines were carried in the procession, and
with them there were also the objets d’art amassed over a long period
of peace thanks to the wealth of the Syracusan kings. There were
heaps of silver and bronze artefacts, furniture, precious clothing, and
many famous statues, Syracuse having been one of the Greek cities
most richly endowed in such things. To mark the victory over
Carthage, too, eight elephants were led along, and not the least
impressive sight was that of the Syracusan Sosis and the Spaniard
Moericus walking ahead of Marcellus wearing crowns of gold. One
of these men had acted as guide during the night when entry was
gained into Syracuse; the other had sold out the Nassus and its
garrison. Both were granted Roman citizenship, and 500 iugera of
land. Sosis’ grant was of land in Syracusan territory that had
belonged either to the king or to men who had been enemies of
Rome, and a house in Syracuse––the choice was his––that had
belonged to one of those punished under the rules of war. Moericus
and the Spaniards who had seceded along with him were to be
awarded a town in Sicily, along with its farmland, to be taken from
338 book twenty-six 211 bc
one of those communities that had defected from the Roman people;
and Marcus Cornelius was given the duty of assigning to the men
the town and land where he thought suitable. Belligenes, the man
responsible for Moericus’ switch of allegiance, was also decreed 400
iugera in the same area of Sicily.
After Marcellus left Sicily, a Carthaginian fleet put ashore 8,000
infantry and 3,000 Numidian cavalry on the island. The cities of
Murgentia and Ergetium defected to them, to be followed by
Hybla, Macella, and some lesser-known towns. Furthermore, the
Numidians, led by Muttines, roamed the length of Sicily, putting to
the torch farmland belonging to the allies of the Roman people. In
addition, the Roman troops were resentful, partly because they had
not been taken home from the province with their commander, and
partly because they had been ordered not to take winter quarters in
the towns. Accordingly, they showed little enthusiasm for their duties,
and it was lack of a leader, rather than lack of inclination, that staved
off mutiny. Facing these difficulties, the praetor Marcus Cornelius
used a combination of reassurance and punishment to calm the men,
and he also brought back under his control all the communities that
had defected. It was one of these communities, Murgentia,* that
Cornelius awarded to the Spaniards who were owed a city and its
lands, as specified by the senatorial decree.
22. Both consuls had Apulia as their area of responsibility, but
by now there was less to be feared from the Carthaginians and
Hannibal, and so they were instructed to proceed to a sortition for
Apulia and Macedonia as their provinces. Macedonia fell to Sulpi-
cius, who now became Laevinus’ successor.
Fulvius was called to Rome for the elections, and when he was
holding the meeting for the election of consuls, the junior members
of the Voturia century, who had the first ballot, voted for Titus
Manlius Torquatus and Titus Otacilius. The crowd then converged
on Manlius, who was present at the meeting, to congratulate him,
and there was no doubt that he had the unanimous support of the
people. Manlius, however, with a multitude swarming all round him,
proceeded to the consul’s dais, where he appealed to the consul to
hear the few words he had to say and to have the century that had
voted called back. Everyone was now on tenterhooks, wondering
what Manlius was going to ask for. He then requested exemption
from office because of an eye ailment. It would be a brazen pilot, and
211 bc chapters 21–22 339
a brazen general, too, that would ask for the lives and fortunes of
others to be put in his hands when his every action depended upon
the eyes of others, he explained. Accordingly, if Fulvius thought fit,
he should order the junior members of the Voturia century to retake
the vote, and bear in mind, when they were electing consuls, the war
that was going on in Italy and the crisis facing the republic. Their
ears, he said, had barely recovered from the uproar and commotion
the enemy had produced when, a few months earlier, he had all but
shaken the walls of Rome.
After this a majority of the members of the century loudly pro-
tested that their minds were unchanged, and they would appoint the
same consuls as before, at which point Torquatus retorted: ‘As con-
sul, I shall be no more able to bear your conduct than you will be able
bear my authority. Go back to the urn; and reflect that there is a war
with Carthage in Italy, and that the enemy commander is Hannibal.’
The century was now swayed by the man’s commanding presence
and the murmurs of respect all round him. They asked the consul to
call in the senior members of the Voturia century, for, they said, they
wished to hold a discussion with their elders, and accept their
authority in appointing the consuls. The senior members of the
Voturia were then called, and time was granted for an in camera
discussion with them in the voting enclosure.* The senior members
declared that three men should be given consideration. Two, Quintus
Fabius and Marcus Marcellus, had already been showered with hon-
ours, they said, but if they really wanted a new man elected consul
to face the Carthaginians, there was Marcus Valerius Laevinus, who
had brilliant land and sea operations against King Philip to his
credit.
There followed discussion of the three men, after which the senior
members were discharged, and the younger men proceeded to the
vote. They declared elected, both of them in absentia, Marcus
Claudius, now in the limelight after his conquest of Sicily, and
Marcus Valerius, and all the other centuries followed the lead of
the one that voted first.*
So much for those who ridicule admirers of the past! If there does
exist a philosopher-state somewhere––a product of our scholars’
imagination rather than their knowledge––I certainly would not
believe its leaders could be more serious-minded or restrained in
their political ambition, or the commons more principled, than in
340 book twenty-six 211 bc
this case. That a century of younger men should have wanted to
consult their elders about whom they should invest with power by
their vote seems very implausible these days, when the influence that
even parents have over their children is slight and ineffectual.*
23. Elections for the praetorship were held next, and the success-
ful candidates were Publius Manlius Volso, Lucius Manlius Acidinus,
Gaius Laetorius, and Lucius Cincius Alimentus.* As it happened,
news arrived after the elections of the death in Sicily of Titus
Otacilius, the man whom, in his absence, the people would appar-
ently have made Titus Manlius’ colleague, had there been no inter-
ruption in the electoral proceedings. The Games of Apollo had been
staged the previous year and, when the praetor Calpurnius moved
that they be again staged this year, the Senate decreed that a vow be
taken making them a permanent institution.
That same year there were numerous sightings and reports of
prodigies. The statue of Victory on the roof of the temple of Concord
was struck by lightning. It was knocked down but became lodged
amongst those statues of Victory amidst the antefixes, and fell
no further. It was also reported that the wall and gates at both
Anagnia and Fregellae had been struck by lightning; that in Forum
Subertanum* streams of blood flowed for an entire day; that at
Eretum stones fell as rain; and that at Reate a mule had given birth.
Full-grown animals were sacrificed to expiate these prodigies, with a
one-day session of prayer appointed for the people as well as the
nine-day rite.*
A number of state-appointed priests died that year and were
replaced by new ones. Marcus Aemilius Lepidus replaced Manius
Aemilius Numida as decemvir for sacrifices; Gaius Livius replaced
Marcus Pomponius Matho the pontiff; and Marcus Servilius replaced
the augur Spurius Carvilius Maximus. Because the pontiff Titus
Otacilius Crassus died after the end of his year, there was no nom-
ination made for a replacement. The Flamen of Jupiter, Gaius
Claudius, left office over a procedural oversight in placing the
entrails.*
24. Marcus Valerius Laevinus had earlier held clandestine meet-
ings with Aetolian leaders to gauge their sympathies, and it was
about this time that he came, with a swift fleet of ships, to a council
of the Aetolians which had been scheduled earlier to discuss the
matter.* Laevinus pointed to the capture of Syracuse and Capua as
211 bc chapters 22–24 341
evidence of Roman success in Sicily and Italy, and added that he
followed the traditional practice of the Romans, inherited from his
ancestors, of dealing with allies. Some allies, he explained, the
Romans had accepted as citizens in equal partnership with them-
selves; others they kept in such a prosperous condition that they
actually preferred to be allies than citizens. And the Aetolians, he
added, would find themselves all the more honoured for having been
the first overseas nation to enter into friendship with Rome. As for
Philip and the Macedonians, they were difficult neighbours for the
Aetolians, but he had already curtailed their violent and haughty
temper, and would in future bring them to the point not only of
quitting the cities they had filched from the Aetolians but of finding
Macedonia itself under threat. Then there were the Acarnanians, he
said. The Aetolians resented the fact that these had been torn from
their league, and he would bring them back to their old status, making
them subject to Aetolian authority and control.
Such were the undertakings and promises given by the Roman
commander. Scopas, the current praetor of the Aetolian people, and
Dorimachus, a leading Aetolian citizen, endorsed them with their
own authority, both of them praising the power and majesty of the
Roman people in a less reserved, and so more persuasive, manner.
But it was the prospect of gaining Acarnania that swayed the Aetolians
most. And so terms were drafted on which they were to become
friends and allies of the Roman people, and a rider was added
containing the following conditions:
The Eleans and Lacedaemonians, as well as Attalus, Pleuratus,
and Scerdilaedus, should enjoy the same treaty rights if such was their
pleasure and wish (Attalus was king of Asia, Pleuratus and Scerdilaedus
the kings of the Thracians and Illyrians respectively).
The Aetolians were to proceed immediately to war on land against
Philip, and the Romans were to provide naval assistance in the form
of no fewer than twenty-five quinqueremes.
With regard to the cities from Aetolia as far as Corcyra, the soil,
buildings, walls, and agricultural lands would belong to the Aetolians,
and all else that was taken would be the booty of the Romans. The
Romans would also take steps to see that the Aetolians should have
possession of Acarnania.
In the event of the Aetolians making peace with Philip, they were to
add a clause to the treaty stipulating that the peace would have force
342 book twenty-six 211–210 bc
only if Philip eschewed armed conflict with the Romans, their allies,
and those subject to them. Likewise, in the event of the Roman people
making a treaty with the king, they were to ensure that he would
have no authority to make war on the Aetolians and their allies.
Such were the terms they agreed upon, and two years later they
were copied and put on display, at Olympia by the Aetolians, and on
the Capitol by the Romans, so they would have the sacred monu-
ments to witness them.* The delay occurred because the Aetolian
envoys were detained in Rome for a prolonged period, though this
did not impede the implementation of the provisions. The Aetolians
did, indeed, immediately open hostilities against Philip, and Laevinus
captured Zacynthus, a small island close to Aetolia which has a single
city bearing the same name as the island (Laevinus took the city by
force, apart from its citadel). Laevinus also captured Oeniadae and
Nassus,* two Acarnanian towns, and annexed them to Aetolia. He
now also felt that Philip was well enough embroiled in a local war not
to be able to turn his thoughts to Italy, the Carthaginians, and his
pact with Hannibal, and he withdrew to Corcyra.
25. Philip was wintering at Pella when he was brought the news
that the Aetolians had defected. His plan was to lead his troops into
Greece in early spring; and so that Macedonia could count on the
Illyrians, and the neighbouring towns to her rear, taking no action,
he made a lightning raid on the lands of Oricum and Apollonia.
When the people of Apollonia came out to face him, he drove them
back within their walls in terror-stricken panic. After laying waste
the closest parts of Illyricum, he just as speedily veered into Pelagonia
and took Sintia, a Dardanian city that could have provided the
Dardanians with a passage into Macedonia. These operations were
speedily completed. Now, with the Aetolian War in mind, and the
concomitant war with Rome, Philip went down into Thessaly by way
of Pelagonia, Lyncus, and Bottiaea, for he believed that people there
could be induced to join him in hostilities against the Aetolians. He
then left Perseus* at the pass into Thessaly with 4,000 troops, to
prevent the Aetolians from entering the district, and––before he
should find himself preoccupied with more serious matters––
brought his force back to Macedonia and marched on the Maedi in
Thrace.* That people had made a practice of swooping down on
Macedonia whenever it became aware that the king was engrossed in
some foreign war, and his kingdom left without protection. To break
211–210 bc chapters 24–26 343
their power, Philip proceeded to lay waste their fields, and to assault
Iamphorynna, the Maedic capital and stronghold.
When Scopas was told that the king had left for Thrace, and was
engaged in a war there, he put all Aetolians of fighting age under
arms, and prepared to invade Acarnania. The Acarnanian people
were no match for the strength of the Aetolians, and they could see
that Oeniadae and Nassus were lost and that, in addition, war with
Rome was on the horizon. The Acarnanians, even so, put up a fight,
though it was an angry reflex rather than a strategic move. Wives,
children, and older men over sixty were sent to the closest parts of
Epirus, and men aged between fifteen and sixty took an oath not to
return home unless victorious. They framed a terrible curse against
any of their own people who would receive in his city, in his house, at
his table, or by his hearth a man who left the field in defeat, and they
also made a most solemn appeal to their Epirot hosts to observe the
injunction. They further begged the Epirots to bury under a single
mound those of their men who fell in battle, and to set the following
epitaph over their buried soldiers: ‘Here lie the Acarnanians who
met their end fighting for their country against Aetolian aggression
and injustice.’
Their courage fired by this, the Acarnanians encamped right on
their borders, facing the enemy. By sending messengers to Philip to
inform him of their precarious situation, they obliged him to drop the
war in which he was engaged, despite the surrender of Iamphorynna
and the success of other operations. Word of the oath taken by the
Acarnanians had at first caused a postponement of the Aetolian
offensive, and then news of Philip’s coming even made them fall
back into the interior of their country. As for Philip, despite his
forced marches to prevent the Acarnanians being overwhelmed, he
did not advance beyond Dium. Then, when he heard of the Aetolian
withdrawal from Acarnania, he too retired to Pella.
26. At the start of spring Laevinus sailed from Corcyra. Rounding
the promontory of Leucas, and arriving in Naupactus, he declared
that he would head for Anticyra, and he instructed Scopas and the
Aetolians to meet him there. Anticyra lies in Locris, to the left as one
enters the Corinthian Gulf, and getting there from Naupactus
involves a short journey by land or by sea. An assault on the town,
conducted from both sides, began some two days later, but the attack
from the sea was the more intense because there was all manner of
344 book twenty-six 210 bc
artillery and assault apparatus on the ships, and, in addition, it was the
Romans who were attacking on that side. The result was that the city
capitulated in a matter of days. It was handed over to the Aetolians,
the booty falling to the Romans, as had been agreed. Meanwhile,
Laevinus was brought a letter informing him that he had been
declared consul during his absence from Rome, and that Publius
Sulpicius was coming to succeed him. However, he then came down
with a lingering illness, and was later coming to Rome than everyone
had expected.
Entering his consulship on 15 March, Marcus Marcellus went
through the formalities of convening the Senate that day, but
declared that he would conduct no business pertaining either to state
policy or the provinces in the absence of his colleague. He was aware,
he continued, that there were large numbers of Sicilians housed near
the city on farms belonging to his political opponents, and, so far
from not allowing them to make public, in Rome, the charges
brought against him by his personal enemies, he would personally
have granted them an immediate hearing before the Senate. The
problem was that these men pretended to be afraid to talk about the
consul in his colleague’s absence, but when his colleague arrived, he
would permit no business to be discussed before the item of the
admission of the Sicilians to the Senate. Marcus Cornelius, he con-
tinued, had been virtually recruiting people throughout Sicily to
ensure that the maximum number came to Rome to complain about
him; and, to tarnish his reputation, Cornelius had also filled the city
with letters that falsely claimed a state of war existed in Sicily. The
consul earned distinction for his self-restraint that day. He dismissed
the Senate, and it looked as if there would be a suspension of all
business until the other consul’s return to the city.
The inactivity, as usually happens, gave rise to idle talk among the
masses. There were complaints about the length of the war, about
the devastation of farmlands around the city, wherever Hannibal had
gone on the attack with his troops, about Italy being depleted by
troop-levies, and about the armies cut to shreds almost on a yearly
basis. People complained, too, that both men elected to the consul-
ship were war-mongers who were too headstrong and aggressive, the
sort who could stir up war in the midst of peace and tranquillity, and
who would certainly not allow the state a breathing space in the
midst of war.
210 bc chapters 26–27 345
27. Such talk was interrupted by a fire which, on the night preced-
ing the Quinquatrus,* broke out around the Forum, and in a number
of places simultaneously. The seven shops (which later became five),
and the bankers’ establishments that are now called the ‘New Banks’,
all went up in flames at the same time. After that, private houses
caught fire––there were no basilicas in that period––as did the Quar-
ries district, the Fish Market, and the Royal Atrium.* The temple of
Vesta was barely saved, thanks mainly to the assistance of thirteen
slaves, who were afterwards bought with state funds and manumit-
ted. The blaze continued for a night and a day, and no one doubted
that it was a case of arson because it had broken out in several spots
at the same time, and in different areas, too. The consul, therefore,
on the authority of the Senate, publicly announced at an assembly
that there would be a reward for anyone identifying to the authorities
those responsible for the fire, monetary in the case of a free man, and
freedom in the case of a slave.
A slave belonging to the Calavii family of Capua––his name was
Manus––was induced by the reward to denounce his masters as well
as five young noblemen of Capua whose fathers had been beheaded
by Quintus Fulvius. He claimed they were responsible for the fire,
and added that they were going to set others at various places if they
were not arrested. Arrested they were, they and their slaves. At first
some effort was made to discredit the informer and his information.
He had been punished with a whipping the day before, they said, and
had run away from his masters; and, being angry and irresponsible,
he had fabricated this charge out of what was simply an accident.
But when the charge was brought against them in the presence of
their accuser, and when the process of interrogating their henchmen
began in the Forum, they all confessed, and masters and their slave
accomplices alike were executed. The informant was granted his
freedom and 20,000 asses.
On his way past Capua, the consul Laevinus was surrounded by a
crowd of citizens of the town. They tearfully begged for permission
to go to the Senate in Rome to plead with the senators––if they could
finally be moved to pity––not to allow the Capuan people to be
utterly destroyed, and the Capuan name wiped out, by Quintus
Flaccus.
Flaccus claimed to have no private quarrel with the people of
Capua. His antipathy towards them was governmental policy, he
346 book twenty-six 210 bc
said; his anger was directed against an enemy of the state, and would
remain unchanged for as long as he was sure that the Capuans main-
tained their present attitude towards the Roman people. For, he said,
there was no race, no people, on the face of the earth who hated the
Roman name more than they. He had good reason for keeping them
confined within their walls: any finding a way of getting out of there
roamed the countryside like wild animals, mutilating and butchering
whatever came in their way. Some had gone over to Hannibal, others
had gone off to set fire to Rome––the consul would find traces of
Capuan misconduct in the half-burned Forum, he said. Vesta’s
temple had been a target, along with her ever-burning fires and,
hidden away in the inner sanctum, destiny’s pledge of Roman
imperial power.* He was very strongly of the opinion, he said, that it
was unsafe to give the Capuans leave to enter the walls of Rome.
Laevinus made the Capuans swear an oath to Flaccus that they
would return to Capua four days after receiving their answer from
the Senate, and then bade them accompany him to Rome. Surrounded
by this crowd, and with Sicilians streaming out to meet him and
joining him on the road to Rome, Laevinus gave the impression of
a man who was grieving for the overthrow of two renowned cities,
and who was bringing the defeated peoples into Rome to accuse the
city’s most distinguished men. But the business that the two consuls
first brought before the Senate focused on state policy and the
provinces.
28. At the meeting, Laevinus gave an account of the situation in
Macedonia and Greece, and of how matters stood with the Aetolians,
Acarnanians, and Locrians; and he also reported on his own land and
naval operations in the sector. Philip had been set to invade Aetolia,
he said, but had been driven back into Macedonia by him, and had
withdrawn deep into the centre of his realm. Accordingly, the legion
there could be withdrawn: the fleet sufficed for keeping the king out
of Italy.
After the consul’s report on himself, and the sphere of responsi-
bility that he had held, the question of future responsibilities was
raised by both consuls. The senators decreed that one should have
Italy, and the war with Hannibal, as his sphere; the other should
assume command of the fleet formerly under Titus Otacilius and,
jointly with the praetor Lucius Cincius, take over the administration
of Sicily. The consuls were then assigned by the Senate the two
210 bc chapters 27–29 347
armies in Etruria and Gaul, comprising four legions. The two city
legions of the previous year were to be despatched to Etruria, the
two formerly commanded by the consul Sulpicius to Gaul. Com-
mand of Gaul and its legions was to go to the man chosen by the
consul whose area of authority would be Italy. Gaius Calpurnius was
sent to Etruria after his praetorship, with a year’s extension of his
imperium. Quintus Fulvius was assigned Capua as his province, and
his imperium was also extended for a year. Orders were given for the
army made up of citizens and allies to be reduced in numbers, with a
single legion of 5,000 infantry and 300 cavalry formed from the two
then in operation, and the men with the longest service records
being discharged. In the case of the allies, too, only 7,000 infantry
and 300 cavalry were to remain operative, the same principle of
length of service also being applied here in discharging veterans.
In the case of Gnaeus Fulvius, consul the previous year, no change
was made in either the allocation of Apulia as his province, or in the
army that he had been commanding; he merely had his imperium
extended for a year. Fulvius’ colleague, Publius Sulpicius, was
instructed to demobilize his entire army, with the exception of his
ships’ crews. Likewise there were orders for the army under the
command of Marcus Cornelius in Sicily to be demobilized on the
consul’s arrival in the province. The praetor Lucius Cincius was
given the veterans of Cannae, representing about two legions, for the
occupation of Sicily. For Sardinia the praetor Publius Manlius Volso
was also assigned that number of legions; these were the legions that
Lucius Cornelius had commanded in that same province the year
before. The consuls were given orders to raise the city legions with-
out enlisting anyone who had been in the army of Marcus Claudius,
Marcus Valerius, or Quintus Fulvius and without the total number
of Roman legions that year exceeding twenty-one.
29. After these resolutions of the Senate, the consuls proceeded to
the sortition of provinces. Sicily and the fleet fell to Marcellus, Italy
and the war against Hannibal to Laevinus. The Sicilians had been
awaiting the sortition, standing in full view of the consuls, and this
result came as a blow to them, like a second capture of Syracuse. The
result was that their sobbing and tearful remarks immediately made
people turn to look at them, and later on set tongues wagging. For
these men went around to the homes of senators dressed as mourn-
ers, declaring that, if Marcellus went back there with imperium, every
348 book twenty-six 210 bc
group in their delegation would leave Sicily altogether, and not just
their own home towns. They had done nothing to deserve his
implacable rancour towards them earlier, they said, and what would
his anger drive him to now, when he knew that Sicilians had come to
Rome to complain about him? Better for that island to be engulfed
by the flames of Aetna, or swallowed up by the sea, than to be
virtually surrendered to a personal enemy for punishment.
These grievances of the Sicilians first did the rounds of the homes
of the nobility, and became a common topic of conversation that was
generated partly by sympathy for the Sicilians, and partly by jeal-
ousy felt for Marcellus. They also came to the Senate. The consuls
were then asked to discuss with the Senate the possibility of
exchanging provinces. Marcellus at that point stated that, had the
Sicilians already been granted a senatorial audience, his thoughts on
the matter might possibly have been different. As it was, however, he
was concerned about anyone being able to say that these men were
inhibited by fear from freely complaining about an individual under
whose authority they would shortly be, and so he was ready to
exchange his province if it made no difference to his colleague. But
he was petitioning the Senate not to make a formal judgement on the
matter in advance, he said. For while it would have been unfair for
his colleague to be given the right to choose his province without
sortition, how much greater an injustice––no, insult, rather––it
was for his own allotment in the sortition to be passed over to his
colleague!
And so the Senate adjourned after making its wishes known, but
without a formal decree. A private arrangement was then made
between the consuls to exchange their provinces, as destiny swept
Marcellus on to confront Hannibal. Marcellus would be the first
man to have won from him the glory of a battle which, after all the
failures, was not a defeat, and the last of the Roman generals to
enhance the Carthaginian’s reputation by falling in battle, and that
just when the Romans were achieving military success.
30. The provinces were exchanged, and the Sicilians were brought
into the Senate. They produced a lot of talk about the unfailing
loyalty of King Hiero towards the Roman people, trying to turn that
to the credit of their state. They claimed to have hated the tyrants––
Hieronymus, and then Hippocrates and Epicydes who followed
him––for various reasons, but most importantly because they had
210 bc chapters 29–30 349
left the Romans to join Hannibal. That was why Hieronymus had
been killed by the leaders of Syracuse’s youth after what was virtu-
ally a public resolution, they said. That was why a group of seventy
of the most prominent young noblemen had formed a conspiracy to
assassinate Epicydes and Hippocrates, only to be let down by Mar-
cellus’ tardiness: Marcellus had not brought his army to Syracuse at
the appointed time, and the young men, betrayed by an informer,
were all put to death by the tyrants.
And, they continued, it was Marcellus who, by his ruthless sack-
ing of Leontini, was responsible for the tyranny of Hippocrates and
Epicydes. But, after that, the leading citizens of Syracuse had never
stopped going over to him with commitments to deliver the city to
him any time he chose. At first, however, Marcellus preferred to take
it by force, but then it turned out that, after trying everything, he
could achieve this end neither by land nor by sea. At that juncture, he
preferred to have Sosis the coppersmith and the Spaniard Moericus
as his agents for the surrender of Syracuse rather than leading
Syracusan citizens, whose numerous offers to do this for him only
met with rejection. Marcellus’ aim, evidently, was to have greater
justification for massacring and pillaging the Roman people’s oldest
allies. Just suppose it had not been Hieronymus who had gone over
to Hannibal, but the whole Syracusan people and their Senate.
Suppose, too, that the Syracusans had, as a matter of public policy,
closed the gates on Marcellus, and not their tyrants, Hippocrates and
Epicydes, who had kept the Syracusans in subjection. And suppose
the Syracusans had fought the Roman people with the resolve of the
Carthaginians. Even then, what damage, beyond what he actually
did, could Marcellus have inflicted on them to show his animosity
towards them––short of actually destroying Syracuse? At all events,
they said, the people of Syracuse had been left nothing but their city’s
walls and looted buildings, and the gods’ temples which had been
broken into and robbed, with the removal of the very statues of the
gods and their ornaments. Many, too, had seen their property confis-
cated, to the point where they had not even bare land to support
themselves and their families with the remnants of their pillaged
fortunes. Their plea to the conscript fathers, they concluded, was
that, if everything could not be returned, they should at least order
what could be found and identified to be restored to their owners.
When they had finished their complaints, Laevinus told the
350 book twenty-six 210 bc
Syracusans to leave the temple so the senators could discuss their
petition. ‘No, let them stay,’ declared Marcellus, ‘so that I can give
them my response face to face. For those of us fighting your wars for
you, members of the Senate, are evidently required to face the
accusations of those whom we have defeated in battle, and to have
the two cities captured this year impeaching us––Capua Fulvius,
and Syracuse Marcellus.’
31. The Sicilian embassy was therefore brought back into the
Senate house, and the consul Marcellus spoke as follows:
‘Senators: I have not so far forgotten the eminence of the Roman
people and this imperium that I hold that I, a consul, would deign to
defend myself before accusers who are Greeks––not if it were a
matter of a charge being brought against me personally.* However, it
is not what I myself did that is under investigation––in the case of an
enemy my actions, whatever they were, are endorsed by the rules of
war––but what those people ought to have suffered. If they were not
our enemies, then it makes no difference whether my “violation” of
Syracuse occurred just now, or in the time of Hiero. But if they
defected from the Roman people, drew their swords for an armed
attack on our spokesmen, closed up their city and fortifications, and
used a Carthaginian army to defend themselves against us, who can
protest against their suffering acts of aggression, when they have
committed such themselves?
‘I turned down an offer from leading Sicilians to surrender the
city! I regarded Sosis and the Spaniard Moericus as better people to
whom to entrust a matter of such importance! You people are not in
the lowest order of Sicilian society, since you can criticize the humble
condition of others. And yet who amongst you promised to open the
gates to me? Who promised to let my armed forces into the city? You
hate and abhor those who did it, and not even in this place do you
leave off disparaging them––so far were you from taking any such
action yourselves! Senators, the low status of the people in question
––which those men use to denounce them––itself constitutes the
most solid argument that no one wanting to serve our republic has
been turned away by me.
‘Besides, before I blockaded Syracuse, I attempted to establish a
peace treaty by sending spokesmen to them as well as by going to
parley with them. But then I saw they showed no reluctance to
maltreat my spokesmen, and that I was getting no response despite
210 bc chapters 30–32 351
going personally to meet their leaders at the gate. And that was the
point at which I finally took Syracuse by armed force, after I had
gone through many hardships on land and sea.
‘As for what befell the Syracusans after the capture, they could
more justifiably lodge that complaint with Hannibal, and his defeated
Carthaginians, than with the Senate of the victorious people. As for
me, senators, if I had been intending to deny that Syracuse was
sacked, then I would never have used its spoils to beautify the city of
Rome. In terms of individuals, I know that what I took from them, or
gave them, as victor is justified by the rules of war, as well as the
merits of each case. Whether or not you ratify these settlements that
I have made is more a concern for the state than it is for me. My
responsibility has been loyally discharged; but it is a matter of
importance for the state that you not make other leaders more
phlegmatic in future by failing to ratify my acts. And since you have
now heard, in our presence, what both the Sicilians and I had to say,
senators, we shall both leave the temple together to let the Senate
discuss the issues more freely in my absence.’
With that the Sicilians were sent off, and Marcellus left for the
Capitol to levy troops.
32. The other consul then put the matter of the Sicilian demands
before the senators. Opinions were long divided, and most of the
Senate were of the opinion, of which Titus Manlius Torquatus was
the leading advocate, that they should have opened hostilities against
the tyrants, who were the common enemy of both the Syracusans
and the Roman people. The city’s surrender should have been
accepted, and it should not have been taken by force, they felt. Its
surrender accepted, it should have been shored up by the restoration
of its earlier constitution and independence, not crushed militarily
when it was exhausted from a wretched despotism. A beautiful and
famous city had perished, they said, set up as the victor’s prize in the
struggles between the tyrants and the Roman commander. It was a
city that once had been the breadbasket and treasury of the Roman
people and, thanks to her generous gifts, the Roman republic had on
numerous occasions been aided and beautified, the last occasion
being during this very war with Carthage. If King Hiero, the most
loyal supporter of the power of Rome, should rise from the dead,
how could anyone not feel ashamed when either Syracuse or Rome
were shown to him? After looking upon the half-ruined and pillaged
352 book twenty-six 210 bc
city that was his home, he would walk into Rome to set eyes on the
spoils taken from that home in the approach to the city, practically at
the city gate.
These and similar remarks were made with the purpose of arous-
ing animosity against the consul and pity for the Sicilians, but the
senators nevertheless showed discretion in their decree. The meas-
ures taken by Marcellus during his conduct of the war and after his
victory were to be ratified, but in future the state of Syracuse was to
be the concern of the Senate. The senators would, in fact, bid the
consul Laevinus to promote the well-being of the state, as far as
could be done without loss to the republic.
Two senators were sent to the consul on the Capitol to instruct
him to return to the Senate house, and when the Sicilians had been
admitted the senatorial decree was read out. Some congenial remarks
were addressed to the envoys, who were then told to leave. These
now flung themselves at Marcellus’ feet. They begged him to pardon
them for what they had said in bemoaning and trying to find relief
for their catastrophic circumstances, and they begged him, too, to
take them and their city under his protection and patronage. With
the decree of the Senate now reassuring him, the consul sent them
on their way with a few kind words.
33. The Capuan representatives then received their audience with
the Senate, but their presentation was more emotional, and their case
harder to make. They could not deny they deserved punishment,
and there were no tyrants for them to blame. But they believed they
had paid a sufficient penalty, with so many of their senators poisoned
to death and so many beheaded. Few of the nobility had survived,
they said, the few whom a guilty conscience had not driven to drastic
measures for themselves, or the victor’s anger had not condemned to
death. And so they begged for freedom for themselves and their
families, along with some portion of their belongings. They were
Roman citizens, they said, several of them connected to Rome by
marriage, and now even by blood relationships, too, thanks to the
intermarriage they had long enjoyed.*
The Capuans were then removed from the temple. For a while the
senators wondered whether Quintus Fulvius should be brought
from Capua (for the consul Claudius had died after the city’s cap-
ture) so the matter could be discussed in the presence of the com-
mander responsible for the operation, as had been done in the case of
210 bc chapters 32–33 353
Marcellus and the Sicilians. Then they saw Flaccus’ legates, Marcus
Atilius and Gaius Fulvius, Flaccus’ brother, present in the Senate, as
well as Quintus Minucius and Lucius Veturius Philo, who were like-
wise legates of Claudius. These were men who had been present
throughout the campaign, and the senators were reluctant to have
Fulvius recalled from Capua, or the case of the Capuans left in
abeyance. Then Marcus Atilius Regulus, the man who enjoyed the
greatest prestige of all those who had been at Capua, was asked his
opinion.
‘I formally declare’, Regulus replied, ‘that I was on the consuls’
advisory board when the question arose, after the capture of Capua,
of whether there was anyone amongst the Capuans who deserved our
republic’s gratitude. It was found that there were two women in this
category: Vestia Oppia, a lady from Atella living in Capua, and
Faucula Cluvia, who had once earned her living by prostitution.
Vestia had offered sacrifice every day for the security and victory of
the Roman people; Faucula had secretly provided starving prisoners
with food. But the rest of the people of Capua had the same feelings
towards us as did the Carthaginians, and what distinguished the men
beheaded by Quintus Fulvius from the others was their rank rather
than their guilt.
‘I do not see how senatorial action can be taken without authoriza-
tion from the people in the case of Capuans holding Roman citizen-
ship, and I also note that the following was the action taken in the
case of the defection of the people of Satricum in the time of our
ancestors. The plebeian tribune Marcus Antistius at that time pre-
sented the plebs with a proposal on the issue, and the plebs voted to
leave to the Senate the right to judge the Satrican case.* In my
opinion, then, we must discuss with the plebeian tribunes the possi-
bility of one or more of them bringing a proposal to the plebs that
authorizes us to decide the case of the people of Capua.’
The plebeian tribune Lucius Atilius, on senatorial authority, then
brought before the plebs a bill, worded as follows: ‘With regard to
all the people of Capua, Atella, Calatia, and Sabatum,* who, by
surrender to the proconsul Quintus Fulvius, have put themselves
under the authority and power of the Roman people; and with
regard to the persons they surrendered along with themselves, and
to the property they surrendered along with themselves––land and
city, objects divine and secular, implements, and whatever else they
354 book twenty-six 210 bc
surrendered––I ask you, citizens, what you wish done in this regard.’
The plebs decreed as follows: ‘Our wish and command* is that the
decision reached, under oath, by the majority of the Senate, be put
into effect.’
34. Following this resolution of the plebs, the matter was put
before the Senate, which first of all restored to Oppia and Cluvia
their property and their freedom and instructed them to come to
Rome if they wished to claim further recompense from the Senate.
Decrees were passed for individual Capuan households,* but it is not
worth the while to list them all. Some faced expropriation of their
property, and being sold into slavery along with their wives and
children, exception being made for daughters who had married out-
side the community before they became subject to the jurisdiction of
the Roman people. Others were to be imprisoned, with discussion of
their eventual fate left until later. In the case of others, the senators
used classifications based on their property assessments to determine
whether or not they should be dispossessed. They also voted that
farm animals that had been captured, apart from horses, should be
returned to their owners; and the same was to apply to slaves, apart
from adults of the male sex, and to all property not attached to the
ground. They ordained that all citizens of Capua, Atella, Calatia,
and Sabatum were to have free status, apart from those who had
themselves served with the enemy, or whose fathers had done so. But
none was to be a Roman citizen, or have Latin status, and none of
those who had been present in Capua during the period when the
gates were shut was to remain in the city, or on the farmland of
Capua beyond a certain date.* These people were to be given a place
to live beyond the Tiber, but not on its banks.
As for those who, during the hostilities, had not been in Capua or
in any Campanian city that had defected from the Roman people, the
senators voted to have them removed to a point north of the River
Liris, in the direction of Rome. In the case of those who had gone
over to the Romans before Hannibal’s arrival in Capua, they voted to
have them transferred to an area north of the River Volturnus, with the
proviso that none should possess land or a building within fifteen miles
of the sea. Those moved across the Tiber were––themselves and their
descendants––forbidden to acquire or possess land anywhere other
than in the territory of Veii, Sutrium, or Nepete,* and their holdings
there were restricted to a maximum of 50 iugera per person.
210 bc chapters 33–35 355
The Senate also ordered the property belonging to all senators
and office-holders in Capua, Atella, or Calatia to be put up for sale in
Capua; and the free persons, who they had decided should be sold
into slavery, were to be sent to Rome and put on sale in the city. Art
work and bronze statues allegedly taken from the enemy the senators
referred to the College of Pontiffs for a decision on which were sacred
and which unconsecrated. Thanks to these decrees, the Capuans,
when the senators dismissed them, were rather more despondent than
they had been on their arrival in Rome. And now their complaints
were directed not at Quintus Fulvius’ cruel treatment of them, but
at the unfairness of heaven, and their own abominable fortune.
35. After the Sicilian and Capuan delegations had been dismissed,
troop mobilization got under way. Then, once the army had been
enrolled, the question of increasing the complement of oarsmen
came up for discussion.* For this there was insufficient manpower
available, nor were there at that time any funds in the public purse
for buying rowers and providing their pay. The consuls therefore
proclaimed that private individuals should (as had been done earlier)
provide the oarsmen, along with their pay and thirty days’ worth of
food rations, and do so on the basis of their property rating and their
class. This announcement met with such a howl of protest, and such
indignation, that what was lacking for a riot was not so much the
conditions as a leader. The consuls, people claimed, had now picked
on the common folk of Rome,* after the people of Sicily and Capua,
as their next victim for ruin and persecution. Drained year after year
by tribute, they were now left with nothing but their land, and that
was bare desert, they said. The enemy had burned their houses, and
the state had appropriated the slaves that worked their land, buying
them up cheaply for the army, or else commandeering them as oars-
men. All silver or bronze in anyone’s possession had been taken from
him to pay oarsmen and the annual taxes. And now there was no
coercion, no authority by which they could be forced to give what
they did not have. The state could sell their property, and maltreat
their bodies––which was all that remained to them! They had nothing
more with which they could even be ransomed!
People made these angry comments not in secret, but quite openly
in the Forum, and before the eyes of the consuls, as they milled
about them in a huge crowd. And the consuls, employing censure
and solace in turn, simply could not calm them down. They then
356 book twenty-six 210 bc
declared that they were giving the people a three-day period to think
the matter over, and that time the consuls themselves employed to
examine the problem and find a solution. The day after that interval
they convened the Senate to consider the matter of bringing the
oarsmen up to strength. After a long discussion in which they admit-
ted that the people’s refusal was reasonable, they changed the tenor
of their remarks, going so far as to say that, reasonable or unreason-
able, the burden had to be placed on private citizens. For with no
money in the treasury, how were they going to provide naval crews?
And without crews, how could Sicily be secured, or Philip kept away
from Italy, or the coasts of Italy safeguarded?
36. It was a difficult moment, and practical thinking was bogged
down, and a sort of paralysis had seized men’s minds. Then the
consul Laevinus spoke. The magistrates rank above the Senate, he
said, and the Senate above the people, and a man’s eminence morally
obliges him to take the lead in assuming all tasks that involve hardship
and difficulty.
‘If you want to impose something on an inferior,’ he continued,
‘accept that as an obligation for yourself and your family first, and
you will the more easily have everyone listening to you. And the
expense is not burdensome for people when they see every one of
their leading men accepting more than his fair share of it. So, do we
want the Roman people to have fleets and to man them, and do we
want private individuals to provide oarsmen without balking at the
expense? Then let us first impose that burden on ourselves. We
senators should tomorrow bring to the treasury all our gold and
silver, and all our bronze coin. The following can be excepted: a ring
for each man, his wife, and each child; a bulla* for a son; and, in the
case of those with a wife and daughters, an ounce of gold for each. As
for silver, former occupants of curule offices may retain their horses’
decorative emblems, and two pounds of the metal per person, so as
to have the saltcellar and plate for their religious functions. The
other senators should retain just one pound per person. And bronze
coins––let us leave 5,000 asses to each family head. All other gold and
silver, and all bronze coin, we should immediately deposit with the
treasury officials,* before issuing any senatorial decree. Voluntarily
making a contribution, and competing to give assistance to the state,
may also inspire the equestrian order, and then the plebeians as well,
to emulate us.
210 bc chapters 35–37 357
‘We, the consuls, have long discussed the matter, and this is the
only road we have found to follow. Start out on it, and may the gods
lend you a helping hand. If the state is healthy, she easily safeguards
the individual’s property; but you would waste your time trying to
save what is yours if you abandon the public cause.’
These words met with such an enthusiastic response that the
consuls were actually thanked by the senators. After the Senate was
adjourned, every member brought to the treasury his own gold,
silver, and bronze; and so heated was their rivalry to have their
names listed first, or amongst the first, on the public records that the
treasury officials were incapable of taking the deposit, or the secre-
taries of recording them. The equestrian order responded with the
same unanimity as the Senate, and the plebs followed the equestrian
class. Thus, with no senatorial edict and no pressure from a magis-
trate, the republic was short of neither oarsmen to make up the
complement, nor the money to pay them. When all the preparations
for war were completed, the consuls left for their provinces.
37. There was no other point in the war at which the Carthaginians
and Romans, both experiencing a variety of fortunes, were fluctuat-
ing so much between hope and fear. In the provinces, failure in Spain
and success in Sicily had brought the Romans a mixture of dejection
and elation. In Italy, too, Tarentum being taken from them was a sore
loss, but unexpectedly holding on to the citadel had brought them
joy. Likewise, there had been sudden panic and fear when Hannibal
blockaded and attacked the city of Rome, but this turned to jubilation
with the capture of Capua a few days later. Events overseas, too, saw
a kind of balance in their oscillating fortunes. Philip had declared
himself an enemy at what was hardly a favourable time, but the
Aetolians and King Attalus of Asia were also enlisted as new allies, as
though destiny were promising the Romans empire in the East.
It was the same with the Carthaginians. They felt their capture of
Tarentum compensated for the loss of Capua and, while they prided
themselves on having reached the walls of the city of Rome without
resistance, they were galled by the failure of the enterprise. They felt
embarrassed, too, at being regarded with such contempt that, while
they were actually sitting at the walls of Rome, a Roman army was
being led off to Spain through another gate. There were also the
Spanish provinces, where two great Roman commanders and their
armies had been slaughtered. The closer the Carthaginians had come
358 book twenty-six 210 bc
to hopes of finishing the war in that theatre and driving the Romans
from there, the greater their exasperation that their victory had been
rendered null and void by Lucius Marcius, a stopgap commander. So
fortune was evening things up, and everything hung in the balance
on both sides, with hopes and fears as alive as if they were actually
starting the war at that moment.
38. What vexed Hannibal above all was Capua which, blockaded
by the Romans with greater resolve than he had shown in defending
it, had lost him the support of many of the peoples of Italy. And all
of these he could not hold in check with garrisons, unless he were
prepared to split his army into many small sections, which was very
much to his disadvantage at that time. He could not withdraw such
garrisons as were in place, either, and leave the loyalty of his allies
open to speculation or subject to intimidation. Temperamentally
prone to greed and cruelty, Hannibal now leaned towards pillaging
what he could not protect, so that his enemy would be left only
devastated territory. That was a terrible plan initially, and had terrible
results for him. For he alienated the sympathies of everybody, and
not just of those subjected to the unwarranted destruction, since the
example reached further than the actual danger. And the Roman
consul lost no opportunity to probe the feelings of the cities wherever
any hope was to be seen.
The two most prominent men in Salapia were Dasius and Blattius.
Dasius sided with Hannibal; Blattius, as far as he safely could,
espoused the cause of Rome, and he had, in clandestine messages,
led Marcellus to hope that the town could be betrayed to him. In
fact, however, that could not be achieved without the complicity of
Dasius. Blattius waited a long time before approaching Dasius, and
he did so then only because he lacked a better plan, not because he
had hopes of success. Dasius, who opposed the idea, and also felt
personal enmity towards his rival for power, revealed the matter to
Hannibal. Hannibal had the two men summoned. He was, however,
engaged in some business before his tribunal, and intended hearing
the case of Blattius momentarily. As the two men stood there,
accuser and accused, with the public removed, Blattius proceeded to
bring up again with Dasius the matter of betraying the town. And
indeed Dasius, thinking the truth was obvious, cried out that he was
being propositioned to turn traitor right before Hannibal’s eyes. To
Hannibal and those present the very brazenness of such an act made
210 bc chapters 37–39 359
the charge all the more implausible. It was simply a case of rivalry
and personal hatred, they decided––and the charge was being
brought because, inasmuch as there could be no witness, there was
greater scope for fabrication.
The men were therefore dismissed. Blattius, however, did not
abandon his bold design until, by continually drumming the idea
into Dasius’ ears, and explaining how it would benefit themselves
and their homeland, he convinced him that the Punic garrison, com-
prising 500 Numidians, should be delivered to Marcellus, along with
Salapia.
The delivery could not be brought off without great loss of life,
for the Numidians were by far the bravest horsemen in the entire
Punic army. Thus, although the move came as a surprise, and the
Numidians could not make use of their horses within the city, they
nevertheless took up their arms in the fracas and attempted a sortie.
Then, unable to get out, they went down fighting to the bitter end,
with no more than fifty of them falling into the hands of the enemy
alive. Far more damaging to Hannibal than the loss of Salapia was
the loss of this contingent of horsemen; never thereafter did the
Carthaginian enjoy superiority in what was hitherto his greatest
strength, his cavalry.
39. At this time, too, the food-shortages in the citadel of Tarentum
were almost beyond endurance. The Roman garrison in place there,
and Marcus Livius, who commanded the garrison and citadel, had all
their hopes centred on provisions sent from Sicily; and to safeguard
the transport of these along the Italian coastline a fleet of some twenty
ships was riding at anchor off Rhegium. The man in charge of
the fleet and the supplies was Decimus Quinctius, who was of
undistinguished background but who, as the result of many brave
exploits, had an outstanding reputation as a soldier. Initially, Quinc-
tius had five ships, the largest of them two triremes that had been put
under his command by Marcellus. Later, his energetic conduct being
frequently in evidence, a further three vessels were given to him.
Finally, by personally requisitioning from the allies––from Rhegium,
Velia, and Paestum––ships due under treaty, he built up the fleet of
twenty ships noted above.
This fleet had set off from Rhegium when, at Sapriportis, about
fifteen miles from the city of Tarentum, Democrates confronted it
with a like number of Tarentine vessels. As it happened, the Roman
360 book twenty-six 210 bc
commander was advancing under sail, not suspecting a fight ahead.
He had, however, taken on a full complement of oarsmen in the area
of Croton and Sybaris,* and was now in possession of a fleet extremely
well manned, and well armed, given the size of its vessels. And then,
by chance, the wind dropped entirely at the very moment that the
enemy came into view. This meant that Quinctius had time to
stow the rigging,* and get his oarsmen and fighters ready for the
forthcoming engagement.
Rarely have conventional fleets clashed with such ferocity, for they
were fighting to decide something greater than their own fate. The
Tarentines, who had, after nearly a century, recovered their city from
the Romans, were now fighting to liberate the citadel as well; and
they were hoping to cut their enemy’s supply line by depriving him,
with a naval battle, of his dominance at sea. The Romans, who had
held on to the citadel, were fighting to demonstrate that their loss of
Tarentum had nothing to do with strength and courage, but was the
result of treachery and deceit.
The signal now went up on both sides, and the vessels charged
each other with their prows. There was no backing water with the
oar, no permitting the enemy to break free whenever they grappled a
ship that they overtook. They engaged at such close quarters that it
became almost hand-to-hand fighting, the battle fought as much
with the sword as with projectiles. The prows remained locked
together, the sterns being swung round by the oars on the enemy
ship. So closely grouped were the ships that hardly any weapon
thrown landed harmlessly in the sea between them, and, like lines of
infantry, they pushed against each other front to front, with the
fighting men able to move from ship to ship.
The engagement that stood out from all the others, however, was
that between the two ships that clashed at the head of the lines. In
the Roman vessel was Quinctius himself, and in the Tarentine was
Nico, who was surnamed Perco. This man loathed the Romans, and
was in turn detested by them; and this animosity was as much a
personal as a public matter, for Nico belonged to the faction that had
betrayed Tarentum to Hannibal. As Quinctius was fighting and sim-
ultaneously urging on his men, Nico took him by surprise and ran
him through. When the Roman fell headlong over the prow, still
holding his weapons, the victorious Tarentine leaped smartly over to
the Roman ship, which was now in confusion after the loss of its
210 bc chapters 39–40 361
leader. He pushed back the enemy, and when the prow was in
Tarentine hands, and the Romans, crowded together, were having
little success defending the stern, a second enemy trireme suddenly
appeared astern. Caught between the two, the Roman vessel was
captured. The sight of the flagship being taken struck panic into the
others. Fleeing in all directions, some were sunk on the open sea, and
others, hurriedly rowed to shore, soon became plunder for the
people of Thurii and Metapontum. As for the freighters following
with the supplies, only a small fraction fell into enemy hands; the
others oriented their sails in different directions to catch the shifting
winds, and sailed out to sea.
The Tarentines were nothing like as fortunate in the fighting at
Tarentum during that period. Some 4,000 men who had gone out on
a foraging expedition were roaming at large through the fields. Livius,
who was in command of the citadel and the Roman garrison, was
ever on the lookout for opportunities to strike the enemy, and he sent
out against them from the citadel an energetic officer, Gaius Persius,
with an armed force of 2,500. Persius attacked the foragers as they
drifted widely dispersed about the fields, and for a long time he cut
them down everywhere. The few survivors of that large enemy force
he drove into the city in panic-stricken flight through the half-open
gates, and in that same attack the city actually came close to being
taken. Thus successes were balanced at Tarentum, the Romans vic-
torious on land and the Tarentines at sea, but both were robbed of
the hope that they glimpsed of taking possession of the grain.
40. It was at about this same time, with most of the year already
gone, that the consul Laevinus, whose coming had been eagerly
awaited by allies old and new, arrived in Sicily. His very first priority,
he thought, was to settle the chaotic situation that still reigned in
Syracuse in the early days of the peace. After that he led his legions
to Agrigentum, which represented the last phase of the war and was
occupied by a strong Carthaginian force. And fortune attended his
enterprise.
The commander of the Carthaginians was Hanno, but they had all
their hopes centred on Muttines and his Numidians. Muttines was
on the move throughout Sicily, carrying off plunder from Roman
allies; he could not be kept out of Agrigentum by force or any other
means, nor could he be stopped from making forays from the town
whenever he chose. The man’s celebrity had for some time been
362 book twenty-six 210 bc
putting even the commander in the shade, and eventually he aroused
in Hanno such resentment that he took little pleasure even in Mut-
tines’ successes, because of who was responsible for them. Finally,
Hanno transferred the man’s command to his own son, believing
that he would be taking away Muttines’ authority among the Numid-
ians along with his power.
Things, however, turned out very differently. Thanks to his own
unpopularity, Hanno only increased the support Muttines had long
enjoyed. Furthermore, Muttines refused to take the undeserved slight
lying down, and he immediately sent undercover agents to Laevinus
to negotiate the handover of Agrigentum. Through his agents,
Muttines won Laevinus’ confidence, and a plan of action was put in
place. The Numidians then took control of the gate facing the sea,
expelling or killing the guards, and let into the city some Romans
sent expressly for that purpose. The Romans proceeded in a column
towards the town centre and the forum, raising a great clamour, and
Hanno, thinking it was merely the Numidian troops making a noisy
protest, as had happened before, went forth to quell the disturbance.
But there, in the distance, he caught sight of a crowd much too large
to be the Numidians, and Roman shouts, with which he was not at all
unfamiliar, came to his ears. He fled before he came within range of a
weapon. Slipping out of the gate that lay on the far side of the city,
and taking Epicydes as his companion, he came down to the sea with
a few men. There, fortuitously, they came upon a small sailing vessel
and, abandoning Sicily to their enemies, a prize for which they had
fought for so many years, they crossed to Africa. The large numbers
of Carthaginians and Sicilians left behind did not even try to put up
a fight; they fled wildly and blindly, but found the exits blocked, and
were killed close to the gates.
After taking possession of the town, Laevinus flogged and
beheaded those in charge at Agrigentum, and the others he sold off
along with the booty, sending all the money that he raised to Rome.
When word of the disaster that had overtaken the people of Agri-
gentum spread through Sicily, there was everywhere a sudden shift
of sympathies in favour of the Romans. Twenty cities were soon sold
out to them, and six more taken by force, while about forty came
under Roman protection through voluntary surrender. The consul
meted out to the leading men of these communities such rewards
and punishments as they deserved, and forced the Sicilians finally to
210 bc chapters 40–41 363
lay down their arms and turn their attention to farming the land.*
His policy was designed not only to make their island sufficiently
fertile to support its inhabitants, but also to have it alleviate problems
of the grain-supply of the city of Rome and of Italy, as it had done on
many occasions in the past. After that Laevinus sailed over to Italy,
taking with him a disorderly crowd of men from Agathyrna.* There
were 4,000 of them, a ragtag bunch of all sorts of unsavoury indi-
viduals––exiles, debtors, and many who had committed capital
offences when they had been living in their own communities and
under their own laws. And after similar fortunes had, for various
reasons, concentrated these men at Agathyrna, they had been mak-
ing a living by robbery and pillage. Laevinus did not feel it was
particularly safe to leave them behind on an island just beginning to
achieve unity under the new peace, as they would provide the fuel for
revolution. Moreover, they would be of use to the people of Rhe-
gium, who were then searching for a gang of men with experience in
robbery for their raids on the territory of Bruttium. And that year
saw the end of Sicily’s involvement in the war.
41. In Spain, Publius Scipio launched his ships at the start of
spring.* He then issued an edict summoning the allied auxiliaries to
Tarraco, and ordered the fleet and transport ships to head out from
there for the mouth of the River Ebro. He also gave orders for the
legions to muster in this same location on leaving their winter quar-
ters, and then he personally set off from Tarraco with 5,000 allied
troops to join this army. On his arrival he felt he should make an
address, particularly to the veteran soldiers who had survived the
catastrophic setbacks. He called an assembly, and gave the following
speech:*
‘No new commander before me has been able to give his soldiers
justified and well-merited thanks before actually making use of their
services. My case is different. Before I even set eyes on my province
or my camp, fortune put me in your debt. First there was your great
dedication to my father and uncle, during their lifetime and after
their deaths, and then your valour in keeping secure for me, their
successor, and for the Roman people, a province that was as good as
lost after their terrible defeat. Now, thanks to heaven’s blessing, the
aim of our present preparations, and the steps we are taking, is not to
permit us to remain in Spain ourselves, but to make sure that the
Carthaginians do not. They are designed not to permit us to stand
364 book twenty-six 210 bc
before the banks of the Ebro to keep the enemy from crossing, but to
allow us to cross it ourselves, and take the war over it. What I fear is
that this plan might strike some of you as being too grand, and too
adventurous, when you reflect on your recent defeats, and when you
consider my age. No one is less able than I to expunge from his
thoughts the battles lost in Spain. My father and my uncle were
killed within thirty days of each other, our family visited with deaths
piled one on the other. Being left on one’s own with almost no family
breaks the spirit, and yet the good fortune and valour of our com-
monwealth forbid me to lose all hope for the final outcome. Our lot,
granted to us by some divine providence, is to emerge victorious
after defeat in all our major wars.
‘I ignore the examples of old––Porsenna, the Gauls, the Sam-
nites––and I shall start with the Punic Wars. How many were the
fleets, how many the generals, how many the armies that were lost in
the first war! And what am I to say of this one? In all the defeats I
was either present myself or, if I was not there, I more than anyone
felt their repercussions. The Trebia, Trasimene, Cannae––what are
these but a history of Roman armies and Roman consuls cut to
shreds? Add the defection of most of Italy, of Sicily, of Sardinia; add,
too, that sheer terror and panic at seeing a Punic camp set up
between the Anio and the walls of Rome, at the sight of a victorious
Hannibal almost at our gates. In this general collapse, only the cour-
age of the people of Rome stood unimpaired and unshakeable, and it
was this that resurrected and restored all that had fallen to the
ground.
‘After the disaster at Cannae, Hasdrubal was making his way
towards the Alps and Italy––and had he joined up with his brother,
the name of the Roman people would no longer be in existence. Men,
it was you, led by my father and under his auspices, who were the very
first to stand in his way. Your success here made up for failure there.
‘Now, thanks to heaven’s blessing, all goes well and successfully in
Italy and Sicily, with the situation looking better and brighter every
day. In Sicily, Syracuse and Agrigentum have been taken; the enemy
has been driven from the entire island; and the province has once
more been brought under the sway of the Roman people. In Italy,
Arpi has been recovered and Capua taken. Hannibal has made his
whole journey from the city of Rome in panic-stricken flight, and
has been forced back into the farthest corner of Bruttian territory.
210 bc chapters 41–42 365
His prayers to the gods are now for nothing more than that he be
granted a safe retreat and withdrawal from the land of his enemies.
Men, when defeat followed hard on the heels of defeat, and the gods
were virtually standing alongside Hannibal, you joined my parents
here––let me honour them equally with that title––to hold up the
tottering fortunes of the people of Rome. So what could be more
irrational than that you, those very same men, should lack con-
fidence when all goes well and successfully over there in Italy? I
wish, too, that what happened recently were, for me, as free from
grief <. . .>*
‘The immortal gods, the protectors of Roman power, were respon-
sible for the centuries unanimously authorizing that the command be
vested in me, and these same gods are now, by augury, auspices, and
even nightly visions, predicting that all will go successfully and well.
And my mind, which has been my greatest foreteller of the future up
to now, also has a presentiment that Spain is ours, that in a brief
while the whole Punic race will be driven from here, covering sea and
land in humiliating flight. What my mind spontaneously predicts is
also suggested by rational analysis of the facts. Persecuted by the
Carthaginians, their allies send delegations to beg for our protection;
and their three commanders, wrangling almost to the point of
mutiny, have drawn their armies away from each other in three direc-
tions, going into widely separated areas of the country. The bad luck
that recently afflicted us is now descending on them. They, too, are
being abandoned by their allies, as we were earlier by the Celtiberians,
and they have also split their armies, which was what brought my
father and uncle to grief. Their internal conflicts will not permit
them to coalesce, and individually they will not be able to resist us.
Men, simply give your support to the Scipio name, and to the off-
shoot of your former commanders, one growing again from the
stump that was pruned. Come, veterans, take your new army and
your new leader across the Ebro; take them over into lands through
which you have often passed with many heroic deeds. You now see in
me a face and expression resembling those of my father and uncle,
and you recognize in me their physical features. Soon I shall see to it
that I exemplify and reflect also their character, loyalty, and valour,
making every one of you say that Scipio, his general, has come back
to life, or has been born again.’
42. With these words Scipio sparked the enthusiasm of the men.
366 book twenty-six 210 bc
Leaving Marcus Silanus with 3,000 infantry and 300 cavalry to safe-
guard the region, he crossed the Ebro with all the other troops,
which amounted to 25,000 foot and 2,500 horse. Since the Punic
armies had withdrawn into three widely separated regions, some
pressed him to attack the one closest to them. Scipio, however, think-
ing that there was danger that such a move might bring about the
unification of the three armies, and that his single force would be no
match for all of them, decided instead, as an interim measure, to
launch an attack on New Carthage. This was a city that was in any
case wealthy from its own resources, but it was also full of all manner
of military equipment belonging to the enemy––it was there that he
kept his arsenal, his treasury, and his hostages from all over Spain. In
addition, the town was conveniently situated for a crossing to Africa,
and it had the further advantage of overlooking a harbour large
enough for a fleet of any size (and was possibly the only such port on
the Mediterranean coastline of Spain).
No one knew the army’s destination, with the sole exception of
Gaius Laelius.* Laelius had been sent around the coast with the fleet,
but had orders to regulate the speed of his vessels so that the fleet
would be entering the harbour at the very moment that Scipio
appeared with his army on land. The land and sea journeys from the
Ebro to New Carthage were completed in six days.* A camp was then
established on the side of the city that faced north, and an earthwork
created to secure its rear, the front being protected by the natural
features of the place.
In fact, the lie of New Carthage is as follows. There is a bay about
halfway down the coast of Spain, facing mainly south-west, and
receding inland about two and a half miles. It is slightly more than
twelve hundred paces wide. At the entrance to this bay, a small island
forms a barrier on the seaward side that shelters the harbour from all
winds except the south-westerly. From the deepest recesses of the bay
a peninsula runs out, and it is on this strip of elevated land that the city
is built, its eastern and southern sections surrounded by the sea. To
the west, access is blocked by a lagoon that also runs in a slightly
northerly direction, its depth varying according to the rise and fall of
the tide.* A causeway, some two hundred and fifty paces in width,
connects the city to the mainland. The Roman commander did not
throw up a protective barrier on this, although it would have taken
very little effort to construct one. Either this was a brash display of
210 bc chapters 42–44 367
confidence for the benefit of the enemy, or he wished to have an
unencumbered line of retreat from his frequent forays to the city
walls.
43. When he had completed all the necessary defence-works,
Scipio went on to deploy his vessels in the harbour, as though making
the point that there was also a naval blockade in force. Taken by boat
around the fleet, he warned the ships’ captains to maintain a strict
vigil at night; an enemy under siege, he told them, made every kind
of move, and at every possible opportunity, at the start of the oper-
ation. He then went back to camp to explain to the soldiers the
reasoning behind his decision to commence his campaign with an
offensive against the city, and also to give them hope of taking it
by his words of encouragement. Calling an assembly, he made the
following address:
‘Men, if any one believes that you have been brought here only for
an assault on a single city, that man’s assessment is more accurate
with regard to the effort you face than the advantages to be gained.
You will, it is true, be attacking the walls of just one city, but in
taking that one city you will be taking all of Spain. In it are the
hostages of all the most important princes and peoples; and, as soon
as these men are in your hands, they will put under your control
everything now under the Carthaginians. In it lies all the money
belonging to the enemy. Without it they cannot carry on a war––they
maintain mercenary armies––and you will find that money very use-
ful for winning the support of the barbarians. In it are their artillery,
their arsenal, their weapons, all their military equipment. This will
mean you being well provided with equipment, and the enemy
deprived of it. In addition, we shall take possession of a city of great
beauty and wealth, and one which, at the same time, has the great
advantage of an excellent harbour, through which everything needed
for the war can be supplied by land and sea. And while we shall
ourselves enjoy these great assets, we shall also be depriving our
enemies of much greater ones. This is their stronghold, their gran-
ary, their treasury, their armoury––this is where they have every-
thing stored. The direct crossing from Africa is to this city, and this
is their only anchorage between the Pyrenees and Gades. From here
Africa threatens the whole of Spain* <. . .> But since I see you drawn
up in formation, let us cross over to attack New Carthage with all
our strength and with confidence.’ And when all the men cried out in
368 book twenty-six 210 bc
one voice that this was what they should do, he led them to New
Carthage, and then ordered an assault by land and sea.
44. Mago,* the Carthaginian commander, had now armed <the
town’s inhabitants>, and when he saw the preparations being made
for the land and sea assault, he proceeded with his own troop
deployment. He ranged 2,000 of the town’s inhabitants as a buffer
on the side facing the Roman camp. He next placed a contingent of
500 of his men in the citadel, and set 500 more on a hill in the eastern
sector of the city. The large numbers remaining he ordered to be
ready for any contingency, and to rush to whatever quarter shouting
or an emergency might call them. He then threw open the gate and
sent forth the men whom he had deployed on the roadway leading
towards the enemy camp. On the instructions of their commander
himself, the Romans gave way a little so that they would be closer to
the reinforcements that were to be sent in during the actual combat.
At the start, in fact, the two lines stood their ground not unevenly
matched. Then continuous waves of reinforcements sent in from the
Roman camp not only turned the enemy to flight but put such
pressure on them as they fled that, but for the recall being sounded,
it looked as if the Romans would have broken into the city inter-
mingled with the fugitives.
The consternation on the battlefield was actually no greater than
that throughout the city. Many of the guard-posts had been aban-
doned in panic-stricken flight, and the walls had been deserted, their
defenders having leaped down by the shortest route they could find.
Scipio, who had mounted a hill that they call the Hill of Mercury,*
saw that the fortifications were at many points stripped of their
defenders. He ordered everyone to be summoned from the camp; all
were to advance to assault the town and bring ladders. Scipio himself
had three sturdy young men cover him with their shields, since
weapons of all kinds were now flying in large numbers from the
walls, and he pushed ahead towards the city. He shouted encourage-
ment, and gave orders appropriate to the situation; but what best
served to fire the spirit of the men was that he was there to witness
and observe the courage, or the faint-heartedness, of every indi-
vidual. As a result, the men rushed forward, facing wounds and
missiles, and neither walls nor the soldiers standing on them could
stop them racing each other to clamber up. And, at the same time,
the section of the city bordered by the sea also came under attack,
210 bc chapters 44–45 369
though there, rather than real pressure being applied, it was just a
chaotic scramble. As the troops landed, and swiftly put ashore lad-
ders and men, and as they hurried to clamber ashore by the quickest
path, they simply got in each other’s way, thanks to their haste and
rivalry.
45. In the meantime, the Carthaginian commander had once more
manned the walls with troops, and these had at their disposal a large
quantity of javelins drawn from their immense arsenal. But neither
men, nor their javelins, nor anything else, provided as effective a
defence for the walls as did the walls themselves. Few were the
ladders that were long enough to reach such a height, and the longer
the ladders the weaker they were. The result was that, as the man at
the top could not get over the wall, and others were nevertheless
climbing up behind, the ladders would break simply from the weight
placed on them. In some cases the ladders held firm, but the men
still fell to the ground when the height produced dizzy spells.
Men and ladders were dropping all over, and the confidence and
enthusiasm of the enemy were increasing with their success. Accord-
ingly, the retreat was sounded, giving the beleaguered citizens hope,
not only of an immediate break from their arduous struggle, but for
the future, too. The city, they thought, could not be taken by scaling-
ladders and encirclement, while siege-works were a difficult prop-
osition––and one that would give the Carthaginian commanders
time to bring them assistance.
The commotion of the first attempt had barely died down when
Scipio ordered men who were fresh and uninjured to take the ladders
from those who were by then exhausted and wounded, and to inten-
sify the assault on the city. He now also knew that crossing the lagoon
to the city wall on foot was easy, something he had learned from
fishermen of Tarraco who had explored the length of the lagoon
both on light boats and, when the boats ran aground, by wading
through the shallows. So, when he was brought word that there was
an ebb tide, Scipio personally led a band of 500 armed men to the
lagoon.
It was about the middle of the day. The water level was dropping
in any case, as the tide ebbed,* but in addition there was also a brisk
north wind that had arisen and was helping to sweep the receding
waters of the lagoon in the same direction as the tide. This had
exposed the shallow areas, so much so that at some points the water
370 book twenty-six 210 bc
came up to the navel, and at others barely to the knees. Scipio had
worked this out by careful observation and reason, but he made it
out to be a miracle and a case of divine intervention. The gods, he
said, were turning back the sea to make a way over for the Romans;
they were draining the lagoon and bringing into view paths on which
man had never set foot. And he bade them follow the lead of Neptune,
who would guide them on their journey, and reach the walls by
taking a path right across the lagoon.
46. Those making the landward approach to the town were facing
enormous difficulties. It was not simply the height of the walls that
impeded the Romans’ progress; the enemy also made sorties and had
them under fire from both sides, so that as they pushed forward they
faced greater danger from the flanks than from the front. By con-
trast, the 500 on the other side of the town found it easy crossing the
lagoon, and then climbing to the top of the wall. The wall was not
built up there as the protection offered by its very location on the
lagoon inspired sufficient confidence, and the Romans were faced
with no outpost of armed men and no sentries––everybody was con-
centrating on bringing assistance to where there was an obvious
threat.
The men thus entered the city without opposition, and headed as
quickly as they could for the gate at which all the fighting was
concentrated. Everybody’s attention was focused on this. In fact,
the eyes and ears of the combatants, and of those watching and
encouraging them, were so absorbed with it that none realized the
city had been taken behind them until javelins came raining down on
their backs, and they had the enemy attacking them front and rear.
That threw the defenders into a panic. The walls were taken, and the
breaking down of the gate got under way both inside and out. Soon,
when the leaves of the gate had been cut down, and hacked to bits so
as not to obstruct their passage, the soldiers mounted their charge.
There were also large numbers scaling the walls, but these then
veered off to butcher civilians, while the men who had entered by the
gate advanced in battle formation to the forum, through the city
centre, accompanied by their officers and preserving their ranks.
Scipio now observed that the enemy were fleeing in two direc-
tions. Some were heading eastwards towards the hill occupied by the
500-strong garrison; others were making for the citadel, to which
Mago himself had also beaten a retreat with almost all the soldiers
210 bc chapters 45–48 371
who had been driven from the walls. Scipio therefore sent some of
his troops to storm the hill, and others he led in person to the citadel.
The hill was taken with the first charge. Mago tried to hold the
citadel but when he saw that the whole city had been overrun by the
enemy, and that the situation was hopeless, he too capitulated, sur-
rendering the citadel and its garrison. Until the surrender of the
citadel the slaughter continued throughout the city, and no adult
male meeting the Romans was given quarter. Then, the signal given,
the bloodbath ceased, and the victors turned to the plunder––an
enormous assortment of all sorts of things.
47. Approximately 10,000 free persons of male sex were taken
prisoner. Of these Scipio released those who were citizens of New
Carthage, restoring to them their city and such property as the war
had left them. There were also about 2,000 men who were skilled
tradesmen. These, he declared, would be state property of the
Roman people,* and added that they could hope for early emancipa-
tion if they were diligent in their work of providing war materials.
All the others, large numbers of young resident aliens and able-
bodied slaves, he put in the service of the fleet, to make up the
numbers of his oarsmen (and he had also increased the size of the
fleet with eighteen captured vessels*). In addition to this mass of
people there were also the Spanish hostages, and these were treated
with as much respect as if they were the children of allies.
The quantity of military equipment taken was enormous. There
were 120 catapults of the largest dimensions, and 281 smaller ones;
23 large-scale and 52 smaller-scale ballistas; a huge number of the
larger and smaller scorpions, and of weapons and projectiles; and 74
military standards. Large amounts of gold and silver were brought to
the commander. There were 276 golden dishes, nearly all of them a
pound in weight; there were 18,300 pounds of silver, in bullion and
coin, and a large number of silver vessels. All this was weighed and
counted, and then put in the charge of the quaestor, Gaius Flaminius.
There were 400,000 measures of wheat and 270,000 of barley. Sixty-
three transport vessels were overpowered and captured in the har-
bour, some with their cargoes of grain and weapons, as well as
bronze and iron, sail-linen, rope, and other materials for equipping a
fleet. The upshot was that amidst all these riches taken as the spoils
of war New Carthage represented the least significant prize of all.
48. That day Scipio instructed Gaius Laelius to stand guard over
372 book twenty-six 210 bc
the city with the marines;* he himself led the legions back to the
camp. The men were exhausted after all the military operations they
had packed into a single day. They had fought in the line of battle,
faced extremes of hardship and danger in taking the city, and, after
taking it, had done battle––and on unfavourable terrain, as well––
with those who had taken refuge in the citadel. Scipio told them to
take some rest and refreshment.
The following day Scipio called a meeting of the soldiers and the
marines. He first of all offered praise and thanks to the immortal
gods who had not only, in a single day, made him master of the
richest of all the cities in Spain, but had also earlier ensured that
nearly all the wealth of Africa and Spain was accumulated in that
city. The result was that the enemy was now left almost nothing, he
said, while he and his men had everything in abundance. He then
went on to praise his men’s courage. Nothing had deterred them
from climbing over, or bursting through, all the obstacles that stood
in their way––not the enemy counterattack, not the height of the
walls, not the unexplored shallows of the lagoon, not the fort
perched on a hill, or the citadel with its formidable defences. And
while he owed his overall success to every single one of them, he
added, the exceptional honour attaching to the ‘mural crown’*
belonged to the man who had been first to reach the top of the wall,
and whoever thought he deserved that prize should claim it.
There were two claimants: Quintus Trebellius, a centurion of the
fourth legion, and Sextus Digitius, a marine. But the competition
between the two men was less heated than the fanatical support that
each had generated in the other men of the corps to which he
belonged. The marines had Gaius Laelius as their champion, the
legionaries Marcus Sempronius Tuditanus. The dispute was verging
on mutiny, and Scipio announced that he would appoint three judges
to examine the case, hear witnesses, and render a decision on who
had been the first over the wall into the town. Gaius Laelius and
Marcus Sempronius represented their respective parties, and to
them Scipio added Publius Cornelius Caudinus as a disinterested
third. These three he ordered to sit as a board of judges and hear the
case.
The affair, however, was rousing even greater antagonisms
because both sides were now deprived of men of great influence, who
had actually been restraining rather than championing their partisan
210 bc chapters 48–49 373
fervour. At that point Gaius Laelius left the board and came to see
Scipio at the tribunal. He told him that the matter was losing
all semblance of moderation and propriety, and that the men were
close to coming to blows. Even in the absence of a violent outcome,
he said, it was a deplorable precedent that was being set by the affair,
for duplicity and perjury were being employed in a contest for
a prize for gallantry. The legionaries stood on one side, he continued,
the marines on the other; and they were ready to swear, by all the
gods, to what they wanted to be true, rather than what they knew to
be true, and to make not just their own persons guilty of perjury, but
their military standards, their eagles, and the sanctity of their oath of
allegiance as well. He added that he was bringing this matter before
Scipio on the advice of Publius Cornelius and Marcus Sempronius.
Scipio warmly commended Laelius, and called the men to an
assembly. There he announced that he was reliably informed that
Quintus Trebellius and Sextus Digitius had reached the top of the
wall at the same moment, and so he was awarding ‘mural crowns’ to
both men* for their valour. He then made awards to the rest in
accordance with their service and bravery in the field. Gaius Laelius,
admiral of the fleet, he honoured above all others with every kind of
commendation, putting him on a level with himself, and awarding
him a golden crown and a gift of thirty oxen.
49. Scipio then had the hostages from the Spanish communities
summoned to him. The number of these I am reluctant to put on
record, as I find it set at about 300 in one source and at 3,724 in
another.* There is as much discrepancy between the historians on
other items, too. One records that the Punic garrison was 10,000
strong, another that it was 7,000, and yet another that it was not more
than 2,000. In one source I find the number of prisoners taken as
10,000, in another more than 25,000. If I follow the Greek author
Silenus, I should put at about 60 the number of larger and smaller
scorpions that were captured; if I follow Valerius Antias, then there
were 6,000 larger scorpions and 13,000 smaller ones––so unbridled
is the fabrication of historians!* There is no agreement even about
commanders. Most claim that Laelius commanded the fleet, though
some say it was Marcus Junius Silanus. Valerius Antias informs us
that it was Arines who commanded the Punic garrison, and sur-
rendered to the Romans; other writers say that it was Mago. No
agreement is found on the number of ships captured, and none on
374 book twenty-six 210 bc
the weight of gold and silver taken, or the amount of money realized
for it. If one must agree with some of these sources, figures halfway
between the extremes seem closest to the truth.
When the hostages were summoned to him, Scipio first told them
all to be of good cheer. They had, he said, come into the power of the
Roman people, who preferred to secure people’s support by kindness
rather than fear, and to have foreign nations joined to them in a loyal
bond of alliance, rather than downtrodden in wretched servitude.
After that he took the names of their communities, and made an
inventory of the prisoners, itemizing the numbers that belonged to
each people. He then sent messengers to their homes, with instruc-
tions for persons to come to recover their relatives. In the cases
where ambassadors of the communities were present in town, he
restored the hostages to them on the spot. The others he put in the
care of the quaestor Gaius Flaminius, who was told to treat them
kindly.
As this was going on an elderly woman emerged from the midst of
the crowd of hostages. She was the wife of Mandonius, who was the
brother of Indibilis, chieftain of the Ilergetes. She threw herself in
tears at the commander’s feet, and proceeded to beg him to give
stricter injunctions to the guards about caring for, and dealing with,
the female hostages. When Scipio replied that the women would
certainly go short of nothing, the woman replied: ‘What you are
talking about matters little to us––for how important, in a plight like
this, is not having enough? It is another worry that torments me as I
consider the tender years of these ladies, for personally I am now out
of danger of such assault as is made on a woman.’
Surrounding the woman were the daughters of Indibilis, at the
peak of their youth and beauty, and other women of similar high
birth, all of whom respected her like a mother.
‘Thanks to my own discipline, and that of the Roman people,’
Scipio replied, ‘I would in any case guard against the desecration of
anything in our keeping that is considered sacred. But the courage
and dignity of you ladies now make me even more scrupulous in this;
even in misfortune you have not forgotten the respect due to a lady.’
He then put the women in the care of a man of proven integrity, and
instructed him to look after them with as much consideration and
respect as if they were the wives and mothers of guests.
50. After this, a female captive was brought to Scipio by the
210 bc chapters 49–50 375
soldiers, a grown girl of such strikingly good looks that she caught
the eyes of all wherever she went. Scipio made enquiries about her
home and parents, and one of the pieces of information he received
was that she was engaged to a chieftain of the Celtiberians, a young
man named Allucius. He immediately had the parents and the fiancé
summoned from her homeland, but meanwhile he was told that the
young man was desperately in love with his intended bride. So,
immediately on the fiancé’s arrival, Scipio addressed him in terms
more carefully chosen than he did the parents:
‘It is as one young man to another that I address you,’ he said,
‘so that there may be less self-consciousness in this conversation
between us. Your fiancée was brought to me as a prisoner by our
soldiers, and I was told that you were very much in love with her,
something which her looks made quite understandable. Now, I
would myself like to be pardoned for loving a fiancée too deeply, if I
were granted the opportunity to enjoy the pleasures appropriate to
my age, especially a correct and lawful love, and if affairs of state had
not taken up all my attention. Instead––something I can do––I give
support to your love. Your fiancée has, in my care, received the respect
that she would receive from her own parents, your future parents-in-
law. She has been kept intact for you so that she could be given to you
as a gift, inviolate, as befits my dignity and yours. In return for that
gift I ask only this––be a friend of the Roman people! And if you
think I am a good man, with the sort of personality that the tribes
here earlier came to know in my father and uncle, then rest assured
that there are many like us in the Roman state. Rest assured, too, that
one could not cite a nation in the world today that you would like less
to have as your enemy, or like more to have as your friend.’
The young man was overwhelmed with both embarrassment and
delight. He took Scipio’s hand, and called on all the gods to show
him gratitude on his behalf, since he himself had nothing like the
means to express his thanks as he would wish, or as Scipio’s kindness
to him deserved. After that, the girl’s parents and relatives were
summoned. Since the girl was being returned to them free of charge,
and they had brought a weighty quantity of gold for her ransom,
they began to implore Scipio to accept this as a personal gift from
them. They would, they swore, feel no less grateful if he accepted
than they were for his returning the girl undefiled.
Since they were so insistent, Scipio agreed to accept the gift, and
376 book twenty-six 210 bc
gave orders for it to be set at his feet. Then, calling Allucius to him,
he said: ‘You will be receiving a dowry from your father-in-law, but
in addition this will be yours from me as an extra wedding gift,’ and
he told him to pick up the gold and keep it. The young man was then
sent home, delighted with the gift and with the honour paid to him,
and there he filled the ears of his compatriots with well-merited
eulogies of Scipio.* A young man had come who was very much like
the gods, he said, a man who was victorious everywhere thanks to his
generosity and kindness as much as his military power. Allucius then
held a troop-levy amongst his dependants, and within a few days
returned to Scipio with 1,400 handpicked horsemen.
51. Scipio kept Laelius with him for as long as he needed his
advice on the disposal of the captives and hostages, and the booty.
When all had been arranged to his satisfaction, he gave him a quin-
quereme, and put on board with him as prisoners of war Mago and
about fifteen senators who had been taken along with him. He then
sent him to Rome to announce the victory.
As for Scipio, the few days he had decided to remain in New
Carthage he used for drills for his naval and land forces. On the first
day the legions underwent armed manœuvres over a distance of four
miles. On the second they were ordered to see to the servicing and
cleaning of their arms before their tents. On the third they used
wooden swords to fight a simulated pitched battle, and javelins
tipped with a ball for throwing practice. On the fourth they were
allowed to rest, and on the fifth they had armed manœuvres again.
This cycle of work and rest they kept up the whole time they
remained in New Carthage. The rowers and marines would put out
to sea in calm weather, and test the manœuvrability of their vessels in
mock naval battles.
These exercises, conducted on land and sea outside the city, honed
the men for war both physically and mentally.* Meanwhile, artisans
of all kinds had been shut up in a public plant, and the city itself rang
with the noise of military equipment being prepared. The com-
mander would supervise all these activities with equal care. At one
moment he was with the fleet or in the dockyard; at another he was
on manœuvres with the legions; on another occasion he was spending
his time inspecting the works on which the hordes of tradesmen
were everyday engaged, in keen competition, in the workshops,
arsenal, and dockyards.
210 bc chapters 50–51 377
After these initial undertakings, and after repairing sections of the
wall that had taken a battering, and posting troops to provide for the
city’s defence, Scipio set out for Tarraco. While still en route he was
approached by numerous delegations. Some of these he responded
to on the march, and sent on their way; in other cases he deferred the
business until his arrival at Tarraco, where he had given notice of a
meeting for all the allies, old and new. And, in fact, nearly all the
tribes north of the Ebro assembled for the meeting, as did many from
the further province, as well.
At first the Carthaginian leaders deliberately suppressed the news
of the capture of New Carthage, but then the facts became too well
known for the matter to be covered up or ignored, and they tried to
make light of it in their announcements. A single town in Spain that
had been taken from them on one day, they said, by the unexpected
arrival of the Romans––a piece of trickery, almost. A young show-
off, they added, elated by such a paltry gain, had, in his excessive
euphoria, made this out to be a great victory. But when he heard that
three generals and three conquering armies of his enemy were com-
ing, then he would quickly be reminded of the deaths in his family.
Such were the bold comments the Carthaginians made in public;
but in their hearts they knew full well what a weakening of their
strength, in every respect, the loss of New Carthage represented for
them.
 BOOK TWENTY-SEVEN

1. This was how matters stood in Spain. In Italy, meanwhile, the

consul Marcellus gained Salapia when the town was betrayed to him,
and Marmoreae and Meles he took by force from the Samnites.
Some 3,000 of Hannibal’s men, who had been left to garrison these
towns, were overpowered within them, and the plunder taken, which
was considerable, was left to the Roman soldiers. Two hundred and
forty thousand measures of wheat were also found, and 110,000
measures of barley.
However, the joy over this success in no way compensated for
the disaster sustained within a few days of it, not far from the city of
Herdonea.
The proconsul Gnaeus Fulvius was encamped in the area, hop-
ing to recover Herdonea, which had defected from the Romans
after the defeat at Cannae. He was not, however, in a very safe or
well-secured position. Carelessness was ingrained in the general’s
nature, and his hopes were increasing it––for Fulvius had learned
that the inhabitants’ loyalty to the Carthaginian had been waver-
ing ever since the news had arrived that, after losing Salapia,
Hannibal had left the area for Bruttium. All this had been duly
reported to Hannibal by messengers sent covertly from Herdonea,
making him anxious to hold on to an allied city, and also giving
him hope of making a surprise attack on the enemy. Taking a
light-armed force, he hurried towards Herdonea by forced
marches, so swiftly that he almost outran word of his coming; and
to strike greater terror in his enemy he approached the town with
a line deployed for battle.
The Roman, who was Hannibal’s equal in daring, but not his
equal in strategy and military strength, swiftly led out his troops and
engaged, and the fifth legion and the allied contingent on the left
vigorously entered the fray. Hannibal, however, had given a signal to
his cavalry to ride around the battle when the lines of infantry had
everyone’s eyes and attention focused on the struggle in progress;
some were to swoop down on the enemy’s camp, others on their rear
as they made their attack. Two years earlier Hannibal had defeated
the praetor Gnaeus Fulvius in the same area, and now he uttered
210 bc chapters 1–2 379
caustic remarks about this Gnaeus Fulvius having the same name,
and declared that the battle would also have the same outcome.*
This proved no idle fancy on Hannibal’s part. Many of the
Romans had fallen in the hand-to-hand fighting during the clash of
the two infantry lines, but the ranks were still holding their ground
in formation. Then the uproar raised by the cavalry was heard to
their rear, and so were the shouts of the enemy in their camp. The
noise first of all made the sixth legion fall back––it had been sta-
tioned in the second line and so was the first to be thrown into
disarray by the Numidians––and then the fifth and those at the very
front. Some scattered in flight; others were killed in the thick of the
action––and there Gnaeus Fulvius himself went down, along with
eleven military tribunes. How many thousands of Romans and allies
were killed in that battle one could not categorically state––not when
I find 13,000 in one author, and no more than 7,000 in another!
The victor took possession of the camp and its spoils. Because he
had information that Herdonea had been on the point of defecting to
the Romans, and would not have remained loyal had he withdrawn
from there, Hannibal removed the entire population to Metapontum
and Thurii, and burned the town. Its leading citizens, who, it was
discovered, had held clandestine discussions with Fulvius, he put to
the sword. The Romans who had escaped the disastrous encounter
sought refuge in Samnium with the consul Marcellus, to whom they
came, poorly armed, by various routes.
2. Marcellus was not in the least perturbed by this disastrous
defeat. He wrote a letter to the Senate in Rome to report the loss of
the general and the army at Herdonea, but added that he himself was
still the same man who, after the battle of Cannae, had crushed
Hannibal when he was full of himself over his victory. He was now
going to face him, he said, and would see to it that the Carthaginian’s
exhilaration and gloating were short-lived.
In Rome, at all events, there was deep melancholy over what had
happened as well as fear for the future. The consul, however, marched
from Samnium into Lucania, and pitched his camp on level ground
at Numistro, in full view of Hannibal, while the Carthaginian estab-
lished himself on a hill. Marcellus then gave a further indication of
his confidence by being the first to deploy his troops in battle forma-
tion. And when he saw the standards issuing forth from the gates,
Hannibal did not refuse battle. But they marshalled their battle lines
380 book twenty-seven 210 bc
in such a way that the Carthaginian had his right wing extended up
the hill, while the Romans had their left close to the town. The
troops first sent in by the Romans were the first legion and the allied
right flank, and by Hannibal his Spanish troops and Balearic slingers,
his elephants also being driven into battle once the engagement got
under way.
For a long while the battle favoured neither side. They drew out
the action from the third hour until nightfall, and, when the front
lines were exhausted from fighting, the first legion was relieved by
the third, and the allies on the right by those on the left. On the
side of the enemy, too, fresh troops took over the battle from those
who were spent. Thanks to this injection of fresh spirit and strength,
a renewed and savage struggle suddenly flared up from one that had
flagged, but night parted the combatants with victory unclear.*
The following day the Romans stood in the battle line from sunrise
until well into the day, and, when none of the enemy came forward to
face them, they took their time gathering up their spoils, and heaped
their dead up in one spot and burned them. That coming night
Hannibal quietly struck camp and went off into Apulia. When day-
light revealed that his enemy had fled, Marcellus left his wounded
lightly guarded at Numistro, with the military tribune Lucius Furius
Purpurio in charge, and proceeded to dog Hannibal’s footsteps. He
overtook him at Venusia. There, over a number of days, charges were
made from the forward posts on both sides that led to scrappy infan-
try and cavalry encounters rather than significant battles, nearly all
of them favouring the Romans. After that the armies were marched
through Apulia without any noteworthy engagement, since Hannibal
would advance at night, looking for a site for an ambush, while
Marcellus would follow him only in broad daylight, and after
reconnoitring the route.
3. In Capua, meanwhile, Flaccus had been spending his time
selling off the property of the leading citizens and renting out the
farmland that had been appropriated by the Roman state, taking
grain as rent in all cases. During this process––as if to make sure that
Flaccus would not lack grounds for venting his wrath on the
Capuans!––a fresh piece of villainy that had been secretly developing
was brought to light through informers.
The Roman rank and file had been removed from the town build-
ings by Flaccus, who had forced them to build huts for themselves, at
210 bc chapters 2–4 381
the gates and by the walls, after a fashion suitable for soldiers. The
reason for this was partly so that the houses in the city could be
leased along with the farmland, but also because Flaccus feared that
the city, with its all too seductive charms, might soften his troops,
too, as they had Hannibal’s. Now, a number of the huts were made of
wickerwork and planking, and some were of interlaced reeds covered
with straw––everything being almost designed to feed a fire. A hun-
dred and seventy Capuans, led by the Blossii brothers,* plotted
together to set fire to all of these at the same time during the night.
The affair was divulged by slaves of the Blossius household, and on
the proconsul’s order the city gates were promptly closed. A signal
was given, the soldiers rushed to arms, and all the guilty parties were
arrested. Following an intensive investigation, these men were con-
demned and executed, and the informants were given their freedom
and 10,000 asses each.
The people of Nuceria and Acerrae now complained that they had
nowhere to live, Acerrae having been partly burned and Nuceria
destroyed, and Fulvius sent them to the Senate in Rome. The people
of Acerrae were given leave to rebuild what had been burned. The
Nicerians were granted their preferred option of resettling at Atella,
and the people of Atella were ordered to move to Calatia.
Amidst the many important items that were on the minds of people
at this time, some of them positive, some negative, the citadel of
Tarentum was not forgotten. Marcus Ogulnius and Publius Aquilius
set off as a delegation into Etruria to purchase grain that was to be
transported to Tarentum. In addition, 1,000 soldiers from the army
in the city, an equal number of Romans and allies, were sent to that
town with grain to serve in the garrison.
4. Summer was now at an end, and the time for consular elections
was close at hand. However, a letter from Marcellus had caused the
senators some concern. Marcellus claimed that it was not in the
interests of state for him to move a single step away from Hannibal.
He was now putting pressure on the Carthaginian, he said, who was
running from him and refusing to engage. The senators thus faced a
dilemma: taking a consul out of the war just when he was making
headway, or else being short of consuls for the coming year.* The
best option seemed to be to recall the consul Valerius from Sicily,
despite the fact that he was outside Italy. On a directive from the
Senate, a letter was then sent to Valerius by the urban praetor Lucius
382 book twenty-seven 210 bc
Manlius, and it was accompanied by the letter from the consul
Marcus Marcellus. From these Valerius would learn why it was he,
rather than his colleague, whom the senators were recalling from his
province.
At about that time representatives from King Syphax came to
Rome with news of successful battles the king had fought with the
Carthaginians. There was no people to whom Syphax was a more
implacable enemy than the Carthaginians, they said, and none to
whom he was a closer friend than the Romans. He had earlier sent
representatives to Gnaeus and Publius Cornelius in Spain, they
added, but now he had decided to seek friendship with Rome dir-
ectly from the source, as it were. The Senate not only responded
favourably to the representatives, but also sent its own representa-
tives to the king with gifts. These were Lucius Genucius, Publius
Poetelius, and Publius Popillius, and the gifts they brought were a
purple toga and a purple tunic, a chair of ivory, and a five-pound
golden bowl. The men had further instructions to proceed to the
courts of other African kings, and they bore gifts that were to be
presented to each of these, too, namely a toga praetexta and a golden
bowl weighing three pounds. In addition, Marcus Atilius and
Manius Acilius were sent to Alexandria as a delegation to the royal
couple Ptolemy and Cleopatra* to remind them of their ties of
friendship with Rome, and to renew those ties. As gifts they brought
a toga, a purple tunic, and a chair of ivory for the king, and an
embroidered wrap and a purple cloak for the queen.
During the summer that witnessed these events there were
numerous prodigies reported from nearby towns and country areas.
At Tusculum, it was said that a lamb had been born with its udder
full of milk, and also that the top of the temple of Jupiter had been
struck by lightning and its roof almost completely torn off. At
Anagnia, at roughly that time, it was claimed that the ground before
the city gate had been struck by lightning, and that it burned for a
day and a night although there was nothing to fuel the fire. In
addition, birds reportedly abandoned their nests in the trees in the
grove of Diana at the crossroads of Anagnia. At Tarracina, in the sea
not far from the harbour, snakes of amazing size were supposed to
have jumped from the water like fish at play. It was said that at
Tarquinii a pig had been born with a human face, and that, at the
Grove of Feronia in the territory of Capena, four statues had
210 bc chapters 4–5 383
sweated out copious quantities of blood for a day and a night. By
decree of the pontiffs, expiation ceremonies for these prodigies were
conducted with full-grown sacrificial animals, and one day of prayer
was prescribed at all the couches in Rome, with a second day at the
Grove of Feronia in the territory of Capena.
5. When he received his letter of recall, the consul Marcus Valerius
delegated his province and army to the praetor Lucius Cincius and
sent the commander of the fleet, Marcus Valerius Messalla, to Africa
with a number of his ships. Messalla was to conduct raids there and,
at the same time, gather intelligence on the activities and plans of
the Carthaginian people. Valerius himself then set off for Rome
with ten ships, and convened the Senate immediately on his arrival,
after a successful voyage. He there gave a report on his achievements,
observing that, after almost sixty years of Roman military involve-
ment on land and sea in Sicily, which had often entailed dreadful
defeats, he had now brought that province to heel. There was no
Carthaginian left in Sicily, he said, and there was not a Sicilian
still missing from it––the absentees who had been driven out by fear
had all been restored to their cities and farms, where they were now
ploughing and sowing. Deserted land was being worked again; it was
at last bearing crops for its cultivators, and represented the Roman
people’s most reliable safeguard for the grain-supply in peace and
war.
After that Muttines and any others who had served the Roman
people well were ushered into the Senate, and, in fulfilment of the
consul’s promise, all had honours conferred upon them. Muttines
was even made a citizen of Rome* after a bill, authorized by the
Senate, was brought before the people by the plebeian tribunes.
During the time that this was going on in Rome, Marcus Valerius,
reaching the coast of Africa with fifty ships some time before dawn,
made a surprise landing in the territory of Utica. He plundered
the area extensively, taking many prisoners along with other booty of
all kinds. He then went back to the ships and made the crossing
to Sicily, returning to Lilybaeum twelve days after he left it. The
captives were interrogated, and from them a number of facts were
ascertained; and a detailed and ordered transcription was made of
them for the consul Laevinus, so that he could see how matters
stood in Africa. Five thousand Numidians were in Carthage, it was
learned, with a dynamic young leader, Masinissa son of Gala, and
384 book twenty-seven 210 bc
other fighting men were being hired throughout Africa to be shipped
to Hasdrubal in Spain. The goal was for Hasdrubal to cross to Italy
and link up with Hannibal with the largest possible army and at
the earliest possible moment, and the Carthaginians believed that it
was in this strategy that victory lay. It was further discovered that a
huge armada was being constructed for the recovery of Sicily, and
the prisoners believed that it would soon make the crossing.
This information was read aloud in the Senate by the consul, and
it made such an impression that the house voted that he should
not wait for the elections but appoint a dictator for the supervision of
elections and immediately return to his province. But a disagree-
ment held the matter up. The consul insisted that he would, when he
was in Sicily, appoint as dictator Marcus Valerius Messalla, who was
then in command of the fleet, but the senators informed him that
the appointment of a dictator outside Roman territory, which was
limited to the confines of Italy, was not possible.
The plebeian tribune Marcus Lucretius now formally laid the
matter before the Senate for a ruling, and the Senate decreed that
the consul should, before he left the city, put to the people the
question of the man they wanted appointed dictator. The consul
should then appoint as dictator whomsoever the people named. If
the consul refused, then the praetor should put the question to the
people, and, in the event of a refusal from him, too, the tribunes
should refer the matter to the plebs. The consul did, in fact, refuse to
put to the people a matter which, he claimed, was his to decide, and
he instructed the praetor to do the same. The tribunes then put
the question to the plebs, and the plebs decided that Quintus Fulvius,
who was at Capua at the time, should be appointed dictator. But, on
the night before the assembly of the plebs was to be held, the consul
slipped furtively away to Sicily.* The senators were now left in the
lurch, and they voted to send a dispatch to Marcus Claudius, order-
ing him to come to the assistance of the republic that had been
abandoned by his colleague, and to declare as dictator the man who
was the people’s choice. So it was that Quintus Fulvius was appointed
dictator by the consul Marcus Claudius, and, by the same resolution
of the plebs, the pontifex maximus Publius Licinius Crassus was
appointed master of horse by the dictator Quintus Fulvius.
6. On his arrival in Rome, the dictator dispatched his legate Gaius
Sempronius Blaesus (whom he had had alongside him in Capua) to
210 bc chapters 5–6 385
the army in his province of Etruria, where he was to replace Gaius
Calpurnius, and Calpurnius he summoned by letter to take charge of
Capua and his own army there. Fulvius then announced the holding
of the elections at the earliest possible date. The electoral process,
however, could not be completed because of a dispute that arose
between the tribunes and the dictator.
The right to vote first had fallen by lot to the junior members of the
tribe Galeria, and they had declared Quintus Fulvius and Quintus
Fabius their choice as consuls. The other tribes, too, would have
been similarly inclined when called on in their routine order, but the
plebeian tribunes Gaius and Lucius Arrenius intervened. They
insisted that back-to-back offices were unconstitutional, and that the
election of a man who was actually presiding over the vote set a much
worse precedent still. So, they said, if the dictator accepted his own
nomination, they would veto the election, but if other nominations,
and not his own, were considered they would not obstruct the pro-
ceedings. The dictator justified the election by appealing to the
authority of the Senate, to the decision of the plebeian council, and
to various precedents. In the consulship of Gnaeus Servilius, he
reminded them, the other consul, Gaius Flaminius, had fallen at
Trasimene. Then, on senatorial authority, a proposal was brought to
the plebs, which the plebs ratified, that the people should have the
right, for as long as there was war in Italy, to elect whatever former
consuls they pleased, and as often as they wished.* He also had prece-
dents supporting the procedure, he said. An old one was the case of
Lucius Postumius Megellus, who had been elected consul with
Gaius Junius Bubulcus in elections over which he himself had been
presiding as interrex. A recent one was that of Quintus Fabius, who
would certainly not have permitted himself back-to-back consulships
had this not been in the public interest.
After lengthy wrangling with arguments like this, an agreement
was finally reached between the dictator and the tribunes to abide by
the decision of the Senate. In the view of the senators, this critical
moment for the republic called for affairs of state to be conducted
by veteran commanders who had experience and skill in warfare, and
so they declared that they did not favour any delay in the elections.
The tribunes acquiesced, the elections were held, and Quintus Fabius
Maximus and Quintus Fulvius Flaccus were elected, the former for
the fifth and the latter for the fourth time. The praetors were elected
386 book twenty-seven 210 bc
next, and these were Lucius Veturius Philo, Titus Quinctius Crisp-
inus, Gaius Hostilius Tubulus, and Gaius Aurunculeius. The magis-
trates for the year elected, Quintus Fulvius resigned his position as
dictator.
At the end of the summer a Punic fleet of forty ships crossed to
Sardinia under the command of Hamilcar. It first conducted raids on
the farmlands of Olbia; then, when Publius Manlius Volso appeared
with his army, it sailed to the other side of the island and plundered
the lands of Carales, after which it returned to Africa laden with all
manner of spoils.
A number of Roman priests died that year, and replacements were
made. Gaius Servilius was made pontiff in place of Titus Otacilius
Crassus; and Tiberius Sempronius Longus, son of Tiberius, was
made augur in place of Gaius Atilius Serranus. Likewise Tiberius
Sempronius Longus, son of Tiberius, replaced Tiberius Sempronius
Longus, son of Gaius, as decemvir for sacrifices. The rex sacrorum
Marcus Marcius and the chief curio Marcus Aemilius Papus also
died, but were not replaced in their priesthoods that year.
That year saw the appointment of Lucius Veturius Philo and
Publius Licinius Crassus, the pontifex maximus, as censors. Licinius
Crassus had previously been neither consul nor praetor, but made
the step from the aedileship directly to the censorship. However,
these censors did not revise the roll of senators, or conduct any
official business; the death of Lucius Veturius pre-empted this, and
Licinius then resigned his post as censor. The curule aediles Lucius
Veturius and Publius Licinius Varus repeated the Roman Games for
a single day. The plebeian aediles Quintus Catius and Lucius Porcius
Licinus made a donation of bronze statues, paid for out of money
taken in from fines, at the temple of Ceres, and they put on the
games with considerable grandeur for the resources available in that
period.
7. At the end of this year,* Scipio’s legate Gaius Laelius came to
Rome, thirty-three days after leaving Tarraco, and he attracted
large crowds when he entered the city with a train of captives. The
following day he was brought before the Senate. There he
recounted how New Carthage, capital of Spain, had been captured
in one day, and how a number of cities that had defected had been
recovered and some new ones drafted into an alliance. Information
from the prisoners pretty well squared with that in the dispatch
210–209 bc chapters 6–7 387
that had been sent by Marcus Valerius Messalla. What particularly
caused the senators concern was the threat of Hasdrubal’s voyage
to Italy, when the country could barely stand up to Hannibal and
his forces. Laelius was also brought before the popular assembly,
where he delivered the same information as he had in the Senate.
The Senate proclaimed a single day of religious thanksgiving for
Publius Scipio’s successes, and instructed Gaius Laelius to go back
to Spain as soon as possible with the ships with which he had
come.
On the basis of many sources I have placed the capture of New
Carthage in this year, though I am not unaware that some have
recorded that it was taken the following year. It seemed to me less
plausible that Scipio spent an entire year in Spain without actually
doing anything.*
On 15 March, Quintus Fabius Maximus and Quintus Fulvius
Flaccus became consuls, Fabius for the fifth time, and Fulvius for
the fourth. On the day on which they entered office, the two were
assigned Italy as their sphere of responsibility, but with their author-
ity demarcated by region: Fabius was to operate around Tarentum,
Fulvius in Lucania and Bruttium. Marcus Claudius had his
imperium extended for a year. In the praetorian sortition of provinces,
Gaius Hostilius Tubulus received the urban jurisdiction; Lucius
Veturius Philo, the foreigners’ jurisdiction together with Gaul; Titus
Quinctius Crispinus, Capua; and Gaius Aurunculeius, Sardinia.
The distribution of armies amongst the provinces was as follows.
Quintus Fulvius was assigned the two legions then under Marcus
Valerius Laevinus in Sicily, and Quintus Fabius the legions that
Gaius Calpurnius had commanded in Etruria. The army of the city
was to move to Etruria, where Gaius Calpurnius would again have
charge of that province and its army. Titus Quinctius would take
charge of Capua and the army that had been under Quintus Fulvius.
Gaius Hostilius was to assume from the propraetor Gaius Laetorius
command of his province and army, which was then at Ariminum.
Marcus Marcellus was assigned the legions with which the consul
had been operating. Marcus Valerius and Lucius Cincius, who also
saw their imperium extended in Sicily, were delegated the army that
had fought at Cannae, and they were ordered to make up its numbers
with soldiers surviving from the legions of Gnaeus Fulvius. The
consuls sought these out, and sent them off to Sicily. The men were,
388 book twenty-seven 209 bc
in addition, to serve under the same humiliating conditions as the
veterans of Cannae, and those troops of Gnaeus Fulvius who had
been sent to Sicily by the Senate in its displeasure over a similar
incident of flight in battle. In Sardinia, Gaius Aurunculeius was
assigned the same legions with which Publius Manlius Volso had
carried out his responsibilities there. Publius Sulpicius was given
orders to keep watch on Macedonia with the same legion and fleet as
before, with his imperium extended a year. Orders were given for
thirty quinqueremes to be sent from Sicily to the consul Quintus
Fabius at Tarentum, and the remainder of the fleet, it was decided,
would be used for raids on Africa––Marcus Valerius Laevinus
should either sail over in person or, if he chose, send Lucius Cincius
or Marcus Valerius Messalla instead. In the case of Spain, no changes
were made, apart from Scipio and Silanus receiving extensions of
their imperium, not for a year but until such time as they were
recalled by the Senate.* Such was the distribution of responsibilities
and armies for that year.
8. Although attention was focused on more pressing matters, elec-
tions to the post of chief curio, in which a priest to replace Marcus
Aemilius had to be chosen, nevertheless aroused an old quarrel. The
patricians declared that the nomination of Gaius Mamilius Atellus,
the sole candidate from the plebs, should be disallowed; for, they
said, nobody outside the patrician order had held that priesthood
before. An appeal was made to the tribunes, who referred the ques-
tion to the Senate, and the Senate granted the people the authority
to decide the case. So it was that Gaius Mamilius Atellus became the
first man from the plebeian order elected chief curio.
The pontifex maximus Publius Licinius also obliged Gaius Valerius
Flaccus to be inaugurated as Flamen of Jupiter, against his will, and
Gaius Laetorius replaced Quintus Mucius Scaevola as decemvir for
sacrifices on Scaevola’s death.
I would have been glad to say nothing about the motive for a
flamen being forced to accept his position had it not been a case of a
bad reputation turning into a good one.* It was because of a youth of
shiftlessness and dissipation that Gaius Flaccus was taken up as
flamen by the pontifex maximus Publius Licinius, though the young
man was hated by his brother and other relatives for these very
shortcomings. When his religious and ceremonial duties became his
preoccupation, he swiftly put aside his old character, to the point
209 bc chapters 7–8 389
that none of the younger generation enjoyed greater esteem or approval
amongst the leading senators, whether they were family relations or
strangers. The general acceptance of his new reputation gave him a
justifiable self-confidence, and that prompted him to reclaim a right
that, thanks to the disreputable character of earlier flamens, had
elapsed over the years, namely entry into the Senate. Flaccus went
into the Senate house, only to have the praetor Publius Licinius
usher him out, and he appealed to the plebeian tribunes. As flamen
he was actually reclaiming a time-honoured right of his priesthood,
which was, he said, granted to the office of flamen, along with the
toga praetexta and curule chair. The praetor’s position was that a
right should be based not on outdated precedents from ancient his-
tory, but on recent practice relating to the matter in question, and no
flamen of Jupiter had exercised that right in the time either of their
fathers or their grandfathers. The tribunes ruled that, as the privil-
ege had fallen into disuse thanks to the apathy of some flamens, the
loss should fall on those individuals themselves, not on the priest-
hood. And so, with no opposition even from the praetor, the tribunes
escorted the flamen into the Senate, to the great approval of the
senators and plebs. All were of the opinion, however, that the flamen
had gained his end more from the probity of his life than from the
right of the office.
Before going to their provinces, the consuls raised two city legions
to make up the numbers required for the other armies. The consul
Fulvius assigned to Gaius Fulvius Flaccus, who was his brother, the
responsibility of taking the old city army to Etruria and bringing
back to Rome the legions then stationed in Etruria.
The consul Fabius, on his side, instructed his son Quintus
Maximus to seek out the remnants of Fulvius’ army (some 4,344
men) and lead them to the proconsul Marcus Valerius in Sicily, and
then to take over from Valerius two legions and thirty quinqueremes.
The removal of these legions from the island did nothing to weaken
the defence of the province in terms of real, or perceived, strength.
An excellent job had been done of bringing the two old legions up to
strength, and Valerius also had a large force of Numidian deserters,
both infantry and cavalry. In addition, he recruited Sicilians with
fighting experience who had been in Epicydes’ army or that of the
Carthaginians. By adding these foreign auxiliaries to individual
Roman legions, Valerius kept up the appearance of two armies. He
390 book twenty-seven 209 bc
ordered Lucius Cincius to use one for the defence of the part of the
island which had represented Hiero’s kingdom, and the other he
employed himself to defend the rest, once demarcated into Roman
and Punic spheres of power.* He also split his fleet of seventy ships so
that protection could be afforded to the entire length of the coastline.
Valerius made a point of travelling through the province with
Muttines’ cavalry to visit farms and take note of what was cultivated,
and what was not, and using that as grounds for commending or
criticizing landowners. Thanks to such diligence on his part, the
grain-yield was great enough for him to send some to Rome, and also
transport some to Catina for provisioning the army that would be
spending the summer around Tarentum.
9. In fact, the soldiers shipped to Sicily, most of them of Latin
status or allies, nearly proved to be the cause of some serious unrest.
Great and critical events, it is true, often arise from the insignificant
ones.
Some grumbling had begun amongst the Latins and the allies
in their meetings.* For nine years, they were saying, they had been
drained by having to raise troops and supply their pay; almost
every year they faced some terrible defeat in battle; and their men
were either being killed in the field, or carried off by disease. A
compatriot conscripted by the Roman was more lost to them than
one captured by the Carthaginian, they said: by the enemy he was
sent home without ransom, but by the Romans he was taken out of
Italy into something more aptly termed exile than military service.
For seven years the soldier who had fought at Cannae had now been
growing old in that exile, and he would die before the enemy––right
now at the height of his strength––left Italy. With old soldiers not
coming home, and new ones being conscripted, there would soon be
no one left! So, they said, they should refuse the Roman people what
the circumstances were shortly going to refuse them anyway, and do
so now before reaching extreme depopulation and poverty. If the
Romans saw the allies in agreement on this, they would certainly
consider making peace with the Carthaginians; otherwise Italy
would never be free of war as long as Hannibal lived. Such were their
discussions at their meetings.
The Roman people then had thirty colonies.* Since all had delega-
tions in Rome at the time, twelve told the consuls that they lacked
the wherewithal to supply fighting men and cash. The twelve were
209 bc chapters 8–10 391
Ardea, Nepete, Sutrium, Alba, Carseoli, Sora, Suessa, Circeii, Setia,
Cales, Narnia, and Interamna.
The consuls were taken aback by this surprising turn of events,
and they tried to dissuade the delegates from such a terrible idea.
They thought they would have greater success with censure and
reproaches than with a gentle approach, and they kept telling them
that what the delegates had dared express to the consuls, the consuls
could not bring themselves to utter in the Senate. For that would
not simply be a refusal of military obligations, they explained, but
outright defection from the Roman people. They told them that
they should promptly return to their colonies and hold discussions
with their people, behaving as if the subject had not been broached––
for, so far, they had only discussed, and not taken, such a momentous
step. They should remind their people that they were not Capuans
or Tarentines, but Romans, that they were of Roman descent, and
that they had been sent out from Rome into the colonies, and into
land taken in war, in order to propagate the Roman race. They owed
the Romans as much as children owed to their parents––if they
had any sense of duty to, or any memory of, their mother city of old.
So they should consider the matter afresh––for their earlier reck-
less deliberations would only lead to betraying Roman power and
handing victory to Hannibal.
The consuls pressed these arguments in turn for quite some time,
but the delegates remained unmoved. They had no suggestion to
take home, they said, and their senate* had no new business to dis-
cuss––for they had neither soldiers for conscription, nor money to
be given as soldiers’ pay. The consuls saw they were adamant, and
they reported the matter to the Senate. Here such panic struck the
members that most said the empire was finished, that other colonies
and the allies would follow suit, and that they had all banded
together to betray the city of Rome to Hannibal.
10. The consuls encouraged and reassured the Senate. They said
the other colonies would remain as loyal and reliable as before, and
even those who had failed in their duty would be brought to respect
Roman power, if envoys were sent around those particular colonies
to chasten them rather than plead with them.
The consuls were then given senatorial leave to take any action
or measure they thought to be in the interest of the state. After
first sounding the feelings of the other colonies, they summoned
392 book twenty-seven 209 bc
representatives of those colonies, and asked if they had any soldiers
mobilized from the register.* Speaking for the eighteen other col-
onies, Marcus Sextilius of Fregellae replied that there were indeed
men mobilized from the register. In fact, he said, the colonies would
supply more, if more were needed, and would also assiduously carry
out any other instructions or wishes of the Roman people. They had
no shortage of resources for that, he said, and of loyalty they had a
superabundance. The consuls prefaced their reply by saying that
they felt the praise the representatives would receive from them
personally was insufficient, and that all the senators should offer
them thanks in the Senate house; and they instructed them to follow
them into the Senate. The Senate addressed to them a decree
couched in the most respectful language, and directed the consuls to
bring them before the popular assembly as well. There the consuls
were to mention the many distinguished benefits these colonies had
conferred upon them and their ancestors, and refer in particular to
their recent service to the state.
Not even today, after the passage of so many generations, should
these people be passed over in silence, or deprived of their meed of
praise*. They were the peoples of Signia, Norba, Saticula, Fregellae,
Luceria, Venusia, Brundisium, Hadria, Firmum, and Ariminum; on
the Tyrrhenian Sea, Pontia, Paestum, and Cosa; and, inland, Ben-
eventum, Aesernia, Spoletium, Placentia, and Cremona. As a result
of the assistance provided by these colonies, the power of the Roman
people stood firm at that time, and they were officially thanked in the
Senate and the popular assembly. As for the twelve other colonies
that refused to heed the requisition, the senators ordered that no
mention be made of them; their representatives were not to be dis-
missed, held back, or addressed by the consuls. A silent reprimand of
this kind seemed most appropriate to the dignity of the Roman
people.
As the consuls were making all the other necessary preparations
for the war, the decision was taken to withdraw the gold raised by the
five-per-cent tax,* which was being kept in reserve in the inner treas-
ury to meet emergencies. Approximately 4,000 pounds of gold were
withdrawn, and from this sum the consuls, the proconsuls Marcus
Marcellus and Publius Sulpicius, and the praetor Lucius Veturius
(who had drawn Gaul as his province) were each given 500 pounds. A
further 100 pounds was given to the consul Fabius to be transported
209 bc chapters 10–11 393
to the citadel of Tarentum. The rest of the gold they used to contract
out, for ready money, the provision of clothing for the army that was
winning renown for itself and its commander in its operations in
Spain.
11. It was further decided that, before the consuls left the city,
there should be expiatory ceremonies for the various prodigies. The
following had been struck by lightning: a statue of Jupiter and a tree
close to the temple on the Alban Mount, a grove at Ostia, the city
wall and temple of Fortuna at Capua, and the city wall and a gate at
Sinuessa. There were also reports that the water of the Alban Lake
had flowed with blood, and that at Rome, in the sanctuary of the
temple of Fors Fortuna, a statuette on the goddess’s garland fell of
its own accord from her head into her hand. It was well established
that at Privernum an ox had talked and a vulture had swooped down
on a shop in the forum when it was crowded; and that at Sinuessa a
child of indeterminate sex was born, part male, part female (gener-
ally called ‘androgynous’, a Greek term, as often, Greek being easier
for the formation of compound words*), milk had fallen as rain, and
a boy had been born with an elephant’s head. Full-grown victims
were used for the expiation of these prodigies; and there was a
proclamation enjoining public ceremonies at all the couches, and one
day of public prayer. It was also decreed that the praetor Gaius
Hostilius should promise games for Apollo in a vow, and celebrate
them, just as they had been promised and celebrated in recent
years.
At that time, too, the consul Quintus Fulvius held the voting
assembly for election of censors. The censors elected were two men
who had not been consuls, Marcus Cornelius Cethegus and Publius
Sempronius Tuditanus. With senatorial authorization, a motion was
brought to the plebs, which gave its consent, that the two censors
should lease out the farmland of Capua.
Revision of Senate membership was held up by infighting
amongst the censors over the selection of Senate leader.* The preroga-
tive of choosing the leader fell by lot to Sempronius, but Cornelius
insisted that they follow the practice handed down to them from
their forefathers of choosing as leader the man who, amongst all the
ex-censors still alive, had been the first to hold the office. That man
was Titus Manlius Torquatus. Sempronius claimed that the gods
had allotted him the right to choose, and they had thereby also given
394 book twenty-seven 209 bc
him the right to choose freely. He was going to exercise his own
judgement in doing this, and would select Quintus Fabius Maximus
whom he could conclusively prove––even to Hannibal’s satisfac-
tion––to be at that time the leading man in the Roman state. After a
long war of words, Sempronius’ colleague gave way and the consul
Quintus Fabius Maximus was selected as leader in the Senate by
Sempronius.
After that the rest of the Senate membership was revised, and
eight men were struck off, including Marcus Caecilius Metellus, the
man infamous for having advocated leaving Italy after the defeat at
Cannae. That same issue was used in attaching censure to eques-
trians, too, though those touched by that particular scandal were very
few. Knights who were former members of the legions at Cannae,
and were then serving in Sicily––and they were numerous––all had
their horses taken from them.* The censors also added a time factor
to this harsh punishment, refusing to recognize past service in the
case of individuals who had served with public horses, and stipulat-
ing that they must all serve ten seasons with their own horses. The
censors also rooted out a large number who should have been serving
in the cavalry, and they reduced to the grade of poll-tax payer all who
had been seventeen years of age when the war started, but had failed
to serve. After that they put out for contract rebuilding projects for
the area around the Forum destroyed by fire––seven shops, the food
market, and the Royal Atrium.
12. When all necessary business had been completed in Rome, the
consuls left for the war. Fulvius left first, and went ahead to Capua;
Fabius followed a few days later. Fabius pleaded with his colleague in
person, and with Marcellus by letter, to detain Hannibal by putting
the utmost pressure on him, while Fabius himself was mounting his
attack on Tarentum. The enemy had now been driven back every-
where, Fabius told them, and had nowhere to make a stand and no
secure base behind him; if Tarentum were taken from him, he would
have no reason to remain in Italy. Fabius also sent a message to the
commander of the garrison in Rhegium that had been stationed
there by the consul Laevinus as a buffer against the Bruttii. The
garrison was 8,000 strong, mostly men from Agathyrna, as noted
above,* who had been shipped over from Sicily, and they were people
who had been used to a life of larceny. To their numbers had been
added Bruttian deserters from the locality, men just as reckless and
209 bc chapters 11–12 395
just as desperate. Fabius ordered the commander to take this band
out, first to raid the lands of the Bruttii, and then to assault the
city of Caulonia. The men carried out their orders with passion
rather than zest, and after robbing and chasing off the farmers, they
proceeded with an all-out assault on the city.
Marcellus was galvanized into action both by the consul’s letter
and by his conviction that no Roman general was as good a match for
Hannibal as he. As soon as there was plenty of forage in the fields, he
left his winter quarters and met Hannibal in the area of Canusium.
The Carthaginian leader was trying to induce the citizens of Canu-
sium to defect, but on hearing of Marcellus’ approach he struck
camp. The country here was open, with no cover for an ambush, and
so Hannibal proceeded to fall back towards a wooded region. Marcel-
lus dogged his footsteps, and kept pitching camp close to him; the
work of establishing camp complete, he would immediately deploy
his legions for battle. Hannibal would skirmish with him, using his
cavalry only by individual squadrons, and only the javelin-throwers
of his infantry, but he felt total engagement was unnecessarily risky.
He was, however, drawn into the confrontation he was trying to
avoid.
Hannibal had been marching by night, and Marcellus overtook
him in an area that was flat and open. He tried to pitch camp, but
Marcellus frustrated him by attacking the men engaged in the work
on all sides. The result was a pitched battle, with all their forces
engaged, and when night was approaching they parted on equal
terms. The camps, just a short distance from each other, were
hurriedly fortified before darkness fell.
At dawn the next day, Marcellus led his forces into the field, and
Hannibal did not decline the fight. He addressed his men at length,
telling them to remember Trasimene and Cannae, and smash the
insolence of the enemy. They were constantly pressing and goading
them, he declared, never letting them march on in peace or pitch
camp, never letting them take a breath or look around. Every day
they were obliged to see before them, with the rising sun, a Roman
army on the plains. If the enemy left just one battle bloodied, he
would be more tempered and restrained in his future operations.
Animated by these exhortations, and at the same time sick and
tired of the insolence of a foe who, every day, was pressuring and
provoking them, the Carthaginians went into battle with great spirit.
396 book twenty-seven 209 bc
The fight went on for more than two hours. Then, on the Roman
side, the allied troops on the right, and the elite contingent of allies,*
began to falter. When Marcellus saw that, he brought the eighteenth
legion into the front line. While some were falling back in fear, and
others were slow in coming into line, the whole formation was
thrown into turmoil, then quite clearly beaten back; and, fear van-
quishing their sense of honour, they began to flee. In the action and
the flight about 2,700 citizens and allies lost their lives, including
four Roman centurions and two military tribunes, Marcus Licinius
and Marcus Helvius. Four military standards were lost from the
allied contingent that had begun the flight, and two from the legion
that had come to the front when the allies were giving ground.
13. On his return to camp, Marcellus delivered an address to his
men so biting and caustic that they found their angry commander’s
words even harder to take than a losing engagement that had lasted
the entire day. ‘In the circumstances, I can at least praise and thank
the immortal gods for one thing,’ he said. ‘Our victorious foe did not
actually attack the camp itself when you were making your panic-
stricken dash for the rampart and the gates! I am sure you would
have deserted the camp with as much terror as you quit the fight!
What fear, what terror suddenly came over you to make you forget
who you were, and against whom you were fighting? These are obvi-
ously the same enemies you spent last summer defeating in battle,
and then chasing from the field after defeating them! The same men
whose tracks you have dogged the last few days as, day and night,
they fled before you! The men whom you wore down in skirmishes,
and whom, yesterday, you would allow neither to march nor to pitch
camp! I pass over the things on which you can pride yourselves, but I
will mention something that ought to make you feel shame and
regret. I mean, of course, that yesterday you broke off the fight when
it was a drawn battle. What did last night do to you, or what today?
Has there been some lessening of your forces, or some increase in
theirs? For I do not seem to be talking to my own army, or to Roman
soldiers––only your bodies and weapons are the same. Had your
spirit remained the same, would the enemy have seen your backs, or
robbed any maniple or cohort of its standards? Until now the enemy
was priding himself on cutting Roman legions to shreds; but you, on
this day, have for the first time given him the glory of actually putting
a Roman army to flight.’
209 bc chapters 12–14 397
At this a cry went up, begging forgiveness for the day’s perform-
ance, and asking him to put his soldiers’ courage to the test again,
whenever he wished. ‘All right, men, I will put it to the test,’ he
replied. ‘I shall tomorrow lead you out into battle so that, as winners,
not losers, you can gain the pardon you seek.’
Marcellus then ordered the cohorts that had lost their standards to
be kept on barley-rations,* and the centurions of the maniples whose
standards had been lost were instructed to stand to one side, swords
unsheathed and belts removed. He also called for everybody, infantry
and cavalry, to assemble, under arms, the following day. The meeting
was then dismissed, the men admitting that the tongue-lashing
they had received was well deserved, and that on that day none but
their commander had shown himself a man in the Roman battle line.
Now they must satisfy him, either dying themselves or winning a
superlative victory.
They next day, as ordered, they appeared armed and equipped.
The commander complimented them, and announced that he was
going to lead into the front line the men with whom the flight had
begun the previous day, and the cohorts that had lost their standards.
He was now making a formal declaration, he said, that they all had
to fight and win, individually and together doing their best to pre-
vent the previous day’s defeat being reported at Rome before that
day’s victory. They were then ordered to take food to build up their
strength, so that they would have sufficient stamina if the battle were
prolonged. When all was said and done to boost the men’s morale,
they proceeded to the field.
14. When Hannibal was brought the news, he declared: ‘Clearly
we have an enemy who can tolerate neither good fortune nor bad.
Winning, he puts fierce pressure on his defeated foe; losing, he
renews the fight with his conquerors.’ With that he called for the
trumpet-signal, and led out his troops.
The fighting was considerably fiercer on both sides than on the
previous day; the Carthaginians were struggling to secure the glory
won the day before, the Romans to wipe out their disgrace. On the
Roman side, the left allied contingent and the cohorts that had lost
their standards were fighting in the front line, and the eighteenth
legion was deployed on the right wing. The legates Lucius Cornelius
Lentulus and Gaius Claudius Nero commanded the wings, and
Marcellus kept the centre solid by his presence, giving encouragement
398 book twenty-seven 209 bc
and taking note of performance. On Hannibal’s side the Spaniards
were in the front line, and these represented the main strength in the
entire Carthaginian army.
After a long period of indecisive combat, Hannibal ordered ele-
phants to be brought to the front, thinking that this might create
havoc and panic in the enemy. And, indeed, the beasts did at first
bring chaos to the troop deployment and the ranks; trampling down
or else scattering in terror those in their vicinity, they had actually
created an opening in the line at one point. In fact, the flight from
there would have been more widespread had not the military tribune
Gaius Decimius Flavus seized the standard of the first maniple of
hastati and called upon the maniple under that standard to follow
him. Decimius took the men to the point at which the beasts,
crowded together, were causing the greatest trouble, and told them
to hurl their spears at them. All their weapons stuck fast in their
target, for it was not difficult, at close range, to hit such huge bodies
so densely packed together. Not all the beasts were wounded, but
those with weapons in their backs turned to run, and in doing so––
such being their undependable nature––stampeded the uninjured
animals as well.
At that point, it was no longer a matter of one maniple hurling
javelins. Now every single soldier was doing so, as long as he was able
to keep up with the herd of fleeing elephants. When an elephant is
startled, its fear drives it on with a fury that cannot be controlled by
the driver on its back; and the beasts now charged their own side
with all the more force, creating greater carnage than they had
amongst the enemy. The line was in chaos where the animals
charged through; the Roman infantry pushed forward at that point;
and it did not take much of a fight to force back the disordered and
panic-stricken Carthaginians. Then Marcellus sent cavalry in pur-
suit of the fugitives, and the chase stopped only when these were
driven in consternation back into their camp. For, apart from every-
thing else that was causing panic and alarm, it so happened that two
elephants had collapsed right in the gateway, and the Carthaginian
soldiers’ dash back to their camp had to be made over the ditch and
the rampart. It was there that the enemy suffered the greatest loss of
life, with some 8,000 men killed, and five elephants. But for the
Romans it was no bloodless victory, either.* Roughly 1,700 men were
killed from the two legions, and of the allies more than 1,300. The
209 bc chapters 14–15 399
number of the wounded, citizens and allies, was very high. Hannibal
struck camp the following night. Marcellus wanted to follow him,
but the large number of his wounded prevented him from doing so.
15. Scouts were sent out to track Hannibal’s column, and they
brought news the following day that he was heading for Bruttium.
It was at about this time that the Hirpini, the Lucani, and the
people of Vulceii* capitulated to the consul Quintus Fulvius, surren-
dering to him the garrisons of Hannibal in their cities. They were
welcomed with kind words by the consul, who merely reprimanded
them for their past mistakes. The Bruttii, too, were given similar
hopes of pardon after the brothers Vibius and Paccius, who were by
far the most distinguished members of their tribe, came with a
request for the same conditions of surrender as the Lucanians had
been given.
The consul Quintus Fabius stormed the town of Manduria in the
territory of the Sallentini, taking about 4,000 prisoners, and a con-
siderable amount of other booty, as well. From there Fabius left for
Tarentum, where he established his camp right at the harbour
entrance. Putting to use the ships that Laevinus had kept to safe-
guard his supplies, he loaded some with engines and the tackle used
for assaulting city walls, and others he equipped with catapults,
rocks, and every kind of projectile. He equipped the freighters in this
way, too––and not just those propelled by oars––so that some of his
men could bring the engines and ladders up to the walls, while others
could, at long range, inflict wounds on the enemy defenders on the
fortifications. These ships were equipped and readied for an attack
on the city from the open sea, and, in fact, the sea was clear of the
enemy, the Punic fleet having been transferred to Corcyra when
Philip was preparing for his attack on the Aetolians. Meanwhile, in
Bruttium, the forces besieging Caulonia, fearing a surprise attack
from Hannibal, withdrew to some higher ground before his arrival.
This safeguarded them from immediate attack, but offered them no
other advantage.
During his siege of Tarentum Fabius was helped on his way to
great success by a trivial circumstance. The Tarentines had a gar-
rison composed of Bruttians that had been supplied by Hannibal,
and the garrison commander was deeply in love with a young woman
whose brother was in the army of the consul Fabius. In a letter from
his sister, the brother was informed of her new relationship with a
400 book twenty-seven 209 bc
rich foreigner, who was very well respected amongst his people. This
now made him hopeful that the lover could be driven to any lengths
by his sister, and he informed the consul of his hopes. Fabius
thought this was not simply wishful thinking, and the brother was
ordered to go over to Tarentum posing as a deserter. There, through
his sister, he struck up a relationship with the commander. At first
he discreetly probed the man’s feelings, and then, when he had
evidence enough of his fecklessness, he used the woman’s charms to
drive him into betraying the post he had been assigned to guard. A
plan of action and the timing were established, and a soldier, surrep-
titiously despatched at night from the city along a path between
the Tarentine outposts, reported to the consul what had transpired,
and what steps had been agreed on for the future.
At the first watch, Fabius gave the signal to the men in the citadel
and to those standing watch over the harbour. He himself made his
way around the harbour and, unobserved, took up a position in the
eastern area of the town. Then trumpets blared out simultaneously
from the citadel and from the harbour and ships that had been
brought to shore from the open sea; and shouting and an enormous
racket was deliberately raised at every point where the danger was
actually at a minimum. The consul meanwhile held back his men
in silence.
Now Democrates, the former naval commander, happened to be
in charge in that particular sector.* Democrates saw that all was quiet
around him, whereas there was a noisy commotion in the other
areas of town, with the shouting that sometimes goes up when a city
is taken. He feared that the consul was actually on the attack
and initiating combat while he was himself doing nothing, and so he
led his force over to the citadel, the source of the most alarming
noise of all. Fabius judged from the time that had elapsed, and the
silence that had fallen, that the defensive troops had been withdrawn
from that point––for whereas, shortly before, there had been the ring
of voices that were rousing soldiers and calling them to arms, now no
voice came from there at all. He therefore had ladders advanced to
the section of the wall at which, according to the report of the man
who had negotiated the betrayal, the Bruttian cohort was on guard-
duty. It was there that the wall was taken first, the Bruttii helping
and welcoming the Romans, who passed over the fortifications into
the city. After that the closest gate was broken down so the main
209 bc chapters 15–16 401
body of the troops could be admitted. Then, at about the break of
day, a cry went up and the Romans, meeting no armed resistance,
made their way to the forum. And now they drew upon themselves
the combined onslaught of all who had been engaged in fighting in
the area of the citadel or the harbour.
16. The fighting that broke out at the entrance to the forum was
more violent than it was sustained. The Tarentines were not on a par
with the Romans in courage, weaponry, and military expertise, or in
vigour and physical strength. As a result, after simply throwing
their javelins, they turned in flight almost before coming to close
quarters with their foe, and slipped away, along city streets with
which they were familiar, to their own homes or those of friends.
Two of their officers, Nico and Democrates, went down fighting
bravely. Philemenus, who had been responsible for the betrayal of
the city to Hannibal, galloped away from the battle. His horse was
shortly afterwards recognized wandering aimlessly through the city,
but his body was nowhere to be found. It was commonly thought
that he had fallen headlong from his mount into an open well. The
commander of the Punic garrison, Carthalo, laid down his arms, but
as he was coming to the consul to remind him of ties of hospitality
between their fathers, a soldier met him and killed him.* There was
indiscriminate slaughter of the armed and unarmed in every quarter,
and of Carthaginians and Tarentines alike. Even the Bruttii were
killed in large numbers throughout the city, perhaps by mistake, or
possibly because of the long-standing hatred towards them; or per-
haps it was to snuff out the rumour of betrayal, and make it look as if
the city had rather been captured by force of arms.
After the carnage the Romans scattered to ransack the city. It is
said that 30,000 slaves were captured; a huge quantity of silver, in
plate and coin; 3,080 pounds of gold; and statues and paintings
almost to rival the artwork of Syracuse. But Fabius showed more
strength of character in passing up booty of that sort than Marcellus
had. When a secretary asked him what he wanted done with some
colossal statues (they were gods, each with his appropriate clothing,
represented as fighting in battle), Fabius gave orders for ‘the people
of Tarentum to be left their angry gods’.* The wall separating the city
from its citadel was then pulled down and demolished.
While this was taking place in Tarentum, Hannibal had accepted
the surrender of the troops who had been blockading Caulonia.
402 book twenty-seven 209 bc
Then, hearing that Tarentum was under attack, he drove his column
along rapidly, day and night, but during the dash to bring assistance
he heard of the city’s capture. ‘The Romans have their Hannibal,
too,’ he said. ‘We have lost Tarentum the same way we took it.’
However, not to appear to have turned back with his force like a
man in flight, Hannibal pitched camp just where he had halted, some
five miles from the city, and after remaining there a few days he
withdrew to Metapontum. From there he sent two Metapontine
citizens to Fabius in Tarentum, with a letter from the leading men of
the city. The men were to accept a guarantee from the consul that they
would receive an amnesty for their earlier actions if they betrayed
Metapontum to him, along with its Punic garrison. Fabius, assum-
ing the offer they brought to be genuine, fixed a date for coming to
Metapontum, and gave the men a letter to be taken to their leaders.
The letter was then brought to Hannibal. Hannibal was pleased with
the success of his trick, finding that not even Fabius had proven
immune to his cunning, and he laid an ambush not far distant from
Metapontum.
Fabius took the auspices before leaving Tarentum, and time and
again the birds* would not give him favourable signs. He also con-
sulted the gods with the sacrifice of an animal, and was told by the
priest that he must be on his guard against treachery on the enemy’s
part, and against an ambush. When Fabius thus failed to arrive on
the prearranged date, the citizens of Metapontum were sent back to
him to coax him, if he hesitated to come. They were arrested on
the spot and, fearing a more intensive investigation,* they revealed
the trap.
17. In Spain, Publius Scipio had spent the entire winter trying to
enlist the support of the natives, partly with gifts and partly by
restoring their hostages and prisoners of war. Now, at the start of the
summer* during which these events were taking place in Italy, a dis-
tinguished Spanish chieftain, Edesco, came to see him. Edesco’s wife
and children were in the hands of the Romans, but something quite
apart from that had also brought him, namely that virtually spon-
taneous shift of sympathy that had turned all Spain towards the
Romans, and away from the rule of the Carthaginian. It was the same
thing that prompted Indibilis and Mandonius, undoubtedly the lead-
ing men in all Spain, to take all the forces of their countrymen,
abandon Hasdrubal, and withdraw to the hills overlooking his camp,
209 bc chapters 16–17 403
from which a retreat could safely be made to the Romans along the
unbroken chain of mountains.
Hasdrubal saw that his enemy’s forces were increasing by leaps
and bounds, while his own were only decreasing, and he also realized
that, if he failed to bring off some bold stroke, his numbers
would only continue their disastrous decline. He therefore decided
to engage at the earliest opportunity. Scipio was even keener to fight.
His successes had increased his confidence, and he also preferred to
do battle with a single commander, and a single army, before the
enemy armies could join up, than to face them together. However,
even supposing he had to fight a number of armies simultaneously,
he had found a way of increasing his troop-numbers. He observed
that his ships were serving no purpose because the entire Spanish
coastline was now clear of Punic fleets, and so, beaching his vessels
at Tarraco, he combined their crews with his land forces. And he
had plenty of weapons––those captured at New Carthage, as well
as those that he had had manufactured by the large numbers of
tradesmen whom he had kept interned after the city’s capture.
Since Laelius, without whom he was unwilling to initiate any
important action, had also returned from Rome, Scipio left Tarraco
at the beginning of spring with these troops, and began to advance
on the enemy. He was making his way over territory that was com-
pletely pacified, with allies escorting him or welcoming him as he
passed through the lands of each tribe, when he was met by Indibilis
and Mandonius and their troops. Indibilis addressed Scipio on
behalf of the two, with no trace of the uncouth and crude language of
a barbarian, but with modesty and dignity; and he was more inclined
to justify their defection to Rome as being necessary than to boast
about having seized the earliest opportunity for it. He knew, he said,
that amongst one’s old allies the word ‘turncoat’ aroused hatred, and
amongst new ones suspicion, and he did not object to this general
tendency amongst men, if it was the motive for the desertion, and
not the term itself, that produced this twofold antipathy. He then
gave an account of his and Mandonius’ services to the Carthaginian
commanders, of the Carthaginians’ greed and arrogance, and of the
injustices of all kinds inflicted on the two of them and their people.
Up to that point, theirs had been merely a physical presence on the
Carthaginian side, he said, but their heart had long been on the side
on which they thought there was respect for what was just and right.
404 book twenty-seven 209 bc
People who cannot endure the violence and injustice of men also
seek refuge as suppliants with the gods, he added; and all they asked
of Scipio now was that their defection be seen as neither uncon-
scionable nor creditable. He should gauge the value of their service on
the basis of the qualities he found in them from personal experience
from that day on.
That was just what he was going to do, replied the Roman com-
mander, and he would not regard as turncoats men who did not
think an alliance binding when it was based on no respect for obliga-
tions human or divine. Their wives and children were then brought
before them and restored to them, as they wept tears of joy; and that
day the two leaders were offered Scipio’s hospitality. The following
day their assurances were accepted with the conclusion of a treaty,
and they were sent off to bring up their troops. Following that, the
Romans shared their camp with them until, under their guidance,
they reached the enemy.
18. The nearest Carthaginian army, that of Hasdrubal, was close
to the city of Baecula,* and here the Carthaginians had cavalry out-
posts stationed before the camp. The skirmishers, the advance troops,
and the men at the head of the column attacked the outposts as
they were coming off the march, and before choosing a spot for their
camp, and they made the attack with such contempt that the level
of morale on each side was readily apparent. The Carthaginian
cavalry was driven back into the camp in panic-stricken flight,
and the Roman advance almost reached the gates. In fact, that day,
the Romans pitched camp with their appetite for the fight merely
whetted.
During the night Hasdrubal pulled his troops back to a hill with a
broad plateau on its summit. There was a river to his rear, and before
him, and on his flanks, a kind of steep slope hedged his entire pos-
ition. Below him there was another piece of even ground, with a
gentle gradient, and that, too, was bordered by a second steep slope,
no easier to climb than the other. The next day Hannibal saw the
enemy line standing before their camp, and he sent his Numidian
cavalry and his Balearic and African light infantry down to this lower
flatland.
Scipio rode around his ranks and standards, pointing out to his
men an enemy who, he said, had abandoned all hope of fighting on
level ground, and were now trying to hold the hills. All that enabled
209 bc chapters 17–18 405
them to stand in sight of the Romans was their confidence in their
position, not in their fighting ability and weapons. But, he con-
tinued, New Carthage had had walls that were higher, and those the
Roman soldier had scaled––hills had proved no barrier to his weapons,
nor had a citadel or even the sea. The high ground they had taken
would serve their enemies one purpose only––to make them jump
over cliffs and precipices to achieve their escape! But that path of flight
he would close off for them, too, he said. And he then gave orders
to two cohorts, one to hold the entrance to the valley through which
the river ran, and the other to maintain a blockade on the road that
led from the city into the country along the hillside.
Scipio himself took the light-armed troops* that had driven back
the enemy outposts the previous day and led them against the enemy
light infantry, who were standing on the brow of the lower slope. At
first they advanced over rough terrain, with nothing obstructing
them but the difficulty of their path. Then they came within range of
the enemy, and a huge mass of weapons of all kinds immediately
poured down on them. They retaliated by hurling stones they found
on the spot––they were scattered about in profusion, and nearly all
of a size for throwing––and the soldiers were joined in this by the
crowd of camp-followers who were amongst the fighting men.
The climb was hard, and the men were all but buried under
the showers of weapons and stones, but thanks to their experience
in scaling walls, and their sheer determination, those at the front
reached the top. The enemy here were light-armed skirmishers,
men protected by their distance from the foe, avoiding combat as
they hurled their weapons from afar; but they were also undepend-
able in fighting hand-to-hand at close quarters. So, as soon as the
foremost Romans gained some level ground on which they could
firmly plant their feet, they drove them from their position and
forced them back against the battle line that was standing on the
higher ground, causing severe losses in the process. Scipio then
ordered his triumphant men to advance up the hill against the centre
of the enemy line, and he divided the rest of his troops between
himself and Laelius. Laelius he ordered to proceed to the right,
moving around the hill until he found a way up with a gentler slope,
and he himself advanced a short distance around to the left and
attacked the enemy flank.
From the start the enemy line was thrown into disarray, the men
406 book twenty-seven 209 bc
trying to wheel the wings around, and turn the ranks to face the
shouting that came from every side. In the midst of this chaos,
Laelius came on the scene. As the enemy backed away to prevent
damage being inflicted from the rear, their front disintegrated. That
gave even the men in the centre the opportunity to climb to the top,
though this they could never have succeeded in doing over such
broken ground had the Carthaginian ranks remained solid, with the
elephants positioned before the standards. There was slaughter
on every side, and Scipio, who had charged the enemy’s right wing
with his left, was wreaking particular havoc on the now-exposed
flanks. There was no room left at this point even for flight. Roman
detachments had blocked the roads on both sides, to the right and
left; and the camp gate had been shut by the commander and his
officers as they made their escape. In addition, the elephants had
been startled, and the Carthaginians were as afraid of the panic-
stricken beasts as they were of the enemy. The result was that some
8,000 men lost their lives.
19. Before joining battle Hasdrubal had hurriedly amassed his war
chest and sent ahead elephants, and now he headed along the River
Tagus towards the Pyrenees, gathering up en route as many of
the fugitives from the battle* as he could. Scipio took possession of
the enemy camp, conferring on his soldiers all the plunder, apart
from free persons, and, in making an inventory of the prisoners, he
found the number to be 10,000 infantrymen and 2,000 cavalrymen.
Of these he sent home all the Spaniards without ransom, but he
instructed his quaestor to sell off the Africans. After that, a crowd of
Spaniards began to swarm around him, men who had surrendered
earlier as well as those taken prisoner the day before, and they of one
accord hailed him as their ‘king’. Scipio thereupon had silence pro-
claimed by a herald. The greatest name for him, he declared, was
the one with which his own soldiers had hailed him–– ‘general’.* The
title of king, which had great prestige elsewhere, he explained, was
anathema in Rome. As for his having the spirit of a king––if that was
what they considered the noblest thing in a man’s character––that
was for them to judge in silence, but they should avoid the use of
the word. They became aware then, barbarians though they were, of
the greatness of the man’s soul; this was a title at which all other
human beings were agog with wonder, and he was looking down on it
from a position of such superiority. After that, gifts were distributed
209 bc chapters 18–20 407
amongst the Spanish chieftains and princes, and Scipio told Indibilis
to choose any three hundred horses that he liked from the large
number that had been captured.
When the quaestor, following his commander’s orders, was putt-
ing the Africans on sale, he was told that there was amongst them a
young male adult of strikingly good looks and of royal stock, and he
sent him to Scipio. Scipio questioned the boy on his identity and
nationality, and asked why he had been in military service at his age.
He replied that he was Numidian, and his people called him Mas-
siva, that he had been left an orphan by his father and then been
brought up by Gala, king of the Numidians, his grandfather on his
mother’s side. He had crossed to Spain with his uncle Masinissa,
who had recently come with his cavalry to assist the Carthaginians,
but he had never before gone into battle, having been forbidden to do
so by Masinissa on account of his age. On the day of the battle with
the Romans, he had, behind his uncle’s back, surreptitiously taken
weapons and a horse and gone into the fight, but he had been thrown
headlong when his horse fell, and had been captured by the Romans.
Ordering a watch kept on the Numidian, Scipio completed all the
official business he had to do. He then withdrew to his headquarters,
summoned the boy, and asked him if he would like to go back to
Masinissa. With tears of joy in his eyes, the boy replied that he really
would like to do that. Scipio thereupon presented him with a gold
ring, a tunic with the broad stripe,* as well as a Spanish cloak, a
golden brooch, and a horse with its trappings, and then sent him on
his way with some horsemen, who were ordered to escort the boy as
far as he wished.
20. A council of war was held after that. Some of those present
advised immediate pursuit of Hasdrubal, but Scipio felt this was
dangerous––he feared that Mago and the other Hasdrubal might
join forces with him.* He therefore limited himself to sending a con-
tingent to blockade the pass over the Pyrenees, and he himself spent
the remainder of the summer accepting the submission of Spanish
tribes.
A few days after the battle of Baecula, at the time when Scipio,
returning to Tarraco, had left the pass of Castulo, the commanders
Hasdrubal son of Gisgo and Mago reached Hasdrubal from Further
Spain. This was assistance that came too late for Hasdrubal, the
defeat having already been sustained, but their arrival was not at all
408 book twenty-seven 209 bc
inopportune for discussions on the conduct of the rest of the war. At
their meeting, they exchanged intelligence on the sympathies of the
Spaniards in each man’s theatre of operations, and Hasdrubal son of
Gisgo expressed the opinion that the farthest reaches of Spain––the
area on the Ocean around Gades––had no experience of the Romans
as yet, and so were still staunchly loyal to the Carthaginians. But
only he thought this way; the other Hasdrubal and Mago were both
agreed that the benefits Scipio had conferred had made a deep
impression on all the Spaniards, tribes and individuals alike. They
believed there would be no end to the desertions to the Romans until
all the Spanish troops were either removed to the most remote parts
of Spain, or led over into Gaul. So, they said, even without the
decree of the Carthaginian senate,* it would have been necessary for
Hasdrubal to go to Italy. That was where the whole war was centred,
but Hasdrubal would, at the same time, be taking all the Spanish
forces out of Spain, far from the reputation Scipio had established.
His army, they said, had been depleted by desertions and also by
the defeat he had suffered, and they felt its numbers should be
supplemented with Spanish troops. They further proposed that
Mago transfer his army to Hasdrubal son of Gisgo and cross in
person to the Balearic Islands, with a large sum of money, to hire
mercenary auxiliaries,* and that Hasdrubal son of Gisgo should with-
draw deep into Lusitania with his army, and avoid engaging the
Romans. Finally, they suggested that Masinissa should have a force
of 3,000 horsemen, made up from the cream of the entire cavalry,
and that he make a sweep of Hither Spain, bringing assistance to
allies and plundering enemy towns and farms. After taking these
decisions, the commanders separated to put them into effect. Such
were that year’s developments in Spain.
In Rome, Scipio’s reputation was growing by the day. In the case
of Fabius, although the capture of Tarentum was due to treachery
rather than valour, it still redounded to his credit. Fulvius’ reputa-
tion was on the wane, and Marcellus was even in disrepute––apart
from his poor performance in his first battle, he had led his men off
to their quarters in Venusia in midsummer, when Hannibal was still
at large in Italy.
Marcellus had a personal enemy in the plebeian tribune Gaius
Publicius Bibulus. Ever since that first battle which had gone badly
for Marcellus, Bibulus had been continually making speeches that
209 bc chapters 20–21 409
had discredited him and made him unpopular with the plebs. Now
he was advocating the annulment of his imperium. However, Marcel-
lus’ relatives gained authorization for him to leave a lieutenant in
Venusia and come to Rome to clear himself of the charges that his
enemies were bringing against him, and they also prevented any
debate, in his absence, of the annulment of his command. As it
happened, Marcellus reached Rome to fend off the humiliation he
faced at the same time as the consul Quintus Fulvius arrived for the
elections.
21. The debate over Marcellus’ imperium took place in the Circus
Flaminius, before a huge gathering of plebeians and people of all
classes. The tribune of the plebs brought his charges not only against
Marcellus, but against the nobility as a whole. It was thanks to the
nobles’ treacherous and dilatory conduct, he said, that Hannibal
had been, for nine years now, holding Italy as his own province,
having spent more of his life there than in Carthage! The people
of Rome were reaping the benefits of the extension of Marcellus’
command, he added: his twice-beaten army was having its summer
season quartered in Venusia!
By citing his achievements Marcellus so effectively rebutted this
address of the tribune that not only was the bill to annul his imperium
rejected but, the next day, all the centuries elected him consul
with tremendous unanimity. As his colleague he was given Titus
Quinctius Crispinus, who was praetor at the time. The next day saw
the following men elected to the praetorship: Publius Licinius
Crassus Dives (the pontifex maximus), Publius Licinius Varus, Sextus
Julius Caesar,* and Quintus Claudius.
On the days on which the election took place there was concern in
the community about a revolt in Etruria. According to a letter from
Gaius Calpurnius, the propraetor with responsibility for that area,
the unrest had begun amongst the people of Arretium. The consul
designate Marcellus was therefore swiftly dispatched to the region to
investigate, and, if the situation seemed to warrant it, he was to send
for an army and transfer the theatre of operations from Apulia to
Etruria. Fear of this checked and restored order to the Etruscans.
Ambassadors from Tarentum also sought a peace settlement that
would grant them their independence and their own constitution,
and the Senate’s reply was that they should return when the consul
Fabius arrived in Rome.
410 book twenty-seven 209–208 bc
Both the Roman and the Plebeian Games were that year repeated
for a single day. Lucius Cornelius Caudinus and Servius Sulpicius
Galba were the curule aediles, and Gaius Servilius and Quintus
Caecilius Metellus were the plebeian aediles. Servilius, people said,
had not had the right to be tribune of the plebs and had no right now
to be aedile. For, although it had been believed for ten years that
Servilius’ father had been killed by the Boii near Mutina, while he
was serving as one of the three land commissioners, it was now well
established that he was still alive and in enemy hands.*
22. In the eleventh year of the Punic War, Marcus Marcellus and
Titus Quinctius Crispinus entered the consulship, this being Marcel-
lus’ fifth time in the office (counting the consulship in which he did
not actually serve because of irregularity in the electoral procedure).
Both consuls were assigned Italy as their area of responsibility. They
were granted the two armies of the previous year’s consuls, and there
was a third that was, at that time, at Venusia under the command of
Marcellus. The consuls were to select the two they wanted out of the
three, and the third would be put at the disposition of whichever
commander would be allotted responsibility for Tarentum and the
Sallentini.
The other responsibilities were distributed as follows. Of the
praetors, Publius Licinius Varus received the urban jurisdiction, and
Publius Licinius Crassus, the pontifex maximus, that over foreigners,
and a further responsibility to be decided by the Senate. Sextus Julius
Caesar received Sicily, and Quintus Claudius Tarentum. There was a
year’s extension of imperium for Quintus Fulvius Flaccus; his area of
responsibility, to be held with one legion, was to be Capua, formerly
under the praetor Titus Quinctius. Gaius Hostilius Tubulus also had
his imperium extended, and he was to succeed Gaius Calpurnius as
propraetor in Etruria, at the head of two legions. There was also an
extension of Lucius Veturius Philo’s imperium, and he was to have
Gaul as his province as before, but now as propraetor, and with the
same two legions with which he had held it as praetor. The Senate
also decided that what was done for Lucius Veturius should also
apply to Gaius Aurunculeius who, as praetor, had had Sardinia as his
province, with two legions under his command, and the proposal to
extend his imperium was brought before the people. Aurunculeius
was further assigned, for the defence of his province, fifty warships
that Publius Scipio would be sending from Spain.
208 bc chapters 21–23 411
Publius Scipio and Marcus Silanus were both also assigned the
provinces they currently held in Spain, along with their armies, for a
year.* Scipio was ordered to send over to Sardinia fifty of the eighty
ships* now under his command that he had brought with him from
Italy or captured at New Carthage. For there were rumours of inten-
sive naval preparations in Carthage that year, and it was said that
the Carthaginians would blockade the entire coastline of Italy, and of
Sicily and Sardinia, too, with two hundred vessels.
In Sicily, the division of resources went as follows. Sextus Caesar
was given the army from Cannae. Marcus Valerius Laevinus, who
also had his imperium extended, was to take over the fleet of seventy
ships lying off Sicily, and to that number he was to add thirty vessels
that had been off Tarentum the year before. With this hundred-strong
fleet, he would, if he concurred, cross to Africa on raiding expedi-
tions. Publius Sulpicius also had his imperium extended for a year;
with the fleet he already commanded he was to take responsibility for
Macedonia and Greece. There was no change made in arrangements
for the two legions stationed at the city of Rome, and the consuls
were authorized to raise supplementary forces wherever necessary.
The defence of the Roman empire that year rested on twenty-one
legions.
The urban praetor Publius Licinius Varus was also assigned the
task of refurbishing thirty old warships docked at Ostia, and furnish-
ing twenty new ships with crews. He would thus have a fleet of fifty
vessels to patrol the coastline in the vicinity of the city of Rome.
Gaius Calpurnius was ordered not to move his army from Arretium
before the arrival of his successor. Tubulus, like Calpurnius, was
also instructed to be particularly on his guard against any subversive
designs amongst people there.
23. The praetors now left to take up their assignments, but
religious concerns detained the consuls: after a number of prodigies
had been reported, they were having difficulty obtaining favourable
omens. From Campania had come reports of lightning striking two
temples in Capua––those of Fortuna and Mars––as well as a number of
tombs. At Cumae it had been announced that mice had been gnaw-
ing at some gold in the temple of Jupiter––such are the trivialities
in which misguided superstition sees divine intervention!––and at
Casinum that a huge swarm of bees had settled in the forum. At Ostia,
it was said that the city wall and a gate had been struck by lightning;
412 book twenty-seven 208 bc
at Caere, that a vulture flew into the temple of Jupiter; and, at Volsinii,
that the lake was suffused with blood. A day of public prayer was
held because of these prodigies, and over a number of days full-grown
victims were sacrificed without favourable omens being attained––
it was a long time before the favour of the gods was regained. In
fact, the deadly events thus prophesied actually came down on the
consuls’ heads, and the state remained out of harm’s way.
The Games of Apollo had first been celebrated by the urban prae-
tor Publius Cornelius Sulla, in the consulship of Quintus Fulvius
and Appius Claudius. Since then all the urban praetors had cele-
brated them, but they made the vow for one year only and had
no fixed date for the celebration. That year a serious epidemic broke
out which spread through the city and the countryside, but it led to
chronic rather than fatal illness. Because of the epidemic, prayers
were offered at crossroads throughout the city and, in addition, the
urban praetor Publius Licinius Varus was instructed to bring a bill
before the people that a vow be made promising the games as a
permanent fixture on a set date. Varus was the first to make the vow
in these terms, and he celebrated the games on 5 July. That date was
subsequently kept a holiday.
24. As for the people of Arretium, the reports grew daily more
serious, and the concerns of the senators were increasing. Gaius
Hostilius was therefore sent written orders not to put off taking
hostages from the people of Arretium; and Gaius Terentius Varro, to
whom Hostilius was to deliver them to be taken to Rome, was sent to
the town with imperium. When Varro arrived, Hostilius immediately
ordered one of the legions that was encamped before the city to
advance into it, and he deployed armed units at strategic points.
Then, after summoning the senators, he made his demand for the
hostages in the forum. When the senate requested a two-day period
to consider the matter, Hostilius proclaimed that they must hand
them over immediately, or else he would take all the children of the
senators the following day.
The military tribunes, allied officers, and centurions were then
ordered to keep watch on the gates to prevent anyone leaving the city
during the night. This was done in a rather slack and careless man-
ner, however, and, before nightfall, seven leading members of the
senate slipped away with their children before sentinels were posted
at the gates. Their absence was noticed at dawn the next day, when
208 bc chapters 23–25 413
there was a roll-call of senators in the forum; and their property
was sold off. A hundred and twenty hostages were taken from
the remaining senators, these being the senators’ own children,
and they were handed over to Gaius Terentius Varro to be escorted
to Rome.
In the Senate, Varro made the whole situation look more threaten-
ing than it had seemed earlier. Accordingly, since an uprising in
Etruria appeared imminent, Gaius Terentius himself was instructed
to take a single legion––one of the two urban legions––to Arretium,
and with it secure the city. It was also decided that Gaius Hostilius
should make a sweep of the whole province with the rest of the army,
and take measures to ensure that subversive elements were given no
opportunity for insurrection.
When Gaius Terentius reached Arretium with his legion, he
demanded from the magistrates the keys to the city gates, but the
magistrates claimed the keys could not be found. Varro believed they
had been dishonestly removed rather than lost through inattention,
and he had different keys made for all the gates, and carefully saw to
it that he had everything under his control. He warned Hostilius
with some urgency that his only hope of avoiding an Etruscan
insurrection lay in taking steps ahead of time to make insurrection
impossible.
25. After that, the issue of the Tarentines became the subject of
heated debate in the Senate, in the presence of Fabius. Fabius was
himself defending the people he had actually captured in war, but
others were hostile, many claiming that their crime was as great as
the Capuans’ and their punishment should be, too. A senatorial
decree was passed, on a motion by Manius Acilius, that the town
should be garrisoned, with all Tarentine citizens confined within the
walls, and the whole question left in abeyance, to be considered
afresh when Italy was in a calmer state.
There was as much dispute over Marcus Livius, the commander
in the citadel of Tarentum. Some wanted to censure him in a senat-
orial decree, on the grounds that it was thanks to his negligence that
Tarentum was betrayed to the enemy; others proposed rewarding
him for having defended the citadel over a five-year period, and then
being primarily responsible for Tarentum’s recapture. Those between
the extremes stated that it was to the censors, not the Senate, that
responsibility for examining Livius’ record belonged. And Fabius
414 book twenty-seven 208 bc
was of this opinion. He added, however, that he allowed that it was
thanks to Livius that Tarentum was recovered, as Livius’ friends had
often declared in the Senate. For, he said, the town would not have
had to be recovered if it had not been lost.
One of the consuls, Titus Quinctius Crispinus, set off for Lucania
with supplementary troops to join the army that had been com-
manded by Quintus Fulvius Flaccus. As for Marcellus, religious
problems arose in quick succession to prick his conscience and keep
him in Rome. One such was the matter of his having promised a
temple to Honos and Virtus* at Clastidium during the Gallic War,
and its dedication now being regularly obstructed by the pontiffs.
The pontiffs claimed that it was not proper for a single shrine to be
dedicated to more than one god. In the event of a lightning-strike, or
some supernatural phenomenon within it, they said, expiation would
be a problem, in that one could not be sure to which deity sacrifice
should be made; for, except in the case of certain gods, one victim
could not properly be sacrificed to two deities. And so a shrine to
Virtus was added, the work being hurriedly carried out, but the
temples were not, in fact, dedicated by Marcellus himself. Marcellus
then finally set off with reinforcements for the army he had left at
Venusia the year before.
Because he believed that the recovery of Tarentum had earned
Fabius a great reputation, Crispinus attempted to blockade Locri in
Bruttium. He had sent for all kinds of artillery and siege-engines
from Sicily, and he had had ships brought from there, too, to make an
assault on the seaward part of the city. But the blockade was raised
because Hannibal had moved his forces to Lacinium, and also
because of a rumour that Crispinus’ colleague, Marcellus, with
whom he wished to join up, had already led his army from Venusia.
Crispinus therefore moved back into Apulia from Bruttium, and at a
point between Venusia and Bantia the consuls established their two
camps less than three miles distant from each other. As the war had
now been diverted from Locri, Hannibal also returned to this same
region. Both consuls were impetuous by nature, and they deployed
their battle lines almost on a daily basis, fully confident that the war
could be brought to an end if the enemy engaged the two consular
armies that were now united.
26. Hannibal had been both a winner and a loser in his two
engagements with Marcellus the previous year. While, therefore,
208 bc chapters 25–26 415
neither hope nor fear was unreasonable on his part, if he had to fight
the same man, he did think that he would be no match at all for
the two consuls together. He therefore focused entirely on his old
strategy, and began to search for a location for an ambush. There
were, however, a number of skirmishes between the two camps, pro-
ducing mixed results. The consuls believed the summer could be
drawn out with such encounters, and, thinking that an offensive
against Locri could also be mounted, they sent written instructions
to Lucius Cincius to cross from Sicily to Locri with his fleet. To
make an assault on the walls possible from the land, as well, they
gave orders for part of the army that was garrisoning Tarentum to
be brought to Locri.
Hannibal learned of this scenario from some people of Thurii,
and he sent men to lie in ambush on the road from Tarentum. There,
at the foot of the hill of Petelia, 3,000 cavalry and 2,000 infantry were
placed in hiding. The Romans walked into them without conducting
reconnaissance, and fell into the trap. Close to 2,000 men were killed,
and about 1,500 taken alive. The rest scattered in flight and returned
to Tarentum through the fields and woods.
A tree-covered hill lay between the Carthaginian and Roman
camps.* At first neither side took possession of it: the Romans were
unaware of the features of the side of the hill facing the enemy camp,
and Hannibal had considered it better suited for an ambush than an
encampment. Hannibal had therefore sent a number of Numidian
squadrons there during the night for this purpose, and hidden them
in the middle of the wood. In the daytime, none of the men would
move from the position for fear that their arms, or they themselves,
might be spotted from afar. In the Roman camp, the troops were
noisily demanding that the hill be seized, and secured with a fort;
otherwise, they said, if it were seized by Hannibal, they might have
the enemy virtually at their throat. This made Marcellus sit up.
‘Why do we not ourselves go and reconnoitre with a few horsemen?’
he said to his colleague. ‘Seeing for ourselves will give us a better idea
of what to do.’ Crispinus agreed, and they set off with 220 cavalry-
men, 40 from Fregellae and the rest from Etruria.* Along with them
went the military tribunes Marcus Marcellus, son of the consul, and
Aulus Manlius, as well as the two allied officers Lucius Arrenius
and Manius Aulius.
Some have recorded that the consul Marcellus conducted a
416 book twenty-seven 208 bc
sacrifice that day, and that after the first victim had been slaughtered
the liver was found to be lacking its ‘head’.* In the second animal
everything normally there was found in place, and there was in fact
an enlargement in the ‘head’, but the priest was not at all pleased to
find entrails simply too propitious appearing after those which were
undersized and deformed.
27. In fact, the consul Marcellus was so eager to engage the enemy
that he would say that their respective camps were never close
enough to each other. And, on that occasion, as he emerged from his
defence-works, he gave the signal for each man to be ready at his
post; they were to gather up the baggage and follow should the hill
that they were going to reconnoitre prove to their liking.
Before the camp lay a small stretch of flat ground, and from it a
road ran up the hill, completely open to view from every direction.
When the Numidians had been put in position, there was no expect-
ation of a great opportunity like this coming their way; there was
just the hope that they could intercept men who strayed too far from
their camp looking for food or wood. But now their scout gave them
the signal to emerge, all at the same time, from their hiding-places.
Those who had to rise up from the brow of the hill, right in front of
the Romans, did not let themselves be seen until men had made
their way round to cut off the path to their rear. Then they all
sprang out on every side, and attacked with a shout. The consuls
were in a hollow, unable to climb the slope occupied by the enemy,
and yet having no way to beat a retreat because they were sur-
rounded at the rear. The engagement could, nonetheless, have gone
on longer, had the Etruscans not started to flee, striking panic in the
others. Even so, deserted though they were by the Etruscans, the
Fregellan cavalry did not give up the fight, as long as the consuls
were unwounded and kept things going, shouting encouragement,
and themselves participating in the action. But then they saw both
consuls receive wounds, with Marcellus run through by a lance
and slipping from his horse, on the point of death. At that they, too,
the very few still surviving, took to flight, along with the consul
Crispinus, who had been struck by two javelins, and the young
Marcellus, who was also wounded.
The military tribune Aulus Manlius fell in the battle, and of the
two allied officers Manius Aulius was killed and Lucius Arrenius
taken prisoner. Five of the consul’s lictors fell into enemy hands
208 bc chapters 26–28 417
alive, and the others either perished or made good their escape
with the consul. Forty-three cavalrymen went down, either in the
engagement or as they fled, and 18 were taken alive.
There had been uproar in the camp, the men clamouring to go
to the consuls’ aid, but then they saw the consul and the other
consul’s son, both of them wounded, and the meagre remains of the
ill-starred expedition, return to camp.
The death of Marcellus was a matter for great regret in any case.
But it was the more so because he had blindly thrown himself, his
colleague, and, one might almost say, the entire republic into a reck-
less situation, and that was not in keeping with his age––he was then
more than sixty––or the caution one would have expected from a
seasoned commander.
It would involve me in many detours around a single episode were
I to try to follow up in detail all the variant accounts of Marcellus’
death. Let me pass over others and focus on Coelius, who gives
three different sequences of action. One is the traditional version;
the second comes from the text of the eulogy given by the son, who
participated in the action; and the third is one that Coelius presents
as having been researched and established by himself. But while
there is variation in the story, most report that Marcellus left camp to
reconnoitre, and all that he was caught in an ambush.
28. Hannibal felt the death of one of the consuls and the wound-
ing of the other had truly terrified his enemy. Not to let slip any
opportunity, he immediately moved his camp to the hill on which the
engagement had taken place. There he found and buried Marcellus’
body. Crispinus, daunted both by his colleague’s death and his own
wound, left the following night, when all was quiet, and encamped
on the first mountains he reached, in an elevated spot offering
protection on all sides.
The two commanders then revealed their ingenuity, one trying to
set a trap, the other to avoid one. Hannibal had taken possession of
Marcellus’ ring when he found the corpse, and Crispinus, fearing the
seal might be craftily used by the Carthaginian for some forgery, had
sent messengers around the nearby communities to inform them that
his colleague had been killed, and that the enemy had his ring. He
warned them not to put their trust in any letter written in Marcellus’
name. This message from the consul had reached Salapia slightly
before a letter, written in Marcellus’ name, was brought from
418 book twenty-seven 208 bc
Hannibal.* This stated that Marcellus would be coming to Salapia
the night of that very day, and the soldiers in the garrison should be
at the ready in case he needed their services for anything. The people
of Salapia saw through the trick. They thought Hannibal was look-
ing for a way to punish them, angry not simply over their abandon-
ing his cause, but also at the killing of his cavalrymen.* They sent
back the messenger (who was, in fact, a Roman deserter) so that their
soldiers could do what they wanted done without being observed.
They then placed townspeople on watch along the walls and at stra-
tegic points in town, put sentries and patrols on high alert for the
night, and posted the strongest troops they had in the garrison at the
gate by which they thought the enemy would come.
Hannibal approached the city at about the fourth watch, and at
the front of his column were Roman deserters bearing Roman arms.
When they reached the gate, these men, all speaking Latin, called
out the watchmen and told them to open up since the consul was
coming. Just as if they had been woken by the shouts, the watchmen
bustled and scurried about, and strained to open the gate. The port-
cullis had been lowered, and some now used crowbars, others ropes,
to raise it, bringing it up to a sufficient height for men to be able pass
under it standing up. No sooner was there enough room for them to
pass than the deserters came racing through the gateway. When
about 600 had entered, the rope holding it was released and the
portcullis came down with a loud crash. A number of the Salapians
then attacked the deserters who, anticipating a peaceable reception,
had their arms nonchalantly slung from their shoulders after their
march; others stood on the gate towers and the walls, and chased off
the enemy with stones, stakes, and javelins.* So it was that Hannibal
left the area, hoist with his own petard. He set off to raise the siege of
Locri, which had now been started by Lucius Cincius, who was
conducting an all-out attack with siege-works and all sorts of artillery
that he had brought from Sicily.
By this time Mago felt little confidence in his ability to hold and
defend the city of Locri, and his first glimmer of hope arrived with
the news of Marcellus’ death. Right after that came the message that
Hannibal had sent ahead his Numidian cavalry and was himself mak-
ing all possible haste to follow up with his infantry column. And so,
as soon as Mago learned, from a signal from the watchtower, that the
Numidians were approaching, he himself suddenly flung open the
208 bc chapters 28–29 419
gate, and made a defiant sortie against the enemy. The battle at first
hung in the balance, more because Mago had taken the Romans by
surprise than because he could match them in strength. Then the
Numidians arrived on the scene, and the Romans were struck with
such panic that they bolted in disorder to the sea and their ships,
abandoning the siege-works and equipment they had been using
to pound the walls. So it was that the siege of Locri was raised by
Hannibal’s arrival.
29. When Crispinus discovered that Hannibal had left for
Bruttium, he ordered the military tribune Marcus Marcellus to lead
off to Venusia the army that had been under his colleague’s com-
mand. He himself left for Capua with his own legions, barely able to
stand the jolting of his litter, such being the severity of his wounds.
He also wrote a letter to Rome about his colleague’s death, and the
great danger in which he now found himself. He could not, he said,
come to Rome for the elections. He felt he would be unable to stand
the rigours of the journey, and he was concerned about Tarentum––
Hannibal might take his army there from Bruttium. He should, he
added, be sent some representatives of the Senate, discerning indi-
viduals with whom he could discuss his wishes vis-à-vis state policy.
When this letter was read out, it brought deep sorrow over the
death of one of the consuls and grave concern about the other. The
Senate therefore sent Quintus Fabius the younger to the army in
Venusia, and three senatorial representatives––Sextus Julius Caesar,
Lucius Licinius Pollio, and Lucius Cincius Alimentus (who had
returned from Sicily a few days earlier)––were sent to the consul.
The representatives had instructions to inform the consul that, if he
were unable to come in person to Rome for the elections, he should
appoint a dictator, within Roman territory, to supervise them. They
were also to say that, if the consul left for Tarentum, it was the will
of the Senate that the praetor Quintus Claudius should lead his
legions from the town to where he could offer protection to the
greatest number of cities belonging to Roman allies.
During that same summer Marcus Valerius crossed from Sicily to
Africa with a fleet of a hundred ships. Landing at the city of Clupea,
he inflicted widespread devastation on the countryside, and met vir-
tually no armed resistance. The marauding troops were then swiftly
brought back to the ships because word suddenly came that a Punic
fleet was approaching. The fleet numbered eighty-three ships, and
420 book twenty-seven 208 bc
the Roman admiral fought a successful engagement against them
not far from Clupea. Eighteen ships were captured and the rest put
to flight. Valerius then returned to Lilybaeum with ample spoils
from his land operations and the sea battle.
That same summer* Philip answered an appeal for assistance from
the Achaeans. Machanidas, tyrant of the Spartans, had been causing
them great distress with a war on their border, and the Aetolians, too,
had been conducting raids on them with forces that they ferried on
ships across the strait between Naupactus and Patrae (locally called
‘Rhion’). There was also a report that the king of Asia, Attalus,*
was about to cross to Europe because, at their most recent council
meeting, the Aetolians had conferred on him their people’s highest
office.
30. Philip therefore made his way down into Greece, and was met
at the city of Lamia by the Aetolians. They were led by Pyrrias, who
had been elected praetor for that year along with Attalus (who was
elected in absentia), and they had with them auxiliary forces from
Attalus, as well as about 1,000 men that Publius Sulpicius had
sent them from the Roman fleet. Philip fought two successful battles
against this general and these forces, killing about 1,000 of the
enemy in each of them. Daunted by this, the Aetolians subsequently
kept within the walls of the city of Lamia, and Philip therefore led
his army back to Phalara. This is located on the Malian Gulf, and it
was once heavily populated because of its excellent harbour, the safe
anchorages in the vicinity, and other advantages for communication
by sea and land.
Ambassadors from King Ptolemy of Egypt, and also from Rhodes,
Athens, and Chios, came to Philip at Phalara, their mission being to
bring an end to the conflict between him and the Aetolians. The
Aetolians also invited Amynander, king of the Athamanians, and a
neighbour of theirs, to the negotiations as a peace-broker. But every-
body’s concern was less for the Aetolians, a people more aggressive
than Greeks usually are, than for keeping Philip and his kingdom out
of the affairs of Greece, where they would constitute a serious threat
to the states’ independence. Discussion of peace was held over for
the council meeting of the Achaeans, and a venue and date for that
meeting was established, with a thirty-day truce obtained for the
interval.
The king then left Phalara and came through Thessaly and Boeotia
208 bc chapters 29–30 421
to Chalcis in Euboea. He had heard that Attalus was heading for
Euboea with a fleet, and he wanted to keep him from its harbours or
from landing on its coastline. Leaving a force in Chalcis to face
Attalus, in case he made the crossing in the meantime, Philip then
set off with a few cavalrymen and light infantry, and came to Argos.
There, by the vote of the people of Argos, he was given charge of the
Festival of Hera, and of the Nemean Games, because the Macedonian
kings claim descent from that city-state. When the Festival of Hera
was finished, he went straight from the event to Aegium for the
council meeting of his allies, which had been scheduled quite some
time before.*
At the meeting there was discussion of ending the Aetolian war so
that neither the Romans nor Attalus would have reason to enter
Greece. But, with the truce barely expired, all such plans were upset
when the Aetolians heard that Attalus had reached Aegina, and also
that a Roman fleet was anchored off Naupactus. Invited to attend the
council of the Achaeans, at which the deputations involved in the
peace discussions at Phalara were also present, the Aetolians at first
complained only about some minor infractions of the agreement
during the truce. They ended, however, by declaring that hostilities
could not be terminated unless the Achaeans restored Pylus to the
Messenians, and unless Antintania were given back to the Romans,
and the Ardiaei to Scerdilaedus and Pleuratus.
Philip naturally felt it was outrageous that the conquered party
should be offering terms to him, the conqueror. He stated that, even
on the previous occasion, it was not from any hope of non-aggression
on the part of the Aetolians that he had listened to peace proposals,
and concluded a truce. He simply wanted to have all his allies witness
that he had sought grounds for peace and the Aetolians grounds for
war.
And so, without achieving peace, Philip adjourned the council. He
left behind 4,000 troops as protection for the Achaeans, and accepted
their offer of five warships. These, he had decided, he would add to
the Carthaginian fleet recently sent to him and to the ships coming
from King Prusias in Bithynia; and with this force he would chal-
lenge in a naval battle the long-standing Roman supremacy at sea in
the region. Philip himself went back to Argos from the meeting. For
now the date of the Nemean Games was close at hand and he wanted
them honoured by his presence.
422 book twenty-seven 208 bc
31. While the king was preoccupied with organizing the games,
and was allowing himself more relaxation during the days of the
festival season than he could on campaign, Publius Sulpicius set sail
with his fleet from Naupactus, and put in at a point between Sicyon
and Corinth. Here Sulpicius inflicted widespread destruction on
farmlands renowned for their fertility, and the news called Philip
away from the games. He set off swiftly with his cavalry, ordering the
infantry to follow behind. He attacked the Romans as they wandered
in disorder through the fields, heavily laden with plunder and with
no fear of such an attack, and he drove them back to their ships. The
Roman fleet then returned to Naupactus, not at all pleased with its
haul of booty.
For Philip, the remainder of the games had been given added
lustre by the circulating report of the victory he had won––slight
though it was, it was over the Romans!––and the days of the event
were celebrated with effusive joy. This was heightened all the more
by a popularity-seeking gesture on the part of the king, who set aside
his diadem, his purple robe, and the rest of his royal apparel, and put
himself, in appearance, on a level with everybody else. Free societies
love nothing more than this. In fact, he might, by such a gesture,
have given people some sure hope for their personal freedom, had he
not made the whole scene one of filth and degradation by his
unconscionable debauchery. Day and night he would prowl around
the homes of married men with one or two companions, and the less
noticeable he was by bringing himself down to the level of a private
citizen, the greater the licence he took. In fact, liberty, of which he
had given others only the illusion, he had turned entirely to profli-
gacy in his own case. For he did not always gain his ends by money
or seduction, but went so far as to add violence to his scandalous
behaviour, and for husbands and parents alike it was perilous to
check the king’s sexual appetite with an inconvenient moral firm-
ness. Even one of the most important of the Achaeans, Aratus, saw
his wife taken from him (her name was Polycratia) and whisked off
to Macedonia with the promise of a royal marriage.*
After spending the Nemean Festival in such debauchery, Philip
stayed on a few extra days and then set off for Dymae. His objective
was to drive out from Elis an Aetolian garrison that had been invited,
and subsequently admitted, into the city by the Eleans. The Achaeans,
and their commander-in-chief Cycliadas, met the king at Dymae.
208 bc chapters 31–32 423
The Achaeans felt a passionate hatred for the people of Elis for
distancing themselves from the other Achaeans, and were furious
with the Aetolians who, they thought, had incited the Romans to war
against them, as well. With their armies united, they set off from
Dymae and crossed the River Larisus, which separates the territory
of Elis from that of Dymae.
32. The first day of their entry into enemy territory they spent on
looting. The following day they approached the city with their battle
line formed up, having first sent ahead cavalrymen to provoke the
Aetolians––a race ever ready to charge their enemy––by riding up to
the gates.
What the aggressors did not know was that Sulpicius had crossed
from Naupactus to Cyllene with fifteen ships, that he had set ashore
4,000 soldiers, and that he had entered Elis in the dead of night to
prevent his column being sighted. As a result, the surprise at recog-
nizing Roman standards and armour amongst the Aetolians and
Eleans struck sheer terror into them. At first, the king wanted to pull
back his troops. Then, seeing his men under pressure in a clash that
had started up between the Aetolians and the Tralles, an Illyrian
tribe, he himself charged a Roman cohort with his cavalry. In the
process his horse was run through by a javelin, unseating the king
and flinging him over its head to the ground. A struggle flared up,
furious on both sides, with the king under attack from the Romans,
and his own men trying to protect him. The king himself put up a
remarkable fight, although he was obliged to go into battle on foot
amidst his horsemen. Then, when the struggle became one-sided,
and men were falling or being wounded in large numbers all around
him, he was seized by his men and put on another horse, on which he
fled the field.
On that day Philip encamped five miles from the city of Elis, and
on the next he led out all his troops against a nearby stronghold of
the Eleans, called Pyrgus, having heard that a crowd of peasants and
their livestock had been driven there through fear of plundering
expeditions. In the initial panic caused by his arrival he captured this
unarmed rabble, and the plunder taken compensated for his humili-
ation at Elis. As Philip was dividing up the plunder and the prisoners
(which totalled 4,000 men, and roughly 20,000 farm animals of
all kinds), a message arrived from Macedonia. A certain Aeropus,
he was told, had captured Lychnidus, after bribing the officer in
424 book twenty-seven 208 bc
command of the citadel and the garrison. The man was also in
control of a number of the villages of the Dessaretii and was even
rallying the Dardani to his cause. Philip therefore abandoned the
Achaean/Aetolian conflict, though he left in place 2,500 fighting
men of all categories, under the leadership of Menippus and Poly-
phantas, to provide protection for his allies. Leaving Dymae, he
made his way through Achaea, Boeotia, and Euboea, and after a
ten-day march reached Demetrias in Thessaly.
33. At Demetrias, other messengers met the king with news of
more serious trouble. They told him that the Dardani had been
streaming into Macedonia, that they were now occupying Orestis
and had come down as far as the Argestaean plain. It was also
rumoured amongst the barbarians, they said, that Philip had been
killed. Now during the operation on which Philip fought the raiders
near Sicyon, he had crashed into a tree when his horse bolted,
and there he broke off, on a projecting tree-branch, one of the horns
on his helmet. The horn had been found by an Aetolian, taken
into Aetolia, and brought to Scerdilaedus, who was familiar with
this decorative feature of the helmet. That was what spread the
rumour that the king had been killed. After the king’s departure
from Achaea, Sulpicius set off with his fleet for Aegina, where he
joined up with Attalus. The Achaeans fought a successful battle
against the Aetolians and Eleans not far from Messene; and King
Attalus and Publius Sulpicius went into winter quarters on Aegina.
The consul Titus Quinctius appointed Titus Manlius Torquatus
dictator for the conduct of elections and the games, but then, at the
close of this year, died as a result of his wound (some sources place
his death in Tarentum, others in Campania). And so had arisen a
circumstance unparalleled in any war to date: without fighting a
battle of any consequence, two consuls had been killed, leaving the
state parentless, as it were. The dictator Manlius appointed Gaius
Servilius, then serving as curule aedile, as his master of horse. On
the first day of its session, the Senate instructed the dictator to stage
the same Great Games that the urban praetor Marcus Aemilius had
put on in the consulship of Gaius Flaminius and Gnaeus Servilius,
and which Aemilius had also promised in a vow would be celebrated
five years after that time. The dictator then staged the games, and
also made a vow that they would be celebrated again five years later.
However, two consular armies were now very close to the enemy
208 bc chapters 32–34 425
and without leaders. All else was therefore put aside, and there was
but one pressing concern for the senators and people: electing con-
suls as soon as possible, and electing men possessed of a valour that
could resist Punic duplicity. Throughout the war, they reasoned, the
impulsive and hot-headed character of the commanders had brought
disaster, and in that very year the consuls had fallen into a trap they
failed to see through being too eager to engage the enemy. But the
fact is that the immortal gods had shown pity on the Roman people
by sparing the guiltless armies and making the consuls themselves
pay for their recklessness with their own lives.*
34. The senators were casting about for potential consuls, and one
man, Gaius Claudius Nero, stood head and shoulders above the rest.
The problem was finding a colleague for him. And though the sen-
ators considered Nero an excellent candidate, they also thought him
rather too impetuous and volatile for the present military situation
and an enemy like Hannibal. They thought his hasty character
needed to be tempered by being paired with a cool-headed and pru-
dent colleague.
A possibility was Marcus Livius who, at the end of his consulship
many years before, had been convicted of a crime* by the popular
assembly, a disgrace he had so taken to heart that he moved to the
country and, for many years, avoided the city and all public gather-
ings. Some seven years after his condemnation, the consuls Marcus
Claudius Marcellus and Marcus Valerius Laevinus had brought him
back to town, but he wore old clothes, had long hair and a long
beard, and in his demeanour and expression showed that he clearly
remembered the humiliation to which he had been subjected. The
censors Lucius Veturius and Publius Licinius forced him to have his
hair and beard cut, and to put aside his rags; and they had him attend
Senate meetings, and carry out other duties of public life. Even then,
however, he would utter only one word in support of a motion, or
silently vote for it. Until, that is, the time arrived when the case of
his relative, Marcus Livius Macatus, came up, and the man’s reputa-
tion was at stake. That made Livius stand up and give his opinion
before the Senate. Being heard now, after such a long time, he had
everybody’s eyes riveted on him, and he became a topic of conversa-
tion. He had not deserved the wrong he had been done by the people,
said the senators, and, in so dangerous a war, the state had suffered a
grave loss in not availing itself of the help or advice of a man of such
426 book twenty-seven 208 bc
qualities. They further noted that Gaius Nero could be given neither
Quintus Fabius nor Marcus Valerius Laevinus as his colleague,
because the election of two patrician candidates was disallowed;* and
the same argument applied in the case of Titus Manlius (who, in
any case, had refused the consulship when offered it, and would do
so again). They would have an excellent pair of consuls, they con-
cluded, if they put Marcus Livius alongside Gaius Claudius as his
colleague.
The people had no objection to this idea raised by the senators.
The only man in the community against it was the one on whom
the office was being conferred, and he accused his fellow citizens of
capriciousness. They had not felt compassion for him as a defendant
in rags, he said, and now they were offering him the white toga,* which
he did not want. This meant offices and punishments being heaped
on the same man! If they thought him a good man, why had they
condemned him as a criminal and a lawbreaker? If they had found
him guilty, why entrust him with a second consulship, after wrongly
entrusting him with the first? When he produced these and similar
arguments and criticisms, the senators reprimanded him. They
reminded him of Marcus Furius Camillus, who was actually a
recalled exile when he restored his native city to her erstwhile pos-
ition from which she had been unseated.* One must soothe one’s
country’s anger, like that of one’s parents, they said, simply by
patient acceptance of it. By their concerted efforts they were then
able to make Marcus Livius consul alongside Gaius Claudius.
35. Two days later the praetorian elections were held, and Lucius
Porcius Licinus, Gaius Mamilius, Gaius Hostilius Cato, and Aulus
Hostilius Cato were elected praetors. When the elections were over,
and the games had been held, the dictator and his master of horse
resigned their positions. Gaius Terentius Varro was sent into Etruria
as propraetor so that Gaius Hostilius, relieved of his responsibility
there, could proceed to Tarentum and take over the army that the
consul Titus Quinctius had commanded. Lucius Manlius had a dip-
lomatic mission overseas in Greece, where he was to keep watch on
developments. Also, the Olympic Games were to be held that sum-
mer, at which there would be large crowds of spectators from
around Greece; and so Manlius was also to attend this meeting, if
he could get a safe passage through the enemy. Thus he could urge
any Sicilian refugees from the war who were in attendance, or any
208–207 bc chapters 34–36 427
citizens of Tarentum driven out by Hannibal, to return home, and
make them aware that the Roman people were restoring to them all
the property that they had owned before the war.
Since it looked as if the oncoming year would be fraught with
danger, and there were no consuls in office in the republic, all eyes
turned to the consuls designate. People wanted them to conduct a
provincial sortition at the earliest opportunity; they wanted each of
them to know ahead of time the province he would have, and the
enemy he would face. There was also discussion in the Senate, initi-
ated by Quintus Fabius Maximus, of reconciling the two. The
animosity between them was well known, and in Livius’ case his
personal misfortune had made it even more bitter and acrimonious,
believing as he did that, in his time of adversity, he had been treated
with disdain. He was therefore the more unrelenting of the two, and
he insisted there was no need of a reconciliation, that they would
each pay greater care and attention to every detail so that a colleague
with a grudge would not have the chance to profit from his mistake.
Nevertheless, the Senate had its way: the feuding was set aside, and
they carried out their public duties with harmony and cooperation.
Their provinces were not geographically connected as in previous
years, but set apart at the two ends of Italy. One was assigned
Bruttium and Lucania, to counter Hannibal, and the other Gaul, to
counter Hasdrubal (who was, word had it, already approaching the
Alps). The consul drawing Gaul as his province* was instructed to
take his pick of the two armies located respectively in Gaul and in
Etruria, along with which he would also be assigned the troops sta-
tioned in the city. The one to whom responsibility for Bruttium fell
was to mobilize new city legions, and take over one of the two
armies––the choice was his––of the previous year’s consuls. The
army remaining after the consul had made his choice was to be taken
by the proconsul Quintus Fulvius, whose imperium was to run for
a year. The Senate had already substituted Tarentum for Etruria
as Gaius Hostilius’ province, and now they substituted Capua for
Tarentum. Hostilius was assigned one legion, which had been
commanded by Fulvius the year before.
36. Concern over Hasdrubal’s advance on Italy was growing by
the day. First, Massiliot ambassadors had reported that he had made
the passage into Gaul, and that his coming had created a flurry of
excitement amongst the Gauls because he was said to have brought a
428 book twenty-seven 207 bc
large amount of gold to hire mercenaries. Then came a communiqué
from Sextius Antistius and Marcus Raecius, who had been sent on
an official fact-finding mission from Rome along with the Massiliot
ambassadors. The two had informed the Senate that they had sent
men, along with Massiliot guides, to make a detailed report based on
intelligence gathered from Gallic chieftains, who had ties of hospital-
ity with the guides. And, they said, they were certain that Hasdrubal
would cross the Alps the following spring with the huge army he had
now assembled, and that the only thing stopping him at that time
was the inaccessibility of the Alps in winter.
Publius Aelius Paetus was elected and installed as augur in place
of Marcus Marcellus, and Gnaeus Cornelius Dolabella was installed
as rex sacrorum in place of Marcus Marcius, who had died two years
earlier. In this same year the census-purification was performed by
the censors Publius Sempronius Tuditanus and Marcus Cornelius
Cethegus. The number of citizens in the census came to 177,108, a
figure considerably smaller than it had been before the war.* It is on
record that, in that year, for the first time since Hannibal’s invasion
of Italy, the Comitium was provided with shade. It is further
recorded that the Roman Games were repeated for one day by the
curule aediles Quintus Metellus and Gaius Servilius, and also that
the Plebeian Games were repeated by the plebeian aediles Gaius
Mamilius and Marcus Caecilius for two days. These aediles also
offered three statues at the temple of Ceres. There was, moreover, a
feast to Jupiter to mark the games.
Gaius Claudius Nero and Marcus Livius then entered office as
consuls, Livius for the second time. Having already held the sortition
for their provinces as consuls designate, they ordered the praetors to
hold the sortition for theirs. The urban jurisdiction fell to Gaius
Hostilius, but he was further assigned the foreigners’ jurisdiction so
that the three other praetors could leave the city for their respective
duties. Sardinia fell to Aulus Hostilius, Sicily to Gaius Mamilius,
and Gaul to Lucius Porcius. A total of twenty-three legions was then
apportioned amongst the magistrates’ areas of responsibility, as fol-
lows. The consuls were to have two legions each, and Spain would be
allocated four. The three praetors would take two each, to serve in
Sicily, Sardinia, and Gaul respectively. Gaius Terentius would have
two in Etruria, Quintus Fulvius two in Bruttium, Quintus Claudius
two in the area of Tarentum and the Sallentini, and Gaius Hostilius
207 bc chapters 36–37 429
Tubulus would have one in Capua. Two city legions were also to
be raised. The people elected tribunes for the first four legions so
allocated, and the consuls sent tribunes to the others.
37. Before the consuls could leave there was a nine-day ceremony
because a shower of stones had fallen at Veii. Following the mention
of one prodigy, there was the usual phenomenon of others being
reported. Lightning was said to have struck the temple of Jupiter and
the Grove of Marica at Minturnae, and the city wall and a gate
at Atella. To make their report more alarming, the people of Min-
turnae added that a stream of blood had flowed in a gateway of the
temple. At Capua a wolf had come through a gate at night and badly
mauled a guard. These prodigies were expiated with full-grown sac-
rificial animals, and, by decree of the pontiffs, there was a one-day
period of public prayer. The nine-day ceremony was then held again
because a shower of stones had been observed in the Armilustrum.*
No sooner was the public conscience quit of religious concerns
than a report came to trouble it once more. At Frusino, it was said, a
child had been born the size of a four-year old, and it was not its size
that excited wonder as much as the fact that, as was the case at
Sinuessa two years earlier, it was unclear at its birth whether it was
male or female. Soothsayers brought in from Etruria declared it to be
a foul and loathsome prodigy, that the child should be taken from
Roman territory, kept from all contact with the ground, and sent to
the bottom of the sea. It was then placed, alive, in a box, taken out to
sea, and thrown in.
The pontiffs also decreed that three groups of nine young girls
should proceed through the city singing a hymn. The girls were in
the temple of Jupiter Stator familiarizing themselves with the hymn,
which was a composition by the poet Livius,* when the temple of
Queen Juno on the Aventine was struck by lightning. The sooth-
sayers interpreted this as a prodigy affecting only married women*
and said the goddess needed to be appeased with a gift. Accordingly,
married women with homes in the city of Rome, or within ten miles
of the city, were summoned to the Capitol by an edict of the curule
aediles. The women then selected twenty-five of their number as
those to whom they should bring a small contribution from their
dowries. From the money collected, a golden bowl was made as a gift
for the goddess; it was taken to the Aventine, where, with ritual puri-
fication and cleansing, sacrifice was offered by the married women.
430 book twenty-seven 207 bc
A date for a second sacrifice to the same goddess was immediately
fixed by the decemvirs, and the order of ceremonies was as follows.
Two white cows were led into town, through the Porta Carmentalis,*
from the temple of Apollo, and behind them were carried two statues
of Queen Juno, made from cypress wood. Then came the twenty-
seven young girls, dressed in long robes, singing the hymn to Queen
Juno. In those days the hymn might, to the rude intellects of the
time, have seemed to have some merit, but cited now it would be
thought tasteless and uncouth. The train of girls was followed by
the decemvirs wearing laurel garlands and the toga praetexta. The
celebrants proceeded from the gate into the Forum, along the Vicus
Iugarius. The procession halted in the Forum where the girls, pass-
ing a cord through their hands, moved forward beating their feet in
time with their singing. Then, going by way of the Vicus Tuscus
and the Velabrum, they came through the Forum Boarium as far as
the Clivus Publicius and the temple of Queen Juno. There the two
victims were sacrificed by the decemvirs, and the cypress-wood
statues were carried into the temple.
38. With the gods ritually placated, the consuls held a troop-levy,
and did so with greater vigour and intensity than anyone remem-
bered levies being conducted in previous years. The fact was that the
dread occasioned by the war had been doubled by the advance of a
new enemy into Italy, and, in addition, the pool of young men from
which they could enrol soldiers was smaller. Accordingly, they
forced even the colonists on the coast to provide soldiers, though
they were said to have an inviolable right to exemption. When the
colonists refused, the consuls publicly announced a date on which
each of them was to bring before the Senate the grounds for their
exemption. On the appointed day the following peoples were repre-
sented at the Senate: Ostia, Alsium, Antium, Anxur, Minturnae,
Sinuessa, and (from the Adriatic coast) Sena. They all read out their
agreements granting them exemption, but in none of the cases,
except those of Antium and Ostia, was the agreement considered
valid while an enemy remained in Italy. Even in the case of those two
colonies, men of fighting age were bound by oath not to spend more
than thirty nights outside the walls of their colony for as long as the
enemy remained in Italy.
The entire Senate thought that the consuls should take the
earliest possible opportunity to go into battle. Hasdrubal had to be
207 bc chapters 37–39 431
confronted during his descent from the Alps so that he could not
foment unrest among the Cisalpine Gauls or in Etruria, which was
already looking for a chance to rebel. Hannibal, too, had to be kept
occupied with his own campaign so there would be no possibility of
his leaving Bruttium and meeting his brother. Livius, however, was
hesitant. He had little confidence in the armies assigned to his areas
of responsibility, whereas his colleague could choose from two fine
consular armies and a third which was under the command of Quintus
Claudius at Tarentum. He had also raised the suggestion of recalling
slave volunteers to service. The Senate gave the consuls carte blanche
to draw supplementary troops from any source they wished, to select
any troops they liked from all the armies, and to conduct exchanges
and transfers from the provinces of any men they thought would
serve the state well.
All these measures were put into effect by the consuls, who acted in
perfect harmony. Slave volunteers were drafted into the nineteenth
and twentieth legions. Some authorities state that, for this campaign,
Marcus Livius was also sent powerful auxiliary forces from Spain*
by Publius Scipio, and that these comprised 8,000 Spaniards and
Gauls, about 2,000 legionaries and 1,800 cavalrymen, a mixture of
Numidians and Spaniards. They add that Marcus Lucretius brought
these troops by sea, and that Gaius Mamilius also sent approximately
3,000 archers and slingers from Sicily.
39. The alarm in Rome was heightened by a letter from the prae-
tor Lucius Porcius in Gaul, reporting that Hasdrubal had moved
from his winter quarters and was already making his way over the
Alps. Hasdrubal had mobilized and put under arms 8,000 Ligurians,
said Porcius, and these would join him once he had crossed into Italy,
unless someone were sent into Liguria to keep them occupied with a
war there. His own army was weak, he added, but he would advance
as far as he thought he could in safety.
The letter obliged the consuls to complete their troop-levy post-
haste, and leave for their provinces earlier than they had intended.
Their plan was for each to keep the enemy bottled up in his prov-
ince, and not permit them to meet up or join forces. They were
greatly aided in this strategy by an erroneous assumption on Han-
nibal’s part. Although he had expected his brother to cross into Italy
that summer, Hannibal thought back on his own experiences––the
Rhône crossing, and then the Alps, and five months of battling men
432 book twenty-seven 207 bc
and the terrain––and he did not anticipate that Hasdrubal’s journey
would be anything like as easy and swift as it turned out to be. And
thanks to that, he was late moving out of his winter quarters.
In fact, everything went more quickly and easily for Hasbrubal
than either he himself or anyone else had expected. For not only did
the Arverni, and then other Gallic and Alpine tribes, welcome his
coming, but they even went to war alongside him. Furthermore, he
was leading his army along a path which, impassable earlier, had now,
thanks to his brother’s crossing, become a largely open thoroughfare.*
And, in addition, their route lay through peoples whose character
had now been softened, thanks to the Alps being regularly traversed
over a twelve-year period. For, before that, having had no visits from
outsiders, and not being accustomed to setting eyes on a stranger in
their land, they were xenophobic towards the entire human race. At
first, in fact, they had no idea of the Carthaginian’s destination, and
they had believed that his objective was their rocky homes and
strongholds, and plunder in the shape of animals and men. Then
word had reached them of the Punic War with which Italy had been
ablaze for eleven years, making it clear that the Alps was merely a
passageway, and that two mighty cities, separated from each other
by a large expanse of sea and land, were in a struggle for power and
dominion.
Such were the factors that had opened up the Alps for Hasdrubal.
However, what he had gained by the speed of his march a delay at
Placentia––on which he mounted an unsuccessful blockade rather
than a direct assault––subsequently cancelled out. Hasdrubal had
thought the town, lying on a plain, would be easy to take, and the
renown of the colony had induced him to make the attempt. By
destroying that city, he thought, he would strike terror in all the
others. He not only slowed his own progress by the siege but he had
also held up Hannibal, who was moving from his winter quarters
after receiving news that his brother’s crossing had gone much faster
than he had expected. For Hannibal now began to take into account
what a slow process the investment of cities was, and he also remem-
bered how unsuccessful his own attempt on that same colony had
been on his victorious return from the Trebia.
40. The consuls set off from the city, in opposite directions, for
what were almost two simultaneous wars, and that only increased
people’s worries. For they recalled the disasters that Hannibal’s
207 bc chapters 39–40 433
initial arrival had brought on Italy, and they were also tortured by
the question of what gods would be so kind to the city and empire as
to grant the state success on both fronts at the one time. To that
point, they had kept things going by compensating for reverses
with successes. When Roman fortunes had taken a fall at Trasimene
and Cannae, victorious campaigns in Spain had raised them again.
Later, when successive defeats in Spain had partly destroyed
two armies, and two fine commanders had been lost, numerous suc-
cesses in Italy and Sicily had come along to support the shaken
republic. Besides, the geographic separation––the fact that one of
the theatres of war lay at the world’s end––had given them some
breathing space. Now, however, two wars had been brought into
Italy; two famous commanders stood on different sides of the city of
Rome, and it was on one spot that the whole brunt and burden of
this perilous war had become focused. The first of the two to gain a
victory would join forces with the other in a matter of days. They
were also frightened because of the previous year, darkened by the
deaths of the two consuls.
Such were the cares tormenting people when they sent off the
consuls as they left for their assignments. It is recorded that Quintus
Fabius gave a warning to Marcus Livius, still full of resentment
towards his fellow citizens, as he left for the campaign. Fabius told
him not to be hasty in engaging before he got to know the sort of
enemy he was facing, to which Livius replied that he would take the
field the moment he set eyes on the enemy’s column. When asked
why he was in such a hurry, Livius retorted: ‘Either I shall acquire a
brilliant reputation from the enemy, or I shall derive pleasure from
the defeat of my fellow citizens––a pleasure well deserved, even if it
is not honourable.’
Before the consul Claudius reached his province, Gaius Hostilius
Tubulus attacked Hannibal with a number of light-armed cohorts as
he was leading his army along the far edge of Tarentine territory* into
that of the Sallentini. The Carthaginian’s column was not in regular
formation, and Tubulus struck terrible panic into it, killing roughly
4,000 men and capturing nine military standards. Quintus Claudius
had had his troops billeted throughout the cities in the land of the
Sallentini, and had moved out of winter quarters when he heard of
the enemy’s movement. Now, to avoid coming to grips with two
armies at the same time, Hannibal struck camp from the area of
434 book twenty-seven 207 bc
Tarentum by night, and withdrew into Bruttium. Claudius steered
his army towards the Sallentini, and Hostilius, who was on his way
to Capua, met up with the consul at Venusia. There, 40,000 infantry
and 2,500 cavalry were selected from the two armies for the consul’s
operation against Hannibal. Hostilius was instructed to lead the
remaining troops to Capua, where he was to hand them over to the
proconsul Quintus Fulvius.
41. Hannibal now brought together all the troops that he had kept
in winter quarters or in the garrisons in Bruttian territory. He then
came towards Grumentum in Lucania,* hoping to recover the towns
that had, out of fear, defected to the Romans. The Roman consul also
marched to Grumentum from Venusia, taking care to reconnoitre the
roads, and he encamped about a mile and a half from the enemy. The
rampart of the Carthaginian camp seemed to be hard up against the
walls of Grumentum, with a mere half-mile between them. Between
the Punic encampment and the Roman lay some level ground, with
treeless hills rising up to the left of the Carthaginians, and to
the right of the Romans. The hills aroused misgivings in neither
side, providing, as they did, no tree cover or hiding-places for an
ambush.
In the middle of the level ground a number of forays from the two
armies’ advance posts precipitated skirmishing hardly worth the
mention. It was apparent, however, that the Roman’s one aim was to
prevent his enemy’s departure; Hannibal, on the other hand, in his
eagerness to get away from there, reputedly took the field in full
force. The consul Nero then resorted to the enemy’s tactics, which
were all the more appealing because there could be little fear of an
ambush on such open hills. He ordered five cohorts, with an
additional force of five maniples, to cross the mountain ridge at night,
and position themselves on the far slope of the hills. Details of when
the men were to emerge from ambush, and attack the enemy, he gave
to the officers he was sending with them, Tiberius Claudius Asellus,
a military tribune, and Publius Claudius, a prefect of the allies.
Nero himself led all his troops, infantry and cavalry, out to battle
at dawn. Shortly afterwards Hannibal also put up his signal for
battle, and shouting arose in the camp as his men rushed to arms.
Cavalry and infantry then came racing from the Carthaginian camp
and, all over the plain, they made a disordered charge at the enemy.
When the consul saw their disarray, he ordered Gaius Aurunculeius,
207 bc chapters 40–42 435
military tribune of the third legion, to send the cavalry of his legion
against the enemy with all the force he could. The Carthaginians had
scattered like animals all over the plain, said Nero, so much so that
they could be mown down and crushed before they formed up.
42. Hannibal had not yet left the camp when he heard the shout-
ing from the battlefield. The uproar sent him into action, and he
rapidly led his other troops against the enemy. The cavalry charge
had already struck panic in the closest of the Carthaginians, and the
Roman infantry––the first legion and the left allied contingent––was
also advancing into battle. In complete disorder, the enemy engaged
with whatever chance put in their way, foot soldier or cavalryman.
The battle spread as reinforcements came up, and gained intensity
as more men rushed into the fray. Despite the uproar and panic
all round, Hannibal might still have formed up his men as they
fought––not an easy task for any but a seasoned force with a seasoned
commander––had it not been for the shouting from the cohorts and
maniples who came running down the hills. Hearing this behind
them made the men fear that they might be cut off from their camp.
They were panic-stricken, and a rout began all over the battlefield.
Losses were diminished only by the camp’s proximity, which made
flight shorter for the demoralized Carthaginians––for the cavalry
were hard on their heels, and the cohorts had attacked the flanks
side-on, running downhill on a clear and easy path. Even so, more
than 8,000 men were killed, and more than 700 taken prisoner, with
the capture of nine military standards. The elephants had been of no
use in such a swift and disordered battle, but four were killed and
two captured. Losses for the triumphant Romans and their allies
were around 500.*
The following day the Carthaginian made no move. The Roman
commander led his troops out for the fight but, seeing no one come
to face him, then gave orders for the spoils to be gathered up from
the enemy dead, and for the bodies of his own men to be brought
together and buried. After that, for several days in succession, Nero
came forward so close to the enemy gates as to give the impression
that he was making an assault. Finally, Hannibal simply left behind,
on the side of the camp facing his enemy, a large number of fires and
tents, and a few Numidians, who were to let themselves be seen on
the rampart and at the gates. He then set off at the third watch and
proceeded towards Apulia. At dawn, the Roman force came up to the
436 book twenty-seven 207 bc
rampart. The Numidians then followed the pre-arranged plan of
putting in a brief appearance in the gateways and on the rampart,
and, after duping the enemy for some time, they galloped off and
joined their comrades on the march.
The consul now observed that all was still in the camp, and that
even the few men who had been walking about at dawn were
nowhere to be seen, and so he sent two horsemen forward into the
camp to investigate. On learning that all was secure, he ordered
the advance into the camp, and, after staying long enough only for
the men to run off to gather spoils, he sounded the retreat, and
led the troops back, long before the onset of night.
The next day he set out at dawn. He followed his enemy with
forced marches, guided by reports and the tracks left by their col-
umn, and caught up with them not far from Venusia. There, too, there
was a scrappy engagement, in which more than 2,000 Carthaginians
were killed. The Carthaginian commander then headed for
Metapontum, taking mountain roads by night so as to give the
Romans no scope for battle. From Metapontum, Hanno, who had
been the garrison commander there, was sent with a handful of men
into Bruttium to put together a new army. After adding Hanno’s
troops to his own, Hannibal took the same roads back to Venusia by
which he had come, and then went on to Canusium.* At no point
had Nero relaxed his pursuit of the enemy, and when he himself
was setting out for Metapontum, he had called Quintus Fulvius to
Lucania so the region should not be undefended.
43. Meanwhile, after commencing the siege of Placentia, Hasdrubal
had sent off four Gallic horsemen and two Numidians with a letter
for Hannibal. They travelled practically the length of Italy through
the midst of the enemy but, while they were following Hannibal
during his withdrawal to Metapontum, they came upon roads they
did not know, and ended up in Tarentum. They were then brought
to the propraetor Quintus Claudius by some Romans who were out
foraging in the fields. At first they tried to mislead Claudius with
evasive responses, but then the threat of torture forced the truth
out of them, and they told him that they were bearing a letter to
Hannibal from Hasdrubal. The men and the letter, still sealed, were
put in the charge of the military tribune Lucius Verginius, to be
taken to the consul Claudius Nero, and an escort of two squadrons of
Samnites was sent along with them.
207 bc chapters 42–44 437
When the company reached the consul, the letter was read, with
the help of an interpreter, and the prisoners were interrogated.
Claudius at that point decided that the crisis facing the state did not
call for an operation based on conventional strategy, with each con-
sul engaging the enemy assigned to him by the Senate, and function-
ing within his specific area of responsibility with his own army.
There had to be some bold new stroke, something startling and
unexpected, an enterprise that would terrify the citizens as much as
the enemy, but which, successfully concluded, would turn great fear
into great joy. Nero then sent Hasdrubal’s letter to the Senate in
Rome, and also explained his plans to the members. Since Hasdrubal
was informing his brother by letter of his intention to meet him in
Umbria,* Nero advised the senators to recall a legion to Rome from
Capua, to hold a levy of troops in Rome, and to face the enemy at
Narnia with the army from the city.
Such was Nero’s letter to the Senate, but he also sent men ahead
through the territory of Larinum, and that of the Marrucini, the
Frentani, and the Praetutii, that is the lands through which he would
be leading his army. The men were to instruct all these peoples to
carry provisions from their farms and cities to the roadside, ready for
his men to eat, and to bring out horses and other animals of convey-
ance so that there would be plenty of transport for those suffering
from fatigue. Nero himself selected from his entire army the strong-
est citizen and allied troops, picking out 6,000 infantry and 1,000
cavalry. He announced that he intended to seize the closest city in
Lucania, along with its Carthaginian garrison, and ordered this
hand-picked force all to be ready for the march. He set off at night,
and then veered towards Picenum. In fact, the consul was marching
with all the haste he could muster to join his colleague, having left his
legate Quintus Catius in charge of the camp.
44. In Rome the alarm and panic was no less than it had been two
years earlier when a Carthaginian camp had been pitched before
the walls and gates of the city. People were undecided whether to
praise or condemn the consul’s daring march, and what was most
unfair was the obvious fact that judgement of it would depend on the
outcome. A camp had been left without a leader close to an enemy
like Hannibal, it was said, and left with an army which had been
depleted of all its strength, all its elite troops. And the consul had
made a show of heading into Lucania, while in fact he was making
438 book twenty-seven 207 bc
for Picenum and Gaul, leaving behind his camp whose security
depended entirely on the enemy’s misperception, on his ignorance
of the fact that the commander and part of the army had left. What
would happen, they asked, if that became known? What if Hannibal
decided either to use his entire army to chase Nero and his 6,000
troops, or to attack the camp that was left wide open to looting,
without strength, without supreme command, and without auspices?
The past defeats in that war, and the violent deaths of two consuls
the previous year filled people with dread, and they noted that all
those setbacks had occurred when there was only one enemy com-
mander and one enemy army in Italy. Now there were two Punic wars
in the country, two mighty armies and practically two Hannibals!
For, like Hannibal, Hasdrubal was also the son of Hamilcar, and he
was just as dynamic a leader as his brother. He, too, had had many,
many years of training in warfare against the Romans in Spain, and
he had made a name for himself through his twin victories, and the
destruction of two armies with their famous commanders. In terms
of the speed of his journey from Spain, at least, and his success in
inciting Gallic tribes to war, he had more reason to boast than
Hannibal himself ! For Hasdrubal had put together this army of
his in that same region where Hannibal had lost most of his soldiers
to hunger and the freezing temperatures, which were the most
wretched ways to die. Men well acquainted with the Spanish situ-
ation would make the further point that, in engaging with Gaius
Nero, Hasdrubal would not be facing a commander unfamiliar to
him. In fact, they said, when Hasdrubal happened to be caught in a
difficult pass, he had duped and hoodwinked Nero, like a little boy,
with a charade of framing terms of peace. People also assumed the
enemy’s military strength to be greater, and their own smaller, than
was actually the case, for fear always leans towards a pessimistic
analysis.
45. When he had put enough distance between himself and the
enemy to be able to disclose his plan quite safely, Nero briefly
addressed his men. No commander, he told them, had ever had a
plan that looked more foolhardy, but was in fact more sound, than
his. He was leading them to certain victory, he said. For his colleague
had left for the campaign only after receiving from the Senate cav-
alry and infantry enough, and more, to meet his needs––forces
stronger and better equipped than if he were going to face Hannibal
207 bc chapters 44–46 439
himself––and now they themselves would tip the scale completely
by whatever additional strength they brought to the fight. Once it
was simply heard on the battlefield––and he would see to it that it
was not heard earlier––that a second consul and a second army had
arrived, that would certainly bring them victory. Hearsay decides
the outcome of war, he continued, and insignificant factors push the
mind towards hope or fear. And they themselves would reap nearly
all the glory in the event of success––it was always the last factor in
the equation that was regarded as decisive. They could see, he added,
people’s admiration and support for them as they marched by.
And it was indeed true that they were everywhere marching along
amidst vows and prayers and words of praise from rows of men
and women who had come pouring from all over the countryside.
‘Defenders of the state’ they called them, and ‘champions of the city
of Rome and her empire’. In those men’s weapons and sword-arms,
they declared, lay their own and their children’s security and liberty.
They prayed to all the gods and goddesses to grant the soldiers a
prosperous journey, a successful battle and swift victory over the
enemy. They prayed, too, that they would be obliged to repay the
vows they had made on their behalf,* that, just as they were now
anxiously sending them on their way, so, in a few days, they would
come happily to meet them as they rejoiced in their victory. Then
they all issued invitations, proffered gifts, and persistently entreated
the men to take whatever could serve their own or their animals’
needs, and take it from them rather than others. They showered
everything on them without stint. The soldiers’ restraint was equally
impressive; they would not take anything beyond their needs. There
was no dawdling, no stopping and breaking formation to eat. They
marched day and night, barely giving themselves enough rest to
meet the body’s natural requirements.
Men had also been sent ahead to Nero’s colleague to announce
the army’s coming and to ask whether he wanted them to arrive
secretly or openly, by day or at night, and also to ask whether they
would be housed in the same camp or another. Livius felt arriving
secretly, during the night, was preferable.
46. The tablet had been circulated* in the camp by the consul
Livius: tribunes were ordered to house tribunes, centurions to house
centurions, cavalrymen cavalrymen, and foot soldiers foot soldiers.
For enlarging the camp was a bad idea, Livius decided––the enemy
440 book twenty-seven 207 bc
might surmise that the other consul had arrived. In fact, packing
more men into a small space to erect their tents was going to prove
easier because Claudius’ troops had brought with them for the oper-
ation almost nothing but their weapons. However, the column had
been enlarged with volunteers as it moved along. Veterans, men
whose service was over, had offered to join them, and so had younger
men, who had raced to enlist. Claudius had enrolled any whose
physique and bodily strength seemed to qualify them for fighting.
The camp of the other consul, Livius, was at Sena,* and Hasdrubal
was only about half a mile away. So, as he drew near, Nero halted
where he had cover from the mountains in order not to enter the
camp before nightfall. Then the men filed in silently and were all
taken to their tents, and offered hospitality, by soldiers of their own
rank, amid enthusiastic rejoicing on everyone’s part.
The next day there was a council of war, which the praetor Lucius
Porcius Licinus also attended. Licinus had his camp beside that of
the consuls, and before their arrival he had run the whole gamut of
military tactics on the enemy, leading his force over the high country
and seizing narrow passes to obstruct their passage, or else harassing
their column with attacks to the flanks or rear. And so, on this
occasion, he attended the council of war. Many at the meeting
inclined to the opinion that engaging the enemy should be delayed.
This would give Nero time to refresh his men, now exhausted from
the journey and lack of sleep, and also allow him a few days to
familiarize himself with his enemy. Nero, however, proceeded not
simply to urge the other course, but abjectly pleaded with them––
what had made his strategy sound was his speed, he said, and they
should not now make it a risky one by delaying. It was a bluff that
had left Hannibal virtually frittering away his time without attacking
a camp that lacked its commander, or taking to the road to pursue
him, and that bluff would not last long. But before Hannibal made a
move, he explained, Hasdrubal’s army could be destroyed, and they
could return to Apulia. Delaying and giving the enemy time meant
both betraying that camp of his to Hannibal, and also opening for
him a path into Gaul, enabling him to join up with Hasdrubal at his
leisure and wherever he wished. No, they should lose no time in
giving the signal and going out to battle, he said. They must take full
advantage of the bluff that had been pulled on the enemy who was
absent and on the one who was present, while the one still did not
207 bc chapters 46–47 441
know that he was facing fewer troops than he thought, and the other
that he faced more and stronger ones. When the council adjourned,
the signal for battle was put up, and they went forward immediately
to battle stations.*
47. By now the enemy were standing in formation before their
camp. What delayed the engagement was the fact that, as Hasdrubal
rode forward before the standards, he picked out amongst the enemy
old shields that he had not previously seen, and horses that were
somewhat emaciated. In addition, the Roman numbers seemed
unusually large. Guessing what was in fact the case, he quickly
sounded the retreat. He also sent men to the river, from which the
Romans were drawing their water, to take some prisoners who could
be inspected for signs of more than usual sunburn, as would be
found after a recent march. At the same time, Hasdrubal ordered
men to ride around the Roman encampment, at a remove, and exam-
ine whether the rampart had been extended anywhere; these men
were also to keep their ears open for whether there were one or two
bugle-calls.
This was all duly reported back to Hasdrubal, and he was taken in
by the fact that there had been no enlargement of the camps. There
were two camps (just as there had been before the other consul’s
arrival), one belonging to Marcus Livius, and the other to Lucius
Porcius, but in neither had there been any extension of the fortifica-
tions to accommodate more tents. Hasdrubal, however, was a veteran
commander used to facing a Roman enemy, and the news the men
brought that there had been one bugle-call in the praetor’s camp, but
two in the consul’s, caused him some concern.* There must be two
consuls there, he thought, and the question that tormented him was
how one of them had slipped away from Hannibal. The last thing he
could have suspected was what had actually happened, namely that
Hannibal was the victim of such an enormous subterfuge that he
had no idea of the whereabouts of the commander and the army that
had been encamped right next to him. It must be, thought Hasdru-
bal, that his brother had not dared pursue the consul because he had
suffered a serious defeat. In fact, Hasdrubal was very much afraid
that things had gone badly wrong, that he himself had come too late
to help, and that the Romans were now enjoying the same success in
Italy as they were in Spain. Sometimes, though, the thought would
cross his mind that his letter might not have reached Hannibal, that
442 book twenty-seven 207 bc
the consul had intercepted it and that he had now come with all
speed to crush him.
Vexed by such worries, Hasdrubal had the fires extinguished, and
at the first watch he gave the signal for the men to gather their
equipment in silence. He then ordered them to move out. In all the
consternation and confusion of the night, little attention was paid to
the two guides, one of whom settled into a hiding-place, of which he
had earlier made a mental note, while the other swam across the
River Metaurus* at a point where he knew it was shallow. Deserted by
the guides, the column at first drifted aimlessly through the country-
side; and a number of men, exhausted and weary from lack of sleep,
threw themselves down at various points, leaving only a few around
the standards. Hasdrubal issued instructions for them to advance
along the river-bank until the light should arrive to show the way.
But he would double back when he lost his way along the twisting
and turning banks of the winding river, and he made little headway.
He decided, therefore, to cross as soon as dawn revealed a suitable
fording point. But the further he retreated from the sea, the higher
the banks became on both sides of the river, and he failed to find any
shallow spots. Frittering away the day like this, he gave his enemy
time to catch up with him.
48. Nero came on the scene first, at the head of the entire
Roman cavalry; then Porcius followed with the light infantry. They
harassed and charged the weary column from every direction, and
the Carthaginian commander now abandoned his march, which
resembled a flight, intending to lay out a camp on a knoll overlooking
the river-bank. At that point Livius arrived with all the heavy infan-
try, deployed and armed not for marching but for immediate
engagement. The Romans then combined all their forces, and the
line was arranged for battle, Claudius taking the right wing and
Livius the left, with command of the centre assigned to the praetor.
Hasdrubal now gave up constructing his camp––he saw that he
had to fight. He positioned his elephants in the front line before the
standards. Next to them, on the left wing and facing Claudius, he set
the Gauls––less because he had confidence in them than because he
thought that they were feared by the enemy. The right wing, facing
Marcus Livius, he took for himself and the Spaniards, and it was in
these veteran troops that he placed his greatest hope. The Ligurians*
were stationed in the middle, to the rear of the elephants. But the
207 bc chapters 47–49 443
formation had depth rather than breadth, and the Gauls received
cover from a hill projecting before them. The section of the front
line held by the Spaniards engaged the Roman left wing, and the
entire Roman right stood beyond the fighting, and for now remained
out of it, the hill before them preventing them from making any
frontal or flank attack.
There was a huge clash between Livius and Hasdrubal, with ter-
rible loss of life on both sides. This was where the two commanders
stood, and here stood most of the Roman infantry and cavalry, as well
as the Spaniards––veteran troops acquainted with the Roman way of
fighting––and the Ligurians, a tough race in battle. It was to this
area, too, that the elephants were driven; with their initial charge
they had caused havoc amongst the front lines, and had also made
the standards give ground. Then, as the clash and shouting inten-
sified, there was less of a possibility of controlling them, and they
moved about between the two lines as though uncertain to which
side they belonged, and not unlike rudderless ships.
Claudius called out to his men: ‘So what was the point of covering
so much ground at such speed?’ as he tried, without success, to
march his troops up the hill before him. When he saw it was impos-
sible to get through to the enemy in that quarter, he withdrew a
number of cohorts from the right wing, where he could see they
would be standing around inactive rather than engaged in the fight.
These he led around behind the fighting line, and made a charge on
the enemy’s left wing that surprised not only the enemy but his own
side, as well. Such was the speed of the manœuvre that the cohorts
made an appearance on the flank and then, at the next moment, were
attacking the rear. So it was that the Spaniards and Ligurians were
being cut down on every side, at the front, on the flank and at the
rear, and by now the slaughter had reached the Gauls. In that quarter
the fighting was the lightest. Most of the men had left their posi-
tions––they had slipped away in the night, and were lying asleep
throughout the countryside––and those present were exhausted
from the journey and lack of sleep, physically incapable of exerting
themselves, and barely able to carry their weapons on their shoul-
ders. And by now it was the middle of the day, and thirst and the
heat left them gasping, ready to be cut down or captured in droves.
49. As for the elephants, more were killed by their own drivers
than by the enemy. The drivers kept a workman’s chisel and a mallet
444 book twenty-seven 207 bc
at hand; and when the animals began to get out of control and charge
their own side, the keeper would place the chisel between the ears, at
the point where the neck joins the head, and drive it home with all
his strength. That, it was found, was the swiftest way of dispatching
a beast of such a size, once the animals left the drivers no hope of
controlling them, and the first man to have instituted the practice
was Hasdrubal, a leader with a great reputation for his other achieve-
ments, and above all for that battle. It was he who kept his men
fighting by encouraging them, and facing the dangers with them. It
was he who energized them alternating entreaties and reproaches,
when they were worn out and giving up the fight from weariness and
exhaustion. It was he who called back men in flight, and rekindled
the battle where it had been abandoned at several points. In the end,
when fortune clearly favoured his enemy, he refused to survive the
great army that had followed the fame of his name, and galloped
straight into a Roman cohort. There, fighting, he died a death that
was appropriate for a son of Hamilcar, and brother of Hannibal.
At no time in that war were so many of the enemy killed in a single
battle, and, with the loss of their commander and their army, the
Carthaginians seemed to have been repaid for Cannae with a disaster
of equal magnitude. The enemy dead totalled 57,000; 5,400 were
taken prisoner; and there were large quantities of booty of all kinds,
including gold and silver. More than 4,000 of the Roman citizens
who had been prisoners in enemy hands were also recovered. That
was some consolation for the soldiers lost in the battle, for it was
no means a bloodless victory, with Roman and allied losses around
the 8,000 mark.*
How far the victors felt they had had more than enough bloodshed
and killing became clear the following day. Word came to the consul
Livius that the Cisalpine Gauls and Ligurians who had either taken
no part in the battle or had escaped the slaughter were retreating in a
single column, with no recognized leader and no standards, and in no
formation and with no system of command. They could all be wiped
out if a cavalry squadron were let loose on them, he was told. ‘No,’
said Livius, ‘let some of them survive to tell of the enemy’s defeat
and our courage.’
50. Nero left on the night following the battle and, moving the
column along at greater speed than on his outward journey, he
reached his base camp, and the enemy, in five days.* There were
207 bc chapters 49–51 445
smaller crowds along his route––no messenger had preceded him––
but they welcomed his coming with such elation as to be almost
beside themselves with joy.
As for Rome, words cannot be found to recount or describe either
of its emotional states––neither that in which the city anxiously
awaited the outcome, nor that with which it received the news of the
victory. Throughout the days after the news arrived that the consul
Claudius had left, at no time between sunrise and sunset did any
senator leave the Senate house or the presence of magistrates, nor
the people the Forum. Married women, unable to provide material
assistance themselves, turned to prayer and appeals to heaven, roam-
ing through all the shrines and urgently petitioning the gods with
entreaties and vows.
While the city was gripped by such anxiety and tension a vague
rumour arose that two riders from Narnia had reached the camp that
had been set up to barricade the entrance to Umbria, and that they
brought news of a massacre of the enemy. At first this merely went
into men’s ears without registering in their minds; the news was too
great, too joyous, to be mentally absorbed or believed. Besides, the
very speed of its arrival made acceptance difficult––the battle
reportedly took place only two days earlier. Then a letter from
Lucius Manlius Acidinus was brought from the camp, and its subject
was the arrival of the two Narnian riders. That dispatch, borne
through the Forum to the praetor’s tribunal, brought the senators
forth from the Senate house. And such was the rush and scramble
with which the people converged on the doors of the Senate that the
messenger could not get near it. Instead, he was pulled away by the
crowds around him, who repeatedly asked him questions and noisily
demanded that the letter be read out on the Rostra before it was read
in the Senate. Eventually, these people were pushed aside and
restrained by the magistrates, and the glad tidings could be dis-
pensed to minds unable to cope with them. The letter was read aloud
first in the Senate, and then in the popular assembly, and, depending
on the individual’s temperament, some felt unreserved joy, while
others were going to withhold belief until they heard about it from
the envoys, or a despatch from the consuls.
51. Then news came that the consular envoys themselves were
coming. At that point people of all ages ran to meet them, every one
of them wishing to be the first to drink in such joy with eyes and
446 book twenty-seven 207 bc
ears, and there was one long line reaching all the way to the Mulvian
bridge. The envoys were Lucius Veturius Philo, Publius Licinius
Varus, and Quintus Caecilius Metellus. With crowds of people of
every class milling about them, they came forward into the Forum
while some asked the envoys themselves, and others their attendants,
to tell them what had happened. And as each person heard the news
that the enemy army and its leader were destroyed, that the Roman
legions were unharmed, and that the consuls were safe, they would
immediately go on to share their joy with others.
It was with difficulty that the envoys made their way to the Senate
house, and with much greater difficulty that the crowd was pushed
aside, to stop the public from intermingling with the senators. Then
the letter was read out in the Senate, after which the envoys were
taken over into the popular assembly. Once the letter had been read
out there, Lucius Veturius himself gave a fuller account of the
events, which was received with great approval, and finally even with
noisy applause from the entire gathering––for people could barely
contain their delight. Then they dispersed, some making the rounds
of the temples of the gods to offer thanks, and others going home to
share the happy news with their wives and children.
To mark Marcus Livius’ and Gaius Claudius’ destruction of the
enemy commander and his legions, while preserving intact their own
army, the Senate decreed three days of public thanksgiving. The
praetor Gaius Hostilius made the announcement of that period of
thanksgiving before an assembly, and the ceremonies were held by
both men and women. All the temples saw the same large crowds
throughout the three-day period, as women and their children,
dressed in their finest clothes, and freed now from all fear, gave thanks
to the immortal gods, as though the war were over. That victory also
affected the state’s financial workings; from then on people dared to
carry on business as in peacetime, selling, buying, putting out loans
and repaying them.
The consul Gaius Claudius had been careful to keep Hasdrubal’s
head, and bring it with him. When he returned to his camp, he
ordered it to be tossed before the forward posts of the enemy. He also
had his African prisoners put on display for the enemy, wearing their
chains, and two he released, telling them to go to Hannibal and
recount to him what had taken place.
Shaken by this great blow to his people as well as his family,
207 bc chapter 51 447
Hannibal is said to have stated that he now saw clearly the destiny of
Carthage.* He struck camp, intending to gather together in Bruttium,
in the furthest corner of Italy, all those supporting troops to whom
he could not give protection if they were widely dispersed. He then
moved all the people of Metapontum from their homes, along with
all such Lucanians as were under his control, and took them over
into Bruttian territory.
 BOOK TWENTY-EIGHT

1. With Hasdrubal’s crossing of the Alps, much of the war had been
transferred into Italy, and there seemed to have been correspondingly
less action in the Spanish theatre. Suddenly, however, hostilities
again flared up here as serious as before.* At that point the Roman
and Carthaginian occupation of Spain was as follows. Hasdrubal son
of Gisgo had fallen back as far as the coastline of the ocean at Gades,
and the shores of our sea* and practically all of eastern Spain was
under the control of Scipio and Rome. A new commander, Hanno,
had crossed from Africa with a fresh army to replace Hasdrubal
Barca. He had joined up with Mago and had quickly put under arms
large numbers of men in Celtiberia, which lies between the two seas.
Scipio therefore sent Marcus Silanus to confront him with 10,000
infantry and 500 cavalry.
Silanus forced the pace of his march as much as he could, though
the poor condition of the roads and narrow passes often hedged by
forest––terrain frequently encountered in Spain––slowed him down.
Even so he outran not only messengers who might report his arrival,
but even any rumour of it, and reached the enemy guided by some
local Celtiberian deserters.
When the Romans were about ten miles from the enemy, they
learned from these same deserters that there were two enemy camps
alongside the road they would be taking. On the left were the
Celtiberians, a newly raised army of more than 9,000 men, and on
the right was the Carthaginian camp. The Punic camp was well
guarded, they were told, with outposts, sentries, and all the usual
security features of military operations, but the other was poorly and
carelessly defended, as one would expect from barbarians who were
also new recruits, and whose fears were diminished because they
were in their own lands. This was the one that Silanus thought should
be attacked first, and he ordered his troops to keep to the left as
much as possible so they would not at any point be spotted from the
Carthaginian outposts. Then, sending ahead scouts, he advanced on
the enemy at a rapid pace.
2. Silanus was about three miles away, and still none of the enemy
had spotted him, thanks to the cover provided by the uneven terrain
207 bc chapters 1–2 449
and the shrub-covered hills. There was a hollow here that was deep
and thus hidden from view, and in this he told his men to sit and take
food. Meanwhile, scouts arrived confirming what the deserters had
said. The Romans then threw all their baggage together in their
midst, took up their weapons and advanced for the fight in regular
battle order. They were a mile away when they were spotted by
the enemy, and suddenly there was panic. Mago, too, came riding
up at a gallop from his camp as soon as the shouting and uproar
broke out.
There were in the army of the Celtiberians 4,000 heavy-armed
troops and 200 cavalry. These constituted a full legion, and were the
pick of their forces, and so Mago placed them in the front line,
setting the rest, the light-armed troops, in reserve. He then led them
all from the camp, formed up in this manner, and barely had they
gone beyond their palisade when the Romans hurled their javelins at
them. The Spaniards crouched down in the face of the enemy bar-
rage, and then rose to hurl theirs in turn. The Romans, in their usual
close formation, received them with shields locked tightly together;
then they closed in and proceeded to fight with the sword. However,
the broken ground rendered the speed of the Celtiberians, whose
practice it was to run to and fro in the fight, ineffectual, while at the
same time it did not disadvantage the Romans, who were used to
stationary combat. (The only problem for the Romans was that the
restricted space and clumps of bushes precluded keeping ranks and
imposed a pattern of fighting individually, or two-on-two, as in a
gladiatorial match.) And while the setting impeded the enemy
flight, it also delivered them up, as though bound hand and foot, to
slaughter. After nearly all the heavy-armed Celtiberians had been
dispatched, it was the turn of the light infantry, and the Carthagin-
ians who had come to their aid from the other camp, to be driven
back and cut down. A contingent of no more than 2,000 infantry,
and all the cavalry, fled the field with Mago when the battle had
barely got under way. The other commander, Hanno, was taken
alive, together with those who had arrived last on the field, when
the battle was already lost. Almost all the cavalry, and the older men
in the infantry, who followed the fleeing Mago, reached Hasdrubal
in the area of Gades nine days later. The Celtiberians, the new
recruits, slipped away into the woods close by and then scattered to
their homes.
450 book twenty-eight 207 bc
It was a timely victory. The war already stirred up was not termin-
ated by it, it is true, but the makings of a future war were terminated,
that is, the possibility that the Carthaginians, after rallying the
Celtiberian people, could incite further tribes to arms. Scipio warmly
praised Silanus, and now gained hope of finishing off the war, if he
did not himself hold up the campaign by postponing action. He
therefore marched on Hasdrubal in the furthest reaches of Spain,
where the last vestiges of the conflict still remained. The Carthaginian
general happened to have his camp in Baetica* to ensure the loyalty
of his allies, but he now suddenly pulled out, taking his troops
towards the ocean coast at Gades in what was more of a flight than a
march. He decided that he would always be threatened with attack as
long as he kept his army together, and so, before making the journey
through the strait* to Gades, he sent off his entire army to various
cities. Thus the men would have walls to defend them, and they
could defend the walls with their weapons.
3. Scipio saw that the theatre of war was now widely fragmented
and that taking his forces around to individual cities would be time-
consuming rather than difficult, and so he turned back. But, in order
not to leave the region in enemy hands, he sent his brother Lucius
Scipio with 10,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry to attack the wealthiest
city in those parts, which was called Orongis by the barbarians.* The
city lies in the lands of the Maesesses, a tribe of the Bastetani; it has
fertile soil and there is also some silver-mining there. This served as
Hasdrubal’s base for his raids on peoples living in the interior of the
country.
Scipio encamped close to the city, but before proceeding to the
circumvallation he sent men to the gates to parley with the inhabit-
ants at close quarters, to probe their feelings and urge them to try
out the friendship, rather than the might, of the Romans. The
response was not a friendly one, and so he surrounded the city with a
ditch and a double rampart. He then split his army into three divi-
sions, so as to have one always on the attack while the other two were
resting. When the first division commenced the attack, there was a
fierce fight which produced no clear result. Approaching the walls,
and bringing up ladders, as weapons rained down on them, was no
easy task. Even those who had managed to set up their ladders
against the wall were thrust down with forks made especially for the
purpose, or else had grappling irons thrown on them from above, so
207 bc chapters 2–4 451
that they faced the danger of being hoisted up and dragged on top of
the wall.
When Scipio realized that, because of his numerical inferiority,
the chances of victory were about even, and that the enemy had the
further advantage of fighting from their walls, he recalled the first
division and assaulted the town with the two others together. The
enemy were exhausted from fighting the first wave, and this tactic
struck so much fear into them that the townspeople suddenly fled
and abandoned the walls, while the Punic garrison, fearing the city
had been betrayed, left their posts and gathered together in one spot.
At that point the fear came over the townspeople that, if the
enemy entered the city, all those in their path would be indiscrimin-
ately butchered, whether they were Carthaginian or Spanish. And so
they suddenly threw open a gate and rushed from the town in large
numbers. They held out their shields before them for fear of being
the target of missiles thrown at long range, but showed their empty
right hands to make it clear that they had thrown their swords aside.
Whether this could not be seen because of the space between them,
or whether treachery was suspected is unclear, but the deserters
came under attack, and were cut down just as if they were a regular
battle line. Then, using the same gate, the troops took the fight into
the city; and at other points, too, gates were being hacked down and
broken open with axes and picks; and as each cavalryman entered, he
would gallop forward, following prior orders, to secure the forum.*
The cavalry had also been assigned a detachment of triarii as sup-
port; the legionaries made a sweep of the other areas of the city.
They did not loot, and did not kill any they met, except when they
met armed resistance. All the Carthaginians were put under guard,
as were about 300 of the townspeople who had closed the city gates.
The rest had the town put back in their hands and their property
returned. In the assault on that city there were about 2,000 enemy
casualties, and no more than 90 Roman.
4. Taking that particular town brought satisfaction to those
involved in the operation, but it also brought satisfaction to the
commander-in-chief and the rest of the army; and the men provided
a fine spectacle as they arrived driving a huge crowd of prisoners
before them. Scipio praised his brother in the most glowing terms,
comparing the capture of Orongis with his own capture of New
Carthage. But winter was now coming on, making it impossible for
452 book twenty-eight 207 bc
him to launch an assault on Gades, or hunt down Hasdrubal’s army,
scattered all over the province as it was, and he therefore led all his
forces back into Hither Spain. He then sent the legions off to their
winter quarters, and dispatched his brother Lucius to Rome, along
with the enemy commander Hanno and other prisoners of note.
After that he himself withdrew to Tarraco.
That same year a Roman fleet was sent across from Sicily to Africa
under the proconsul Marcus Valerius Laevinus, and this conducted
widespread raids on the countryside around Utica and Carthage.
Booty was actually taken off from around the very walls of Utica, on
the fringes of Carthaginian territory.* As the Romans were sailing
back to Sicily they were met by a Punic fleet of seventy warships.
Seventeen of the Carthaginian ships were captured, and four sunk
out at sea; the remainder of the fleet was driven back and put to flight.
Victors on land and sea, the Romans headed back to Lilybaeum,
carrying large quantities of plunder of every kind. The sea having
now been made safe by this defeat of the enemy fleet, supplies of
grain were shipped to Rome in large quantities.
5. The proconsul Publius Sulpicius and King Attalus passed the
winter on Aegina, as noted above,* and, at the beginning of the sum-
mer in which these events occurred, they crossed from there to
Lemnos with their fleets combined (there were twenty-five Roman
quinqueremes and thirty-five belonging to the king). Philip also
made a move. Wishing to be ready for any initiative on the part of his
foe, whether he had to meet him on land or sea, he came down in
person to the coast at Demetrias, and proclaimed a date for his army
to muster at Larisa.
At the news of the king’s coming, embassies from his allies con-
verged on Demetrias from all parts. This was because the Aetolians
had felt a surge of confidence thanks to their alliance with Rome, and
also after the arrival of Attalus, and were making predatory raids on
their neighbours. And the Acarnanians, Boeotians, and the inhabit-
ants of Euboea were not alone in feeling great alarm; so, too, did the
Achaeans who, apart from the Aetolian war, were also being intimi-
dated by the Spartan tyrant Machanidas, who was encamped not far
from the borders of Argos. All these allies gave an account of the
dangers threatening their various cities by land and sea, and made a
plea for assistance from the king.
Even the reports from Philip’s own kingdom indicated no peaceful
207 bc chapters 4–5 453
state of affairs there. Scerdilaedus and Pleuratus were up in arms, he
was told, and some of the Thracian tribes, especially the Maedi,*
would overrun the parts of Macedonia closest to them should the king
be preoccupied with a long war. The Boeotians and peoples of the
interior of Greece were also reporting that the pass at Thermopylae,
at the point where the road is restricted in a narrow defile, was being
blocked by the Aetolians with a ditch and a palisade in order to deny
Philip passage to defend the cities of his allies.
Even a listless commander would have been galvanized to action
by so many emergencies all round him. Philip dismissed the embassies
with a promise to bring assistance to them all as time and circum-
stances permitted. Peparethus was, for the moment, the most press-
ing item on his agenda––word had come from there that Attalus had
taken a fleet across from Lemnos and had laid waste all the country-
side around the city––and he sent a garrison to protect the town.
He also sent Polyphantas with a modest force into Boeotia, and to
Chalcis he sent an officer of his royal guard, Menippus, with a
thousand peltasts (the pelta is a shield not unlike the caetra). Menip-
pus was given an additional force of 500 Agrianes to enable him to
defend all areas of the island.
Philip himself left for Scotussa, and gave orders for Macedonian
troops to be brought over to that town from Larisa. At Scotussa it
was reported to him that a council meeting of the Aetolians had
been scheduled at Heraclea, and that King Attalus would be coming
to discuss with them the overall direction of the war. Philip then led
his troops by forced marches to Heraclea in order to disrupt the
meeting by suddenly appearing on the scene. The meeting had, in
fact, been adjourned before his arrival; but the crops in the fields
were close to ripeness, and, before leading his troops back to Sco-
tussa, Philip made a thorough job of destroying them, especially
along the Gulf of the Aenianes.* He then left his entire army at
Scotussa, and withdrew to Demetrias with only his royal guard.
After that, to enable him to counter any enemy move, he sent men
into Phocis, Euboea, and Peparethus to pick out elevated locations
from which beacons would be visible. Philip himself installed a look-
out post on Tisaeus, a mountain with an enormously high peak, so
that from fires raised at distant points he could in a moment receive
intelligence on any of his enemy’s operations.
The Roman commander and King Attalus sailed from Peparethus
454 book twenty-eight 207 bc
over to Nicaea, and from there they moved the fleet across to the city
of Oreus in Euboea. (When one leaves the Gulf of Demetrias head-
ing for Chalcis and Euripus, Oreus is the first of the Euboean cities
on the left-hand side.) An arrangement was made between Attalus
and Sulpicius that the Romans would make the attack from the sea,
and the king’s forces would do so by land. 6. It was three days after
the fleet put in that they commenced their assault on the city; the
intervening time had been spent on secret discussions with Plator,
who had been put in command of the city by Philip.
The city has two citadels, one overlooking the sea and the other in
the centre of town. From the latter a road leads down to the sea by an
underground passageway, and at that time it was safeguarded where
it reached the sea by a first-rate defence-work, a five-storey tower. It
was in this sector that fierce fighting first broke out: the tower had
been equipped with projectiles of all kinds, and in addition artillery
and siege-engines had been put ashore from the ships for an attack
on it. While the struggle diverted everyone’s attention, and all were
looking on, Plator let in the Romans through the gate of the citadel
that was beside the sea, and the citadel was taken in a moment. The
townspeople, driven back, headed for the other citadel in the city
centre––and there men had been posted to close the gate on them.
Shut out like that, they were cut down or captured between the two
citadels. The Macedonian garrison stood massed together beneath
the wall of the citadel; it had not run off in panic, but it had not
joined the battle with determination either. With Sulpicius’ permis-
sion, Plator put the men aboard some ships and set them ashore at
Demetrium in Phthiotis.* Plator himself then went back to join
Attalus.
Emboldened by his easy success at Oreus, Sulpicius immediately
headed for Chalcis with his victorious fleet, but there the result in no
way matched his expectations. Here the sea forms a channel, wide at
both extremities but then becoming a narrow strait, giving anyone
first looking at it the impression of a double harbour with two
mouths at opposite ends––but one would be hard pressed to find a
more inhospitable mooring for a fleet. From the high mountains on
both sides sudden squalls come rushing down. In addition, the actual
strait, the Euripus, does not ebb and flow seven times daily at regular
intervals, as people say; rather, surging this way and that as
capriciously as a wind, it hurtles along like a torrent on a sheer
207 bc chapters 5–7 455
mountainside. As a result, night or day, there is no calm mooring for
ships.
The fleet faced not only an inhospitable anchorage, but also a town
that was unflinching in its resolve and impregnable. It was enclosed
on one side by the sea, while on the landward side it was superbly
fortified and well secured, thanks to its strong garrison and espe-
cially to its steadfast officers and dignitaries––so different from
Oreus with its wavering and fleeting loyalties. It had been a foolhardy
enterprise, and the Roman now showed good judgement. Taking
account of the difficulties involved and not wishing to waste time, he
swiftly abandoned the venture and moved his fleet across to Cynus in
Locris. Cynus serves as the mercantile centre of the city of Opus,
and lies a mile from the sea.
7. Philip had been sent warning of this move by the beacon signals
from Oreus but, thanks to the treachery of Plator, they had been put
up on the lookout too late for him to react; in addition, he was
outclassed in naval strength, which made it difficult for his fleet to
reach the island. Because of the time that had been lost, he aban-
doned the attempt, instead moving swiftly to relieve Chalcis, when
he received the signal. Chalcis is also, in fact, a city on the same
island, but the strait by which it is separated from the mainland is so
narrow that it is linked by a bridge, which makes access to it easier by
land than by sea.
Philip therefore advanced from Demetrias to Scotussa, and then
left Scotussa at the third watch. He successfully dislodged and put
to flight the Aetolian garrison blockading the pass at Thermopylae,
driving his panic-stricken enemy into Heraclea, and then, in the
space of a single day, he marched more than sixty miles to Elatia in
Phocis.*
It was on that day, too, or thereabouts, that the city of Opus was
being sacked by King Attalus after its capture. Sulpicius had con-
ceded the rights to the booty from the city to the king because, a few
days earlier, Oreus* had been sacked by the Roman soldiery, with the
king’s men having no part in it. The Roman fleet then retired to
Oreus, but Attalus, unaware of Philip’s approach, continued to frit-
ter away time extorting money out of the important citizens of Opus.
So unexpected was Philip’s attack that Attalus might well have been
overwhelmed but for a number of Cretans, who, it happened, had
gone quite some distance from the city in search of forage, and had
456 book twenty-eight 207 bc
spotted the enemy column in the distance. Attalus’ men were with-
out weapons and out of formation. They made a disordered rush
towards the sea and their ships, and, as they were trying to unmoor
the ships, Philip came on the scene, causing great confusion among
the sailors, even from the shoreline. Philip then returned to Opus,
railing against gods and men for his having lost the opportunity of
such a rich prize, an opportunity filched from him almost before his
eyes. The people of Opus were also subjected to his resentful outburst.
They could have held out against the siege until his arrival, he said,
instead of practically conceding defeat at the first sight of the enemy.
After settling affairs at Opus, Philip left for Torone.* Attalus also
left the area. Initially he went to Oreus, but when it was reported to
him that King Prusias of Bithynia had invaded his kingdom, he
abandoned his Roman venture and the Aetolian War, and sailed to
Asia. As for Sulpicius, he withdrew his fleet to Aegina, his point of
departure at the start of spring.
Philip had no greater difficulty taking Torone than Attalus had
had in taking Opus. The town was inhabited by refugees from
Phthiotic Thebes who, when their city had been captured by Philip,
had thrown themselves on the mercy of the Aetolians. The Aetolians
had then given them a home in this city, which had been laid waste
and left deserted after an earlier war, also fought against Philip. After
his recovery of Torone, which was just mentioned, Philip left the
town, and took Tithronion and Drumiae, small towns of little con-
sequence in Doris. He then came to Elatia, having already issued
orders for representatives from Ptolemy and the Rhodians to await
him there.
At Elatia there was some discussion of ending the Aetolian War;
for the representatives had recently attended the council of the
Romans and Aetolians at Heraclea. During the discussion news was
brought that Machanidas had decided to attack the Eleans while they
were preparing to celebrate the Olympic Games. Philip thought this
should be his top priority, and so he dismissed the representatives
with the accommodating answer that he had not been responsible for
the war, and he would not stand in the way of peace, provided that it
could be concluded on equable and honourable terms. After that he
set off with a lightly equipped column, coming down through Boeo-
tia to Megara and then Corinth. At Corinth he picked up supplies
and headed for Phlius and Pheneus. Reaching Heraea, he heard that
207 bc chapters 7–8 457
Machanidas, alarmed at news of his coming, had beaten a retreat
back to Sparta, and the king therefore withdrew to Aegium to attend
the council of the Achaeans. Philip also thought that he would
find at Aegium the Punic fleet that he had sent for in the hope of
making some gains by sea. The Carthaginians had, however, left for
the Oxeae Islands a few days earlier, and had then headed for the
Acarnanian ports when they heard that Attalus and the Romans had
set off from Oreus. They were afraid that, if they were attacked
within the strait of Rhium (that is, the narrowest point within the
Corinthian Gulf), they would be crushed.
8. Philip was upset and annoyed. He had moved rapidly in every
case, he reflected, and yet had failed to be on time for any of these
emergencies; and fortune had scoffed at his swiftness by sweeping
away every opportunity out of his view. In the meeting, however,
he concealed his bitterness and spoke with a confident optimism. He
called gods and men to witness that in no place and at no time had he
failed to head, as fast as was humanly possible, to wherever the clash
of the enemy’s weapons had been heard. In fact, he said, it was
difficult to decide which was greater, his spirit for fighting the war,
or his enemy’s wish to flee from it. Hence Attalus’ slipping through
his fingers at Opus and Sulpicius at Chalcis, and now, in the past few
days, Machanidas, too. But one does not always succeed in running
away, and, anyway, a war cannot be considered arduous in which one
achieves victory merely by coming into contact with the enemy. The
most important factor, he said, was that he now had the enemy’s
admission that they were no match for him. He would soon have a
clear victory, and the enemy would find their fight with him no more
successful than they themselves expected.
His allies were pleased with the king’s address. Philip then turned
Heraea and Triphylia over to the Achaeans, but restored Aliphera to
the people of Megalopolis because they provided adequate evidence
that it had been part of their territory. After that he crossed to
Anticyra with some ships furnished to him by the Achaeans (three
quadriremes and the same number of biremes). From there he put to
sea with seven quinqueremes and more than twenty skiffs––these he
had earlier sent into the Corinthian Gulf to join the Carthaginian
fleet––and landed at Erythrae, an Aetolian town close to Eupalius.
He did not take the Aetolians by surprise. All the men in the fields,
or in the nearby fortresses of Potidania and Apollonia, fled into the
458 book twenty-eight 207 bc
forests and hills, but in their haste they were unable to drive off with
them their farm animals, which were taken as booty and put aboard
the ships. Philip sent Nicias, the praetor of the Achaeans, to Aegium
with the livestock and the rest of the plunder. He then proceeded to
Corinth, and from there had his land forces taken overland through
Boeotia.
Philip himself set sail from Cenchreae and, skirting Attica and
rounding Sunium, arrived at Chalcis, virtually passing through the
midst of enemy fleets. He had high praise for the townspeople’s
loyalty and courage––neither fear nor selfish hopes had swayed
them, he said––and he urged them to remain committed to their
alliance in future, if they preferred their lot to that of the peoples of
Oreus and Opus. He next sailed from Chalcis to Oreus, where he put
the government, and defence of the city, in the hands of those of its
leading citizens who, when the city was taken, had chosen flight over
surrender to the Romans. After that he crossed from Euboea to
Demetrias, from which he had first set off to bring aid to his allies.
At Cassandrea Philip then laid down the keels for fifty warships,
and assembled shipwrights in large numbers to complete the work.
Attalus’ departure and the timely assistance Philip had himself
brought to his beleaguered allies had now left conditions tranquil in
Greece, and so he retired to his kingdom to begin hostilities against
the Dardanians.
9. At the end of the summer during which this took place in
Greece, Quintus Fabius, son of Quintus Fabius Maximus, was sent
by the consul Marcus Livius as his representative to the Senate in
Rome. Fabius reported to the Senate that the consul believed Lucius
Porcius and his legions were sufficient protection for his province of
Gaul, and that he personally could leave the province and the con-
sular army could be withdrawn. The senators then not only ordered
Marcus Livius to return to the city, but ordered his colleague Gaius
Claudius Nero to do so, as well. The only difference in the instruc-
tions for the two was that Marcus Livius’ army was to be brought
back, while Nero’s legions that were facing Hannibal were to remain
in his sphere of authority. The consuls had agreed through cor-
respondence that, as they had one policy in their conduct of matters
of state, so they would reach the city at one and the same moment,
despite coming from opposite directions. Whoever reached Prae-
neste first was under orders to await his colleague there.
207 bc chapters 8–9 459
It transpired that the two men reached Praeneste on the same day.
From there, they sent ahead official notification for the Senate to
hold a plenary session at the temple of Bellona three days hence, and
then they came towards the city, where the whole population came
streaming out to meet them. It was not simply a case of people
milling around them and greeting them; they all wanted to touch the
victorious sword-arms of the consuls, some offering words of con-
gratulation, others expressions of gratitude because, thanks to them,
the state had been saved. In the Senate the consuls, following the
practice of all commanders, gave an account of their achievements,
and then requested, as their due for their energetic and successful
conduct of state affairs, that honour be paid to the immortal gods,
and that they be permitted to enter the city in triumph. The senators
replied that they were certainly ready to grant their requests, in
recognition of the services of the gods first of all, then of the consuls.
And so public thanksgiving in the names of the two men, and a
triumph for them, were officially sanctioned, but an arrangement
was made between the consuls that, since their military operation
had been a cooperative effort, they would not hold separate tri-
umphs. The triumphant exploit, it was noted, had taken place in
Marcus Livius’ province, and the auspices also happened to be
Livius’ on the day of the battle. In addition, Livius’ army had been
brought back to Rome, while Nero’s could not be taken out of his
province. Accordingly the agreement was that the soldiers should
follow Marcus Livius, who would enter the city in a four-horse
chariot, and Gaius Claudius would ride in on a horse, and without
soldiers.
The sharing of the triumph in this way enhanced the renown of
both men, but more so that of the one who conceded recognition to
the other while surpassing him in merit. That man on the horse,
people would say, raced the whole length of Italy in the space of
six days, and, on the day on which he fought a pitched battle with
Hasdrubal in Gaul, he had Hannibal believing that he was encamped
opposite him in Apulia. So, they reasoned, one consul had defended
both halves of Italy and faced two commanders who were superb
generals, using his strategy to combat one and meeting the other in
the flesh. Nero’s name had sufficed to keep Hannibal pinned down
in his camp, they said, and what had overthrown and destroyed
Hasdrubal if not that man’s arrival on the scene? So the other consul
460 book twenty-eight 207 bc
could ride high in his many-horsed chariot if he wished, but it was
on one horse that this triumphal procession was really travelling
through the city. Even if he were on foot, it would be Nero who
would remain in people’s minds, they said, thanks to the glory he
won in that war, or his disregard for it in that triumph.
Such were the comments from spectators,* who attended Nero all
the way to the Capitol. The money the consuls brought to the treas-
ury amounted to 3,000,000 sesterces and 90,000 bronze asses. Marcus
Livius gave each of his soldiers 56 asses, and Gaius Claudius prom-
ised to give his own men, now absent, the same amount when he
returned to his army. It has been observed that, when the soldiers
engaged in their banter,* Gaius Claudius was on that day the butt of
more songs than was their own consul. It has also been noted that the
equites had high praise for the legates Lucius Veturius and Quintus
Caecilius, whom they urged the plebs to make the following year’s
consuls, and that the consuls threw their weight behind this early
recommendation of the equites. For the next day, at an assembly of
the people, they commented on the courageous and loyal services
that they had received from the two legates in particular.
10. As election time was approaching and it had been decided that
the elections would be held by a dictator, the consul Gaius Claudius
appointed his colleague Marcus Livius dictator, and Livius in turn
appointed Quintus Caecilius master of horse.* Lucius Veturius and
Quintus Caecilius, who was also master of horse at the time, were
duly declared consuls elect by the dictator Marcus Livius. The prae-
torian elections were held next, and the men elected were: Gaius
Servilius, Marcus Caecilius Metellus, Tiberius Claudius Asellus,
and Quintus Mamilius Turrinus, who was at the time a plebeian
aedile. The elections completed, the dictator resigned his office, dis-
banded his army, and, in accordance with a senatorial decree, left for
Etruria, which was to be his sphere of responsibility. Here he was to
hold enquiries into which peoples of Etruria and Umbria had con-
sidered seceding from the Romans to Hasdrubal when he was due to
arrive in the area, and which had helped Hasdrubal with troops,
supplies, or in any other way. Such were that year’s events at home
and abroad.
The Roman Games were repeated three times in their entirety by
the curule aediles Gnaeus Servilius Caepio and Servius Cornelius
Lentulus. The Plebeian Games were also once repeated in their
207–206 bc chapters 9–11 461
entirety by the plebeian aediles Marcus Pomponius Matho and
Quintus Mamilius Turrinus.
In the thirteenth year of the Punic War, the consuls Lucius Veturius
Philo and Quintus Caecilius Metellus were both assigned Bruttium
as their area of responsibility so they could continue operations
against Hannibal. In the praetorian sortition that followed, Marcus
Caecilius Metellus received the urban jurisdiction, Quintus Mamilius
the foreigners’ jurisdiction, Gaius Servilius Sicily, and Tiberius
Claudius Sardinia.
The distribution of the armies was as follows. To one of the
consuls went the army that Gaius Claudius* had commanded as con-
sul the previous year, and to the other that which Quintus Claudius
had commanded as propraetor––two legions, in each case. In Etruria,
the proconsul Marcus Livius was to take over the two legions of slave
volunteers from the propraetor Gaius Terentius (Livius had already
received a year’s extension to his imperium). It was further decided
that Quintus Mamilius should transfer his jurisdiction to his col-
league, and take over Gaul, along with the army that Lucius Porcius
had commanded as praetor. Mamilius had orders to lay waste the
agricultural lands of the Gauls who had defected when Hasdrubal
arrived. Gaius Servilius was, like the previous governor Gaius
Mamilius, assigned the task of defending Sicily with the two legions
from Cannae. The old army that Aulus Hostilius had commanded
was shipped out of Sardinia, and the consuls raised a new legion
which Tiberius Claudius was to take over with him to the island.
Extensions of imperium were accorded to Quintus Claudius and Gaius
Hostilius Tubulo so that they could have Tarentum and Capua
respectively as their spheres of authority. The proconsul Marcus
Valerius, who had overseen the defence of the coastline of Sicily, was
instructed to transfer thirty ships to the praetor Gaius Servilius, and
return to the city with the rest of his fleet.
11. In the suspense that gripped the city at such a critical juncture
of the war, people attributed every incident, favourable or unfavour-
able, to divine intervention, and portents were reported in large
numbers. At Tarracina the temple of Jupiter was said to have been
struck by lightning, at Satricum the temple of Mater Matuta. No
less frightening for the people of Satricum were two snakes that
slithered into the temple of Jupiter, actually entering by the door.
From Antium came news that men harvesting wheat thought the
462 book twenty-eight 206 bc
ears of wheat were bloodstained. At Caere a two-headed pig was
born, and a lamb that was both male and female. At Alba, it was said,
two suns had been seen, and at Fregellae daylight appeared during
the night. In the area of Rome it was claimed that an ox had talked,
that in the Circus Flaminius the altar of Neptune had sweated pro-
fusely, and that the temples of Ceres, Salus, and Quirinus had been
struck by lightning.
The consuls were instructed to use full-grown victims to expiate
these prodigies, and to hold a single day of public prayer, and this
was carried out in accordance with a decree of the Senate. But what
frightened people more than all the prodigies, whether reported
from outside the city or seen at home, was the fire going out in the
temple of Vesta (for which the Vestal who had been on watch that
night received a flogging at the order of the pontiff Publius Licinus).
Although this was the result of human negligence, and was not a
divinely sent portent, it was still decided that atonement should be
made with full-grown victims and that public prayers should be
offered at the temple of Vesta.*
Before leaving for the war, the consuls were urged by the Senate to
take measures to bring the plebeians back to the land. Thanks to
heaven’s blessing, said the Senate, the conflict had been removed
from the city of Rome and from Latium, making it possible to live in
the countryside without fear; and it was absurd to pay more attention
to Sicilian agriculture than Italian.* But this was no easy matter for
the people. Free farmers had been swept away by the war; there was
a shortage of slave labour; livestock had been plundered; farmhouses
had been destroyed and burned. Even so, under the pressure of
consular authority, large numbers did return to the land. Discussion
of the issue had been prompted by complaints made by delegations
from Placentia and Cremona that their agricultural land was being
raided and pillaged by their Gallic neighbours. Most of their colon-
ists had disappeared, they said, and they were now left with sparsely
populated cities and countryside that was a desolate wilderness. The
praetor Mamilius was given the responsibility of protecting the
colonies against the enemy, and in accordance with a decree of the
Senate the consuls gave official notice that all citizens of Cremona
and Placentia were to return to their colonies by a specified date.
Then, at the start of spring, the consuls themselves also left for
the war. The consul Quintus Caecilius assumed leadership of Gaius
206 bc chapters 11–12 463
Nero’s army, and Lucius Veturius that of the propraetor Quintus
Claudius, making up its numbers with soldiers he had enrolled him-
self. The consuls marched their troops into the territory of Consentia.
This they plundered far and wide, but the column, now heavily laden
with booty, was set upon by some Bruttians and some Numidian
javelin-throwers in a narrow pass, putting at risk not only the men
with the plunder but anyone carrying arms as well.* However, it was
more of a brawl than a battle, and after sending the booty ahead the
legions reached cultivated land without losses. From there they set
off into Lucania, where the entire population once more accepted its
submission to the Roman people without a fight.
12. There was no encounter with Hannibal that year. After the
recent blow that had fallen both on his country and on him person-
ally, he did not offer battle, and while he remained inactive the
Romans did not provoke him. Such were the powers they thought
that one leader possessed, even if all else was falling apart around
him! And I am inclined to think the man was more admirable in
adversity than when things were going well for him.* He had been
fighting a war in his enemy’s country, so far from home, over a period
of thirteen years, with mixed success. He had an army that was not
made up of his own countrymen, but was a mixture scraped together
from all nations with no shared features in terms of law, culture, or
language; they were dissimilar in appearance and in dress, with dif-
ferent arms, religious rites and practices, and almost with different
gods. But he fused them together with some sort of bond, so success-
fully that there was never any seditious behaviour, either amongst the
men themselves or towards their commander, despite the fact that in
enemy territory Hannibal was often short of money for their pay and
short of provisions as well. In the First Punic War there had been
atrocious incidents involving the commanders and the men because
of the lack of such things. Hannibal’s hope of victory had rested
entirely in Hasdrubal and his army, and when they were wiped out,
and Hannibal abandoned the rest of Italy, retiring into a corner of
the country in Bruttium, who could not find it amazing that there
was no mutiny in his camp? For, in addition to everything else, there
was the further problem that the only way he could hope to feed his
army was from the farmland of the Bruttii, and this, even were it
all under cultivation, was too small to feed a force of such magni-
tude. Furthermore, most young men had been swept away from
464 book twenty-eight 206 bc
agriculture by the war, which kept them otherwise employed, as had
the inbred practice of their nation of merging their military activities
with marauding. And no supplies were being sent to him from home,
either, since the Carthaginians were preoccupied with maintaining
their hold on Spain, as though all was proceeding well in Italy.
In Spain, things were in one way going much the same as in Italy,
in another very differently. They were the same inasmuch as the
Carthaginians had been defeated in the field with the loss of their
commander, and had been pushed back all the way to the ocean on
the farthest coast of the country. But they were also different in that
Spain, thanks to its geography and the character of its people, was a
country better fitted not just than Italy, but than any other part of the
world, for reviving a flagging war. That is why Spain was the first of
the provinces acquired by the Romans, at least on the mainland, but
the very last to be totally subdued––which did not, in fact, happen
until our day, under the command and auspices of Augustus Caesar.*
Hasdrubal son of Gisgo, who was the greatest and most famous
Carthaginian leader after the Barcas, had at that time returned from
Gades in hopes of renewing hostilities. With the assistance of Mago
son of Hamilcar he held troop-levies throughout Further Spain and
put under arms roughly 50,000 infantry and 4,500 cavalry. On the
number of mounted troops there is pretty much agreement amongst
the sources; some, however, record a total of 70,000 infantry being
brought to the city of Silpia.* It was at Silpia that the two Punic
commanders took up a position on the open plains, determined not
to refuse the offer of battle.
13. When Scipio was brought the information that this enormous
army had been assembled, he thought he would be no match for such
overwhelming numbers with his Roman legions unless he offered at
least a show of strength by putting his barbarian auxiliaries into the
field against them. On the other hand, he felt he should not have to
depend on them for so much of his strength that their switching
sides would be a crucial factor––it was this that had been the undoing
of his father and uncle. He therefore sent Silanus ahead to Culchas,*
who ruled over twenty-eight towns, to obtain from him the cavalry
and infantry he had promised to raise over the winter. Scipio himself
left Tarraco and came directly to Castulo, picking up small groups of
auxiliaries, as he went along, from allies living along his route. At
Castulo he was met by the auxiliary troops that Silanus brought,
206 bc chapters 12–14 465
which numbered 3,000 infantry and 500 cavalry. From there he went
ahead to the city of Baecula with his entire army, which now numbered
45,000 men, citizens and allies, infantry and cavalry.*
As Scipio’s men were establishing their camp, Mago and Masi-
nissa charged them with their entire cavalry force. They could have
caused serious problems for the men engaged in the defence-works
had it not been for the sudden appearance of some Roman cavalry
who had been concealed by Scipio behind a hill that was conveni-
ently situated for this purpose. These now charged the enemy cavalry,
who were out of formation, and right at the start of the engagement
drove off the most adventurous of them, those who had ridden up
closest to the earthwork and even advanced amongst the men
engaged in its construction. The fight with the others, however, who
had come forward in formation and in marching order, was more
drawn out, and long remained indecisive. But then light-armed
cohorts were brought back from the Roman outposts and the men at
work on the defences were withdrawn and ordered to take up their
weapons. More and more appeared on the scene, fresh men relieving
the exhausted, until there was a large body of soldiers charging into
battle from the camp, and after that the Carthaginians and Numidians
were quite clearly in retreat. They began by disengaging in squad-
rons, with no panic or haste disrupting the ranks, but then the
Romans started to put greater pressure on their rear, and withstand-
ing the assault became impossible. With no thought now for their
formation, they ran off in all directions, taking the shortest possible
route. The morale of the Romans was considerably raised by the
battle, and that of the enemy correspondingly diminished, but even
so for a number of days after that there were persistent sallies made by
the cavalry and light infantry on both sides.
14. When the strength of the two sides had been sufficiently tested
in such mêlées, it was Hasdrubal who first led his troops into the
battlefield, and then the Romans also marched forward to face them.
But the two lines simply stood in formation before their respective
earthworks, and no attempt to engage was made by either side. And
so, when the day was coming to an end, the commanders marched
their troops back to camp, the Carthaginian first, then the Roman.
This sequence of events repeated itself for several days. The
Carthaginian would always be the first to lead his troops from camp,
and the first to sound recall when they were weary of being on their
466 book twenty-eight 206 bc
feet. There was no charge, no spear thrown, and no battle-cry raised
on either side. In the one line the Romans formed the centre, in the
other a mixture of Carthaginian and African troops, and in both
armies the allies were on the wings (there were Spaniards on both
sides). Before the wings of the Carthaginian line stood the elephants,
which, from a distance, looked like castles.*
By now the word in both camps was that they were going to fight
the battle deployed as they had stood. The two centres, composed
respectively of Roman and Carthaginian troops, who were the people
responsible for the war, would meet each other, with morale and
strength evenly matched on the two sides. When Scipio saw that this
notion had taken a firm hold, he deliberately changed his entire
formation for the day on which he intended to engage. In the even-
ing he passed a tablet through the camp, ordering men and horses
alike to be prepared and fed before dawn. Cavalrymen, under arms,
were to hold their horses bridled and saddled.*
Day had barely dawned when Scipio hurled his entire cavalry and
light infantry against the Carthaginian forward posts. He then
immediately advanced with his heavy-armed troops, the legionaries,
but, contrary to what his own men and the enemy had been firmly
expecting, he had strengthened the wings with Roman soldiers and
drawn the allies away into the centre. Hasdrubal, startled by the
shouting of the Roman horsemen, charged from his tent, and when
he saw the mêlée before his earthwork, his own men in a panic, the
legionary standards glittering in the distance, and the plain filled
with the enemy, he unleashed his entire cavalry force against the
cavalry of the enemy. He himself marched from the camp with his
infantry column, but, in deploying his line, he made no change from
the usual order.
The cavalry fight remained indecisive for a long while and in fact
a decision could not be reached between them because as each side
was driven back, which happened almost on an alternating basis,
they could retire to safety in their infantry line. But when the infan-
try lines were no more than half a mile distant from each other,
Scipio signalled the recall to the cavalry and, opening the ranks,
brought all the cavalry and light infantry into the centre of his force.
Making two divisions of them, he set them in reserve behind the
wings.
After that, when it was now time to commence the battle, Scipio
206 bc chapters 14–15 467
ordered the Spaniards, who formed the centre of the line, to advance
at a measured pace. From the right wing, where he was in command,
he sent a messenger to Silanus and Marcius to instruct them to
lengthen their wing leftwards, as they saw him extend his to the
right, and to engage the enemy with their light infantry and cavalry
before the centres could meet. The two wings were accordingly
extended by the addition to each of three cohorts of infantry,* and
three cavalry squadrons, and of some skirmishers as well, and with
these they advanced swiftly, the rest of the troops following at an
angle. The line thus arched in the centre, where the Spanish troops
were advancing more slowly.*
The wings had now come to grips with each other, but the veteran
Carthaginians and the Africans, the strength of the enemy army, had
not even reached the point where they could throw their spears. And
yet they did not dare run to the wings to help their comrades there
engaged since they were afraid of leaving the centre of the line open
to those enemy troops heading straight for them. The wings mean-
while were under serious pressure on two fronts. The Roman cavalry,
light infantry, and skirmishers had outflanked them, and were
making side-on attacks; and the cohorts were bearing down on them
in front, hoping to detach them from the rest of the line.
15. It was now a very uneven fight in every sector, mostly because
a crowd of Balearic islanders and fresh Spanish recruits were pitted
against Roman and Latin soldiery. In addition, as the day progressed,
Hasdrubal’s army began to lose strength. The men had been sub-
jected to a lightning attack in the morning, and then had been forced
to join the battle line quickly before they could take food to give
them stamina. And indeed this was why Scipio had deliberately
delayed matters to ensure that the fighting would take place late in
the day, for it was only at the seventh hour that the infantry contin-
gents charged from the wings. It was much later that the battle
actually reached the centre, and the result was that the heat of the
midday sun, the fatigue of standing under arms, and hunger and
thirst all took their toll on the Carthaginians before they even
came to grips with their enemy. So they simply stood there, support-
ing themselves on their shields. On top of everything else, there
were also the elephants. These were driven to distraction by the
cavalry, skirmishers, and light infantry with their frenzied manner of
fighting, and they had moved from the wings into the centre.
468 book twenty-eight 206 bc
As a result the Carthaginians, physically and psychologically
exhausted, backed away, though they still preserved their ranks; it
was as if the line were withdrawing, unbroken, at the commander’s
order. But when the victors observed that the battle had tilted in
their favour, they piled on the pressure all the more fiercely from
every side. Resisting these assaults was not easy, although Hasdrubal
made every effort to try to hold the men back and stem their retreat by
crying out that they had a safe haven in the hills to their rear if they
withdrew gradually. Fear overpowered their sense of honour, how-
ever, and all those closest to the foe began to give ground; then
suddenly they all turned and rushed off in flight. They halted first at
the lower slopes of the hills, at which point the Romans hesitated to
march their troops up a hill that was facing them, and the Carthagin-
ian officers began to call their men back into position. But then the
sight of the enemy standards advancing resolutely towards them
made them resume their flight, and they were driven back in panic
into their camp. The Romans were not far from the enemy earthwork
and with their relentless thrust forward would have taken the camp,
but for a downpour that followed a period of that blazing sunshine
which emanates from gaps in clouds that are heavy with rain. So
heavy was the rain that the victors had difficulty making it back to
their own camp, and some were also prey to religious qualms about
undertaking further operations that day.
The Carthaginians were weak from their exertions and their
wounds, and the stormy night was calling them to a rest they sorely
needed; but the fearful danger they faced permitted them no time to
relax, as the enemy were sure to attack the camp at dawn. They built
up their earthwork with stones that they accumulated from all the
gullies in the surrounding area, hoping to defend themselves with
fortifications, since they could not count on their weapons for
adequate protection. But then the desertion of their allies made
flight appear a safer prospect than staying where they were.
The defections began with Attenes, chieftain of the Turdetani,*
who deserted with a large number of his people; then two fortified
towns were betrayed* to the Romans, along with their garrisons, by
the garrison commanders. Faced with this tendency to revolt, Has-
drubal wished to stop the rot spreading further and struck camp the
following night when all was quiet.
16. When, at dawn, men in his forward posts reported that the
206 bc chapters 15–16 469
enemy were gone, Scipio sent his cavalry ahead and ordered the main
force to get under way. The men were marched along at such a rapid
pace that, had their pursuit kept strictly to the enemy’s tracks, they
would unquestionably have overtaken the fugitives. Instead, they
accepted the assurance of the guides that there was a shorter route to
the River Baetis which would enable them to fall on the enemy as
they made the crossing.
Finding that his way over the river was shut off, Hasdrubal veered
towards the ocean, and from this point the Carthaginians’ disordered
retreat resembled a flight, which put some distance between them
and the Roman legions. But the Roman cavalry and light infantry
kept harassing them and slowing them down by attacking their rear
or flanks. The Carthaginians would halt to counter these repeated
assaults, engaging the enemy cavalry at one moment, and their skir-
mishers and auxiliary infantry the next; and meanwhile the legions
appeared on the scene. After that it was no longer a battle; it was
more like animals being slaughtered––until their leader authorized
flight by personally making off to the nearest hills with approxi-
mately 6,000 poorly armed men. The rest were cut down or taken
prisoner.
The Carthaginian fugitives hurriedly fortified a makeshift camp
on the highest of the hills, and from there they had little difficulty in
defending themselves since the enemy’s attempts to climb the steep
incline came to nothing. But a siege of even a few days in the desolate
and barren environment was impossible to endure, and this set off
desertions to the enemy. Eventually, since the sea was not far distant,
the commander himself had ships sent to him,* abandoned his army,
and fled to Gades by night.
When told of the enemy commander’s flight, Scipio left 10,000
infantry and 1,000 cavalry with Silanus to continue the siege of the
camp, and himself returned to Tarraco with the rest of his troops.
The march took seventy days,* as he was examining en route the cases
of chieftains and communities, so that rewards could be assigned on
the basis of an accurate assessment of their services. After Scipio’s
departure, Masinissa had a secret meeting with Silanus, and then,
wishing also to have his people accept his new programme, he
crossed to Africa with a few of his compatriots. The reason for his
suddenly changing sides was not clear at the time; but that his actions
did have reasonable motivation even at that point was subsequently
470 book twenty-eight 206 bc
demonstrated by the fact that he remained staunchly loyal to Rome
right down to his last years. Mago then headed for Gades in the ships
that Hasdrubal sent back; the others, abandoned by their leaders,
either deserted or fled, and became dispersed amongst the neigh-
bouring communities. No force of any significance in terms of
numbers or strength now remained.
This was basically how the Carthaginians, thanks to Publius
Scipio’s leadership and under his auspices, were driven from Spain,
in the fourteenth year from the commencement of the war, and the
fifth from Publius Scipio’s acceptance of the province with its army.*
Not long afterwards, Silanus returned to Scipio at Tarraco with the
news that his operation had been successfully concluded.
17. Lucius Scipio was sent to Rome, with a large number of noble
prisoners of war in his charge, to report that Spain had been brought
to heel. The reaction to the news was general jubilation and pride,
except in the case of the man responsible for it. Scipio, who had an
insatiable appetite for deeds of courage and true glory, thought the
recovery of Spain was little compared with the goal on which his
hopes and noble aspirations were focused. He already had his eyes
set on Africa and the great Carthage, and he saw that campaign as
the crowning glory that would assure him eminence and fame.
Thinking therefore that he should do some preparatory work, and
garner the support of kings and nations, he determined to sound out
King Syphax first.
Syphax was the king of the Masaesulians.* The Masaesulians, a
people situated next to the Mauri, face just that part of Spain where
New Carthage lies. At that point the king had a treaty with the
Carthaginians, but Scipio believed that he would consider this no
more important or inviolable than barbarians generally would, their
loyalty always being dependent on the vicissitudes of fortune. He
therefore sent Gaius Laelius to Syphax as his spokesman, bearing
some gifts. The barbarian was pleased with the gifts, and because the
Romans were doing well in every sector, while the Carthaginians
were doing badly in Italy and had completely failed in Spain, he
agreed to accept a pact of friendship from the Romans. He added the
stipulation, however, that the exchange of promises to ratify the pact
had to be done with the Roman commander in person. Laelius there-
fore returned to Scipio having received from the king nothing more
than the promise that Scipio should have a safe conduct.
206 bc chapters 16–18 471
For anyone contemplating an attack on Africa, Syphax was import-
ant in every respect. He was the wealthiest king in that part of the
world; he had already faced these very Carthaginians in war; and the
bounds of his kingdom were conveniently situated relative to Spain,
separated from it only by a narrow strait. Scipio therefore thought
the ends justified taking a great risk, since they could be gained in no
other way. He left Lucius Marcius in Tarraco, and Marcus Silanus in
New Carthage––Silanus had come there overland by forced marches
from Tarraco––for the defence of Spain, and he himself crossed to
Africa with Gaius Laelius. They left New Carthage with two quin-
queremes, and relied mostly on the oar since the sea was calm,
though occasionally they were sometimes helped by a gentle breeze.*
Now, as it happened, Hasdrubal, after being driven from Spain,
sailed into the harbour of Siga* with seven triremes at that very same
time. He had dropped anchor and was bringing the ships to shore
when the two Roman quinqueremes were spotted. Nobody had any
doubt that they belonged to the enemy, and that they could be over-
powered by the larger number of Carthaginian vessels before they
entered the harbour. However, the Carthaginians succeeded only in
creating consternation and alarm, as marines and sailors unsuccess-
fully attempted to get their weapons and ships in a state of readiness.
For a slightly stronger wind from the open sea hit the Roman sails and
brought the quinqueremes into the harbour before the Carthaginians
could weigh anchor; and then nobody dared make further trouble
since they were in a harbour belonging to the king. And so they
disembarked, Hasdrubal first, and Scipio and Laelius soon after him,
and went to the king.
18. Syphax felt it was truly marvellous––as indeed it was––to have
generals of the two richest nations of the time come to seek a peace
treaty with him on one and the same day. He offered the two men
hospitality and, as chance had decided on their being under the one
roof and in the same home, he made an effort to bring them
into conversation with a view to ending their disputes. Scipio, how-
ever, said that, while he felt no personal animosity towards the
Carthaginian that might be ended by talking, he could, in an official
capacity, have no dealings with an enemy without the Senate’s
authorization. The king put considerable pressure on him to accept
an invitation to dinner along with Hasdrubal, so neither of his guests
would seem to have been unwelcome at his table, and Scipio did not
472 book twenty-eight 206 bc
refuse. They then dined together in Syphax’s palace, Scipio and
Hasdrubal even sharing the same couch, since that had been the
king’s pleasure.
Indeed, such was Scipio’s sociability and instinctive tactfulness in
any given situation that he won over, with his smooth conversational
manner, not only Syphax, a barbarian with no experience of Roman
manners, but a deadly adversary, as well. Hasdrubal made it very
clear that he had a greater admiration for the man from having seen
him in the flesh than because of his military successes, and he said he
did not doubt that Syphax and his kingdom would soon be in the
power of Rome––such was the man’s ability to win people over.
Consequently Hasdrubal felt that the question for the Carthaginians
now was not so much how Spain had been lost as how they could
hold on to Africa. The great Roman general was not on a pleasure
trip or a voyage to pleasant climes, he thought, not if he had left
behind a province only recently subdued and left behind his armies,
too. That was not why he crossed to Africa with two ships, putting
himself at the mercy of a hostile land, and entrusting himself to a
king’s authority and his untested word of honour. No, he harboured
ambitions of making himself master of Africa; and he had long been
contemplating this and openly complaining that he, Scipio, was not
at war in Africa the way that Hannibal was in Italy.
Scipio made a treaty with Syphax and then left Africa. At the
mercy of shifting and generally tempestuous winds he reached the
port of New Carthage three days later.
19. While Spain was now quiet as regards the Punic War, it was
clear that certain communities, aware of their past wrongdoings,
were quiet from fear rather than from any feelings of loyalty to
Rome. The most important of these, both in size and the extent of
their guilt, were Iliturgi and Castulo.* Castulo had been an ally
when things were going well for Rome, but had defected to Carthage
when the Scipios and their armies were crushed. The people of
Iliturgi had betrayed and killed the men who had sought refuge
with them after that disaster, thereby adding an atrocity to their
defection. When Scipio first arrived, and Spain hung in the balance,
severe measures against these peoples would have been justified,
but impractical. However, now that there was peace, the time
for reprisals seemed to have arrived. Scipio therefore had Lucius
Marcius summoned from Tarraco, and sent him with a third of his
206 bc chapters 18–19 473
troops to launch an attack on Castulo. Scipio himself came to
Iliturgis after a march of about five days. The gates were shut, and all
measures had been taken and preparations made to counter an
attack––their guilty conscience, their awareness of what they
deserved, made a declaration of war redundant.
This became Scipio’s exordium for his speech of encouragement
to the men. By closing the gates, he said, the Spaniards had themselves
shown they were aware of the fearful punishment they deserved.
The war against them should therefore be conducted with much
greater hostility than the war with Carthage: with the Carthaginians
it was an almost dispassionate struggle for empire and glory,* but
these men had to be punished for their treachery and brutal atrocities.
The time had arrived, he said, for them to exact revenge for the
unspeakable murder of their comrades, and for the trap that would
have been set for them, too, had their flight taken them to the same
place. The moment had also come, he concluded, to set a grim
example that would ensure for all time that nobody could consider a
Roman citizen and a Roman soldier, whatever his circumstances, a
convenient target for mischief.
Inspired by these words of encouragement from their leader,
the soldiers immediately distributed ladders amongst men who had
been hand-picked from each of the maniples. The army was also
split, so that Laelius could take command of one of the halves as a
lieutenant, and they then simultaneously launched their attack on
the city at two points, bringing terror on two fronts. It was not one
leader, or a group of chieftains, who inspired the townspeople to a
spirited defence of the city, but their own fear, which arose from a
guilty conscience. They remembered––and they kept reminding
others––that the enemy were not seeking victory over them but their
punishment. What mattered, they said, was where they all met their
end. Would they breathe their last fighting in the line of battle,
where the dangers of war, equally shared, often raised up the con-
quered and struck down the conqueror? Or would they do so later, in
a city burned and destroyed, after being whipped and chained,
and suffering all manner of foul indignities before the eyes of their
captive wives and children?
And so it was not simply men of military age and males who put
their courage and strength into the effort. Women and children did
so as well, supplying the fighters with weapons, and carrying stones
474 book twenty-eight 206 bc
to the fortifications for the working parties. It was not just a matter
of their freedom, which fires the hearts only of the brave; before
their eyes was the spectre of the worst tortures of all, and a disgrace-
ful death. Their morale was fired, too, by competing with each other
for their share of the work and the danger, and simply by looking at
each other. And so, such was the force of the initial clash that an
army that had conquered the whole of Spain was often repulsed
from the walls by the fighting men of a single town, and fell back in
panic in a battle that was not bringing them glory.
When Scipio saw this, he feared that all his men’s failed efforts
would raise the enemy’s morale, and dampen his men’s enthusiasm;
and he felt he had to make a personal effort and take his share of the
danger. He scolded the men for their faint-heartedness, ordered the
ladders brought up, and threatened to make the climb himself if they
held back. When he had already come close to the walls, at no small
risk to himself,* a cry arose on every side from the men, concerned as
they were for their commander, and ladders began to go up simul-
taneously at many points. In addition, Laelius put pressure on from
the other side. With that the resistance of the townspeople was
crushed, the defenders were thrown down, and the walls were taken.
20. In the uproar the citadel was also taken, on the side where it
was considered impregnable, and this thanks to some African desert-
ers then amongst the Roman auxiliary troops. The townsmen had
directed their attention to the spots that seemed to be in danger,
while the Romans kept moving up wherever access was possible. The
deserters meanwhile noticed that the highest part of the city, because
it enjoyed the protection of a precipitous cliff, was lacking any kind
of fortification and was also without defenders. Some men of slight
build, and agile from extensive training, then climbed up where the
uneven projections of the cliff-face made it possible, and they carried
with them iron spikes. Wherever they were faced with a stretch of
rock that was too steep, or too smooth, they would drive the spikes
into the rock a short distance from each other, and thus virtually
made steps for themselves. The first men would then haul up with
their hands those following them, while the men behind pushed up
those ahead of them, and in this way they reached the top. From
there they ran down with a shout into the city that had already been
taken by the Romans.
It was then that the rage and loathing behind the attack on the city
206 bc chapters 19–21 475
truly became apparent. Nobody considered taking captives alive;
nobody thought about booty, though everything was open to plun-
der. It was a massacre, of armed and unarmed alike, and of women
as well as men, the invaders’ ruthless fury descending even to the
massacre of infants. They then torched the buildings and tore down
what the flames could not consume. Such was the delight they took
in obliterating even the last traces of the city, in wiping out the
memory of their enemies’ home.
From there Scipio led his army to Castulo. This city was defended
not only by people who had come from elsewhere in Spain, but also
by the remnants of the Carthaginian army after its widespread flight.
But news of the disaster that had befallen Iliturgi had reached there
before Scipio’s arrival, and terror and despair had swept through the
city. And since the two parties’ circumstances were different, and
everyone was looking out for himself without thought for anyone else,
there was at first unexpressed suspicion, and then open disagree-
ment, creating a rift between the Carthaginians and the Spaniards.
The Spaniards were under the command of Cerdubelus, who openly
advocated surrender, and the Carthaginian auxiliaries were under
Himilco. Secretly receiving assurances from the Romans, Cerdube-
lus betrayed to them the auxiliaries and the city. There was more
clemency in this victory; there was less guilt on the part of the
people and the voluntary surrender had done much to soothe the
Romans’ anger.
21. Marcius was then sent off to bring to heel any barbarians not
yet completely subdued. Scipio returned to New Carthage to dis-
charge his vows, and also to stage a gladiatorial show that he had
prepared to commemorate the deaths of his father and his uncle.
The gladiatorial show did not draw on the sort of men from whom
the professional trainers usually take their combatants, that is, slaves
off the vendor’s platform, and free men who put their lifeblood up
for sale. All the fighters provided their services voluntarily and with-
out charge. Some were sent by their chieftains to exhibit their tribe’s
inbred valour; others readily declared they would fight to please the
commander. Others again were driven by a competitive and combat-
ive spirit to challenge their comrades, and not refuse a challenge that
was offered them. Some settled with the sword differences that they
had not been able, or had not wished, to end through discussion,
agreeing amongst themselves that the disputed property should go
476 book twenty-eight 206 bc
to the victor; and these were not people of low birth, but men of rank
and distinction.
Now two cousins, Corbis and Orsua, were in competition for the
chieftainship of a community called Ide,* and they declared that they
would fight for it with the sword. Corbis was the elder of the two, but
the father of Orsua had been the last chieftain, having received the
post from an elder brother on his death. Scipio wanted to settle the
matter through discussion and soothe ruffled feelings, but both men
said they had already told the family members they had in common
that they would not do this, and they would accept no judge, divine
or human, other than Mars. The elder man had confidence in his
strength, the younger in his youth, and the two preferred to die in
combat rather than be subjected to the other’s authority. They could
not be made to abandon such folly, and they provided the army with
an outstanding show, and an illustration of how great a curse lust for
power is amongst mankind. The elder man, by virtue of his experi-
ence with weapons and his artfulness, easily overcame the brute
force of the younger.
Apart from the gladiatorial show there were also funeral games,
which were celebrated as elaborately as the province’s resources and
the camp environment would allow.
22. In the meantime military operations were being conducted no
less energetically by Scipio’s legates. Marcius crossed the River
Baetis, called the Cirtes* by local people, and accepted the surrender
of two wealthy communities without a fight. Then came the city of
Astapa,* which had always supported Carthage, though it was not
this that merited Roman anger so much as the fact that its people had
been nursing a particular resentment, beyond what the pressures of
war might arouse, towards the Romans. They had a city that could
rely neither on its position nor on its defences for protection enough
to justify their confidence, but their natural predilection for maraud-
ing had driven them to make raids on the lands around them belong-
ing to allies of the Roman people, during which they rounded up
some straggling Roman soldiers, camp-followers, and traders. They
had even ambushed a large caravan––large because travelling in
small numbers was unsafe––as it was passing through their territory,
catching it in an awkward spot and wiping it out.
The army was brought forward for an assault on this city.
The townspeople, well aware of their guilt, felt there could be no
206 bc chapters 21–22 477
safety in capitulation to such an embittered force, but they also could
not hope to save themselves with their fortifications and weapons.
They therefore decided to inflict on themselves and their families a
deed abhorrent and barbaric. They marked off a spot in the forum
for gathering together the most valuable of their possessions, and
they told their wives and children to take a seat on the pile they
made, heaping up wood around them and throwing on bundles of
brushwood. Then they gave specific instructions to fifty armed men.
As long as the outcome of the fight was in doubt, they were told, they
were to keep their fortunes, and the persons more precious than their
fortunes, under guard in that place. If they saw that the day was lost,
and the city about to be taken, then they could be sure that all the
men they saw marching out to battle would fall in the fight itself.
They therefore begged them, they said, in the name of all the gods
above and below, to bear in mind their liberty, which had to be
terminated that day, either by death with honour or by ignominious
servitude, and not leave behind anything on which a furious enemy
could vent his rage. They had swords and torches in their hands––
and friendly and loyal hands should eliminate what was bound to
perish rather than leave it to the insults and arrogant mockery of the
enemy. To these appeals was added a dreadful curse that was to fall
on any one deflected from his resolve by hope or squeamishness.
After that, they flung open the gates, and rushed out in a swift and
violent charge; and there was no Roman forward post strong enough
to hold them, because the last thing to be feared was the enemy
daring to emerge from their fortifications. Only a few cavalry squad-
rons, and some light infantry hurriedly despatched from camp to
meet the situation, came to confront them. It was a battle character-
ized more by the courage of the combatants and the ferocity of the
onslaught than by any regular order. The cavalry that had been the
first to face the enemy were flung back, bringing panic to the light
infantry; and the fighting would have reached the very edge of the
rampart had not the cream of the army, the legionaries, formed a line
of battle in the few moments they were given to deploy. Even amongst
the legionaries there were a few moments of alarm in the front ranks,
as the enemy in blind rage threw themselves with reckless abandon
in the way of Roman sword thrusts. Then the seasoned soldiers,
standing firm against these wild onslaughts, cut down the first-
comers, bringing those who followed to a halt. Shortly afterwards,
478 book twenty-eight 206 bc
the veterans attempted to go on the offensive themselves, only to
discover that none of the enemy would give ground, that all were
firmly resolved to die where they stood. They then extended their
lines to overlap the enemy flanks, an easy manœuvre, thanks to their
numerical superiority, and killed them to the very last man as they
fought in a circle.
23. In fact, these were the actions of an angry enemy taken in the
thick of the fray against armed men who were fighting back, and
they were in accordance with the conventions of warfare. Another,
grimmer kind of slaughter was going on in the city. Scores of weak
and defenceless women and children were being murdered by their
own citizens, who were hurling bodies, most of them still breathing,
onto a burning pyre, while streams of blood choked the rising flames.
And eventually these men, too, exhausted from the pitiful slaughter
of their own people, flung themselves and their weapons into the
midst of the fire.
Only when the massacre was finished did the Romans came on the
scene. The first sight of the grisly scene left them momentarily
stunned and horrified. Then, with the greed inherent in human
nature, the soldiers tried to snatch from the flames the gold and silver
that glittered amid the pile of other articles. Some were engulfed by
the flames, others burned by the blast of hot air for, with the huge
crowd pressing forward from behind, there was no way for those at
the front to step back. So it was that Astapa was destroyed by fire and
the sword, with no plunder for the soldiers. Marcius accepted the
surrender of the other peoples of the area who capitulated from fear,
and then led his victorious army back to Scipio in New Carthage.
It was just at that time that deserters arrived from Gades with a
promise to betray that city and the Punic garrison within it, along
with the garrison commander and the fleet. (Mago had actually
stopped in Gades after his flight, and had brought together ships on
the Atlantic coast. Along with these, he had also assembled a respect-
able force of auxiliaries from the coast of Africa across the strait and,
thanks to the assistance of his prefect Hanno, from the Spanish
districts closest to him.) Assurances were exchanged with the desert-
ers, and Marcius and Laelius were sent to Gades for cooperative
action by land and sea, Marcius with some light-armed cohorts, and
Laelius with seven triremes and a quinquereme.
24. Scipio himself came down with a serious illness, made worse
206 bc chapters 22–24 479
in the reports of it––people have an inherent love of deliberately
exaggerating rumours, and everyone now added to what he had
heard––and this unsettled the whole province, especially its outlying
areas. It was clear from the furore that an idle rumour had raised just
how much unrest would have been caused had the loss been a real one.
Allies did not maintain their loyalty, nor the army its sense of duty.
Mandonius and Indibilis had counted on having the kingdom of
Spain for themselves once the Carthaginians had been driven out,
but nothing had happened to bring their hopes to fruition. Accord-
ingly they spurred their countrymen (that is, the Lacetani) to revolt
and, rousing to arms the Celtiberian youth, aggressively pillaged the
lands of the Suessetani and Sedetani,* who were allies of the Roman
people.
There was another violent outbreak, this time involving citizens,
in the camp at Sucro.* There were 8,000 men in the camp, stationed
there as a garrison to protect the tribes north of the Ebro. It was not
the arrival of vague rumours about their commander’s life being in
danger that was the original cause of these men’s wavering loyalty.
That had been the indiscipline that usually results from a long
period of inactivity, and a contributing factor was the straitened
circumstances of peacetime facing men used to an easy living from
plundering enemy territory. At first there were only surreptitious
exchanges between them. What were they doing amongst a pacified
people if there were hostilities in the province, they asked each other;
and if the war was now over and their mission accomplished why
were they not being taken back to Italy? There were, in addition,
demands for pay more insistent than a disciplined soldier would
normally make. Tribunes doing the rounds of the watch found
themselves subjected to insults from the sentries, and there had been
nightly pillaging expeditions into the pacified farmland round about.
Finally, in broad daylight, men would openly quit the standards
without leave. Everything was now proceeding at the whim and
caprice of the rank and file, with no heed for military institutions and
discipline, or the orders of those in command. Even so, the Roman
camp kept its usual appearance, and for one reason only. The men
felt that, as the madness spread, the tribunes would not refuse to join
their mutinous insurrection; and so they allowed them to administer
justice at the headquarters, and would ask them for the password,
and take their turns on guard-duty and on watch. While they had
480 book twenty-eight 206 bc
effectively undermined the authority of the command structure,
they still maintained a display of obeying orders, though they were
really following their own.
Then the mutiny flared up. For the men observed that the tribunes
were disapproving and critical of what was going on, and were
attempting to take a stand against it, openly declaring they would not
be party to such madness. The tribunes were chased from the head-
quarters and shortly afterwards from the camp, and, by unanimous
agreement, command was put in the hands of the two common
soldiers who were the ringleaders of the uprising, Gaius Albius of
Cales and Gaius Atrius* from Umbria. Completely dissatisfied with
the insignia of the tribunes, these men even presumed to take upon
themselves the symbols of the highest authority, the fasces and axes.
And it never entered their heads that the rods and axes that they
were having borne in front of them to intimidate others were actually
threatening their own backs, and their own necks. The erroneous
belief that Scipio was dead was clouding their minds, and they had
no doubt that as soon as word of it spread abroad, as it shortly would,
war would flare up throughout Spain. In the ensuing turmoil, they
thought, money could be extorted from the allies, and the neighbour-
ing cities could be pillaged; and in the upheaval in which anyone
could dare to do anything, their own actions would attract less
attention.
25. Day after day they were now waiting for fresh news, not
merely that Scipio was dead but even that he was buried! But none
came, and as the groundless rumours began to dissipate, the search
began for those responsible for first putting them about. One by one
men began to fall back, hoping they could appear to have been gul-
lible in accepting such a story rather than have been its inventor. The
leaders, now isolated, began to shudder at the thought of their own
insignia, and of the real and duly appointed power that would soon
turn upon them, replacing the spurious authority they were wield-
ing. And so the mutiny began to lose momentum. Then reliable
informants reported first that Scipio was still alive, and presently
even that he was in good health; and seven military tribunes came on
the scene, personally sent there by Scipio.
There were ruffled feelings when the tribunes first arrived, but
they were soon smoothed out when the officers began to placate
personal acquaintances they met with conciliatory language. Then
206 bc chapters 24–25 481
they first of all made the rounds of the tents, and later appeared in
the headquarters and at the general’s tent, where they had seen
groups of men engaged in conversation. They would address the
men and, instead of reproaching them for what they had done,
would ask them what had been responsible for the sudden outbreak
of madness and sedition. The grievance usually adduced was that
they had not been paid on time, and they also brought up the atrocity
committed by the inhabitants of Iliturgi. After two generals and two
armies had been wiped out, they said, it was thanks to their courage
that the Roman name had been defended at that time and a hold
maintained on the province. Yet while the men of Iliturgi had
received the punishment they deserved for their crime, there was
nobody to recompense the Roman soldiers for the service they had
rendered.
The tribunes replied that in lodging such grievances the men were
asking only for what was their due, and that they would relay them to
the commander. They were happy that the problem was not more
severe or more difficult to remedy, they said and, thanks to the
blessing of the gods, Publius Scipio and the republic could now show
their gratitude.
While Scipio was well acquainted with warfare, he had no experi-
ence of mutinous outbursts. The situation had him worried: he
wished to avoid excess, whether it be in tolerating the army’s
insubordination, or in punishing it. For the moment he decided to
continue with the lenient course on which he had embarked and, by
dispatching collection agents around the tributary states, he raised
the prospect of early payment for the men. He also straight away
issued an edict for them to come together in New Carthage for their
pay, in units or in a body, whichever they preferred.
The mutiny was now flagging, anyway, but the sudden arrival of
peace amongst the recalcitrant Spaniards brought it to a standstill;
for Mandonius and Indibilis had, when brought the news that Scipio
was alive, abandoned their enterprise and returned to their territory.
Now the mutineers had no one, whether citizen or foreigner, with
whom to share their insane programme. As they examined every
possible course of action, they found the only chance left to them
after their villainous schemes––and that a not very safe one––was to
submit to the commander’s justifiable wrath, or to his mercy, which
they felt was not beyond the bounds of hope. Scipio had pardoned
482 book twenty-eight 206 bc
even enemies with whom he had fought with the sword, they told
themselves, and their mutiny had struck no blow and shed no
blood––it had not itself been brutal and did not merit a brutal pun-
ishment. So glib are human beings when it comes to playing down
their own wrongdoings! There was some indecision over whether
they should go for their pay as individual cohorts or as a body, and
the scale tipped towards going as a body, which they felt the safer
option.
26. On the very days the mutineers were considering all this, there
was a meeting devoted to them at New Carthage. There opinions
were divided on whether punishment should be restricted to the
ringleaders of the mutiny, who were no more than thirty-five in
number, or whether more should be disciplined, in order to penalize
what was less a mutiny than an outright rebellion that set a terrible
precedent. The more lenient view won the day, namely that punish-
ment be applied to the source of the offence; it was felt that a repri-
mand would suffice for the majority.
The meeting was adjourned and, to make it look as if this had been
the business discussed, the army at New Carthage was given notice
of an expedition against Mandonius and Indibilis, and instructed to
prepare several days’ food rations. The seven tribunes who had earlier
gone to Sucro to quell the mutiny were now sent to meet the army,
and each was furnished with the names of five of the ringleaders of
the mutiny. They were each to employ appropriate third parties to
invite his five to a reception, with a friendly expression and words of
welcome, and when the men were drowsy with wine they were to put
them in irons.
The mutinous troops were not far distant from New Carthage
when they learned from men they met on the road that the entire
army, under the command of Marcus Silanus, was setting out against
the Lacetani the following day. This not only freed them from all the
dread that lurked at the back of their minds but also brought them
great satisfaction, because now they would have the commander on
his own, and not themselves be in his power.
Towards sunset they entered the city, and saw the other army
making all the preparations for the march. They were welcomed
with some well-chosen words; their arrival was propitious and timely
for the commander-in-chief, they were told, because they had come
just before the other army was setting out. With that, they went off
206 bc chapters 25–27 483
to eat and relax. The ringleaders of the insurrection were taken away
by the selected men to be entertained, and were then, with no trouble
at all, arrested and clapped in irons by the tribunes.
At the time of the fourth watch the baggage-train of the army that
was ostensibly marching off began to move out. At dawn, the troops
set off, but the column was brought to a halt at the gate, and guards
were then sent around all the other city gates to prevent anyone
leaving. Next, the men who had arrived the previous day were sum-
moned to a meeting, and they swiftly converged in a threatening
manner on the commander’s dais in the forum, intending to intimi-
date him with their noisy interjections. The moment that the com-
mander climbed the dais, the soldiers were brought back from the
gates, and they stood in a circle behind the unarmed assembly. With
that, all the men’s truculence vanished and, as they later admitted,
nothing gave them such fright as the unexpected vigour and healthy
complexion of the commander (whom they had expected to behold
on his sickbed) and a look on his face they claimed they did not
remember seeing even in battle. For a while Scipio sat in silence,
until word came that the ringleaders of the mutiny had been brought
into the ground, and that all was ready.
27. Then, when silence fell at the herald’s signal, he spoke as
follows:
‘Never did I think I would find myself lost for words with which
to address my army. That is not because I have ever made words
rather than actions the subject of my training, but because, having
been brought up in the camp almost from childhood, I was familiar
with the soldier’s character. But you are different, and I am at a loss
for ideas and words on how to address you, and I do not even know
the title to use. Shall I call you ‘citizens’––when you have abandoned
your country? Or ‘soldiers’––when you have turned your back on
authority and the auspices, and broken the sacred obligations of your
oath? Or ‘enemies’? I recognize the features, faces, dress, and bearing
of my fellow citizens; but I see the actions, words, designs, and
temperament of an enemy. For how are your wishes and aspirations
different from those of the Ilergetes and Lacetani? And yet the
leaders of their frenzy, the men they chose to follow, Mandonius
and Indibilis, were of royal stock––you bestowed the auspices and
supreme authority on the Umbrian Atrius and the Calenian Albius.
‘Tell me, men, that you were not all involved in that, or that you
484 book twenty-eight 206 bc
did not all want to be involved, that it was just a few who were guilty
of such delusion and lunacy. I shall willingly accept your denial of
guilt! For such were the transgressions that, if the whole army was
involved, atonement could be made only with enormous sacrifice.
‘It is with reluctance that I touch on these matters, which are like
wounds––but unless they are touched and handled they cannot be
healed! Frankly, after the Carthaginians were driven from Spain, I
could not believe that there was anyone in the whole province who
hated the fact that I was alive––such had been my conduct vis-à-vis
my enemies as well as my friends. How wrong I was! Look at it! In
my own camp the report of my death was not only readily believed,
but eagerly awaited! It is not that I have any wish to believe the guilt
lies with all of you. In fact, if I believed my whole army had wished
me dead I would die here before your eyes right now, and would take
no pleasure in a life that was offensive to my fellow citizens and
my men.
‘No, the fact is that, like the sea, every crowd is naturally motion-
less. In you, too, there is the calm or there are tempests, according to
the motion produced by the squalls and breezes. And the responsi-
bility and cause of all your wild behaviour lies with the ringleaders.
You caught the insanity from them, and it seems to me that not even
today are you aware of how far your madness went, of the extent of
the outrage you dared to inflict on me, your country, your parents
and children, and on the gods who witnessed your oath. You seem
unaware of how far you violated the auspices under which you
fought, the military traditions and discipline of your forebears, and
the majesty of our supreme command.
‘About myself I say nothing. Let us attribute your belief in my
death to thoughtlessness rather than a wish for it to be so, and let us
assume I am the sort of man whose command an army could under-
standably find unsupportable. But your country––what had she
done to deserve your betraying her by making common cause with
Mandonius and Indibilis? What had the Roman people done to make
you remove imperium from duly elected tribunes* and confer it on
private individuals? And, not satisfied with merely having those men
as your tribunes, how could you––a Roman army!––then award the
fasces of your commander-in-chief to such men as had never even
had a slave to give orders to? Albius and Atrius billeted themselves in
the general’s tent; it was at their quarters that the trumpet was
206 bc chapters 27–28 485
sounded; it was they who were asked for the password; and they sat
on the dais of Publius Scipio; a lictor attended on them; people were
moved aside as they went forward and the fasces and axes were car-
ried before them. Stones falling as rain, thunderbolts hurled from
heaven, animals producing bizarre offspring––such are the things
you consider to be portents. But this is a portent that can be expiated
by no sacrificial victims and by no supplicatory offerings––only by
the blood of the men who dared to commit such a heinous crime.
28. ‘No crime has rational motivation, and yet I would like to
know––as far as one can in the case of a fiendish act––what you were
thinking, and what your plan was. A legion that was once dispatched
to garrison Rhegium* committed the crime of killing the foremost
members of the community, and holding that wealthy city in its
control for a ten-year period. For that offence the entire legion––
four thousand men*––were beheaded in the Forum in Rome. But they
followed the lead of a military tribune, Decimus Vibellius, not some-
one who was practically a camp-follower, an Umbrian called Atrius,
whose very name is a bad omen. And, in addition, they did not throw
in their lot with Pyrrhus, or with the Samnites or the Lucanians. You
made common cause with Mandonius and Indibilis, and were
intending to join forces with them. Those legionaries were going to
keep Rhegium as their permanent home, just as the Campanians
kept Capua after taking it from its Etruscan inhabitants of old, and as
the Mamertines kept Messana in Sicily.* And they had no intention
of launching an attack on the Roman people or allies of the Roman
people. Were you going to keep Sucro as your place of residence? If I
had left you in the town when, on the completion of my mission, I
was retiring as your commander-in-chief you would have been justi-
fied in protesting to gods and men that you were not returning to
your wives and children!
‘But let us suppose that you had driven from your minds all mem-
ory of these, along with the memory of your country and of me––I
still want to follow the scenario for this criminal, though not abso-
lutely crazy, scheme. Did you really intend to wrest the province of
Spain from the Roman people? And to attempt that when I was still
alive, and the rest of the army still in one piece––the army with
which I captured New Carthage in a single day, and with which I
routed and put to flight, and then chased out of Spain, four com-
manders and four armies of Carthage? And your numbers being only
486 book twenty-eight 206 bc
8,000, all of you of inferior quality to Albius and Atrius, under
whose authority you put yourselves?
‘I pass over my reputation and leave it entirely out of the question,
assuming the only wrong I was done by you was to have you too
readily believe me dead. Now, suppose I had in fact died. Was the
republic going to expire along with me? Was the empire of the
Roman people going to fall with me? I pray that Jupiter Optimus
Maximus not allow this to happen! I pray that the city that was
founded to live for ever, founded with favourable auspices and the
support of the gods, not be only as long-lived as this frail and mortal
body of mine! Flaminius, Paulus, Gracchus, Postumius Albinus,
Marcus Marcellus, Titus Quinctius Crispinus, Gnaeus Fulvius, my
own family members the Scipios––all those fine commanders have
been taken from us in this one war. And yet the Roman people lives
on, and will continue to live on, though a thousand others die,
whether by the sword or from disease. Would the republic then have
been buried at the funeral of a single individual––me? Indeed, you
yourselves, when the two commanders, my father and my uncle,
were killed here in Spain––you still selected Septimus Marcius as
your leader against the Carthaginians, elated by their recent victory.
‘And I am talking as if, in the event of my death, the Spanish
provinces would have been without a commander. Marcus Silanus
was sent out with me to this sphere of command with the same
authority, and the same powers,* and my brother Lucius Scipio and
Gaius Laelius were my legates. Would these men have failed to
champion the majesty of our empire? Could one army have been
compared with the other, or one army’s officers with the other’s?
Could there have been any comparison in terms of their status, or the
justice of their cause? And had you been superior in all these
respects, would you have shouldered arms against your country and
against your own citizens? Would you have wanted to see Africa
ascendant over Italy, and Carthage over the city of Rome? What
wrong did your country do to deserve that?
29. ‘An unjust conviction leading to a miserable and undeserved
exile once drove Coriolanus* to launch an attack on his country, but
his individual sense of duty to his family called him away from a
crime against the state. In your case, what was the resentment or
anger that spurred you on? Your pay was given to you a few days late
because your commander was ill. Was that a sufficient reason for
206 bc chapters 28–30 487
declaring war on your country, for abandoning the Roman people to
join the Ilergetes, for regarding nothing in the divine or human
sphere as inviolably sacred?
‘You were evidently in the grip of insanity, men, and the disease
that assailed my body was no more severe than that which assailed
your minds. I shudder at the thought of what men believed, what
their hopes and aspirations were. Let forgetfulness sweep it all away
and obliterate it, if such is possible; failing that, let there be some veil
of silence over it.
‘I would not deny that what I have just said may well have struck
you as harsh and cruel, but how much more cruel do you think your
actions were than my words? You think it fair that I should put up
with what you have done; so will you not even resign yourselves to
being told all about it? But even those actions of yours will not be cast
up at you any more. I just hope that you can forget them as easily as
I shall. So as far as you, as a whole, are concerned, I shall have
satisfaction enough, and more than enough, if you regret your
wrongdoing. The Calenian Albius and the Umbrian Atrius, and all
the other ringleaders of this foul insurrection––they shall pay for
their acts with their blood. So far from causing you pain, the sight of
their punishment should bring you joy, if your sanity has returned.
They have done nobody greater harm or injury than they have you.’
He had barely finished speaking when, as had been arranged, his
audience’s eyes and ears were subjected to all manner of horror. The
troops that had cordoned off the assembly banged on their shields
with their swords; the crier’s voice was heard calling out the names
of the men who had been found guilty in the council meeting; and
these were dragged naked into the midst of the gathering, where all
the instruments of punishment were brought into view. The men
were tied to stakes, flogged, and beheaded. So paralysed with fear
were all those present that there was not even a moan to be heard,
much less any voice raised in protest against the harshness of the
punishment. Then all the corpses were dragged from their midst,
the ground was cleansed, and the soldiers were summoned by name
before the military tribunes. They swore the oath of allegiance to
Publius Scipio, and each was paid as his name was called. With that
the mutiny of the troops that began at Sucro came to an end.
30. During this same period Mago’s lieutenant Hanno, who had
been sent out from Gades by Mago with a small detachment of
488 book twenty-eight 206 bc
African troops, had put under arms, with the inducement of pay,
some 4,000 young Spaniards in the area of the River Baetis. After
that he saw his camp taken from him by Lucius Marcius and, in the
turmoil of its capture, he lost most of his men, though there were
losses incurred in the flight, too, when the Roman cavalry gave chase
to the scattered fugitives. Hanno himself made good his escape with
a handful of men.
In the course of these events at the River Baetis, Laelius sailed
through the straits into the Atlantic Ocean and put in with his fleet at
Carteia,* a city that lies on the Atlantic coast, at the point where the
sea starts to open out after the narrows. Laelius had, as was noted
above, entertained the hope of taking control of Gades through sur-
render and without a fight, and men actually came to the Roman
camp of their own accord to make such a promise. However, the plot
to betray the town came to light prematurely, and Mago arrested all
involved and delivered them to the praetor Adherbal* for removal to
Carthage. Adherbal put the conspirators aboard a quinquereme,
which he sent on ahead because it was slower than a trireme. He then
followed, a short distance behind, with eight triremes.
Just when the quinquereme was entering the straits, Laelius, who
was himself in a quinquereme, came sailing out of the harbour of
Carteia at the head of seven triremes. He made straight for Adherbal
and his triremes, firmly convinced that the Carthaginian quinque-
reme, already caught up in the rapid waters of the strait, could not be
brought back against the tide. Faced with this sudden turn of events
the Carthaginian momentarily panicked, unsure whether to follow
his quinquereme or swing round his prows to face the enemy. That
very moment of hesitation robbed him of the option of declining
battle; for now the Carthaginians were within weapon-range, and
under enemy pressure on every side. In addition, the tide had
removed all means of effectively steering the ships. It did not even
look like a naval battle: there was no choice of movement, and no
skill or tactics. The natural character of the strait and its tide took
complete control of the entire struggle, bringing the combatants into
collision with their own as well as the other side’s vessels as they
vainly attempted to row in the other direction. The result was that
one could see a ship that was in flight spun round by a swirl of water,
and carried against the victors, and one in pursuit turning as if to
flee, if it hit a contrary current. In the battle proper a ship would be
206 bc chapters 30–32 489
trying to ram an enemy vessel with its beak, only to be turned at an
angle and be rammed itself by the other’s beak; and another, pre-
sented broadside-on to the enemy, would suddenly spin round to
charge prow-on. But while the battle of the triremes fluctuated since
chance was in control of it, the Roman quinquereme was either more
stable because of her weight, or else was the more easily managed
because she had more banks of oars cutting the churning waters, and
she sank two triremes, and sheared the oars off one side of a third, as
she charged by. She would have wrecked all the others she overtook
had not Adherbal raised the sails and made it across to Africa with
his five remaining ships.
31. The victorious Laelius returned to Carteia. There he was told
of events at Gades, how the plot had been exposed and the conspir-
ators sent off to Carthage, frustrating the hopes with which they had
come* to him. Laelius then sent a message to Lucius Marcius to tell
him they should return to their commander-in-chief if they did not
wish to waste time sitting before Gades. Marcius agreed, and they
both returned to New Carthage a few days later.
With their departure Mago now had a respite from the pressure of
facing a twofold threat from land and sea, and, in addition, when he
heard about the uprising of the Ilergetes, he conceived a hope of
recovering Spain. He therefore sent messengers off to the senate in
Carthage to give an exaggerated account of the mutiny in the Roman
camp, as well as of the uprising of the allies, and to urge the senators
to send reinforcements so that their Spanish empire, the legacy of
their fathers, could be regained.
Mandonius and Indibilis, who had withdrawn to their lands, for a
time remained inactive, anxiously awaiting a reliable report of the
decisions taken with regard to the mutiny. They were confident that,
if Roman citizens were pardoned for their wrongdoing, then they,
too, could be granted a pardon. When word spread of the severity of
the punishment, however, they felt that their own transgression
would rate a similar penalty. And so, recalling their countrymen to
arms, and assembling the auxiliary forces they had had earlier, they
took 20,000 infantry and 2,500 cavalry and crossed into the territory
of the Sedetani, where they had maintained a base camp at the start
of their insurrection.
32. By scrupulously paying all of the men, guilty and innocent
alike, and by his conciliatory demeanour and language towards them
490 book twenty-eight 206 bc
all, Scipio easily regained his soldiers’ goodwill. Before moving camp
from New Carthage, he called an assembly, and delivered a lengthy
tirade against the treachery of the insurgent chieftains. His feelings
as he was setting off to punish that villainy could not be compared
with those he had when he recently corrected his compatriots’ mis-
deed, he declared. Then it had been like cutting out his own guts, he
said, when, with sighs and tears, he had taken the lives of 30 men
to atone for the folly, or the guilt, of 8,000; but now he was happily
and confidently proceeding to a massacre of the Ilergetes. For the
Ilergetes were not born in the same land as he, nor was there any
treaty binding them to him; the only ties they had with him, those of
loyalty and friendship, they had themselves broken by their crime. In
his army, he said, he could see men who were all citizens, allies, and
Latins. But, in addition to that, he was also very moved to see that
there was barely a single soldier who had not been brought from Italy
either by his uncle Gnaeus Scipio––the first Roman to have come to
the province––or by his father or himself. So all were now used to
the name and the authority of the Scipios, and he wanted to take
them back with him for a well-earned triumph in Italy. And he
hoped that they would support his candidacy for the consulship,
and consider that to be an honour that would be conferred on all of
them alike.
As for the operation that lay before them, he continued, anyone
who considered that to be a war was forgetting his own achieve-
ments. In fact, in his eyes Mago was a greater source of worry than
the Ilergetes––Mago who, with a handful of men, had fled the world
for an island surrounded by the Ocean.* For in that case at least they
faced a Carthaginian leader, and a Punic force, no matter how small.
In this one they faced bandits and bandit leaders. These might have
some strength when it came to pillaging their neighbours’ fields,
burning houses, and stealing cattle, but in regular combat on the
battlefield they had none; in the fight they would rely more on speed
in flight than on their weapons! So it was not because he saw in them
any danger, or the seeds of a greater conflict, that he had decided to
crush the Ilergetes before leaving his province. No, it was, first of all,
so that such an unconscionable uprising not remain unpunished,
and, secondly, so that it could not be said that any foe still remained
in a province so thoroughly brought to heel by great courage and
good fortune. Accordingly, they should, with the gods’ assistance,
206 bc chapters 32–33 491
follow him, not to wage war––for this was not a fight against an
enemy that was a match for them––but to make criminals pay for
their crime.
33. After addressing them like this, Scipio dismissed the men, and
ordered them to prepare to march the following day. Ten days after
leaving New Carthage, he reached the River Ebro.* He crossed the
river and three days later pitched camp within sight of the enemy.
Before him lay a plain ringed by mountains. Scipio now ordered
some cattle, most of them taken from the enemy’s own fields, to be
driven into this valley in order to stimulate the barbarians’ savage
rapacity, and he sent some light-armed men to give them protection.
Once the battle had been started with a charge from these light-
armed troops, Laelius was under orders from Scipio to launch an
attack with his cavalry from a place of concealment. There was a
conveniently projecting hill that provided cover for the surprise
attack of the cavalry, and so the fight was not delayed.
Spotting the cattle in the distance, the Spaniards swooped down
on them, and the light-armed swooped down on the Spaniards while
they were busy with their plunder.* At first they struck fear into them
with their spears. Then, after hurling the light weapons––which
could provoke fighting rather than decide the issue––they drew their
swords, and the hand-to-hand fighting commenced. It was an evenly
matched infantry engagement, and would have remained so but for
the arrival of the cavalry. These not only trampled down the men
before them with a head-on charge, but some also rode around the
foot of the slope, and positioned themselves to the rear of the enemy,
cutting off most of them. And so it turned into a greater massacre
than is usually the case in skirmishes provoked by such attacks.
Rather than discourage the barbarians, the reverse infuriated them
and, not to appear demoralized, they formed up for battle at dawn
the following day. The terrain was, as noted above, a valley. It was
narrow and could not hold all the enemy troops, so that only about
two-thirds of the enemy infantry, and all their cavalry, came into
battle. The remainder of the infantry took up a position on the side
of a hill.
Scipio thought the restricted terrain favoured him: a battle at
close quarters would better suit the Roman soldier than the Spaniard
and, in addition, the enemy army had been drawn into a location that
could not accommodate all his immense forces. He now turned his
492 book twenty-eight 206 bc
thoughts to a new strategy. While he could not himself use his cavalry
to cover his flanks in such restricted terrain, the enemy, too, could
not use the cavalry that they had brought down with their infantry-
men. Scipio therefore instructed Laelius to lead the cavalry on a
detour over the hills, by the most secluded route he could find, and
to do his best to separate the cavalry battle from that of the infantry.
He then brought all his infantry forces to face the enemy, and estab-
lished a front of four cohorts* because he could not extend the line
any further.
Scipio lost no time in engaging; he wished to use the battle itself
to divert attention from the cavalry going over the hills. The enemy
had no idea that the Roman horsemen had been taken on the detour
until they heard the clamour of cavalry going into action behind
them.
And so there were two separate battles under way, with two infan-
try lines and two cavalry bodies locked in combat down the length
of the plain, since the confined space would not permit combined
action involving both kinds of fighting. But in the case of the Span-
iards, the infantry could be of no assistance to the cavalry, nor the
cavalry to the infantry; in addition, the infantry had been deployed,
unwisely, on the level ground through confidence in cavalry support.
They were, as a result, cut to pieces. The cavalry, too, who had now
been encircled, were unable to resist the enemy foot soldiers before
them––for their own infantry had been mown down––nor the enemy
cavalry to their rear. Though they long resisted from their stationary
mounts, whom they formed into a circle, they were killed to a man,
and not a single foot- or horse-soldier fighting in the valley survived.
There remained the third of their force that had stood on the hill,
where they had a safe view of the engagement without taking part in
it––these had both the room and the time for flight. Their chieftains
also made good their escape along with them, slipping away in the
turmoil before their army could be entirely surrounded.
34. That same day the Spaniards’ camp was taken, and apart from
the other booty some 3,000 men were taken as well. About 1,200
Romans and allies fell in that battle, and there were more than 3,000
wounded. The victory would have been less bloody had the battle
been fought on a wider plain that offered an easier escape route.
Indibilis now abandoned his plans for combat. He felt that, in his
predicament, there could be no safer course than an appeal to the
206 bc chapters 33–34 493
integrity and clemency of Scipio, which he had already experienced,
and he sent his brother Mandonius to him. Mandonius fell at
Scipio’s knees, and laid the blame for everything on the suicidal
lunacy that reigned at the time, when not merely the Ilergetes and
Lacetani, but the Roman camp as well, had been as it were infected by
some deadly madness. Such was the plight in which he, his brother,
and the rest of their people found themselves, he said, that they would
return to Publius Scipio, if he felt it appropriate, the lives they had
already been granted by him. Or, if they were twice spared, they
would, in gratitude, for ever dedicate to him, and him alone, the
existence that they owed him. Earlier, at a time when they had as yet
no experience of his clemency, they had had confidence in their
cause; but now they had all their hopes pinned on the compassion of
the victor, and none in their cause.
The Romans had a long-standing custom in dealing with a people
with whom they had had no friendly dealings through treaty, or an
alliance on terms of equality. They did not accept authority over that
people, and assume them pacified, until they had first surrendered
all their possessions, religious and secular, given hostages, been dis-
armed, and had garrisons established in their cities. Now when
Mandonius was before him, Scipio gave both him and the absent
Indibilis a lengthy tongue-lashing, declaring that they really had
deserved to die for their transgression, but that thanks to his own
generosity, and that of the Roman people, their lives would be
spared. In fact, he said, he was not even going to disarm them or
demand hostages, since these were safety measures taken by men
who feared further uprising. No, he would leave them the free use of
their weapons, and set their minds at ease. But if they revolted, he
added, he would vent his wrath, not on innocent hostages, but on
them themselves, and he would seek retribution not from an
unarmed foe, but from one under arms. Now that they had experi-
ence of both conditions, he was offering them the choice of enjoying
the favour of the Romans, or facing their wrath.
With that Mandonius was sent off,* and the only demand made of
him was for money so the troops could be paid. Scipio then sent
Marcius into Further Spain, and Silanus to Tarraco. He himself
waited a few days for the Ilergetes to pay up the entire amount of the
money required of them and then, at the head of a light-armed force,
caught up with Marcius when he was approaching the Ocean.
494 book twenty-eight 206 bc
35. Negotiations with Masinissa had begun some time earlier but
had been delayed on various pretexts because the Numidian wanted
at all costs to meet Scipio face to face, and ratify their pact by
clasping his right hand. That was the explanation for Scipio’s long
and circuitous journey on this occasion.
Masinissa was at Gades when he was informed by Marcius that
Scipio was on his way. He began to claim that his horses were
degenerating from being penned up on an island, that they were
causing a shortage of provisions for everyone else, and themselves
suffering from that shortage; in addition, his horsemen were losing
their edge through inactivity. In this way he gained Mago’s permis-
sion to cross to the mainland to conduct raids on the closest Spanish
farmlands. On landing, Masinissa sent three leading Numidians
ahead to fix a time and place for talks. He gave the order for two of
these men to be held back by Scipio as hostages. The third was sent
back to conduct Masinissa to the appointed rendezvous, and then the
two men came to the meeting with a small retinue.
Thanks to the fame of Scipio’s exploits, the Numidian had already
been struck with admiration for the man, and he had formed a
mental picture of an imposing and commanding physical presence.
But a deeper awe took hold of Masinissa when he saw him in the
flesh. Scipio was, indeed, possessed of great natural dignity, but his
flowing locks enhanced it, as did a physical appearance that owed
nothing to grooming and was, quite the reverse, that of a real man
and a soldier. There was, moreover, his age, for he was at the height
of his powers, which were magnified and highlighted by the bloom of
his youth, which seemed to be revived after his illness.*
The Numidian was practically spellbound when they met. He
thanked Scipio for sending back his brother’s son; ever since then, he
said, he had been searching for that opportunity which the immortal
gods had now finally offered him, and which he had not let slip. His
desire now was to devote his energies to Scipio and the Roman
people, and in such a way that not a single foreigner would prove to
have given greater assistance to the Roman state. He had long been
wishing to give such assistance, he said, but he had had less
opportunity in Spain, a land that was foreign and unknown to him.
However, he would now easily provide it in the land in which he had
been born and raised with the prospect of inheriting his father’s
throne. He added that, should the Romans send Scipio to Carthage,
206 bc chapters 35–36 495
too, as commander-in-chief, he was quite sure that Carthage would
not last long.
Scipio was pleased to see and listen to Masinissa; he knew that he
represented the true strength of the enemy cavalry force, and the
young man also gave clear indications of his mettle. Assurances were
exchanged and Scipio began his return journey to Tarraco. With the
consent of the Romans, Masinissa raided the fields in the neighbour-
hood so that he would appear to have had good reason for crossing to
the mainland. He then returned to Gades.
36. Mago now despaired of success in the Spanish theatre, hopes
for which had been raised first by the soldiers’ mutiny and then by
Indibilis’ insurrection. As he prepared to cross for Africa, news
reached him from Carthage that he was under orders from his senate
to take to Italy the fleet he had under him at Gades. In Italy he was to
hire as large a force of Gallic and Ligurian warriors as he could, join
up with Hannibal and not allow a campaign that had started with
great vigour, and even greater success, to lose its momentum. Money
was shipped to Mago from Carthage for that purpose, and Mago
himself wrested as much as he could from the people of Gades. He
plundered not only their treasury but their temples, as well, and
pressured all private individuals to contribute gold and silver to the
public purse.
In the course of his journey along the Spanish coast, Mago set
ashore some soldiers not far from New Carthage, and raided the
farms in the vicinity. He then brought the fleet up to the city. There,
after keeping his men on board during the day, he had them dis-
embark at night and led them to the section of the wall that was
responsible for the Roman capture of New Carthage. He felt that the
city was not strongly garrisoned, and also that a number of the
citizens would rise up in the hope of a change of regime. However,
men had come in panic from the countryside with simultaneous
reports of the Carthaginian raids, the flight of the farmers, and the
approach of the enemy. Furthermore, Mago’s fleet had been spotted
during the day, and it was becoming clear that his choice of anchor-
age before the city had not been fortuitous. And so men were
deployed with weapons and held in readiness inside the gate that
faced the lagoon and the sea.*
When the enemy, a crowd of sailors interspersed with the soldiers,
came up to the walls out of formation, and with more commotion
496 book twenty-eight 206 bc
than vigour, the gate was suddenly flung open and the Romans
rushed out with a shout. They threw their foe into disorder, drove
them back with their very first charge and volley of missiles, and
inflicted heavy losses as they pursued them to the shore. In fact, had
ships not been brought to land to take the panic-stricken men on
board, there would not have been a single survivor from the rout or
the battle. There was panic on the ships, as well. Men were pulling
up ladders, trying to prevent the enemy from charging aboard along
with their own fighters, and cutting through hawsers and cables so
there would be no time lost in getting under way. Many met terrible
deaths as they swam to the ships, unsure in the darkness of what to
head for or what to avoid. The following day, when the fleet had
beaten a hasty retreat back to the ocean, whence it had come, some
800 dead men, and about 2,000 weapons, were found between the
wall and the shore.
37. On returning to Gades, Mago found that he was shut out of
the town, and instead put in at Cimbii,* a place not far distant from
Gades. He then sent a delegation to protest against the gates being
closed to an ally and a friend. The townsmen made the excuse that it
had come about because a mob, incensed over some pillaging by the
soldiers as they disembarked the ships, had converged on the gates.
Mago induced their sufetes* (a sufete is the chief magistrate amongst
the Phoenicians) to come to a meeting, along with the town’s financial
officer, and had them all flogged and crucified.
After that Mago crossed with his ships to Pityusa,* an island lying
roughly one hundred miles from the mainland and then inhabited
by Carthaginians. The fleet was thus given a warm welcome, and was
generously provisioned and also reinforced in terms of fighting men
and weaponry. Their confidence bolstered by this assistance, the
Carthaginians sailed over to the Balearic Islands, fifty miles from
Pityusa.
There are two Balearic islands.* One is larger than the other and
better endowed with armaments and fighting men. It also has a
harbour, where Mago felt he could spend a comfortable winter,
autumn being now at an end. But the fleet was given a reception that
was just as hostile as if the island’s inhabitants were Romans. Today,
slings are the islanders’ principal weapon, but in those days they
were their only one; and no individual from another race possesses as
much skill in their use as any single member of the Balearic peoples.
206 bc chapters 36–38 497
Stones fell like the thickest hail, hurled in such enormous quantities
at the fleet as it approached the land that the Carthaginians, not daring
to enter the harbour, instead turned their ships on a course out
to sea.
They crossed to the smaller island of the Balearians, which was
agriculturally fertile but less well populated and less well armed than
the other. Disembarking, they established camp in a well-protected
position above the harbour, and then took possession of the city* and
its farmlands without a fight. They recruited 2,000 auxiliary troops
and dispatched them to Carthage, and then drew their vessels ashore
for the winter. After Mago’s departure from the Ocean coastline, the
people of Gades capitulated to the Romans.
38. Such were the operations conducted in Spain under Publius
Scipio’s command and authority.* Scipio himself now put the pro-
vince in the hands of Lucius Lentulus and Lucius Manlius Acidinus,*
and returned to Rome with ten ships. He was accorded a meeting
with the Senate in the temple of Bellona outside the city, and there
he gave an account of his achievements in Spain. He enumerated his
pitched battles, and the towns he had taken by force from the enemy,
and named the tribes that he had brought under the sway of the
Roman people. He had gone to Spain to face four commanders and
four victorious armies, he said, and had left not a single Carthaginian
in the land. He then hopefully raised the question of a triumph for
these achievements, but he did not pursue the matter earnestly, since
it was well known that, to that day, no man who had not been in
office at the moment of his success had ever celebrated a triumph.
When the Senate adjourned, Scipio went into the city on foot where
he had 14,342 pounds of silver, and a large quantity of coined silver,
carried before him to the treasury.
Lucius Veturius Philo then presided over the consular elections.
At these the centuries unanimously, and enthusiastically, declared
Publius Scipio consul, and as his colleague Scipio was given Publius
Licinius Crassus, the pontifex maximus. It is, in fact, on record that
the attendance at these elections exceeded that of any election during
the war. People had come together from all over, not only to vote, but
just to get a glimpse of Publius Scipio. They converged in large
numbers on his home and on the Capitol, where he was busy with his
sacrifice, offering to Jupiter the hundred oxen he had promised in a
vow in Spain. They silently assured themselves that, just as Gaius
498 book twenty-eight 206–205 bc
Lutatius had finished off the earlier Punic War, so Publius Cornelius
would finish off the one that was now upon them; and just as Scipio
had completely driven the Carthaginians from Spain, so would he
drive them from Italy. They were earmarking Africa as his province,
as if the war in Italy were over.
The election of the praetors followed. The two current plebeian
aediles, Spurius Lucretius and Gnaeus Octavius, were duly elected,
and from candidates then holding no office Gnaeus Servilius Caepio
and Lucius Aemilius Papus.
Publius Cornelius Scipio and Publius Licinius Crassus began
their consulship in the fourteenth year of the Punic War. In the
allocation of provinces, Sicily came to Scipio without sortition and
with his colleague’s approval––Crassus was pontifex maximus and his
religious duties obliged him to remain in Italy––and Bruttium was
then assigned to Crassus. After that, the praetorian provinces were
assigned by sortition. The city jurisdiction came to Gnaeus Servilius,
Ariminum (as Gaul was then designated*) to Spurius Lucretius,
Sicily to Lucius Aemilius, and Sardinia to Gnaeus Octavius.
A meeting of the Senate was held on the Capitol. Here a senatorial
decree was passed, on a motion from Publius Scipio, authorizing
Scipio to put on the games he had vowed during the mutiny of the
troops in Spain, and to finance them out of the moneys he had
himself deposited in the treasury.
39. After that Scipio brought before the Senate some spokesmen of
the people of Saguntum, and the eldest made the following address:
‘Senators: While no misfortune can exceed what we have endured
in our determination to maintain, to the very last, our loyalty to you,
your services, and those of your generals, towards us have been such
that we do not regret the calamities we have suffered. You undertook
a war for our sakes, and having undertaken it you have prosecuted it
for thirteen years, and with such tenacity that you have yourselves
faced, and made the Carthaginian people face, the most dire of
predicaments. In Italy you had a terrible war on your hands, and
Hannibal as your enemy; and yet you sent a consul into Spain at the
head of an army to gather together the debris, one might say, of our
wreck. From the moment they arrived in the province, Publius and
Gnaeus Cornelius never stopped doing whatever would help us and
harm our enemies. First of all they restored our city to us; they sent
men throughout Spain to search for our citizens who had been sold
205 bc chapters 38–39 499
into slavery, and, delivering them from servitude, gave them back
their freedom.
‘We were on the verge of exchanging the most miserable lot for
one that was desirable when your generals, Publius and Gnaeus
Cornelius, perished, an event that brought almost more sorrow to us
than it did to you. At that point we truly thought that we had been
returned to our ancient homeland from faraway places only to face
ruin once more and to see a second destruction of our native city.
And, we thought, we certainly needed no Carthaginian general or
Carthaginian army to bring about our undoing––we could be
exterminated by the Turduli,* our oldest enemies, who had also been
to blame for our earlier destruction. Then, suddenly, and to our
surprise, you sent us Publius Scipio here, seeing whom makes us
think ourselves the most fortunate of all the people of Saguntum!
For we have seen him declared consul––the man who is our hope,
our succour, our salvation––and we shall be reporting that sight to
our fellow citizens. He captured a large number of our enemy’s
towns in Spain and, in every case, he set the Saguntines apart from
the mass of prisoners and sent them home. Finally there was Turde-
tania, so implacable to us that Saguntum could not survive while that
race of people remained intact. Scipio inflicted such a crushing
defeat of them that not only do we ourselves have no reason to fear
them but––if I may be forgiven for saying so––even our descendants
do not, either. We see in ruins the city of the people for whose
gratification Hannibal had destroyed Saguntum; and we take from
their lands a tax, the income from which pleases us, but not us much
as the revenge it represents!
‘We could not have hoped or wished for more than this from the
immortal gods, and the senate and people of Saguntum have sent us
to you as a ten-man delegation to thank you. We are, at the same
time, to congratulate you on your conduct of affairs in Spain and
Italy over these years. Thanks to this, you now have Spain militarily
under your control not just as far as the River Ebro, but to where the
Ocean marks the ends of the earth, and of Italy you have left the
Carthaginian nothing but the area enclosed by the rampart of his
camp. We have been instructed not only to offer thanks for this to
Jupiter Optimus Maximus, protector of the Capitoline citadel, but
also, with your permission, to bear to the Capitol this gift of a golden
wreath to commemorate your victory. We request your permission to
500 book twenty-eight 205 bc
do this, and request also, if you think it appropriate, that you ratify
and, by your authority, make permanent the benefits your generals
have conferred on us.’
Responding to the Saguntine delegation, the Senate declared
that the destruction and subsequent rebuilding of Saguntum would
remain an illustration to the whole world of the loyalty between
allies that both had maintained. Their generals’ actions in restoring
Saguntum and delivering Saguntine citizens from servitude had
been correct and appropriate, and in accordance with the will of the
Senate; and all the other benefits the generals had conferred on them
had been approved by the Senate. The senators added that they
accorded the delegates permission to place their gift on the Capitol.
Orders were then issued for the delegates to be provided with
accommodation and hospitality, and for a gift of not less than 10,000
asses to be presented to each of them.
The other delegations were then brought before the Senate and
granted an audience. The delegates from Saguntum requested
permission to make a journey to see as much of Italy as they could in
safety, and for this they were given guides, and letters were dis-
patched to the various towns with instructions that they give the
Spaniards a warm welcome. There followed discussion of state
policy, the raising of legions, and the distribution of provinces.*
40. It was now common gossip that Africa had been set aside as
Publius Scipio’s new province, without recourse to sortition, and
Scipio himself, no longer satisfied with a modicum of fame, would
say that he had been declared consul not simply to conduct the war
but to finish it. And, he said, there was no way of achieving that end
other than by his personally transporting the army to Africa, and if
the Senate opposed him, he would quite openly declare, he would
achieve his end through the vote of the people. This project found
no favour at all with the most prominent senators, but all of them,
from fear or self-interest, held their tongues––all, that is, except
Quintus Fabius Maximus. When asked his opinion, Fabius spoke as
follows:
‘I realize, senators, that many of you think that what is under
discussion today is a matter already decided, and that anyone who
voices an opinion on Africa as an assignment, on the assumption that
it is still open for debate, will be wasting his breath. But, personally, I
cannot in the first place see how Africa is firmly established as the
205 bc chapters 39–41 501
responsibility of our brave and stalwart consul when the Senate has
not resolved, nor the people authorized, that it be an official assign-
ment for the coming year. Secondly, if it is an official assignment,
then I do not think any fault lies with a senator who, in his turn,
states his opinion on a matter under discussion, but rather with the
consul who makes a mockery of the Senate by pretending to bring up
as business a matter already settled.
‘And yet I am quite sure that, when I oppose this mad rush to
cross to Africa, two things are sure to be thought of me. The first is
that I have an inherent tendency to delay. Young men are welcome to
call this fear or lethargy, as long as I can feel no regret that other
people’s strategy inevitably appears more appealing at first sight, but
mine proves better in practice. The second thing is that I am spite-
fully critical and jealous of a gallant consul’s celebrity that is increas-
ing with every passing day. To check any suspicion of this, I can cite
the life I have lived, my character and my dictatorship, plus five
terms as consul, along with so much glory earned in battle, and in
domestic affairs, that I am more tired than desirous of it. If this does
not defend me against such suspicion, then at least my age entirely
frees me from it! For how can I be in competition with a man who is
not even as old as my son?
‘When I was dictator, when I was still full of vigour and in the
process of achieving great things, I was vilified by my master of
horse. But nobody, either in the Senate or before the people, heard
me raise any objection to the man’s authority being made equal to
mine, something unheard of up to that point. The man was, in
certain people’s judgement, on the same level as me, and I preferred
to have actions, not words, bring him in short order to acknowledge
freely that I was his superior. And now that I have held the offices of
state I am certainly not going to set myself in competition and rivalry
with a young man in his prime. And for what? To have Africa
assigned to me as an area of responsibility if he is refused it, of
course,* when I am now weary, not just of a public career, but simply
of life! I must live and I must die with the glory that I have achieved:
I prevented Hannibal’s victory so that victory over him could go to
you who now have the strength to win it.
41. ‘It will be only fair for you to forgive me one thing, Publius
Cornelius.* In my own career I never set what people thought of me
above the interests of the state, and so I shall not put your glory
502 book twenty-eight 205 bc
ahead of the public good either. It would be different if there
remained no struggle in Italy, or if the enemy were such that there
was no glory to be won from his defeat. In that case, the man holding
you back in Italy, even though he were doing that for the public good,
might be regarded as having taken steps to remove, along with the
war, the possibility of your winning glory. But Hannibal is an enemy
who has been occupying Italy for thirteen years with an army that
still remains intact. Will you, Publius Cornelius, be displeased with
your renown if, as consul, you drive from Italy the enemy who has
caused us so many funerals, and so many defeats, and if you win
distinction for finishing this war, as Gaius Lutatius did for finishing
the First Punic War? Unless, that is, Hamilcar is to be regarded as a
better commander than Hannibal, or that war as being more import-
ant than this, or unless that victory is greater and more glorious than
this one is going to be––provided that it falls to us to triumph during
your consulship! Which would you prefer? To have pulled Hamilcar
away from Drepana or Eryx,* or to have driven the Carthaginians and
Hannibal from Italy? Although you cherish glory already acquired
more than glory you hope to acquire, not even you would take
greater pride in having freed Spain rather than Italy from the war.
‘Hannibal has not yet reached the stage that anyone who chose
another theatre of war would not be thought to have feared him
rather than to have despised him. So why not get yourself ready for
this effort? If your goal is the supreme glory of finishing off the
Punic War, why not go straight from here and focus hostilities where
Hannibal is located? Why not do that rather than take the circuitous
route you propose of crossing to Africa and hoping that Hannibal
will follow you there? It is also the natural way of doing things: you
defend what is yours before you go on to attack what belongs to
others. Let there be peace in Italy before there is war in Africa, and
let us be rid of fear ourselves before we go on to inspire it in others.
If both things can be achieved under your leadership and authority,
then go on to storm Carthage over there after you have vanquished
Hannibal here. If one of the two victories has to be left to fresh
consuls, the earlier one will turn out to be the greater and more
famous, as well as being the cause of the second. Set aside the fact
that the treasury cannot support two armies operating independ-
ently in Italy and in Africa,* and set aside the fact that we are left with
no reserves from which to keep our fleets maintained and to provide
205 bc chapters 41–42 503
supplies. Even apart from that, everyone is aware of the huge risk
involved.
‘Publius Licinius will be fighting the war in Italy, Publius Scipio
in Africa. Suppose Hannibal emerges victorious, and proceeds to
march on Rome. I pray that all the gods avert the omen, and my
heart shudders at the mere mention of it, but what has happened
once can happen again. Is that the point at which we finally call you
back from Africa, you the consul, just as we recalled Quintus Fulvius
from Capua? And what if it turns out that the fortunes of war are
evenly divided in Africa, too? Your own family should be a warning
to you––your father and uncle cut down with their armies within
thirty days of each other. And that after they had, by their magnifi-
cent achievements on land and sea over a number of years, added
great lustre to the name of the Roman people, and to your family,
amongst foreign races. I should run out of daylight if I tried to list
the kings and commanders who brought terrible defeats on their
armies through ill-considered invasions of enemy lands. The nor-
mally prudent state of Athens quit its war at home to cross to Sicily
with a large fleet, on the advice of a young man whose energy was as
impressive as his noble birth. In a single naval battle they inflicted
abiding damage on their own prosperous community back home.*
42. ‘But my examples are from abroad and too distant in time. Let
us take as an illustration Africa, now under discussion, and Marcus
Atilius, which provide a famous example of fortune cutting both
ways.*
‘When you catch sight of Africa from the sea, Publius Cornelius,
you will certainly think your assignments in Spain to have been child’s
play. For what similarity is there between the two? Your journey was
over a pacified stretch of water along the coastline of Italy and Gaul,
putting in at the allied city of Emporiae. Disembarking your men,
you led them to allies and friends of the Roman people in Tarraco,
going through lands that were all perfectly safe. Then, after Tarraco,
your route lay through Roman military positions. In the neighbour-
hood of the River Ebro were armies of your father and uncle, and
after the loss of their commanders these, by virtue of that very
tragedy, were all the more ready for the fray. Their leader was the
well-known Lucius Marcius. True, his was an irregular appoint-
ment, and he was chosen to meet the needs of the moment by a vote
of the soldiers; but while the famous generals had birth and regular
504 book twenty-eight 205 bc
state offices to commend them, he was their peer in the whole gamut
of military skills. The attack on New Carthage proceeded at a very
easy pace, and none of the three Punic armies came to defend their
allies. As for everything else––and I do not belittle it––it simply
is not to be compared with a war in Africa. There we have no har-
bour open to our shipping, no territory that has been brought to
heel, no allied state, no friendly king, no place to establish a bridge-
head, and no way to advance. Wherever you look, all is hostile and
threatening.
‘Are you relying on Syphax and the Numidians? It should be
enough to have relied on them once. Hasty action is not always
successful, and treachery attempts to win confidence in minor affairs
so that, when the stakes are high, the duplicity is well rewarded. The
enemy brought down your father and uncle in battle––but not before
the Celtiberian “allies” had done so with their treachery. And you
yourself did not face as much danger from Mago and Hasdrubal as
you did from Indibilis and Mandonius, whose allegiance you had
accepted. Having experienced a mutiny of your own soldiers, do you
think you can trust Numidians? Syphax and Masinissa both want
to see themselves rather than the Carthaginians supreme in Africa,
but after them the Carthaginians rather than anyone else. At the
moment, the rivalry between them and all manner of inducements to
conflict are stimulating them, because the threat from without is far
removed. Show them Roman arms, and a foreign army, and you will
have them rushing together to put out what they consider to be a fire
engulfing them all. The Carthaginians defended Spain in one man-
ner; but it is in another that they will defend the battlements of their
native city, the temples of their gods, their altars, and their homes,
when the fearful wife sees them off to battle, and little children come
running before their feet.
‘Again, just suppose that the Carthaginians have enough con-
fidence in a united Africa, in the loyalty of the kings allied to them,
and in their own fortifications. Suppose they actually send a new
army from Africa into Italy when they see the country divested of
the protection supplied by you and your army. Or suppose that they
order Mago to join up with Hannibal––for it is known that Mago has
left the Balearics with his fleet, and is skirting the coastline of the
Ligurian Alps. Naturally, we shall find ourselves in the same frightful
situation that we were in recently, when Hasdrubal descended on
205 bc chapter 42 505
Italy. And you let Hasdrubal slip through your fingers into Italy––
you who are going to quarantine not just Carthage, but the whole of
Africa, with your army! He had been defeated by you, you will say.
All the more reason for me to wish––as much for your sake as the
country’s––that a defeated man had not been allowed passage into
Italy!
‘Allow me to credit your strategy with all that turned out well for
you, and for the empire of the Roman people, and to blame all that
turned out badly on the shifting fortunes of war, and on bad luck.
The fact is that the better and braver you are, the more your native
city and all Italy wants to hold on to such a protector! And you
yourself cannot conceal the truth that, wherever Hannibal is to be
found, that is the centre and hub of this war––for you declare that
your reason for crossing to Africa is to draw Hannibal there with
you. So, whether it be here or over there, it is with Hannibal that
your fight will be.
‘Are you then going to be stronger on your own in Africa, or here
with your army joined to that of your colleague? Does not the recent
example of Claudius and Livius also serve to illustrate how import-
ant a difference that makes? And what, I ask you, is going to make
Hannibal stronger in terms of arms and personnel? Being in a
remote corner of Bruttian territory where he has long been vainly
appealing for reinforcements from home, or having Carthage close
by with all of Africa allied to her? What sort of idea is this, to want to
decide the issue where your forces are halved, and your enemy’s
much greater, instead of where your two armies are to be fighting
against one, and one worn down by so many battles and such long
and arduous service?
‘Keep in mind the contrast between your strategy and your
father’s. As consul he left for Spain in order to encounter Hannibal
when he came down from the Alps, but then he returned to Italy
from that assignment. When Hannibal is in Italy, you are preparing
to leave the country––not because you think it serves the interests of
the state but because you think it will promote your reputation and
glory. It was the same when you left your province and your army
without legal authority, and without the sanction of a senatorial
decree.* A commander of the people of Rome, you entrusted to two
ships the fortunes of the state and the majesty of our empire, the
safety of which was staked on your life.
506 book twenty-eight 205 bc
‘My own opinion, senators, is that Publius Scipio has been elected
consul not to serve his own personal interests, but to serve the repub-
lic and us. And I think that the armies have been raised for the
protection of the city and Italy, not for consuls to take over to any
part of the world they choose with king-like arrogance.’
43. The address was appropriate to the situation, and Fabius also
had personal authority and a reputation for his inveterate sagacity.
He therefore impressed most of the Senate, especially the senior
members, and more people appreciated the older man’s discretion
than the younger’s impetuous spirit. Then Scipio is said to have
delivered the following speech:
‘Senators: Quintus Fabius himself allowed at the beginning of his
address that he might be suspected of spiteful criticism in presenting
his opinion. I would not myself presume to make such a charge
against so great a man, but such a suspicion has not been entirely
erased, whether the problem lies in how he has presented his case or
in the facts themselves. For, in his attempt to smother any charge of
envy, he has been extremely fulsome in his praise of his own political
career and famous exploits. It is as if the competition I risk facing
must come from the lowest sort of people, and not from him––
because he towers above everybody (and I do not conceal my
attempts to rise so far myself), he would not countenance my being
considered on his level. He has represented himself as an old man
who has finished his career, and me as being younger even than his
own son. The assumption is that thirst for glory is coterminous with
human life, and that the most important element of it is not con-
cerned with how we are remembered by posterity. I am certain that it
is the case with all great souls that they compare themselves not only
with men of the present, but with the luminaries of every age. I
certainly do not hide my desire not only to achieve your renown,
Quintus Fabius, but––if you’ll forgive me for saying so––even to
surpass it, if I can. Your attitude towards me, and mine towards my
juniors, should not be such that we are unwilling to see any citizen
achieve success similar to ours. For that would hurt not only those
who are the objects of our envy, but the state as well, and almost the
entire human race.
‘Fabius expanded on the danger I would face in crossing to Africa,
to the point of making me think that he was worried not just about
the republic and our army, but about me personally. How did this
205 bc chapters 42–43 507
sudden concern for me come about? Remember when my father and
uncle were killed, when two of their armies had been practically
exterminated, when the Spanish provinces were lost, and four
Carthaginian armies and four commanders held the whole country
in fear of their armed might. Remember how a general was sought
for that war and nobody put himself forward apart from me, how
nobody dared submit his name and how the Roman people conferred
that command on me when I was twenty-four years old. Why was it
that no one at that moment made any mention of my age, of the
enemy’s strength, of the difficulty of the war, or of the recent defeat
of my father and my uncle? Has there now been some greater
debacle in Africa than there was at that time in Spain? Are there now
greater armies in Africa, and more and better commanders, than
there were in Spain at that time? Did I have greater maturity for
conducting the war then than I have now? Is Spain a more appropri-
ate theatre for war with a Carthaginian enemy than Africa? Four
Punic armies were defeated and put to flight; many cities were
stormed or frightened into submission; the whole country was sub-
dued as far as the Ocean, along with its droves of chieftains and
barbarous tribes; all of Spain was recovered, with no trace of war left
behind. After that it is easy to make light of what I have done––as
easy, indeed, as to make light, if I return victorious from Africa, of
those very things that are now being exaggerated and made to seem
horrific, just to hold me back!
‘Fabius says we have no access to Africa, that no harbours are open
to us. He talks about Marcus Atilius’ capture in Africa, suggesting
that Marcus Atilius ran into trouble on first reaching the country. He
does not remember, either, that the ill-starred commander did find
African ports open to him, and that he fought a splendid campaign
in his first year, and, in the eyes of the Carthaginian military leaders,
remained unbeaten to the end. So you will have no success browbeat-
ing me with that particular example. If that defeat had been sus-
tained in this war, not the first one––recently and not forty years
ago*––why would I have less justification for crossing to Africa after
Regulus’ capture than for crossing to Spain after the Scipios fell in
battle? I would not allow that the Spartan Xanthippus* was born to be
a greater blessing to Carthage than I would be for my own country,
and my confidence would only increase from knowing that so much
importance can lie in the courage of one individual.
508 book twenty-eight 205 bc
‘But we also have to hear about the Athenians, and how they made
their reckless crossing to Sicily, neglecting the war at home. Now
since you have the time for Greek stories, why not rather tell of
Agathocles, King of Syracuse?* When Sicily had long been aflame
with a war with Carthage, he crossed to this same Africa and threw
the war back to the source from which it had come.
44. ‘But what is the point of using dated and foreign examples to
illustrate how effective it is to take the offensive to intimidate the
enemy and, removing the threat from oneself, to expose another to
danger? Can there be a more important and more contemporary
example than Hannibal? Seeing other people’s territory being pil-
laged is very different from seeing your own torched and destroyed;
and the aggressor has more spirit than the one fighting off the threat.
In addition, there is the fear of the unknown; but as the invader you
see up close the enemy’s pluses and minuses. Hannibal had not
expected to see so many peoples in Italy defect to him, and it was
after the defeat at Cannae that they did so. How much less security
and stability could the Carthaginians expect to find in Africa, faithless
allies and domineering and arrogant masters as they are. In addition,
even though we were abandoned by our allies, we still held out by
virtue of our own strength––the Roman soldier. The Carthaginian
has no might in his citizenry, using as he does African and Numidian
mercenaries, intrinsically capricious peoples prone to switching
allegiance.
‘In this case, as long as there is no hesitation on our part, you will
at one and the same time receive word that I have made the crossing,
that Africa is aflame with war, that Hannibal is making his way out of
this country and that Carthage is under siege. You may expect more
encouraging and more frequent reports from Africa than you used
to receive from Spain. Such hopes are raised in me by the fortune
of the Roman people, by the gods who are witnesses to the treaty the
enemy broke, and by the kings Syphax and Masinissa, on whose
loyalty I shall rely, while also ensuring that I am well protected
against duplicity.
‘Many factors that the distance now renders unclear the war will
clarify; and the mark of a soldier and a leader is not to miss any
opportunity that presents itself, and to put to strategic use what he
is offered by chance. Quintus Fabius, I shall have the adversary you
tender––Hannibal, that is––but let me draw him after me rather
205 bc chapters 43–44 509
than have him hold me here. Let me force him to fight in his
own country––and Carthage, rather than some crumbling Bruttian
forts, will be the prize of victory. And there is no question of the
state suffering damage here while I make the crossing, set my
army ashore in Africa, and advance my camp in the direction of
Carthage. You were able to assure that, Quintus Fabius, when the
victorious Hannibal flitted around all Italy, and you should avoid
the insulting suggestion that the consul Publius Licinius, a man of
great courage, cannot assure it now, when Hannibal has already
been badly shaken and is all but spent. And the reason for Licinius’
not participating in a sortition for such a distant province was
simply so that the pontifex maximus should not be absent from his
religious duties.
‘But let us suppose, for heaven’s sake, that the war were not
brought to an end any earlier by the strategy I am advocating. Even
then, being seen to have the courage not only to defend Italy, but also
to conduct an offensive against Africa, would be in keeping with the
dignity of the Roman people, and their reputation amongst kings
and nations of foreign lands. It is important, too, to avoid having it
believed and spread abroad that no Roman commander would dare
to do what Hannibal dared to do, and that whereas, in the First
Punic War, when the fight was for Sicily, Africa was frequently
attacked by our armies and fleets, now, when the fight is for Italy, she
is left in peace. Italy has been tormented for so long. Let her finally
have some rest, and let Africa have her turn of burning and devasta-
tion. Let us have a Roman camp threaten Carthage’s gates, rather
than once more see the enemy’s rampart from our own walls. Let
Africa be the theatre for the remainder of the war. It is to that
country that the terror, the flight, the pillaging of fields should be
diverted, and the defection of allies and the other military disasters
that have descended on us over a fourteen-year period.
‘I have said enough about the interests of the state, the campaign
now facing us, and the areas of responsibility in question. It would
have to be a long speech, irrelevant to your concerns, if I wished to
disparage Quintus Fabius’ fine reputation and boost my own, just as
he belittled my achievements in Spain. I shall do neither, members
of the Senate, and then, if nothing else, the younger man will at least
have surpassed the older in curbing and restraining his language. My
life and achievements have been such that I am quite happy to hold
510 book twenty-eight 205 bc
my tongue and live with the opinion you have independently formed
of them.’
45. Scipio’s address was less favourably received: word had got
round that, if he failed in the Senate to have Africa assigned to him
as his area of responsibility, he would immediately bring a proposal
before the people. And so Quintus Fulvius, who had held four con-
sulships and had also been censor, demanded of the consul that he
make a clear statement before the Senate. Would he leave it to the
senators to determine the areas of responsibility, and accept their
decision, or would he take the matter to the people? When Scipio
replied that he would do whatever served the interests of the state,
Fulvius said: ‘When I put that question to you, I was not unaware of
what your reply and what your reaction would be. For you make it
clear that you are sounding out the Senate rather than consulting
it, and that, if we do not immediately vote you the assignment
you want, you have a proposal for the people already drawn up.
Accordingly, tribunes of the plebs, I earnestly request that you stand
by me when I refuse my opinion. For even if the division favours my
proposal, the consul is not going to accept it as binding.’
And with that wrangling broke out, because the consul claimed it
was unconstitutional for the tribunes to intervene in support of any
senator refusing to state his opinion when asked to do so in his turn.
The tribunes then delivered the following judgement: ‘If the consul
permits the Senate to decide on the assignment of responsibilities, it
is our wish that the decision of the Senate be binding, and we shall
not allow the matter to be brought before the people. If the consul
does not so permit, we shall support a person refusing to voice his
opinion on the matter.’ The consul requested a day to discuss the
issue with his colleague, and the following day the Senate had his
permission.
The areas of responsibility were assigned as follows.* One of the
consuls received Sicily together with the thirty warships that Gaius
Servilius had commanded the year before. That consul was also
given leave to cross to Africa if he felt it to be in the interests of the
state. The other was given Bruttium and the war against Hannibal,
with his own choice of army. Lucius Veturius and Quintus Caecilius
were to decide by sortition, or by mutual agreement, which of the
two was to continue operations in Bruttium with the two legions that
the consul would leave there. The one given that assignment would
205 bc chapters 44–46 511
have his imperium extended for a year. All others who were to take
charge of armies and hold official responsibilities (apart from the
consuls and praetors) also had their imperium extended. It fell to
Quintus Caecilius by sortition to join the consul for the war against
Hannibal in Bruttium.
The games vowed by Scipio were then put on, with large crowds
of enthusiastic spectators in attendance. Marcus Pomponius Matho
and Quintus Catius were sent on a mission to Delphi to take a gift
from the spoils of Hannibal. They bore a golden crown weighing 200
pounds, and reproductions of the spoils made from 1,000 pounds of
silver.
Scipio had not been granted a request to levy troops, but he had not
been particularly insistent, either. He did, however, secure authoriza-
tion to take volunteers with him and––because he had stated that the
fleet would not involve state expense––to receive all allied contribu-
tions for the construction of new ships. The various peoples of
Etruria were first to commit to helping the consul, according to the
means of each.* The people of Caere promised grain for the crews
and all manner of provisions. Populonia promised iron, Tarquinii
sail-linen, and Volaterrae wax caulking for ships, and grain.
Arretium made a commitment of 3,000 shields and as many helmets,
and also a total of 40,000 javelins, Gallic spears, and long pikes, in
equal numbers. It would also supply axes, shovels, scythes, basins,
and grinders sufficient for forty warships, as well as 120,000 meas-
ures of grain, and a contribution towards the upkeep of naval officers
and oarsmen. Perusia, Clusium, and Rusellae made a commitment of
fir for the construction of ships, and a large quantity of grain. Scipio
also availed himself of fir from the state-owned forests. The peoples
of Umbria promised to supply fighting men, as did those of Nursia,
Reate, Amiternum, and the entire Sabine area. Large numbers of
Marsi, Paeligni, and Marrucini gave their names as volunteers for
the fleet. The people of Camerinum, who had a treaty with Rome
based on equal rights, sent an armed contingent of 600 men.
Keels were laid down for thirty ships, twenty quinqueremes and
ten quadriremes. Such was the determination with which Scipio
then attacked the work that the vessels were launched, fully equipped
and rigged, forty-four days after the timber had been taken from the
woods.
46. Setting aboard approximately 7,000 volunteer soldiers, Scipio
512 book twenty-eight 205 bc
left for Sicily with thirty warships, and Publius Licinius came to the
two consular armies in Bruttium. Of these armies, Licinius took for
himself the one that Lucius Veturius had led as consul, leaving
Metellus in charge of the legions which he had already commanded,
for he thought that Metellus would find it easier to operate with men
accustomed to his authority. The praetors also left for their various
spheres of duty.
Since the war was facing a financial deficit, the quaestors were
instructed to sell off an area of Capuan farmland between the Fossa
Graeca* and the coast. Moreover, people were allowed to lay informa-
tion about lands that had belonged to any Campanian citizen, so that
it could become the property of the Roman people. The informer’s
reward was fixed at a tenth of the value of the land about which he
had provided the information. Furthermore, the urban praetor
Gnaeus Servilius was assigned the task of ensuring that citizens of
Capua settled only where they were allowed to do so by the senatorial
decree, and of punishing those residing elsewhere.
That same summer Mago son of Hamilcar put a force of hand-
picked fighting men aboard his fleet, and crossed to Italy from the
smaller of the Balearic Islands, where he had spent the winter. He
brought with him 11,000 infantry and roughly 2,000 cavalry on
about thirty men-of-war and numerous freighters, and, thanks to the
speed of his arrival, he captured Genua,* where there were no troops
patrolling the coastline. Mago next landed on the shores of the Ligu-
rian Alps, hoping to create some unrest in the area. The Ingauni, a
Ligurian tribe, were at the time engaged in a war with the Epanterii
Montani.* The Carthaginian therefore deposited his booty in the
Alpine town of Savo and, leaving ten warships riding at anchor there
to protect it, sent the rest of his warships to Carthage for the defence
of the coast there, for there was talk that Scipio would be crossing
over. Mago then struck a treaty with the Ingauni, preferring to have
their support than their adversaries’, and proceeded to launch an
offensive against the Montani. His army was day by day on the
increase as Gauls flocked to him from every direction, drawn by the
fame of his name. This caused the senators great concern when they
learned of it from dispatches sent by Spurius Lucretius. They feared
that, should there be another war of similar proportions in that area,
with only the enemy leader changed, then their joy two years earlier,
when Hasdrubal and his army were wiped out, might prove to have
205 bc chapter 46 513
been unfounded. They therefore instructed the proconsul Marcus
Livius to move his army of slave volunteers from Etruria up to
Ariminum. In addition, the praetor Gnaeus Servilius was instructed
to have the two city legions put under the command of a man of his
choosing (if he thought this to be in the interest of the state), and
brought from the city. Marcus Valerius Laevinus led those legions to
Arretium.
In that same period about eighty Carthaginian freighters were
captured off Sardinia by Gnaeus Octavius, who had charge of that
province. Coelius claims that their cargo was grain and other provi-
sions destined for Hannibal, Valerius that they were taken as they
were transporting to Carthage plunder from Etruria, and Ligurian
and Montanian prisoners of war.*
In Bruttium nothing of any significance occurred that year. A
plague had fallen on the Romans and the Carthaginians, hurting
both sides equally, though the Carthaginian was afflicted with food-
shortages as well as the disease. Hannibal spent the summer in the
area of the temple of Juno Lacinia. There he built and dedicated an
altar, adding a large inscription, written in both Punic and Greek,
which listed his achievements.*
 BOOK TWENTY-NINE

1. On reaching Sicily, Scipio formed his volunteers into ranks and

centuries.* Three hundred of them, young men in their prime and
of outstanding physical strength, he kept around him, unarmed,
and he left them ignorant of why they were being kept in reserve
and not put into centuries or given weapons. Then he assembled a
300-strong cavalry force to cross with him to Africa, selecting
young men of superior family and means from all over Sicily, and
he fixed a date on which they were to appear, equipped and fur-
nished with horses and weapons. Such a campaign far from home
struck them as a grim prospect, and they thought it would expose
them to many hardships and much danger on both land and sea. And
their parents and relatives, too, not just the conscripts, were prey to
such anxiety.
When the appointed day arrived, the men appeared with their
weapons and mounts. Then Scipio announced that he was receiving
reports that a number of the Sicilian horsemen were alarmed at the
thought of such a campaign, which they expected to be onerous and
demanding. If that was how they felt, he said, he preferred them to say
so right now rather than to find them grumbling later on, and turn-
ing out to be half-hearted soldiers of no use to the republic. They
should therefore speak their minds, and they would get a sympathetic
hearing from him. When one of the men found the courage to say
that, given the choice, he certainly would not want to serve, Scipio
said to him: ‘Well, young man, since you have not concealed your
feelings, I shall provide a replacement for you. You are to transfer to
him your weapons, your horse, and all the other military equipment;
you are to take him home with you from here right away, train him
and see that he is schooled in horsemanship and armed combat.’
The man gladly accepted the conditions, and Scipio entrusted to
him one of the three hundred men he was keeping unarmed. When
the others saw the horseman freed from service with the commander’s
approval, they all asked to be excused, and all accepted a replacement.
So it was that Roman horsemen replaced the 300 Sicilians, without
state expense. The Sicilians took responsibility for their instruction
and training, because the commander had ordered that anyone who
205 bc chapter 1 515
failed to do this would have to take on the service himself. They
say that the cavalry squadron turned out to be superb,* providing
assistance for the republic in numerous battles.
Scipio then conducted an inspection of the legions, and selected
from them soldiers with the largest number of campaigns to their
credit, and especially those who had served under Marcellus. These,
he believed, were the men who had received the finest training and
who were, thanks to their long blockade of Syracuse, the most adept
in besieging cities. For it was no minor operation that Scipio had in
mind: he was already contemplating the destruction of Carthage.*
He then distributed his troops amongst the towns, and requisitioned
grain from the city-states of Sicily, making sparing use of that
imported from Italy. He refurbished old ships and sent Gaius Laelius
to Africa on raiding expeditions with them. His new ships he drew
up on shore at Panormus to pass the winter on dry land, because
they had been hurriedly put together from timber that was still green.
Having completed his preparations for war, Scipio came to Syra-
cuse, which was still quite unsettled after the great upheavals of the
war. Some Greeks were trying to reclaim property, which had been
restored to them by the Senate, from people of Italian stock who were
holding on to it with the same ferocity with which they had seized it
during the hostilities. Feeling his first priority was to safeguard the
integrity of the state, Scipio restored the property to the Syracusans
by edict, and also by passing sentences on those who persisted in their
unlawful possession. Such measures met with approval not only from
the plaintiffs, but also from all the communities of Sicily who, as a
result, assisted the war effort all the more assiduously.
That same summer a serious war arose in Spain. It was the Ilergetan
Indibilis who fomented it, and the only reason he had for it was his
admiration for Scipio, which led him to look down on other Roman
commanders. Scipio, he felt, was the only leader the Romans had
left, the rest having been killed by Hannibal. When the two Scipios
had fallen, he reasoned, they had had no one to send to Spain apart
from him, and when the war in Italy gained momentum they had
called him back from there to face Hannibal. The Romans now had
only nominal leaders in Spain and, apart from that, they had also
withdrawn a seasoned army.* They had left behind a completely
volatile situation, and a disorganized bunch of recruits, and there
would never be another occasion like that for freeing Spain. To that
516 book twenty-nine 205 bc
day the Spaniards had served either the Carthaginians or the
Romans, and not simply the one or the other in turn, but occasion-
ally the two at once. The Carthaginians had been driven out by the
Romans, and now the Romans could be driven out by the Spaniards,
if they could form a united front. Thus Spain could be for ever
liberated from all foreign control, and could return to her native
culture and observances.
With such arguments Indibilis spurred not just his own tribesmen
to action, but the neighbouring tribe of the Ausetani, and other
peoples* in his and their vicinity, as well. So it was that within a few
days 30,000 infantry and about 4,000 cavalry converged, following
Indibilis’ instructions, on the land of the Sedetani.
2. The Roman commanders, Lucius Lentulus and Lucius Manlius
Acidinus, fearful of an escalation of hostilities through initial neg-
ligence on their part, also united their armies. They then led their
troops through the lands of the Ausetani in a non-aggressive fashion,
treating hostile soil as though it were pacified, and on reaching the
position held by the enemy, they pitched their camp three miles away
from theirs. They first sent envoys in an attempt, which proved
futile, to persuade the Spaniards to lay down their arms. Then there
was a lightning attack by the Spanish cavalry on a Roman foraging
party. Horsemen were therefore sent out from a Roman outpost to
assist the foragers, and this precipitated a cavalry engagement, but
no significant advantage was gained by either side.
At sunrise the next day the Spaniards were all deployed under
arms, their line visible about a mile from the Roman camp. The
Ausetani were in the centre, with the Ilergetes holding the right
wing, and some little-known Spanish tribes the left. Between the
wings and the centre they left gaps wide enough to enable them to
send out cavalry at the appropriate moment. The Romans followed
their usual pattern of deployment, but followed the enemy configur-
ation in one respect: they, too, left paths open for the cavalry between
the legions. Lentulus realized, however, that only one side would
actually profit from its cavalry, and that was the one that first sent its
horsemen into the gaps in the enemy line. He therefore ordered a
military tribune, Servius Cornelius, to command his cavalry to
charge at a gallop through the wide passages in the enemy formation.
The infantry engagement did not begin well for the Romans; and
the twelfth legion, positioned on the left wing facing the Ilergetes,
205 bc chapters 1–3 517
was giving ground. Lentulus waited only long enough to bring up
the thirteenth legion from the reserves to the front to support the
twelfth, and then, with the fight once more evenly matched in that
quarter, he came to Lucius Manlius, who was in the front ranks,
shouting encouragement and bringing up reserve troops to points
where they were needed. Lentulus informed Manlius that the left
wing was now secured, and that he had despatched Cornelius to
encircle the enemy with a brisk cavalry charge.*
Barely had Lentulus uttered these words when the Roman cavalry
charged into the midst of the enemy, throwing the infantry ranks
into chaos, and simultaneously closing the path the Spaniards
intended using for their own cavalry charge. The Spanish horsemen
therefore abandoned the cavalry fight, and dismounted. When the
Roman officers saw the confusion in the enemy ranks, and observed
their alarm, their panic and their wavering standards, they urged and
entreated their men to attack the demoralized force, and not allow
the line to reform. The barbarians could not have held out against
such a furious charge but for their chieftain, Indibilis, who, along
with his dismounted cavalry, threw himself in the enemy’s path
before the front units. The fighting in that quarter remained fer-
ocious for some time. The king was half-dead, but still holding his
ground. Then he was pinned to the ground by a javelin, and those
fighting around him went down under a volley of missiles; and with
that the flight began in every sector. Casualties were increased
because the horsemen had no room to mount their horses, and also
because the Romans were putting heavy pressure on a demoralized
foe; and there was no turning back until they seized his camp, as
well. Thirteen thousand Spaniards fell that day, and roughly 1,800
prisoners were taken. The Roman and allied dead numbered slightly
more than 200, most of them on the left wing. The Spaniards who
had been driven from the camp, or who had escaped from the battle,
first of all scattered through the countryside, and then returned to
their various communities.
3. The survivors were then called to a council meeting by
Mandonius. There they deplored their disastrous losses and berated
the men who had fomented the war; and they voted to send envoys to
hand over their weapons, and negotiate terms of surrender. The
envoys put the blame on Indibilis, whom they declared the prime
mover of the war, and the other chieftains, most of whom had fallen
518 book twenty-nine 205 bc
in battle, and they offered to give up their weapons and surrender.
The answer they received, however, was that acceptance of their
surrender depended upon their surrendering, alive, Mandonius and
the other instigators of the war. Failing that, they were told, the
Romans would bring their army into the land of the Ilergetes and the
Ausetani, and then, in turn, into that of all the other tribes.
Such was the reply to the envoys, and it was duly reported to the
council. At the meeting Mandonius and the other chieftains were
then arrested and delivered up for punishment.* Peace was thus
restored to the peoples of Spain, who were obliged to pay double
taxation that year, and provide a six-months’ supply of grain along
with cloaks and togas for the army. In addition, hostages were taken
from some thirty tribes.
And so unrest and rebellion in Spain had been whipped up, and
put down, in just a few days, and with no serious upheaval; and now
the threat of war focused entirely on Africa.
Gaius Laelius had reached Hippo Regius* under cover of night,
and at dawn he led out his soldiers, in formation and supported
by the crews of his ships, to conduct raids on the local farmland.
Everyone here was calmly going about his business, as in peacetime,
and the damage inflicted was heavy. People brought the alarming
news to Carthage, filling the city with sheer terror: a Roman fleet had
arrived, they said, and with it the commander Scipio (and there had
already been talk of Scipio’s crossing to Sicily). The Carthaginians
had no idea how many ships these people had seen, or the size of the
force raiding the fields, and under the influence of fear they over-
estimated all reports. At first terror and panic gripped their hearts,
and then a gloomy foreboding. Such was the change in their circum-
stances, they reflected. Recently they had themselves been victors,
and had had an army before the walls of Rome; they had mown down
so many enemy armies, and accepted the capitulation or voluntary
surrender of all the peoples of Italy. Now the fortunes of war had
turned, and they would see Africa being plundered and Carthage
under siege; and to face these ordeals they had nothing like the
strength the Romans had possessed. For the Romans had their prole-
tariat and they had Latium to give them an ever-burgeoning supply
of young men to replace all their slaughtered armies. There was
no military strength in their own urban, or agrarian, proletariat, they
said––hence the mobilization of mercenary auxiliaries from the ranks
205 bc chapters 3–4 519
of the Africans, a perfidious race that shifts loyalties with every
prospect of gain.* Then there were the kings––Syphax alienated from
them after his meeting with Scipio, and Masinissa, a deadly enemy
who had openly abandoned them! There was no hope and no help to
be found anywhere! Mago was neither fomenting unrest in Gaul, nor
joining up with Hannibal, and Hannibal himself was weakening both
in reputation and strength.
4. The Carthaginians had lapsed into these depressing reflections
after the recent report, but fear for the present brought them back to
consider how to deal with the perils they were now facing. It was
decided that there should be a swift troop mobilization in the city
and countryside, and that they would send men to hire mercenary
auxiliaries from among the Africans. They would fortify the city,
gather in grain, make ready arms and armour, and fit out ships and
send them to Hippo to challenge the Roman fleet. They were
involved in this when the message arrived that it was not Scipio, but
Laelius, who had made the crossing, and with forces enough only for
conducting raids on agricultural areas––Roman military activity was
still mostly centred on Sicily.
The Carthaginians were thus given a breathing space, and a start
was made on sending embassies to Syphax and other chieftains, with
a view to establishing alliances. Men were also sent to Philip to
promise him 200 talents of silver for an invasion of Sicily or Italy.
There was also a delegation sent to the Carthaginian generals in
Italy, instructing them to create all kinds of emergencies to detain
Scipio. As for Mago, he was sent not only envoys, but twenty-five
warships, as well, plus 6,000 infantry, 800 cavalry, seven elephants,
and, in addition, a large sum of money to hire mercenaries. The
thinking was that, with such support, Mago could move his army
closer to the city of Rome and join up with Hannibal.*
Such was the preparation and planning taking place in Carthage.
Meanwhile, Laelius was making off with huge quantities of plunder
from farmlands that were unprotected and devoid of troops, and
Masinissa, when he heard of the arrival of a Roman fleet, came to
him with a few horsemen. Masinissa complained that Scipio’s hand-
ling of operations was half-hearted: he had not yet brought an army
over to Africa, although the Carthaginians were demoralized, and
Syphax was embroiled in wars with his neighbours. He added that he
was convinced that Syphax, given the leeway to arrange affairs to his
520 book twenty-nine 205 bc
satisfaction, would show no loyalty whatsoever in his future dealings
with the Romans. Laelius should encourage and urge Scipio not to
hold back, and he himself, despite having been driven from his
throne, would assist the Romans with both infantry and cavalry
forces not to be scoffed at. Laelius should not himself wait around in
Africa, either, he said, for he believed that a fleet had set sail from
Carthage, and engaging that fleet in Scipio’s absence would certainly
not be a safe move.
5. Following this conversation, Laelius sent Masinissa off, and the
following day set sail from Hippo with his plunder-laden ships. He
returned to Sicily and delivered Masinissa’s communiqué to Scipio.
It was at about this time that the ships sent to Mago from Carthage
put in at a point between the land of the Ligurian Albingauni* and
Genua. Mago happened to have his fleet at anchor there at the time,
and after hearing out the envoys, who relayed the orders for him to
muster the largest armies he possibly could, he promptly held an
assembly of Gauls and Ligurians, there being large numbers of both
in the area. He told them that his mission was to champion their
liberty. As they could see for themselves, he was now being sent
reinforcements from home, but, he added, his strength, and the size
of his army for waging that war, depended on them. He explained
that there were two Roman armies in operation in the area, one in
Gaul, and the other in Etruria, and he knew for sure that Spurius
Lucretius was going to join forces with Marcus Livius. For effective
resistance to two Roman commanders and two Roman armies, many
thousands of men had to be put under arms.
The Gauls expressed the greatest enthusiasm for this, but
observed that they had one Roman camp within their territory, and a
second almost within sight of them in nearby Etruria. If it became
known that the Carthaginians were receiving assistance from the
Gauls, they would instantly have hostile armies invading their land
from both directions. Mago should therefore request of the Gauls
only such assistance as could be given covertly. The Ligurians were
in a different situation, they said: with Roman camps a long way off
from their farmland and cities, they could make their decisions
freely, and it was only right that they should put their younger men
under arms, and take their fair share of the war.
The Ligurians did not demur, requesting only a two-month period
for recruiting troops. Meanwhile, Mago proceeded to hire Gallic
205 bc chapters 4–6 521
mercenary soldiers by sending agents covertly through their terri-
tory, and he was also sent supplies of all kinds by the Gallic tribes in
secret consignments.
Marcus Livius brought his army of slave volunteers from Etruria
into Gaul. He joined up with Lucretius, and prepared to face Mago
should he move out of Liguria and come closer to the city. If the
Carthaginians remained inactive in that remote corner of the Alps,
however, Livius would remain in position close to Ariminum, in
order to protect Italy.
6. After Gaius Laelius’ return from Africa, Scipio was aroused by
Masinissa’s words of encouragement. In addition, his men were fired
with a desire to cross to Africa as soon as possible when they saw
plunder from enemy territory being unloaded from an entire fleet.
However, this major scheme was put on hold by a lesser one, namely
the recovery of the city of Locri, which, during the Italian defections,
had also gone over to the Carthaginians. A gleam of hope of attaining
this goal arose from a very minor incident.
Marauding rather than regular warfare was now the order of the
day in Bruttium. The Numidians had started this, and the Bruttii
followed suit, as much because it suited their make-up as because of
their alliance with Carthage. Finally, even the Roman soldiery became
infected with the disease and, within the limits set by the officers,
began to take pleasure in looting and making raids on enemy farms.
Now, a number of Locrians who had come out of their city were
surrounded by the Romans and taken off to Rhegium. Amongst
prisoners taken were a number of tradesmen who had been regularly
hired by the Carthaginians for work in the citadel of Locri. The
tradesmen were recognized by some prominent Locrian citizens who
were at the time in exile at Rhegium, having been expelled by the
opposing faction that had delivered Locri to Hannibal. These men
put to them questions usually asked by people who have been long
absent from home, and the tradesmen told them what was going on
in Locri––and also gave them hope that they would deliver the cita-
del to them if they were ransomed and sent back. For, they said, they
lived in the town, and the Carthaginians trusted them in every
respect. The exiles, suffering severe homesickness and also feeling a
burning desire for vengeance on their enemies, promptly redeemed
the men and sent them back home. First, however, they came to an
agreement with the tradesmen on a programme for bringing off the
522 book twenty-nine 205 bc
coup, and on the signals these were to look for in the distance from
the citadel. They then went off to Syracuse to see Scipio, with whom
there were also a number of the Locrian exiles, and recounted what
the prisoners had undertaken to do. This gave the consul some hope
of its success, and so the military tribunes Marcus Sergius and Publius
Matienus were sent back with the exiles, under orders to take 3,000
soldiers from Rhegium to Locri. The propraetor Quintus Pleminius*
was also given written orders to take an active part in the operation.
The force set off from Rhegium carrying ladders specially con-
structed to the height of the citadel, and around the middle of the
night, from the agreed location, they gave the signal to the fifth
column in the citadel. The men were prepared and on the alert, and
they themselves lowered ladders that were custom-made for the job.
They took in the Romans, who scaled the wall at several points at
once, and before any cry could go up, an attack was launched on the
Carthaginian sentries who, naturally, fearing no such occurrence,
had fallen asleep. The groans of the dying men were the first thing to
be heard. Then came the sudden uproar and confusion as men were
awakened from their sleep without knowing what had caused the
alarm; but eventually things became clearer as they began to rouse
each other. At last they were all issuing calls to arms, shouting that
the enemy was in the citadel and the sentries were being killed. The
Romans, nowhere near as numerous as their enemy, would have been
overwhelmed but for a cry raised by the men outside the citadel; for
this rendered unclear the source of the alarm, and the confusion and
darkness only served to intensify every groundless fear.
As a result the Carthaginians were terror-stricken. They assumed
the citadel to be now full of the enemy, and they abandoned the
fight and sought refuge in the other citadel (for there are two, a short
distance from each other). The townspeople were then left holding
their town, which was set between the two sides as the victors’ prize;
and, every day, light skirmishes would be started from the two cita-
dels. Quintus Pleminius was in charge of the Roman force, Hamilcar
of the Carthaginian. They each augmented their troops by summon-
ing reinforcements from the surrounding areas. Finally Hannibal
himself was en route for the town. The Romans could not have held
out against him had not the sentiments of most Locrians, embittered
by Carthaginian arrogance and rapacity, felt more sympathy for the
Roman cause.
205 bc chapters 6–7 523
7. When he was brought the news that the situation in Locri was
becoming more dangerous, and that Hannibal himself was on his
way, Scipio did not want the force there also to be put at risk (for its
withdrawal from the town would not be easy). He therefore left his
brother Lucius Scipio in command of the garrison at Messana and,
as soon as the tide turned in the straits,* set off from there with ten
ships, the flow now in his favour.
Hannibal meanwhile sent a message from the River Bulotus, not
far from the city of Locri, ordering his men to engage the Romans
and Locrians with maximum force at daybreak. In the meantime, he
explained, while everyone’s attention was focused on that confronta-
tion, he would himself make an attack on the unsuspecting city from
the rear. At dawn, Hannibal found the battle already under way. He
was unwilling to confine himself to the citadel––with his numbers he
would choke such a restricted area––and he had not brought ladders
for scaling the walls. He therefore piled up the baggage and pre-
sented his army, in battle order, close to the walls, hoping to intimi-
date the enemy. Then, as ladders and other materials needed for an
assault were being prepared, he began to ride around the city with
his Numidian cavalrymen to see just where he should launch his
attack. As he went up to the wall, the man who happened to have been
standing next to him was struck with a projectile from a ‘scorpion’.
The incident, which had exposed him to great danger, unnerved
Hannibal. He ordered the retreat to be sounded, and established a
fortified camp out of missile-range.
The Roman fleet arrived in Locri from Messana when much of
the day still remained. The men were all put ashore, and they
entered the city before sunset.
The next day the Carthaginians started the fighting from their
citadel, and Hannibal, who had by now finished preparing the lad-
ders and everything else for the assault, began to move up to the
walls. Suddenly––the last thing he feared––the gate opened, and
Romans came charging out at him. The attack of the Romans took
the Carthaginians by surprise, and left some 200 dead; and when
Hannibal realized that the consul was present, he brought the others
back to camp. He sent word to the men in the citadel that they
should look out for themselves, and then struck camp during the
night and left. The men in the citadel set fire to the buildings they
occupied, hoping that the resulting confusion would slow down the
524 book twenty-nine 205 bc
enemy, and then––moving at the pace of fleeing men––caught up
with the column of their comrades before nightfall.
8. When he saw that the citadel had been abandoned by the enemy,
and that their camp was empty, Scipio called the citizens of Locri to
an assembly and severely reprimanded them for their defection. He
executed the ringleaders, and made their property over to the prin-
cipal members of the faction that had opposed them, in recognition
of these people’s exceptional loyalty to Rome. He said that he was
not officially in a position to give anything to, or take anything from,
the Locrians. They should send representatives to Rome and accept
whatever fate the Senate saw fit to impose on them. Of one thing he
was sure, he said: despite their shoddy treatment of the Roman
people, they would be better off facing the wrath of Rome than
having the ‘friendship’ of Carthage. Scipio then left his legate Plem-
inius to defend the city with the force that had taken the citadel,
while he himself crossed to Messana with the troops with which he
had come.
After they abandoned the Roman cause, the Locrians had been
treated by the Carthaginians in such a high-handed and ruthless
manner that they found it possible to endure ordinary inequities not
only with sangfroid but almost with cheerfulness. But, in fact, in
terms of unscrupulous and rapacious conduct Pleminius so outdid
the garrison commander Hamilcar, and the Roman occupying force
so outdid the Carthaginians, that it seemed like a contest in villainy,
not arms. Of all the things that make the weak hate the strength of the
powerful, there was not one that was not inflicted on the townspeople
by the commander or his men. Unspeakable abuse was inflicted on
the men themselves, on their children, and on their wives. Soon the
greed of the Romans did not shrink from the desecration even of the
sacred, and it was not simply a matter of the violation of ordinary
temples. Even the treasures of Proserpina suffered this fate, though
they had remained inviolate throughout history––apart from the time
when they were said to have been looted by Pyrrhus, who paid a
heavy price in atonement for the sacrilege, and returned his spoils.
On that occasion the ships of the king were shattered in a wreck, and
they succeeded in bringing nothing to land undamaged, apart from
the holy money of the goddess that they were transporting. It was the
same on this occasion, even if the disaster was of a different kind.
That same money brought madness on all the men tainted with that
205 bc chapters 7–9 525
violation of the temple, turning officer against officer and soldier
against soldier with furious acrimony.
9. Pleminius had overall command, and some of the troops––those
that he had himself brought from Rhegium––were serving directly
under him, while others were under the tribunes. A soldier of Plem-
inius had filched a silver cup from the home of one of the towns-
people, and as he fled, pursued by the owners, he happened to run
into the military tribunes, Sergius and Matienus. The man then had
the cup removed from him at the order of the tribunes. This led to
quarrelling and shouting, and finally a fight broke out between
Pleminius’ men and those of the tribunes, the numbers involved and
the disorder growing as people happened to come on the scene to
help one side or the other.
Pleminius’ men took a beating, and they came running to
Pleminius pointing to their bloody wounds; and they added cries of
indignation and told him of insults that had been directed at him
during the brawl. Pleminius was furious. He charged from his house,
had the tribunes summoned, and gave orders for them to be stripped
of their clothes, and for whips to be made ready. Some time passed
while the tribunes were being stripped––they kept struggling and
begging the men present to help––and suddenly their soldiers,
flushed with their recent victory, came running from all directions,
just as if they had been summoned to arms against the enemy. When
they saw the injuries the tribunes had already suffered from the lash,
they were instantly fired with a much more uncontrollable fury. With
no consideration for the man’s authority, or even for civilized
behaviour, they first gave the lictors a shameful beating, and then
turned their attack on the legate. They fenced him off and isolated
him from his men, viciously mauled him, and left him almost dead,
with his nose and ears cut off.
The incident was reported to Scipio in Messana, and a few days
later he sailed to Locri in a hexeris.* After hearing the cases presented
by Pleminius and the tribunes, he exonerated Pleminius of any culp-
ability and left him in place, still in command. The tribunes he found
guilty and he clapped them in irons to be sent to the Senate in Rome.
He then returned to Messana, and from there to Syracuse.
Pleminius was in an uncontrollable rage. He felt that the wrong he
had suffered had been negligently dealt with and underestimated by
Scipio, and that the only person capable of assessing the penalty was
526 book twenty-nine 205 bc
the man who had been on the receiving end of the outrage. He had
the tribunes hauled before him and, after mutilating them with every
torture that can be inflicted on a human body, put them to death.
Then, not satisfied with punishing them while they were alive, he
threw them out unburied. He was just as brutal with the most prom-
inent burghers of Locri who, he heard, had gone to Publius Scipio to
protest against the wrongs he had done them. The earlier instances
of shameful abuse that he had inflicted on the allies from covetous-
ness and greed he now multiplied from anger, and brought oppro-
brium and hatred not merely on himself, but on his commanding
officer as well.
10. The date for the elections was now approaching when a letter
from the consul Publius Licinius was brought to Rome. Licinius
reported that he and his army were afflicted by a serious disease, and
that, had not the malady struck the enemy with the same or even
greater virulence, holding out against them would have been impos-
sible. Thus, since he could not himself come for the elections, he
would, if the senators concurred, appoint Quintus Caecilius Metel-
lus dictator for the purpose of holding them. Demobilization of
Quintus Caecilius’ army was in the interests of the state, he added,
since at the moment it was serving no purpose. Hannibal had already
taken his men back to winter quarters, and so virulent was the plague
that had struck Metellus’ own camp that, unless the army were
swiftly disbanded, it looked as though not a single man would sur-
vive. The consul was given leave to take whatever measures he
thought the public interest and his own sense of duty called for.
At that time there was a sudden onset of religious fervour amongst
the citizens after an oracle was discovered in the Sibylline Books,
which had been consulted because of an increase in the number of
showers of stones that year. The oracle declared that whensoever a
foreign foe should bring war upon the land of Italy, he could be driven
from Italy, and vanquished, if the Idaean Mother were brought to
Rome from Pessinus.* The oracle, which had been discovered by the
decemvirs, made all the greater an impression on the senators
because of the report of the envoys who had taken the gift to Delphi.
The envoys declared that everything had been favourable during
their sacrifice to Pythian Apollo, and that there had been an oracular
response promising the Roman people a victory, one far greater than
that whose spoils had provided the gifts they were bearing. The
205 bc chapters 9–11 527
senators felt these hopes were confirmed by Publius Scipio’s request
for Africa as his province, which suggested that he had some pre-
sentiment of the war’s conclusion. Wishing therefore to accelerate
the victory that was announcing itself through prophecies, omens,
and oracles, they now proceeded to discuss and consider the logistics
of transporting the goddess over to Rome.
11. The Roman people had, as yet, no states in Asia allied to them.
Nevertheless, people remembered that Aesculapius* had at one time
been brought from Greece to check an epidemic, when there was still
no formal alliance with that country, whereas now friendly relations
had already been established with King Attalus for the conduct of
joint hostilities against Philip. (Attalus would, they thought, do all
that he could to help the Roman people.) They decided to send to
the king a delegation consisting of Marcus Valerius Laevinus, consul
on two occasions and a former commander in Greece; a former
praetor, Marcus Caecilius Metellus; an ex-aedile, Servius Sulpicius
Galba; and two ex-quaestors, Gnaeus Tremelius Flaccus and Marcus
Valerius Falto. To these men they officially assigned five quinque-
remes so they could maintain the dignity of the Roman people when
they approached those lands that needed to be impressed with the
prestige of the Roman name.
On their way to Asia the delegates went up to Delphi. There they
immediately approached the oracle with the question of what pro-
spects it foresaw for them, and the Roman people, of accomplishing
the mission on which they had been sent from home. The response,
they say, was that they would gain their end through the help of
King Attalus, and that, after transporting the goddess to Rome, they
must ensure that the person giving the goddess a warm welcome
should be the best man in Rome. The delegates then came to the
king in Pergamum. After giving them a friendly reception, Attalus
accompanied them to Pessinus in Phrygia, put in their hands the
stone that the local people said was the mother of the gods, and told
them to take it away to Rome. Marcus Valerius Falto was sent ahead
by the delegates with the message that the goddess was in transit,
and that the Romans had to seek out the best man in their city-state
to welcome her with the appropriate forms of hospitality.
Quintus Caecilius Metellus was appointed dictator for overseeing
the elections by the consul, who was in Bruttium, and his army was
disbanded. Lucius Veturius Philo was appointed master of horse. The
528 book twenty-nine 205 bc
elections were then held by the dictator, and the consuls elected were
Marcus Cornelius Cethegus and Publius Sempronius Tuditanus, the
latter in absentia as he was on assignment in Greece. The praetors
elected after that were: Tiberius Claudius Nero, Marcus Marcius
Ralla, Lucius Scribonius Libo, and Marcus Pomponius Matho. The
elections over, the dictator resigned his position.
There were three repetitions of the Roman Games, and seven of
the Plebeian. The curule aediles were Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus
and Lucius Cornelius Lentulus. Lucius had Spain as his province,
and, elected in his absence, he was also absent from Rome during his
tenure of the post.* Tiberius Claudius Asellus and Marcus Junius
Pennus were the plebeian aediles. That year Marcus Marcellus dedi-
cated the temple of Virtus at the Porta Capena, sixteen years after it
had been promised in a vow at Clastidium in Gaul by Marcellus’
father, during his first consulship. Also during that year the Flamen
of Mars, Marcus Aemilius Regillus,* died.
12. The Greek situation had received no attention during the past
two years. As a result Philip forced the Aetolians, who had been
abandoned by the Romans* (the one power on which they relied for
assistance), to sue for peace, and accept it on his terms. Had he not
made every effort to accomplish this quickly, the proconsul Publius
Sempronius might have surprised him while he was still at war with
the Aetolians. For Sempronius had been sent to succeed Sulpicius in
his command with 10,000 infantry, 1,000 cavalry, and thirty-five
warships, and he represented a not inconsiderable force for helping
the allies.
With the peace barely concluded, news reached the king that the
Romans had reached Dyrrachium, that the Parthini and other tribes
in the area had been roused to hopes of revolutionary change and
that Dimallum was under attack. The Romans had actually made a
diversion into that area. They had been sent to aid the Aetolians but,
furious with the Aetolians because they had concluded a peace with
the king, without Roman authority and in contravention of their
treaty, they had abandoned their mission. When he heard about this,
Philip feared that greater unrest might arise among the neighbouring
tribes and peoples, and he made swiftly for Apollonia with forced
marches. It was to Apollonia that Sempronius had withdrawn, hav-
ing sent his legate Laetorius into Aetolia with a portion of his troops,
and twenty-five ships, to see how matters stood there, and to upset
205 bc chapters 11–12 529
the peace, if he could. Philip plundered the agricultural land of
Apollonia and, bringing his troops up to the city, gave the Romans
the opportunity to do battle. But he saw that they made no move
beyond manning the walls, and he had insufficient confidence in his
forces for an assault on the city. Besides, he wanted to make a peace
with the Romans, if he could, as he had with the Aetolians or, failing
that, at least negotiate a truce. So he avoided provoking them with
fresh hostilities, and withdrew into his kingdom.
The people of Epirus were now growing tired of the prolonged
hostilities and at about this time, having first sounded the feelings of
the Romans, they sent a delegation to Philip to broach the subject of
a general peace. They were certain this could be arranged, they
assured Philip, if he came to a meeting with Publius Sempronius, the
Roman commander. Their request that Philip cross to Epirus was
readily granted since the king himself felt no aversion to peace. At
Phoenice, a city in Epirus, the king first held talks with Aeropus,
Derdas, and Philip, the praetors* of the people of Epirus, and
later met with Publius Sempronius. Present at the meeting were
Amynander, king of the Athamanians, and other magistrates of the
Epirots and Acarnanians.
The praetor Philip opened the proceedings. He made a plea for an
armistice simultaneously to the king and the Roman commander,
and asked them to grant that as a favour to the people of Epirus. The
conditions for peace that Publius Sempronius laid down were that
the Parthini, Dimallum, Bargullum, and Eugenium should be under
Roman authority, and that, if the king sent ambassadors to Rome and
gained the Senate’s approval, Atintania should be ceded to Macedon.
The peace was then concluded on these terms. Prusias king of
Bithynia, the Achaeans, the Boeotians, the Thessalians, the Acarna-
nians, and the Epirots were included in the treaty by the king, and
the people of Ilium,* King Attalus, Pleuratus, Nabis tyrant of
Sparta, the Eleans, the Messenians, and the Athenians by the
Romans. The terms were put in writing and a seal affixed to the
document, and a two-month truce was fixed to allow envoys to be
sent to Rome so that the people might sanction the peace on these
conditions. The tribes did sanction it, and unanimously, because
with the war now focused on Africa they wanted, for the time being,
to be released from all other wars. The peace concluded, Publius
Sempronius left for Rome to take up his consulship.
530 book twenty-nine 204 bc
13. In the consulship of Marcus Cornelius and Publius Sempron-
ius, and the fifteenth year of the Punic War, Cornelius was assigned
Etruria as his province, along with its old army, while Sempronius
was assigned Bruttium and given orders to muster new legions. As for
the praetors, the urban jurisdiction came to Marcus Marcius, the
foreigners’ jurisdiction, plus Gaul, to Lucius Scribonius Libo, Sicily
to Marcus Pomponius Matho, and Sardinia to Tiberius Claudius
Nero. Publius Scipio had his imperium extended for a year, and
retained command of his army and fleet. The same prerogative was
extended to Publius Licinius, to allow him to hold Bruttium with two
legions for as long as the consul felt it was in the public interest for
him to stay on in the province with imperium. Marcus Livius* and
Spurius Lucretius also saw their imperium extended, each command-
ing two legions (those which they had used for the defence of Gaul
against Mago); so, too, did Gnaeus Octavius, who was to pass Sar-
dinia, and his legion, on to Tiberius Claudius, and himself patrol the
coastline, within bounds set by the Senate, with forty ships. In Sicily,
the praetor Marcus Pomponius was assigned the two legions of the
army that had fought at Cannae. Titus Quinctius and Gaius Hostilius
Tubulus were to have charge of Tarentum and Capua respectively
with propraetorian authority, as they had the year before, and with
the old army in both cases. As regards the Spanish command, the
judgement of the people was sought on the two men they wished sent
as proconsuls to that sphere of authority.* The tribes unanimously
called for the same two men to hold these areas of responsibility as
proconsuls as had held them the year before, namely Lucius
Cornelius Lentulus and Lucius Manlius Acidinus. The consuls pro-
ceeded to hold a troop-levy, which was aimed at raising fresh legions
to serve in Bruttium and also (in accordance with their orders from
the Senate) supplementary troops for the other armies.
14. Africa had not yet been publicly declared a formal sphere of
responsibility, for the senators were keeping the matter a secret, I
believe, to prevent the Carthaginians coming to hear of it too soon.
Even so, the hopes of the citizen body had been raised of a campaign
in Africa that year, and of an imminent end to the Punic War. This had
filled people’s minds with superstition, making them predisposed
both to report and to accept paranormal phenomena. Accounts of
such phenomena therefore began to circulate in greater numbers.
Two suns had been sighted, it was said, and there had been moments
204 bc chapters 13–14 531
of daylight during the night; and at Setia a meteor was said to
have been seen travelling from east to west. It was reported that at
Tarracina a gate had been struck by lightning, and that at Anagnia a
gate as well as many points on the city wall had been struck. In the
temple of Juno Sospita at Lanuvium there was a crash accom-
panied by a horrific roar. A single day of prayer was held to expiate
these divine manifestations, and the nine-day rite was also performed
because of a shower of stones.
In addition to this, there was also discussion of the welcome to be
given to the Idaean Mother. One of the delegates, Marcus Valerius,
had come ahead of the others with the news that she would soon be
in Italy, and a fresh report had also come indicating that she was
already at Tarracina. There was now a question of no small import-
ance exercising the Senate: who was the best man in the com-
munity? And everyone would have preferred to win an honest
victory in that particular competition than to have any commands or
public offices conferred upon him, whether by vote of the Senate or
the people. The senators adjudged Publius Scipio*––son of the
Gnaeus Scipio who had fallen in Spain, and a young man who had
not yet held the quaestorship––to be the best of the good men in the
entire community. The qualities in the man that led them to such a
decision I would have been happy to pass down to posterity, had
such an account been passed down to me by writers living close to
the time of the event. But I shall not introduce my own views
reached through conjecture about a subject now long buried in
the past.
Publius Cornelius was instructed to proceed to Ostia with all the
married ladies to meet the goddess. There he was to welcome her
from the ship, bring her to land, and hand her to the married ladies
to be carried to the city.
After the ship reached the mouth of the River Tiber, Scipio, fol-
lowing his instructions, put to sea and, receiving the goddess from
her priests, brought her to shore. The leading married women of the
community received her. Amongst these was one whose name is pre-
eminent, Claudia Quinta,* whose dubious reputation in earlier days,
it is said, added greater lustre to the purity for which she was known
to posterity thanks to her solemn duty on this occasion. The ladies
kept passing the goddess to each other, from hand to hand, on their
journey, as the entire community poured forth to meet them, and
532 book twenty-nine 204 bc
there were censers placed before the doors along the route where
she was borne. As incense burned and people prayed that she should
enter the city of Rome with grace and favour, they carried the god-
dess to the temple of Victory on the Palatine. This was on 12 April,*
which was thereafter a holy day. The people crowded the Palatine
bearing gifts for the goddess, and there was a lectisternium and games
that were called the Megalesia.
15. Discussions in the Senate now focused on bringing up to
strength the legions in the areas of official responsibility, and a sug-
gestion was made by certain members that a state of affairs that had
somehow been tolerated in difficult times should no longer be
endured, now that, thanks to heaven’s blessing, the threat had been
removed. At this the senators’ ears pricked up. The members went
on to say that the twelve Latin colonies which had refused to provide
soldiers in the consulship of Quintus Fabius and Quintus Fulvius
had now enjoyed almost five years of exemption from military ser-
vice,* regarding it almost as an honour or benefit conferred on them.
Meanwhile, they added, good and loyal allies had––in return for
their faithful service to the Roman people––been drained by levies
conducted every year without interruption, during that period.
The mention of this did not simply remind the senators of an
issue now well-nigh forgotten, but actually roused them to anger. As
a result, they would permit the consuls to raise no item of business
before this, and they passed a decree instructing them to call to
Rome the magistrates and ten leading citizens from each of the
communities in question, which were: Nepete, Sutrium, Ardea,
Cales, Alba, Carseoli, Sora, Suessa, Setia, Circeii, Narnia, and Inter-
amna. The consuls were to demand from each of these colonies twice
the largest total of infantrymen that it had supplied to the Roman
people ever since the appearance of the enemy in Italy, and also
requisition 120 cavalrymen from each of them. Any that was unable
to reach the required number of cavalrymen should be allowed to
provide infantrymen, on the basis of three infantrymen per cavalry-
man. Foot and cavalry soldiers selected should be the wealthiest
members of their community, and they were to be sent anywhere that
supplementary forces were needed outside Italy. It was also resolved
that a refusal to comply would lead to the detention of the magis-
trates and representatives of that colony, and that any request for a
senatorial hearing be refused until they had fulfilled their obligations.
204 bc chapters 14–16 533
The Senate further decided that the colonies in question should have
a tax imposed on them at the rate of one as per thousand, to be
charged annually. The tax-assessment in these colonies would be
based on the list established by the Roman censors––for it was the
Senate’s will that the list conform to that used for the Roman
people––and be brought to Rome by the censors of the colonies (who
would be under oath) before they left office.
Following this decree of the Senate, the consuls called to Rome the
magistrates and most prominent citizens of the colonies involved,
and made the demand for the soldiers and the tax. This led to the
colonists shouting each other down in their objections and protests.
Raising such a force of soldiers was impossible, they said, and they
would scarcely manage it even if the requirement were the original
number in the register.* They begged and pleaded to be allowed to
appear in the Senate and make their appeal, saying that they had
done nothing to deserve ruin. But even if they had to face ruin, they
added, neither their misdeed nor the anger of the Roman people
could make them contribute more men than they had.
The consuls stood firm, ordering the delegates to remain in Rome
and the magistrates to go home to raise the troops. Unless the requis-
ite complement of fighting men were brought to Rome, they were
told, no one would grant them a senatorial hearing. With that, all
hope of appearing before the Senate and making an appeal now
removed, a troop-levy was conducted in the twelve colonies con-
cerned and, thanks to the increase in younger men as a result of the
long exemption, it was completed without difficulty.
16. Another matter that had been neglected and left in silence for
almost as long was also brought up by Marcus Valerius Laevinus. He
stated that it was only fair that the individuals concerned should
finally be repaid the financial contributions they had made* when he
and Marcus Claudius were consuls. No one should be surprised that
he was taking a particular interest in the financial obligations incurred
by the state, he said. A consul of the year in which the contributions
were made had some personal involvement; and, besides, it was he
who had suggested such a contribution, at a time when the public
purse was empty and the people unable to afford the war tax. The
senators were pleased to be reminded of this. They instructed
the consuls to put the matter to the house, and then decreed that
the money should be repaid in three instalments, the first to be
534 book twenty-nine 204 bc
disbursed immediately by the consuls of the current year, the two
others by the consuls two and four years after that.
One issue then put all other concerns in abeyance. To that date
nothing was known of the terrible fate that had overtaken the Locrians
but now, with the arrival of a Locrian delegation, word of it spread.
And what roused public animosity was not so much Pleminius’ crim-
inal activities as Scipio’s partiality, or his negligence, in his case.
There were ten Locrian delegates, shabbily dressed in soiled cloth-
ing, and they approached the consuls as they sat in the Comitium. In
Greek fashion they held before them olive-branches, symbolizing
their suppliant status, and with tearful cries they flung themselves to
the ground before the tribunal. When the consuls asked them to
explain themselves, they said that they were Locrians, and that, at
the hands of the legate Quintus Pleminius and the Roman soldiers,
they had suffered what the Roman people would not even want the
Carthaginians to suffer. They were begging the senators to grant
them leave to appear before them, they explained, and to tell the sad
tale of their tribulations.
17. They were granted an audience with the Senate, and the eldest
of the Locrians gave the following address:
‘I am aware, members of the Senate, that the most important
factor in how our grievances are to be assessed by you is a full
understanding on your part both of how Locri was betrayed to
Hannibal, and of how Hannibal’s garrison was then expelled and the
town restored to your authority. For if culpability for our defection
cannot be attributed to public policy, and if it becomes clear that our
return to your control arose, not only with our support, but also
thanks to our own efforts and valour––then you would be all the
more indignant at seeing such undeserved and atrocious injuries
inflicted on good and faithful allies by your legate and soldiers. My
own opinion, however, is that an explanation of both our defections
should be held over for another time, and that for two reasons. In the
first place, I feel the matter should be discussed in the presence of
Publius Scipio, who took back Locri and who is witness to all that we
have done, good and bad. Secondly, no matter what our conduct has
been, we did not deserve to suffer what we have suffered. We cannot
hide the fact, members of the Senate, that, when we had a Carthagin-
ian garrison in our citadel, we suffered many foul indignities at the
hands of the garrison commander Hamilcar and his Numidians and
204 bc chapters 16–17 535
Africans. But what are they when they are compared with what we
are suffering today?
‘Please listen with indulgence, senators, to what I must reluctantly
say. All of humanity is now on tenterhooks, waiting to see whether it
is to be you or the Carthaginians who will be rulers of the world. If
Roman and Carthaginian domination must be judged on the basis of
what we Locrians suffered from the Carthaginians, or what we are
suffering at this very time from your occupying troops, then there is
no one who would not prefer to have them rather than you as their
masters. But, that said, consider the Locrians’ attitude towards you.
When we had injuries much less serious inflicted on us by the
Carthaginians, we looked to your commander for protection; now
that we are enduring, at the hands of your garrison, treatment worse
than an enemy would mete out, we have brought our complaints to
you, and you alone. Either you will show some concern for our
wretched plight, members of the Senate, or there remains nothing
that we can ask even of the immortal gods in our prayers.
‘The legate Quintus Pleminius was sent with a body of troops to
recover Locri from the Carthaginians, and he was then left in the
town with that same force. Senators––for our extreme suffering
gives me the courage to speak openly––in that legate of yours there
is nothing of a human being beyond his shape and appearance.
There is nothing of the Roman citizen beyond his demeanour, his
clothing, and the tones of the Latin language. He is a scourge, a
frightful monster of the sort that the myths tell us used to plague the
strait dividing us from Sicily, in order to bring destruction on
mariners.
‘Now were he satisfied with being the only one to inflict his crim-
inal, libidinous, and rapacious treatment on your allies, then we
might resign ourselves and satisfy this one yawning maw. As it is, he
has made all your centurions and all your soldiers a Pleminius––that
is how far he has wanted the debauchery and immorality spread
around! They are all given to robbery, pillage, assault, wounding,
murder. They rape married women, girls, and free-born boys torn
from their parents’ arms. Every day our city suffers capture; every
day it is pillaged. Day and night every corner of it rings with the
wailing of women and boys being violated and carried off.
‘Anyone aware* of our situation would be amazed at how we are
managing to put up with it, or how the perpetrators have not yet
536 book twenty-nine 204 bc
grown tired of their gross abuses. I cannot give––and it is not worth
your while to hear––every detail of our past sufferings, but let me
give you a general summary. I tell you that there is no home in Locri,
no single individual that has escaped abuse. I tell you that there is no
crime, no lust, no greed in any shape or form that has not been
inflicted on anyone on whom it could be inflicted. It is virtually
impossible to calculate which is the more horrible a situation in
which a community can find itself––when an enemy has taken the
city in war, or when a murderous tyrant has crushed it with armed
force. Everything that captured cities endure we have endured, and
are enduring now more than ever, members of the Senate. All the
crimes that the most ruthless and despotic tyrants inflict on the
citizens they have crushed––all these Pleminius has inflicted on us,
on our children, and on our wives.
18. ‘There is one specific item about which our feelings for
religion, which lie deep in our hearts, oblige us to make a specific
complaint. Members of the Senate, we should like you to hear this and,
if you agree, free your state from a religious obligation––for we have
observed the regard with which you not only worship your own
deities, but also accept those from outside. There is in our city a
shrine of Proserpina, and I believe some report of the holiness of this
temple reached you during the war with Pyrrhus. While he was
sailing by Locri with his fleet, on his way back from Sicily, Pyrrhus
committed a number of atrocities against our community because of
our loyalty to you. In particular he looted the treasury of Proserpina,
which had, until that day, remained untouched. After setting the
money aboard his ships, he himself set off on an overland journey.
And what happened then, members of the Senate? The next day his
fleet was severely damaged by a terrible storm, and all the ships
carrying the sacred money were driven aground on our shores. And
the proud king, finally learning from his enormous loss that the gods
do exist, gave orders for all the money to be gathered together and
replaced in the treasury of Proserpina. Even so, no good ever came to
him after that. Driven out of Italy he made a foolish attack on Argos
by night and met an inglorious and dishonourable end.*
‘Your legate and your military tribunes had been informed of this
incident, and of a thousand others; and they were not being told
stories fabricated to increase their religious awe, but things that we
and our ancestors knew for a fact about the clear intervention of the
204 bc chapters 17–18 537
goddess’s power. But they still dared to lay their impious hands on
those inviolable treasures of hers, and with that abominable plunder
to defile themselves, their homes, and your soldiers, too. Members of
the Senate, please––for your own sakes and for your honour’s sake––
do not use these men on any of your operations either in Italy or
Africa before you have atoned for their crime! For they may pay for
the sin they have committed not only by shedding their own blood,
but also by bringing ruin on their state.
‘In fact, even now, senators, the anger of the goddess has not been
slow in visiting your officers or your men. On occasion they have
clashed in armed combat, Pleminius the leader on the one side, and
the two military tribunes on the other. They fought with the sword
no more ferociously with the Carthaginians than they did amongst
themselves, and but for the intervention of Scipio, who came at our
request, they might well in their rage have given Hannibal the
chance of recovering Locri. But I suppose you may think the fury of
the god is focused on the soldiers tainted by the sacrilege, and that
there has been no sign of the goddess’s divine power in punishment
being inflicted on the leaders themselves. Quite the reverse––that is
where she is most at work! The tribunes were flogged by the legate.
Then the legate was trapped and cut off from his men by the trib-
unes; in addition to receiving lacerations to his entire body, he had
his nose and ears cut off, and was left practically dead. Then, when
the legate had recovered from his wounds, he had the military trib-
unes clapped in irons, and put them to death after flogging them
and inflicting on them every form of torture normally reserved for
slaves, and after that would not allow the burial of their dead bodies.
‘Such is the punishment the goddess metes out to the looters of
her temple, and she is not going to stop plaguing those men with all
manner of frenzy until her holy money has been restored to her
treasury. At one time, our ancestors were involved in a serious war
with Croton and, because the temple is situated outside the city, they
wanted to bring that money into town. At night a voice was heard
coming from the shrine telling them to keep their hands off––this
was the goddess’s temple and she would defend it! They were struck
with religious awe, which deterred them from removing the money,
and they then tried to surround the temple with a wall. The defensive
structure had been brought up to a certain height when it suddenly
collapsed. On this occasion, too, as then and on numerous other
538 book twenty-nine 204 bc
occasions, the goddess has protected her own home––her own
temple––or has exacted heavy penalties from their violators. But as
for the wrongs done to us, no one can avenge them but you, mem-
bers of the Senate, nor would we want it otherwise. It is to you and
your honour that we turn for help as suppliants. It is all the same to
us whether you leave Locri under the command of that legate and
that garrison, or whether you hand it over for punishment to an
angry Hannibal and the Carthaginians. We are not asking you to
believe what we say right away, when the man is absent and has not
been given a hearing. Let him come here; let him hear the charges in
person, and in person rebut them. If he has failed to commit any
criminal act that man can inflict on human beings, then we have no
objection to suffering over again, if we can, all those torments, and to
his being exonerated of any crime against gods and men.’
19. After this address by the Locrian delegates, Quintus Fabius
asked them if they had brought these complaints to Publius Scipio.
They answered that a delegation had been sent to him, but that he
was busy with preparations for the war, and had either already
crossed to Africa or would be doing so in a few days. They added
that they had had experience of the favouritism shown to the legate
by the commander. After hearing the dispute between Pleminius and
the tribunes, Scipio had put the tribunes in irons and left the legate,
who was equally guilty, or even more guilty, than they, in the position
of power he was holding.
The delegates were told to leave the temple,* and then not only
Pleminius, but Scipio, too, received a scathing reprimand in the
speeches of the senior members. Severest of all was Quintus Fabius,
who claimed that Scipio was naturally predisposed to destroy the
discipline of soldiers. Thus it was that, in Spain, he had almost lost
more through a mutiny of his soldiers than he had through the war.
Like a foreign potentate, he was in turn over-tolerant with the
indiscipline of his men and ruthless with them. Fabius then followed
up his address with an equally harsh motion, which went as follows:
‘That the Senate resolve that the legate Pleminius be brought to
Rome in shackles, that he plead his case in his chains and, if the
complaints of the Locrians proved true, that he be executed in
prison and his property be appropriated by the state.
‘That, inasmuch as Publius Scipio had left his assigned command
without senatorial authorization, he be recalled, and that discussions
204 bc chapters 18–20 539
be opened with the tribunes of the plebs about bringing before the
people a proposal to revoke his imperium.
‘That the Senate give a response to the Locrians in their presence,
stating that the injustices, which they complained had been inflicted
on them, had the approval of neither the Senate nor the people. The
Locrians must be declared worthy men, and allies and friends of
Rome, and restitution must be made of their children, wives, and all
else that had been taken from them.
‘That a search be made for all the money removed from the treas-
ury of Proserpina, and that money be replaced in her treasury to
twice the amount. And there should be a sacrifice of atonement; in
view of the fact that sacred treasures had been moved, opened, and
violated, the question of the requisite expiatory ceremonies, the gods
for whom they are to be held, and the animals to be sacrificed should
be referred to the college of pontiffs.
‘That the soldiers in Locri all be transported to Sicily, and four
cohorts of Latin allies be brought in to garrison Locri.’
Passions were inflamed in support of Scipio and against him, and
as a result not all opinions could be gathered that day. Apart from the
question of Pleminius’ misconduct, and the afflictions of the Locrians,
there were even criticisms of the commander’s personal appear-
ance––not simply unlike a Roman, but unlike a soldier. He would
saunter around the gymnasium in a Greek cloak and sandals, it was
said, and spend his time on books and exercising––and his entire
staff enjoyed as much idleness and easy living, tasting the delights of
Syracuse. Carthage and Hannibal were gone from Scipio’s mind,
they said, and the whole army, ruined through lack of discipline––
like the one in Sucro in Spain earlier and that in Locri now––was an
object of fear more to the allies than to the enemy.
20. Some of these criticisms were valid, and some, being partly so,
also rang true,* but nonetheless it was the view of Quintus Metellus
that prevailed. Metellus agreed with Maximus on everything else,
but he disagreed on Scipio. Here was a man, he said, whom the state
had recently chosen, very young though he was, as its sole com-
mander for the recovery of Spain, and then, when Spain was
recovered from the enemy, it had elected him consul to bring the
Punic War to an end. He was the man on whom the state had pinned
its hopes of drawing Hannibal from Italy and bringing Africa to heel.
How did it make sense to recall him peremptorily from his area of
540 book twenty-nine 204 bc
responsibility, virtually condemned, like Quintus Pleminius, before
he had stated his case? And to do that when the Locrians stated that
the atrocities committed against them took place when Scipio was
not even there, and when the only charge that could be brought
against him was that of showing leniency, or restraint, in sparing his
legate? His own view, he said, was that Marcus Pomponius,* the
praetor to whom Sicily had been allotted as his sphere of command,
should leave for his province within three days. The consuls should
use their own discretion to choose ten representatives from the
Senate to send with the praetor, and they should also send two
tribunes of the plebs and an aedile. With these as his advisory body,
the praetor should conduct an enquiry, and if the events that were
the basis of the Locrians’ complaints proved to have taken place on
the orders of Publius Scipio, or with his acquiescence, they should
order him to quit his area of responsibility. If Publius Scipio had
already crossed to Africa, the tribunes of the plebs and the aedile,
and two of the senatorial representatives whom the praetor thought
most suitable for the job, should leave for Africa. The mission of the
tribunes of the plebs and the aedile would be to bring Scipio back
from there, and that of the two representatives to take command of
the army until such time as the new commander reached that army.
If the findings of Marcus Pomponius and the ten representatives
were that those actions had not been ordered or sanctioned by Pub-
lius Scipio, then Scipio should stay with the army, and prosecute the
war as he had proposed.
A decree of the Senate was passed to this effect, and an agreement
was reached with the tribunes of the plebs that they should arrange
between them, or choose by sortition, which two should accompany
the praetor and the legates. The matter of expiatory ceremonies
relating to the items in the temple of Proserpina that had been
touched, defiled and removed was referred to the college of pontiffs.
Marcus Claudius Marcellus and Marcus Cincius Alimentus were the
tribunes of the plebs who left with the praetor and the ten represen-
tatives. An aedile of the plebs was also assigned to them. Should
Scipio still be in Sicily, and refuse to obey the praetor’s command, or
if he had already crossed to Africa, the tribunes were to order the
aedile to seize him and (by the right conferred by their sacrosanct
office) they were to bring him back to Rome. Their plan was to go to
Locri before proceeding to Messana.
204 bc chapters 20–21 541
21. As for Pleminius, there are two versions of the story. Some
record that, when he heard what had transpired in Rome, he went
into exile in Neapolis, and that on the way he happened to bump into
Quintus Metellus, one of the senatorial representatives, and was
brought back to Rhegium under duress by him. Others claim that a
legate and thirty horsemen of the noblest families were sent out by
Scipio himself to clap Quintus Pleminius in irons, and the other
prime movers in the troubles along with him. Whether it was on
Scipio’s orders given earlier, or the praetor’s at that time, all the men
were handed over to the people of Rhegium to be kept under guard.
The praetor and the representatives set off for Locri where, first
of all, following their instructions, they looked into the matter of
religion. They searched out all the sacred money that was in the
possession of Pleminius and the soldiers, and put it back in the
treasury, adding a sum that they had themselves brought with them.
They also held an expiatory ceremony. The praetor then called the
common soldiers to an assembly, and ordered them to march out of
the city. He established a camp for them on the plain, and issued a
strict injunction against any soldier either remaining in the city or
taking out with him goods that were not his own. He declared that he
was now allowing the people of Locri to take whatever each of them
recognized as his property, and to make a formal claim for anything
that did not come to light. Before all else, he said, it was his will that
free persons be immediately restored to the Locrians, and anyone
failing to restore them faced severe punishment.
Pomponius next held an assembly of the Locrians. He told them
that the Roman people and the Senate were restoring to them their
independence and legal system, and that if any of them wished to
prosecute Pleminius, or anyone else, he should go with him to
Rhegium. If they wished to lodge an official grievance about Publius
Scipio, charging that the outrageous acts in Locri against gods and
men had taken place on Publius Scipio’s orders, or with his acqui-
escence, they should send spokesmen to Messana, and he would hold
an enquiry there with his board of advisers. Thanking the praetor
and his legates, and the Senate and People of Rome, the Locrians
declared that they would make the journey to prosecute Pleminius.
In the case of Scipio, however, although he had shown insufficient
concern for the wrongs done to their community, he was still the sort
of man they would rather have as a friend than an enemy, and they
542 book twenty-nine 204 bc
were quite sure that all the execrable crimes had not been committed
on his orders or with his acquiescence. Scipio had either placed too
much confidence in Pleminius, and too little in them, or else it was
that natural tendency some people have of not wishing to see wrong
done, but then not having the will to punish the wrongs when they
have been done.*
The praetor and his advisory board were thus spared the not
inconsiderable task of conducting an enquiry into Scipio’s case.
They found Pleminius guilty, and about thirty-two others along with
him, and they sent them off to Rome in chains. They themselves
proceeded to Scipio so they could, with their own eyes, verify the
widespread rumours about the general’s dress and idleness, and his
slipshod military discipline, and then take their findings to Rome.
22. While the delegation was en route for Syracuse, Scipio pre-
pared to clear his name, not with words but action. He gave orders
for the entire army to muster in the city, and for the fleet to be made
ready for action––just as though they had to fight the Carthaginians
that day on land and sea. On the day of their arrival, Pomponius and
his party were given a hospitable welcome; and the day after that
Scipio put on a display of his land and sea armies, not simply drawn
up in formation, but with the infantry performing their manœuvres,
and the fleet also staging a mock naval battle in the harbour. Then
the praetor and the legates were taken around to inspect the arsenals,
storehouses, and other military preparations. So impressed were
they by each feature, and by the whole ensemble, that they were
convinced that the defeat of the Carthaginian people could be
achieved by that general and his army, and by no other. With a wish
that the gods grant him success, they bade him cross to Africa and
bring to fruition, at the earliest possible moment, the hopes the
Roman people placed in him on that day when all centuries declared
him consul ahead of all others. Such was the joy in their hearts when
they left Sicily that it was as if the news they would be taking to
Rome was not merely of outstanding preparations for the conflict,
but of victory already won.
On their arrival in Rome, Pleminius and the others charged along
with him were immediately thrown in jail. When they were first
haled before the people by the tribunes, they found no room for pity
in minds that were already filled with the sufferings of the Locrians.
Later on, as their appearances became more frequent, anger cooled
204 bc chapters 21–23 543
and passions subsided, and Pleminius’ own mutilated features, and
the memory of the absent Scipio, began to generate some sympathy
with the crowd. However, Pleminius died in jail before his trial
before the people could be concluded.
In the third book of his Roman History, Clodius Licinus* records
that this Pleminius, through the agency of some men whom he had
bribed, attempted arson in several parts of the city during games
that Scipio Africanus was, in his second consulship, staging in Rome
in fulfilment of a vow. The aim was to give Pleminius an opportunity
of breaking out of prison and making his escape. But the crime
subsequently came to light, according to Licinus, and by decree of
the Senate he was consigned to the Tullianum.*
The only proceedings taken with regard to Scipio were in the
Senate. There everybody, legates and tribunes alike, spoke in praise
of the fleet, the army, and the leader, prompting the Senate to vote
for the crossing to Africa to be made at the earliest possible time.
They also voted that Scipio be permitted his choice of the armies in
Sicily––he could decide which he would take with him to Africa, and
which he would leave to garrison his province.*
23. While this was taking place on the Roman side, the Carthagin-
ians had passed a nervous winter; with observation posts established
on all their promontories, they had been gathering intelligence
and becoming perturbed with every piece of news that arrived.
But they also added to their military preparations something of
no little significance for the defence of Africa, namely an alliance
with King Syphax––for, the Carthaginians thought, it was thanks to
their confidence in Syphax that the Romans were about to cross to
Africa.
As was observed above, Hasdrubal son of Gisgo had a bond of
hospitality with the king, which dated from the occasion when Scipio
and Hasdrubal both happened to come to him at just the same time.
But there had also been some preliminary mention of a marriage
connection, of the king marrying Hasdrubal’s daughter.* To bring this
to fruition, and fix a date for the wedding, the girl being already of
marriageable age, Hasdrubal set off to visit the king. Now, Numidians
are particularly sensual people, more so than all other barbarians,
and when Hasdrubal noted that Syphax’s libido was aroused, he sent
for the girl from Carthage and pushed the wedding ahead. And so that
a bond between the states could be added to the private pact, an oath
544 book twenty-nine 204 bc
was taken, amid the general exchange of congratulations, confirming
the alliance between the people of Carthage and the king, with prom-
ises given on both sides that they would have the same friends and
enemies.
Hasdrubal, however, kept in mind the fact that the king had also
struck an alliance with Scipio, and that barbarians are by nature
undependable and capricious, and he feared that, if Scipio crossed to
Africa, the marriage would prove a flimsy connection. Accordingly,
while he had the Numidian aflame with his new infatuation, he
induced him––with some gentle coaxing from the girl, as well––to
send envoys to Scipio in Sicily. Through these he was to advise Scipio
that he should not make his crossing to Africa relying on Syphax’s
earlier assurances, for he now had a marriage connection with a
Carthaginian citizen, a daughter of the Hasdrubal whom Scipio had
seen as a guest in his home. In addition, he now had a formal pact
with the Carthaginian people. His primary wish, therefore, was that
the Romans conduct their war with the Carthaginians, as they had
done to that time, far away from Africa, and not oblige him to become
embroiled in their conflict, militarily supporting one side and reneg-
ing on his alliance with the other. If Scipio would not stay away from
Africa, and if he brought his army up to Carthage, then he, Syphax,
would be obliged to fight for the land of Africa, his own birthplace,
and also for the fatherland of his wife, and for her father and her
home.
24. The envoys sent by the king with these instructions met Scipio
in Syracuse. Scipio was now robbed of important support for his
African campaign and also of his high hopes for it, but before the
matter could become common knowledge he quickly sent the envoys
back to Africa with a letter for the king. In this he time and again
advised Syphax not to forswear his obligations of hospitality with
him, or of the pact he had entered with the Roman people, and not to
violate his religious duty, his honour, his solemn pledges, and the
gods who witnessed and oversaw covenants.
But it was not possible to keep the arrival of the Numidians
secret––they had been wandering around the city, and had spent
time at the headquarters––and by maintaining silence on the reason
for their coming Scipio risked having the truth come out through the
very act of concealment. There was also a danger that fear of having
to fight the king and the Carthaginians at the same time would sweep
204 bc chapters 23–24 545
through the army. Scipio therefore steered his men away from the
truth by seizing their attention with a lie. He summoned the soldiers
to an assembly, and said they could delay no longer, that the allied
kings were insisting that he cross to Africa as soon as possible. Masi-
nissa had earlier made a personal visit to Gaius Laelius, he said,
complaining that time was being wasted through inaction. Now
Syphax was sending envoys, for he, too, was wondering what reason
there could be for the protracted delay, and he was demanding either
that the army be finally taken over to Africa, or that he be informed
of any change in plans, so that he could take appropriate steps for
himself and his realm. And so, since all was ready and prepared, and
since the situation would brook no further delay, he intended to take
the fleet over to Lilybaeum. There he would concentrate all his
infantry and cavalry forces, and on the first day that would permit
the ships to sail, he would, with the favour of the gods, make the
journey over to Africa.
Scipio then sent a letter to Marcus Pomponius requesting that, if
he were in agreement,* he come to Lilybaeum so they could together
discuss the specific legions and the size of the force Scipio would
take over to Africa. He also sent word along the entire coast for all
freighters to be commandeered and brought together at Lilybaeum.
When all the troops and ships in Sicily had mustered in Lilybaeum,
the city could not hold all the men nor the harbour all the ships, and
such was the general enthusiasm for crossing to Africa that they felt
they were being led not to war but to prizes of victory that were
already assured. This was especially so with the remaining soldiers
from the army of Cannae. They believed that it was under Scipio,
and no one else, that they could discharge their duty to the state, and
bring to a close their ignominious conditions of service. In fact,
Scipio did not disdain soldiers in this category. He was well aware
that the defeat at Cannae was not the result of cowardice on their
part, and that there were no soldiers in the Roman army as seasoned
and as experienced as they in various forms of combat but especially
in blockading cities. The legions of Cannae were the fifth and sixth.
Scipio declared that he would take them over to Africa, and then
inspected the soldiers in them individually. Leaving behind those he
thought unsuitable, he replaced them with men he had brought with
him from Italy, and he provided supplementary troops for those
legions to the point where each had 6,200 infantry and 300 cavalry.
546 book twenty-nine 204 bc
From the army from Cannae Scipio also selected Latin infantry and
cavalry for the campaign.
25. There is wide discrepancy in the sources on the number of
troops taken over to Africa. In one I find 10,000 infantry and 2,200
cavalry; in another 16,000 infantry and 1,600 cavalry; in a third I find
more than double this number––that 35,000 infantry and 3,000 cav-
alry were put aboard the ships. Some authors have not given a figure,
and I would prefer to be in their company since the question is moot.*
While he avoids a precise figure, Coelius still exaggerates and gives
the impression of huge numbers. He says that birds fell to the
ground when the soldiers’ shout went up, and that the numbers
boarding the ships were so great that it appeared that no mortal was
being left behind in either Italy or Sicily!
Scipio took personal responsibility for ensuring that his men
boarded the ships in a disciplined and orderly manner. Gaius Laelius,
admiral of the fleet, made the seamen embark first, and kept them on
board. The praetor Marcus Pomponius was given responsibility for
loading supplies; he had forty-five days’ worth of rations, including
fifteen days’ worth of cooked provisions, put aboard. When all were
now embarked on the vessels, Scipio sent some boats around them
with instructions for helmsmen and captains, along with two soldiers
from each ship, to come to a meeting in the forum to receive their
orders. When these had gathered together, Scipio first asked them if
they had put on board water for men and animals that would last as
many days as would the grain. When they replied that there was a
forty-five-day supply of water on the ships, he directed the fighting
men to remain calm and obey their orders, providing the seamen with
the silence they needed to go about their duties without interruption.
He added that he and Lucius Scipio would, with twenty warships,
offer the freighters protection on the right wing, and the same num-
ber of warships under Gaius Laelius, commander of the fleet, and
Marcus Porcius Cato,* quaestor at the time, would protect them on
the left. He then issued orders about lights on the ships: men-of-war
were to have one each and freighters two, while the identifying feature
of the flagship, in the dark, would be three lights.
Scipio told the helmsmen to steer a course for Emporia.* This was
very fertile farmland, and so the area abounded in produce of all
kinds, and also had a native population with little aptitude for war, as
so often happens when the soil is rich. It therefore seemed likely these
204 bc chapters 24–27 547
people could be crushed before help could be brought from Carthage.
After issuing these instructions, Scipio ordered the men to return to
their ships and, with a prayer for heaven’s blessing on the enterprise,
bade them set sail the following day when given the signal.
26. Numerous Roman fleets had set out from Sicily, and indeed
from that very harbour, but no departure had provided such a spec-
tacle as this, either in that war (which was not surprising, since most
of the fleets leaving had only been on raiding expeditions) or even in
the First Punic War. And yet, if one took into account only the size
of the fleet, then, admittedly, two pairs of consuls with two armies
had also made the crossing in the past,* and in their fleet the number
of warships was as great as the number of freighters with which
Scipio was then making his crossing––for, apart from the forty men-
of-war, he was taking the army over on some four hundred freight-
ers. But the second war seemed to the Romans more serious than the
earlier one because the hostilities were taking place in Italy, and also
because of the terrible losses of so many armies, with their leaders
also being killed. In addition, the commander Scipio had a great
talent for boosting his own reputation, and he had now become the
talk of the town and focused men’s attention on him, both by his
brave deeds and his own personal good fortune. And then there was
the very idea of the crossing, attempted by no other commander
before him in that war, for Scipio had made it known that the pur-
pose of his voyage was to draw Hannibal away from Italy, carry over
the war to Africa, and finish it there.
Not only had all the inhabitants of Lilybaeum come running in
droves to the harbour to witness the event, but so too had legations
from all over Sicily. The latter had assembled to pay their respects,
and see Scipio off on his journey, or had travelled there with Marcus
Pomponius, the praetor of the province. In addition, the legions that
were being left behind in Sicily had come to see their comrades off.
But it was not just a case of the fleet providing a sight for the onlookers
on shore––those on board also had the spectacle of the entire shoreline
covered with milling crowds.
27. At daybreak Scipio had a herald call for silence, and from the
flagship he offered the following prayer: ‘Gods and goddesses who
dwell in the seas and on the land, I pray and beseech you: whatever
has been done, is being done, and will hereafter be done under my
command, may that turn out well for me, for the people and plebs of
548 book twenty-nine 204 bc
Rome, and for our allies and Latins who follow the lead, authority,
and auspices of the Roman people and myself, by land, sea, and river.
Kindly assist all these deeds of ours, and crown them with success.
And, the enemy defeated, bring the victors home with me safe
and sound, bedecked with spoils, laden with plunder and triumph-
ant. Grant us the ability to take retribution from those who hate
us and fight us, and give to me and the Roman people the opportun-
ity to inflict on the state of Carthage the punishments that the
Carthaginian people has endeavoured to inflict on ours.’
After this prayer Scipio followed the traditional practice of
slaughtering a sacrificial animal and throwing its raw entrails into the
sea. He then had the signal for departure sounded on a trumpet.
Surging forward before a wind of some force, they were quickly
swept out of sight of land. After midday a mist began to rise, so thick
that the ships could barely avoid colliding with each other, and the
wind became calmer on the open sea. The fog remained just as dense
during the oncoming night, but with the sunrise it dissipated and the
wind picked up. Now they began to sight land. Shortly afterwards
the helmsman told Scipio that Africa lay no more than five miles
away, and that he could see the promontory of Mercury.* If Scipio
gave him the order to steer in that direction, he said, the entire fleet
would be in port in no time. When he had land in view, Scipio prayed
to the gods, asking them to make his sighting of Africa bode well for
the republic and for himself, and he then gave the order to unfurl the
sails, and head for another landing spot further along. They were
now scudding before the same wind, but at about the same time as
the previous day the mist arose to cut off all sight of land, and with
the onset of the mist the wind fell. Night then increased the disorien-
tation everywhere, and they dropped anchor to stop the ships from
colliding with each other or running aground. With the break of day
the same wind arose once more, unveiling a panorama of the coast-
line of Africa. Scipio asked the name of the closest headland and,
when he was told it was called ‘The headland of the Beautiful One’,*
he said: ‘The omen pleases me. Head the ships towards it.’ The fleet
put in there and all the troops were set ashore.
In describing the voyage as being a fair one, free of panic and
confusion, I have accepted the account of a large number of Greek
and Roman authorities. Coelius alone differs.* While he stops short of
having the ships submerged by the waves, he does bring in all the
204 bc chapters 27–28 549
other terrifying phenomena that can come from sky or sea. He finally
has the fleet driven away from Africa by a storm that brought it to
the island of Aegimurus, where, with difficulty, it re-established its
course. Then, with the ships on the verge of sinking, Coelius has the
men take boats, without the commander’s order, and make an abso-
lutely chaotic landing without their weapons, just as if they had been
shipwrecked.
28. When the troops had been put ashore, the Romans measured
out their camp on some nearby hills. By now the sight of the fleet,
first of all, and then the commotion of the men landing, had brought
a frantic dread not merely to the farmlands bordering the sea but to
the cities, too. Crowds of men, with columns of women and children
among them, had clogged the roads everywhere, but in addition to
that there were also peasants driving their animals before them––one
might have said Africa was suddenly being abandoned! In fact, in the
cities, these people were bringing panic greater than they felt them-
selves when they arrived, and the chaos in Carthage in particular was
close to that of a captured city. For in the almost fifty years* since the
consulship of Marcus Atilius Regulus and Lucius Manlius, its
people had not set eyes on a single Roman army, with the exception
of some marauding fleets from which raids had been conducted on
the coastal farmland. And, in those cases, once the pillaging of what-
ever chance put in the marauders’ way was completed, there had
always been a dash back to the ships before the commotion could
alert the rural population. Hence the heightened excitement and
panic in the city on this occasion.
And there was, in fact, another consideration. They had at home
neither a strong enough army, nor a strong enough commander, to
field against the Romans. Hasdrubal son of Gisgo was by far the
leading man in the community,* by virtue of his breeding, reputation,
wealth, and, at that time, even a family connection with royalty. But
people remembered that he had been defeated, and put to flight, by
that very same Scipio in a number of battles in Spain, and they
thought that as a commander he was just as unevenly matched with
Scipio as their makeshift army was with the Roman force. And so, as
if Scipio were on the verge of attacking the city, the call to arms went
up; gates were hurriedly closed, armed men posted on the walls, and
sentries and outposts put in place––and there was little sleep during
the oncoming night.
550 book twenty-nine 204 bc
The next day 500 horsemen were dispatched to the sea to recon-
noitre, and also to harass the Romans as they disembarked, and these
ran into some Roman outposts. For by now Scipio, having sent his
fleet on towards Utica, had advanced a short distance from the sea,
and seized the closest high ground. He had then positioned his
cavalry on guard at suitable points, and sent others to raid the fields.
29. These men engaged the Carthaginian cavalry squadron, killing
a few in the actual engagement, but a large number as they chased
them off, including their captain Hanno, a young nobleman.* Scipio
not only laid waste the fields in the area but also captured the closest
city of the Africans, which was quite a prosperous town.* In addition
to the spoils, which were immediately put aboard the freighters and
shipped off to Sicily, 8,000 prisoners of war, both free men and
slaves, were taken.
However, what most pleased the Romans at the start of this oper-
ation was the arrival of Masinissa. Some sources claim that he came
with no more than 200 horsemen, but most say that he had with him
a cavalry force of 2,000. Masinissa was by far the greatest of the
monarchs of his day, and it was he who provided the greatest assist-
ance for the Roman cause. A brief excursus on the chequered for-
tunes the king experienced in losing and regaining his father’s
throne therefore seems appropriate.
Masinissa’s father, whose name was Gala,* died while Masinissa
was fighting for the Carthaginians in Spain. The throne then passed,
in conformity with Numidian tradition, to the late king’s very aged
brother Oezalces. Oezalces also died not much later, and the elder of
his two sons, Capussa, inherited his father’s realm, the other son
being just a boy. However, Capussa was succeeding to the throne
thanks more to tribal law than because of any authority he wielded
amongst his people or any power he had, and a man called Mazaetullus
now came on the scene. Mazaetullus was a blood relation of the royal
family, but he came from a house that had always opposed it and
which had, with varying degrees of success, disputed the throne
with those in power at that time. He stirred up his compatriots, with
whom he carried great weight because of the antipathy they also felt
for the royal family, and he quite openly started a military campaign,
forcing the king to take the field and fight for his throne. In that
battle Capussa lost his life, as did many of his leading citizens. The
tribe of the Maesulii then fell entirely under Mazaetullus’ authority
204 bc chapters 28–30 551
and power, but Mazaetullus avoided assuming the title of ‘king’.
Happy enough with the modest title ‘guardian’, he conferred that of
‘king’ on the boy Lacumazes, sole survivor of the royal line. He
married a well-born Carthaginian lady, a daughter of Hannibal’s
sister,* who had recently been the wife of King Oezalces, hoping
thereby to gain an alliance with the Carthaginians, and he also sent a
deputation to renew his former ties of hospitality with Syphax.
These were all means of support against Masinissa that he was putt-
ing in place in advance.
30. When he heard that his uncle had died, and that his cousin had
been killed, Masinissa crossed from Spain to Mauretania, where, at
the time, Baga* was king of the Moors. Petitioning Baga with the most
wretched entreaties, he obtained from him a contingent of 4,000
Moors to assist him on his journey, though his appeal for military
assistance failed. After sending ahead a messenger to his own friends
and those of his father, he came with the Moors to the borders of the
kingdom, where about 500 Numidians rallied to his cause. Masinissa
then sent the Moors back to the king, as had been agreed. He was
now left with a body of men considerably smaller than he had hoped
for, and one insufficient for undertaking the great enterprise he had
planned, but he thought that with a vigorous and energetic push he
would accumulate forces enough to bring off something. He then
encountered Lacumazes near Thapsus,* as the prince was setting out
to visit Syphax. Lacumazes’ army panicked, and fled back into the
city, which Masinissa then took at the first assault, accepting the
surrender of some of the prince’s men and killing others as they
prepared to resist. During the confusion, most of Lacumazes’ force,
including the boy himself, continued on their journey and reached
Syphax. Minor though the victory was, news of it right at the start of
the campaign drew the Numidians over to Masinissa, and veterans of
Gala came streaming to him from all parts of the countryside and
from all the villages, encouraging the young man to recover his
father’s throne.
Mazaetullus considerably outnumbered Masinissa. He still had
the army with which he had defeated Capussa, and he also had some of
Capussa’s men whom he had taken on after the death of the king. In
addition, the young Lacumazes had brought him enormous auxiliary
forces from Syphax. In fact, Mazaetullus had 15,000 infantrymen
and 10,000 cavalrymen when he clashed with Masinissa, who had
552 book twenty-nine 204 bc
nothing like as many of either. Nevertheless, the day was won by the
fighting ability of the veteran troops, and the capability of a leader
who had received his training in the Roman–Punic conflict. The
prince fled into Carthaginian territory with his guardian and a small
group of Masaesulians.
Masinissa had thus recovered his father’s throne, but he could see
that he was left with a struggle against Syphax that was of consider-
ably greater proportions. Thinking it best, therefore, to make up
with his cousin, he sent men to give the boy hope that, if he put
himself in Masinissa’s hands, he would be held in the same esteem as
Oezalces had earlier been held in Gala’s court. They were also to
promise Mazaetullus that not only would he receive no punishment,
but he would also have all his property faithfully restored to him. The
two men preferred a modest estate at home to exile, and Masinissa,
despite Carthaginian efforts to prevent it, won them over to his side.
31. It so happened that, while this was taking place, Hasdrubal
was at the court of Syphax. Syphax believed that it made little dif-
ference to him whether the kingdom of the Maesulians was in the
hands of Lacumazes or Masinissa, but Hasdrubal told him he was
making a big mistake if he thought Masinissa would be satisfied with
the same territory as his father Gala, or his uncle Oezalces. The man,
he explained, was possessed of a much greater spirit and intelligence
than had ever been seen in any member of his race, and in Spain he
had exhibited, before allies and enemies alike, a courage rarely found
in humankind. If they did not quench that flame as it was on the rise,
both Syphax and the Carthaginians would soon be engulfed in a
huge conflagration with which they simply could not cope. Up until
that point, he said, Masinissa’s power had been weak and fragile as
he tried to nurture a kingdom that had only just begun to coalesce.
By pressing his point, and egging on Syphax, Hasdrubal con-
vinced him to move his forces up to the border with the Maesulians
and pitch his camp on land that he had not only disputed, but
actually fought over, with Gala, and to do so as though it were his
undeniable right. He told him that, if anyone tried to drive him off,
he should fight him in pitched battle, which would be the preferred
option; if the Maesulians should quit the area through fear, he
should advance to the heart of their kingdom. The Maesulians would
either submit to his authority without resistance, or would prove no
match for him in battle.
204 bc chapters 30–32 553
Spurred on by such comments, Syphax opened hostilities against
Masinissa. In the first encounter, he defeated the Maesulians and put
them to flight, and Masinissa, along with a few horsemen, fled from
the battlefield to a mountain called Bellus* by the natives. A number
of families accompanied their king, taking with them their huts* and
animals, the only property those people possess. The rest of the
Maesulian population submitted to Syphax’s authority.
The mountain occupied by the fugitives is grassy, with a good
water supply, and because it was good for raising cattle it also
afforded an abundant supply of food for men whose diet consisted of
meat and milk. From that vantage point they began with clandestine
forays at night, and then moved on to open marauding, rendering the
whole surrounding area insecure. It was Carthaginian farmland in
the main that went up in smoke, because there was more plunder to
be had there than amongst the Numidians and also because maraud-
ing was safer there. Soon they acted with such unchecked effrontery
that they were carrying their booty down to the shore and selling it
to merchants, who brought their vessels to land for that purpose.
And more Carthaginians were killed or taken prisoner than was often
the case in regular warfare.
The Carthaginians lodged complaints about this with Syphax.
They proceeded to urge him––and he was himself incensed at the
situation––to finish the mopping-up operations of the war, but it
seemed to him beneath his royal dignity to be chasing a vagabond
robber in the hills.
32. One of the king’s officers Bucar, a man of energy and action,
was chosen for the task. He was given 4,000 infantry and 2,000
cavalry, and plied with promises of huge rewards if he brought back
Masinissa’s head or, something that would provide immense satisfac-
tion, if he took him alive. The marauders were scattered and off their
guard when Bucar made a surprise attack on them. He managed to
cut a large number of cattle and men off from their armed escort,
and he drove Masinissa himself, and a few of his men, to the peak
of the mountain. Then, assuming the campaign to be now almost
finished, he not only dispatched the booty, that is, the cattle and men
he had captured, to the king, but also sent back some of his troops,
feeling that he had considerably more than were needed for what
remained of the war. When Masinissa came down from the high
ground, Bucar gave chase with no more than 500 infantrymen and
554 book twenty-nine 204 bc
200 cavalrymen, and cornered him in a narrow ravine which he
blocked at both ends. In the ravine the Maesulians suffered terrible
carnage, but Masinissa, with not more than fifty horsemen, extri-
cated himself by taking some mountain passes that were unknown to
his pursuers. Bucar, however, dogged his footsteps and overtook him
in some open country near the city of Clupea,* and there he had him
so completely surrounded that, with the exception of four horsemen,
he killed all of Masinissa’s men.
Masinissa himself was wounded, but in the confusion Bucar let
him and the four slip through his fingers. The fleeing men were in
full view, and a squadron of cavalry set off in pursuit of its five enemies,
spreading over the plain, with some cutting across in an effort
to head them off. A large river was what the fugitives encountered
next––and they headed their mounts into it with no hesitation,
driven as they were by fear of a greater danger. Gripped by the
swirling current, they were swept downstream at an angle past their
pursuers. Two were swallowed up in the rushing torrent before their
enemies’ eyes, and it was thought that Masinissa himself had per-
ished. But the two remaining cavalrymen actually climbed out
together with him amidst some bushes on the far bank.
That was the end of the chase for Bucar. He would not risk enter-
ing the river, and he believed he now had no one to pursue. He
returned to the king with the erroneous report that Masinissa had
perished; and men were dispatched to take this immensely joyous
news to Carthage. The story of Masinissa’s death was carried
throughout Africa, prompting varied reactions.
As he tended his wounds with herbs, Masinissa lived for a number
of days in a hidden cavern, on what the two horsemen could steal. As
soon as the wound had scabbed over, and he felt he could stand the
jolting of travel, he went on his way, with extraordinary bravado, to
reclaim his throne. He picked up no more than thirty horsemen
en route, and with them he came to the Maesulians, making no secret
of his identity. He created great excitement thanks to his earlier
popularity, and also because of the unexpected joy that people felt at
seeing safe and sound a man they thought had perished. The result
was that in a few days 6,000 armed foot soldiers and 4,000 cavalry
came flocking to him, and he was now not simply in possession of his
father’s throne but was even plundering tribes allied to Carthage,
and the lands of the Masaesulians, that is to say Syphax’s kingdom.
204 bc chapters 32–33 555
After goading Syphax into war like this, Masinissa next took up a
position between Cirta and Hippo, on some hills* that suited his
purpose in all respects.
33. Syphax now felt the matter was too serious for him to handle
through his officers. He sent off his young son, whose name was
Vermina, with a section of his army, ordering him to take his column
around the enemy, and launch an attack from the rear while their
attention was focused on Syphax himself. Since he was going to be
making a surprise attack, Vermina set out at night, and Syphax then
struck camp in daylight, marching in the open, apparently intending
to fight a regular pitched battle. When he felt enough time had
elapsed for those executing the encircling manœuvre to have reached
their position, Syphax embarked on a gentle slope that led to the
enemy, and, relying both on his superior numbers and on the trap set
to the enemy’s rear, brought his battle line straight up the hill. Masi-
nissa, relying mostly on his position, which would enable him to fight
on ground much more favourable to him, also formed up his men.
It was a fierce battle that long remained indecisive, with his pos-
ition and the valour of his soldiers aiding Masinissa, and numbers, in
which he was overwhelmingly superior, aiding Syphax. And those
superior numbers, which were in two parts, one putting pressure on
the enemy in front and the other having moved around to attack the
rear, gave Syphax a conclusive victory, and did not even leave a
means of escape open to the enemy, who were blocked front and rear.
And so the infantry and cavalry were all cut down, apart from about
200 cavalrymen. Masinissa gathered these in a body around him, and
split them into three sections. He then gave orders to break through
the enemy, and told them where to regroup after they became dis-
persed in their flight. Masinissa himself made his way through the
midst of the enemy weapons by the route he had designated for
himself, but the other two squadrons were brought to a halt. One,
from fear, surrendered to the enemy, and the other, more determined
in its resistance, went down under a hail of javelins.
Vermina stuck closely to Masinissa’s heels, but the king gave him
the slip by constantly turning off onto different roads and eventually
forced him to abandon a pursuit that had become tiresome and dis-
couraging. He reached the Lesser Syrtis* with sixty cavalrymen.
There, proudly aware that he had on numerous occasions tried to
reclaim his father’s throne, he spent all his time between Punic
556 book twenty-nine 204 bc
Emporia and the tribe of the Garamantes until Gaius Laelius and the
Roman fleet arrived in Africa. This makes me incline to the view that
it was with a modest force rather than a large one that Masinissa
subsequently came to Scipio. Large numbers are more in keeping
with a man who is on the throne; my suggestion of smaller numbers
better suits the circumstances of an exile.*
34. After losing a cavalry squadron together with its commander,
the Carthaginians raised other cavalry with a new levy, and put it
under the command of Hanno son of Hamilcar.* They put out
repeated summonses to Hasdrubal and Syphax, by dispatches and
messengers initially, and finally even by embassies. They sent orders
to Hasdrubal to bring aid to his native city, which was virtually
under siege, and they pleaded with Syphax to come to the support of
Carthage and the whole of Africa. At that point Scipio was at Utica,
encamped about a mile from the city; he had moved it there from
the coast where, for a few days, he had maintained a base close to
the fleet.
Hanno had been assigned cavalry in no way strong enough to give
the enemy any trouble, or even protect the countryside from depre-
dation, and so he made raising his cavalry numbers with a troop-levy
his very first priority. He did not reject other nationalities, but in the
main he hired Numidians, theirs being by far the leading cavalry
nation in Africa. When now he had around 4,000 cavalry in his force,
he took over a town called Salaeca,* about fifteen miles from the
Roman camp. Brought the news of this, Scipio declared: ‘Horsemen
passing the summer under shelter! Let there be more of them, as
long as they have a leader of that calibre!’
Thinking the Carthaginians’ lethargic performance was all the
more reason for him not to waste time, Scipio sent Masinissa ahead
with his cavalry, ordering him to ride up to the city gates and draw
the enemy out to fight. When the enemy had come out in full force,
and was too formidable in the engagement to be easily withstood,
Masinissa was to give ground gradually, and Scipio would join the
battle at the appropriate moment. Masinissa then went ahead, and
Scipio waited only as long as appeared sufficient for him to draw out
the enemy and then followed with the Roman cavalry. Thanks to the
cover of some hills,* which very conveniently screened the winding
road on both sides, his advance went unnoticed.
Masinissa now proceeded according to plan, affecting in turn to
204 bc chapters 33–35 557
threaten the enemy, and to take fright himself. He would ride right
up to the gates, or he would fall back and, building his enemy’s
confidence with simulated fear, draw them into foolhardy pursuit.
They had not all emerged from the town, and their leader had his
hands full coping with various tasks: some of the men, torpid from
drink and sleep, he was forcing to take up their weapons and bridle
their horses; others he was restraining from disorderly and unruly
sorties from all the gates, out of formation and without their stand-
ards. Masinissa faced up to their first hasty onslaughts. Soon, how-
ever, more men came pouring out in a dense body from one of the
gates, making it an evenly matched contest. Finally, their entire
cavalry came into the battle, and resistance was no longer possible.
But when Masinissa gave ground it was not in disordered flight;
falling back gradually he would parry their assaults, until he drew
them up to the hills that concealed the Roman cavalry.
The cavalry then emerged from the hills, their strength intact and
their horses fresh, and surrounded Hanno and his Africans who were
exhausted from the fight and the chase; and Masinissa, too, suddenly
wheeling around his horses, returned to battle. About 1,000 men who
had formed the head of the column, and for whom retreat was not
easy, were cut off and killed, and along with them fell their com-
mander, Hanno. The others fled in disorder, especially panic-stricken
by their leader’s death, and the victors chased them for thirty miles,
capturing or killing a further 2,000 cavalrymen. It was a well-
established fact that these included no fewer than 200 Carthaginian
horsemen, a number of them noted for their wealth and noble birth.
35. It so happened that, on the very day that these events took
place, the ships that had transported the plunder to Sicily came back
with supplies. It was as if they had had a premonition that the point
of their return was to pick up a second cargo of booty! Not all
sources have an account of two Carthaginian commanders of the
same name being killed in two separate cavalry engagements
because, I suppose, they were afraid of making a mistake and pro-
ducing a doublet of the same incident. Coelius and Valerius, in fact,
even have Hanno taken prisoner.*
Scipio conferred gifts of honour on the officers and cavalrymen,
according to the service provided by each, and above all on Masi-
nissa. He then installed a strong garrison in Salaeca, and set out in
person with the rest of the army. He not only laid waste the fields all
558 book twenty-nine 204 bc
along his route, but he also took a number of cities and villages by
storm, spreading the terror of war far and wide. On the seventh day
after his departure he returned to his camp, with large numbers of
men, cattle, and all other sorts of booty in tow, and he sent off the
ships laden once more with enemy spoils.
Scipio now abandoned minor operations and pillaging expeditions
to concentrate all his military resources on an assault on Utica, which,
if he captured it, he would use as a base for the rest of his campaign.
The seamen from the fleet were brought up to the city on the side
that was bordered by the sea, and at the same time the land forces
were brought up at a point where a hill overlooked the very walls of
the city. As for artillery and siege-engines, some he had brought with
him; more had been sent from Sicily with the supplies; and new ones
were under construction in an arsenal where large numbers of
craftsmen, who specialized in such work, had been confined for this
purpose.
Under pressure on every side from such a massive force, the
people of Utica had all their hopes pinned on the Carthaginian
people, and the Carthaginians had theirs pinned on Hasdrubal, that
is to say, on his convincing Syphax to act. But all was proceeding too
slowly for the liking of those needing the assistance. Hasdrubal had
managed to raise about 30,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry with an
extremely energetic recruiting drive, but he still did not dare move
his camp closer to the enemy before Syphax arrived. Syphax came
with 50,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry* and, after swiftly moving
camp from Carthage, he took up a position not far from Utica and
the Roman entrenchments. Their arrival did have one important
result: it made Scipio withdraw from Utica, his venture a failure,
after a siege of some forty days in which everything he tried came to
nothing. With winter now coming on, he established fortified winter
quarters on a promontory that runs some distance out to sea and is
connected to the mainland by a narrow spit of land,* and within a
single circumvallation he enclosed the naval camp as well. The
legionary camp was placed in the centre of the isthmus; the northern
section was taken up by the beached ships and their crews, and the
lower ground to the south, that ran down to the other shore, was
occupied by the cavalry. Such were operations in Africa up till the
end of autumn.
36. Grain had been stockpiled from the raids on all the surrounding
204 bc chapters 35–36 559
countryside, and there had also been supplies imported from Sicily
and Italy. In addition, the propraetor Gnaeus Octavius had shipped
in from Sardinia copious quantities that he had obtained from the
praetor Tiberius Claudius, whose province it was. Not only were the
granaries full that had been built earlier, but new ones were con-
structed, as well. The army was short of clothing, and Octavius was
instructed to negotiate with the praetor to see what could be supplied
and transported there from the province. The matter was promptly
taken care of, and in no time 1,200 togas and 12,000 tunics were
dispatched.
During the summer of these events in Africa, the consul Publius
Sempronius, whose area of responsibility was Bruttium, fought a
scrappy engagement with Hannibal in the region of Croton while
the armies were actually on the march, and it was a fight between
marching columns rather than a pitched battle. The Romans were
driven back, and roughly 1,200 of the consul’s army lost their lives
in what could more accurately be termed a brawl than a battle.
Sempronius’ men retreated in panic to their camp, but even so the
enemy did not risk attacking it. In fact, that night, when all was
quiet, the consul left the camp and, after sending a messenger ahead
to the proconsul Publius Licinius to tell him to bring up his legions,
he then joined forces with him. Thus two commanders and two
armies came back to face Hannibal, and the engagement was not put
off since the consul was encouraged by the doubling of his strength,
and the Carthaginian by his recent victory.
Sempronius brought his own legions into the front line, and
Publius Licinius’ legions were kept in reserve. At the start of the
battle the consul made a vow of a temple to Fortuna Primigenia in
the event of his routing the enemy that day, and he had his prayer
granted. The Carthaginians were defeated and put to flight, with
more than 4,000 soldiers killed, and slightly fewer than 300 taken
alive, and with fifty horses and eleven military standards captured.
Shaken by the defeat, Hannibal led his army away to Croton.*
Meanwhile, at the other end of Italy, Etruria had almost entirely
transferred its support to Mago, hoping that a change of regime*
could be effected through him, and the consul Marcus Cornelius
maintained control less by armed force than by the dread generated
by his judicial proceedings. Cornelius conducted his enquiries, which
were mandated by a senatorial decree, with complete impartiality,
560 book twenty-nine 204 bc
and at the start there had been numerous appearances and condem-
nations of Etruscan noblemen who had either themselves gone to
Mago, or corresponded with him, about the defection of their
people. Later some opted for self-imposed exile through conscious-
ness of their guilt, and were condemned in absentia. In this way they
avoided the death penalty and offered only their property, which
faced possible confiscation, as a security for their punishment.
37. Meanwhile, in Rome, during the time that the consuls were
engaged in these operations in the separate regions, the censors
Marcus Livius and Gaius Claudius* read out the senatorial register.
Quintus Fabius Maximus was chosen leader of the house* for the
second time, and seven men received the mark of disgrace,* though
none was a holder of a curule chair. The censors conducted rigorous
and absolutely thorough surveys of building repairs. They put out
for contract the construction of a road from the Forum Boarium to
the temple of Venus, bypassing the spectators’ seats, and for a temple
of the Magna Mater on the Palatine. They also imposed a new tax on
the sale of salt. At Rome and throughout Italy salt was selling for a
sixth of an as.* The censors put out contracts for it now to be sold at
the same price as before in Rome, at a higher price in the market
towns and administrative centres, and at various prices elsewhere,
according to the locality. There was a widespread belief that it was
just one of the censors who dreamed up this tax. He was angry with
the people, it was said, over a wrongful conviction he had once
received in court, and it was the tribes who had been responsible for
his conviction who were burdened most by his adjustment of the price
of salt. That was why he, Livius, was given the surname ‘Salinator’.
The five-year purification ceremony took place later than usual
because the censors sent agents through the provinces to report on
the number of Roman citizens who were in the armies in the various
locations. With these included, the census numbered 214,000 souls.
Gaius Claudius Nero performed the five-year purification ceremony.
The censors then received the census of the twelve colonies,
submitted by the censors of the actual colonies, which was an
unprecedented procedure. Its purpose was to ensure that there was,
in the public records, documentation of the colonies’ strength in
numbers of soldiers and financial resources. A census of the equestrian
order was begun next, and it so happened that both censors were in
possession of a public horse.* When they came to the Pollia tribe, in
204 bc chapters 36–37 561
which Livius was enrolled, the herald baulked at calling out the
name of the censor himself. ‘Call Marcus Livius,’ said Nero.
Whether some of the old antagonism between them still remained,
or whether it was a self-important, and untimely, demonstration of
uncompromising principle, Nero commanded Marcus Livius to sell
his horse because of his conviction by the people. Similarly, when
they came to the Arniensis tribe, and the name of his colleague,
Marcus Livius commanded Gaius Claudius to sell his horse, citing
two reasons. In the first place, he said, Claudius had borne false
witness against him, and secondly he had not been candid in his
reconciliation with him.
At the end of their censorship, there was an equally disgraceful
competition between the two to sully the other’s reputation, which
only did harm to the reputation of both. When Gaius Claudius took
the oath that he had acted according to the laws, and had gone up to
the treasury, he placed amongst the names of those whom he
demoted to the status of poll-tax payers that of his colleague. After
that, Marcus Livius came into the treasury. There, with the excep-
tion of the Maecia tribe, which had not participated in his convic-
tion, but which had also refused to elect him either consul or censor
after the conviction, he left with the status of poll-tax payers the
entire Roman people, all thirty-four tribes. His reasoning, he said,
was that the people had convicted an innocent man, but that, after
convicting him, they had elected him consul and censor, and they
had to admit now that they had either been mistaken once in their
initial judgement, or twice in the elections. Livius went on to say that
among the thirty-four tribes was Gaius Claudius, who would also
become a poll-tax payer. Had he had a precedent for twice leaving
the same man with poll-tax paying status, he declared, he would have
left Gaius Claudius, by name, in that category.
This squabble between the censors over assigning the mark of
disgrace was unbecoming; but the censorial condemnation of the
fickleness of the mob was in keeping with the earnest nature of the
times. The censors were now in bad odour and the plebeian tribune,
Gnaeus Baebius, thinking that he had a chance to make political
capital at their expense, served a summons for both to appear before
the people. The procedure was blocked by a unanimous decision
of the senators, for fear that the office of censor be put at the mercy
of the whim of the people.*
562 book twenty-nine 204 bc
38. That same summer, in Bruttium, Clampetia was taken by storm
by the consul, and Consentia, Pandosia and other communities of
little consequence submitted to him of their own volition.* Since the
time for the elections was now approaching, the preferred choice was
to have Cornelius brought back from Etruria where there were no
hostilities. Cornelius oversaw the election of Gnaeus Servilius Caepio
and Gaius Servilius Geminus as consuls. The praetorian elections
were held next, and those elected were: Publius Cornelius Lentulus,
Publius Quinctilius Varus, Publius Aelius Paetus, and Publius Villius
Tappulus. The last two of these were elected to the praetorship
while they were serving as plebeian aediles. The elections over, the
consul returned to his army in Etruria.
Priests who died that year, and their replacements, were as follows.
Tiberius Veturius Philo was elected and inaugurated as flamen of
Mars to replace Marcus Aemilius Regillus, who had died the year
before. To replace Marcus Pomponius Matho* in his positions as
augur and decemvir, Marcus Aurelius Cotta was elected decemvir,
and Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus was elected augur although he
was very young* (and this very rarely occurred in the allocation of
priesthoods in those days). A gilded four-horse chariot was that year
set on the Capitol by the curule aediles Gaius Livius and Marcus
Servilius Geminus. The Roman Games were repeated over a two-
day period, and the Plebeian Games were likewise repeated for two
days by the aediles Publius Aelius and Publius Villius. There was
also a banquet for Jupiter held in honour of the games.
 BOOK THIRTY

1. It was now the sixteenth year of the Punic War, and the consuls
Gnaeus Servilius and Gaius Servilius* raised in the Senate the
question of the state of the republic, the conduct of the war, and the
assignment of provinces. The senators decided that the consuls
should agree between them, or use sortition to decide, which of
them would have as his responsibility Bruttium and the operations
against Hannibal, and which Etruria and the Ligurians. The one to
whom Bruttium fell was to assume leadership of Publius Sempron-
ius’ army, and Publius Sempronius, who also received a year’s
extension of his imperium as proconsul, was to succeed Publius
Licinius, who was to return to Rome. Licinius now enjoyed a good
military reputation, in addition to all his other qualities, in which
he was unrivalled by any of his fellow citizens––for all the advan-
tages a man could have had been lavished on him by nature and
fortune. He was of noble birth and wealthy; he was remarkable for
his good looks and his physical strength. He was regarded as a
superb orator, whether he had to plead a case in court or whether
he had occasion to speak for or against a motion in the Senate, or
before the people. He was an expert in pontifical law. And, on top
of this, his consulship had now also given him a reputation as a
soldier.*
The same decision was taken for Etruria and the Ligurians as had
been taken for Bruttium. Marcus Cornelius was instructed to pass
command of his army to the new consul while he himself, with an
extension of his imperium, was to have Gaul as his area of responsibil-
ity, taking over the legions that Lucius Scribonius had commanded
the previous year. The consuls proceeded to a sortition for their
duties, and Bruttium fell to Caepio, and Etruria to Geminus.
The sortition for the praetorian responsibilities followed. Aelius
Paetus drew the urban jurisdiction, Publius Lentulus Sardinia,
Publius Villius Sicily, and Quinctilius Varus Ariminum, with two
legions under his command that had previously served under
Spurius Lucretius. Lucretius, too, had his imperium extended; he
was to rebuild entirely the town of Genua, which had been destroyed
by the Carthaginian Mago. The extension to Publius Scipio’s
564 book thirty 203 bc
imperium was not defined in terms of time, but by the completion of
his assignment––it would last until the war in Africa was ended.* A
decree was also passed for the holding of public prayers to ask that
Scipio’s enterprise in crossing to Africa prove advantageous to the
Roman people, to the commander himself, and to his army.
2. A force of 3,000 was raised for service in Sicily because all the
crack troops in that province had been shipped off to Africa. It was
further decided that the defence of the coastline of Sicily should be
secured with forty ships, in case an enemy fleet should cross from
Africa. Villius, therefore, took thirteen new vessels with him to Sicily;
the others would be old ones overhauled on the island. This fleet was
put under the admiralship of Marcus Pomponius, praetor the previ-
ous year, whose imperium was accordingly extended, and he had fresh
troops brought from Italy and assigned to the ships. The senators
decided on a fleet of the same number of vessels for Gnaeus Octavius,
who had also been praetor the previous year,* for the defence of the
Sardinian coast, and he was given the same extension of his imperium.
The praetor Lentulus was instructed to provide 2,000 fighting
men for these ships. Then there was the coast of Italy. Where the
Carthaginians would send a fleet was unclear, though it seemed likely
that they would head for some unguarded spot, and so Marcus
Marcius, a praetor the previous year, was given the responsibility of
patrolling the coast, again with forty ships. The consuls enrolled
3,000 fighting men for that fleet, in accordance with a senatorial
decree, and they also enrolled two city legions to meet all the contin-
gencies that can arise in war. Spain was officially assigned to its old
commanders Lucius Lentulus and Lucius Manlius Acidinus, who
kept their armies and their imperium. Roman operations that year
were conducted with a total of twenty legions and a hundred and
sixty warships.
The praetors were then ordered to leave Rome to assume their
responsibilities, but the consuls were charged with staging the Great
Games of Titus Manlius Torquatus before leaving. When he was
dictator, Torquatus had made a vow that these games would be
celebrated four years later, if the republic remained in the same
condition as it was then.*
Reports of prodigies from several places aroused fresh supersti-
tion in the hearts of people. On the Capitol, it was believed, crows
had not only torn away some gold with their beaks but had actually
203 bc chapters 1–3 565
ingested it. At Antium some mice gnawed at a golden crown. A huge
swarm of locusts covered the whole countryside around Capua, but
how they got there was not known. At Reate, a foal was born with
five feet; at Anagnia, there were shooting stars at various points in the
sky, followed by a huge blazing meteor; at Frusino, a bow encircled
the sun in a thin line, and then that circle itself was enclosed by a
larger solar halo. At Arpinum, the soil in the countryside subsided,
producing a huge hollow in the ground. When one of the consuls
sacrificed his first animal the liver’s ‘head’ was missing.* These prodi-
gies were expiated with the sacrifice of full-grown animals, and the
gods to whom sacrifices were to be made were announced by the
pontifical college.
3. This business taken in hand, the consuls and praetors left to
assume their responsibilities. All of them, however, had their atten-
tion focused on Africa, as though that were their allotted duty. Either
they perceived that this was now the focal point of the whole war, or
they wished to be obliging to Scipio, to whom the eyes of the entire
state were now turned. As a result, clothing and grain were being
shipped to him not just from Sardinia (as noted above), but from
Sicily and Spain as well; and from Sicily he was also shipped
weapons and all manner of supplies. And at no point during the
winter had there been any let-up in the numerous military activities
which Scipio had around him on every side. He was blockading
Utica; the camp of Hasdrubal lay before his eyes; the Carthaginians
had launched their ships,* and they had their fleet at the ready and
equipped to intercept his supplies.
Meanwhile Scipio had not lost sight of his plan of making up with
Syphax; and he wondered whether, with regard to his wife, there had
been a cooling of his passion from too much enjoyment of her. But
from Syphax came suggestions for peace-terms with the Carthagin-
ians, based on the Romans quitting Africa and the Carthaginians
Italy, rather than any prospect that he would switch loyalties if the
war went on. For myself, I am inclined to the opinion––and such
is the version of most of the sources*––that these negotiations took
place through envoys rather than that, as Valerius Antias records,
Syphax came in person to parley in the Roman camp. At first, the
Roman commander paid hardly any attention to the terms he sug-
gested. Later, however, he became less intransigent in rejecting the
very same conditions, and held out the hope that an agreement on
566 book thirty 203 bc
the matter might be reached by the frequent interchange of ideas.
This would give his men an acceptable pretext for coming and going
to the enemy camp.
The Carthaginian winter quarters had been built from materials
indiscriminately brought together from the countryside, and so
the structures were almost entirely of wood. The Numidians, in
particular, were quartered in huts of interwoven reeds, most of them
under roofs of thatch, and they were dispersed here and there in no
particular order, with some of them even encamped beyond the ditch
and the palisade, as happens when ground is occupied without regu-
lations. When word of this was brought to Scipio, it had given him
hope of gaining an opportunity to burn down the enemy camps.
4. Along with the envoys he sent to Syphax, Scipio would also
send as their attendants some senior centurions of proven courage
and good judgement, dressed as slaves. These men could therefore
wander here and there about the camp while the envoys were parley-
ing. They could thus gather intelligence on all entrances and exits,
on the layout and plan of the camp as a whole and in its various
sections, on where Carthaginians and Numidians were billeted, and
on the distance between Hasdrubal’s encampment and that of the
king. At the same time they could find out how the outposts and
sentries functioned, and whether night or day would be more favour-
able for a surprise attack. And as there were regular discussions,
different parties of men would be sent along to increase the number
who could be familiarized with the whole scene. The increasing
frequency of the talks was every day raising more sanguine hopes
of peace in Syphax, and through him in the Carthaginians, but
the Romans then told him that they were forbidden to return to
their commander unless they were given a clear response. So, they
declared, if Syphax’s mind was made up, he should express his
opinion, or, if he had to discuss the matter with Hasdrubal and
the Carthaginians, then he should do so. It was time now for peace
to be established or else for an all-out war effort to be undertaken,
they said.
While Hasdrubal’s opinion was being sought by Syphax, and the
Carthaginians’ by Hasdrubal, the spies had the time to get a good look
at everything, and Scipio had the time to make all the necessary pre-
parations. Furthermore, a natural consequence of this talk of peace
and the prospect of concluding it was to make the Carthaginians and
203 bc chapters 3–5 567
the Numidian less concerned with taking precautions against their
becoming, in the meantime, the object of any hostile act. Finally an
answer was brought back, containing a number of unreasonable con-
ditions that had been deliberately added* because of the Romans’
apparent eagerness for peace, and these very conveniently gave Scipio
the excuse he wanted for ending the truce. He told the king’s mes-
senger that he would take the proposals to his advisory council, and
the next day he gave as his answer that he alone had, unsuccessfully,
advocated the peace plan––nobody else was in favour of it. So, he
said, Syphax should be informed that his only prospect of peace with
the Romans lay in abandoning the Carthaginians.
In this way Scipio ended the truce so that he would have the
latitude to carry out his designs honourably. He launched his ships––
it was already the start of spring––and placed on board war-machines
and catapults, giving the impression that he was going to attack
Utica from the sea. He also sent off 2,000 infantry to seize the hill,
which he had earlier held, overlooking Utica.* His plan was to distract
the enemy’s attention from his undertaking by giving them some-
thing else to worry about, and also to prevent any sortie from the city
or an attack on his camp, which, when he himself left to take on
Syphax and Hasdrubal, would be left only lightly garrisoned.
5. After these preliminaries, Scipio summoned his advisory council
and instructed his spies and Masinissa, who had detailed knowledge
of the enemy, to produce the intelligence they had gathered. Finally,
he set before them his plan of action for the oncoming night, and
ordered the tribunes to lead the legions from the camp the moment
that the council was adjourned and the trumpets had given the signal.
Following Scipio’s orders, the troops began to move out towards
sunset, and at about the first watch they formed up their column for
the march. It was a seven-mile journey, and, moving at an easy pace,
they reached the enemy camp around midnight.*
There Scipio put some of his troops, along with Masinissa and his
Numidians, under the command of Laelius, ordering him to attack
the camp of Syphax, and hurl fire-brands into it. He then took
Laelius and Masinissa aside, and appealed to each of them to be all
the more diligent and careful since the dark lessened the possibility
of planned action. He himself would launch an attack on Hasdrubal
and the Punic camp, he said, but would not begin until he saw the
fire in the camp of the king. And that was not slow in appearing; for
568 book thirty 203 bc
when the first huts were torched, the fire took hold and immediately
engulfed everything around them, and then spread throughout
the camp in an unbroken blaze. And such a widespread conflagra-
tion during the night inevitably caused great consternation. The
Africans, however, thought the fire was an accident unrelated to
the enemy and the war, and came streaming forth without weapons
to douse the flames.* They ran into an armed enemy, and in particular
the Numidians, whom Masinissa, thoroughly familiar with the camp
of the king, had posted in opportune spots at the exits. Many of the
enemy were consumed by the flames as they lay half-asleep in their
beds; many rushed off in headlong flight, and were trampled under
foot as they clambered over each other in the restricted gateways.
6. The shimmering flames were sighted first by the Carthaginian
sentries, and then by others who had been awakened by the noc-
turnal commotion; and these, too, were similarly deluded into believ-
ing that the fire was accidental. In addition, the noise of men being
killed or wounded made them unable to grasp what was really hap-
pening, for they were unsure whether the cries came simply from the
turmoil in the dark. And so, unarmed, and each on his own initiative,
inasmuch as they had no suspicion that they were under attack, they
came rushing from all the gates, each taking what for him was the
closest path and carrying only what could serve to douse the fire, and
ran right into the Roman column. They were all killed, and that was
not simply a matter of an enemy’s hatred; it was also to prevent
anyone escaping with news of what was happening. Scipio then
lost no time in charging the gates, which, as one might expect in
such confusion, had been left unguarded. Torches were hurled on
the closest buildings, and flames leaped up. At first they seemed to
flicker in several different places, but then, spreading stealthily and
continuously, they suddenly consumed everything in a single blaze.
Severely burned men and animals choked the roads leading to
the gates, first in their unruly flight, and then with their dead bodies.
Those not killed by the fire fell by the sword, and the two camps
were destroyed in a single disaster. The two commanders, however,
made good their escape. From the many thousands of soldiers a mere
2,000 infantry and 500 cavalry got away, and these were poorly
armed, and most of them wounded and badly burned. About 40,000
men were slaughtered or consumed by the flames, and more than
5,000 taken prisoner, many of them Carthaginian noblemen and
203 bc chapters 5–7 569
eleven of them senators. A hundred and seventy-four military
standards were captured, and more than 2,700 Numidian horses. Six
elephants were taken, and eight died by the sword or in the fire.*
Huge quantities of arms were captured. The commander dedicated
them to Vulcan and burned them all.
7. After escaping the battle, Hasdrubal, accompanied by a handful
of the Africans, had headed for the closest city,* and all who had
survived the fight had, following in the steps of their leader, also
converged on this town. Then, fearing that it might surrender to
Scipio, Hasdrubal left. In a short while, the gates opened and the
Romans were also admitted; and, in view of the voluntary surrender,
there were no reprisals. Shortly afterwards two cities were captured
and pillaged, and the booty from them was awarded to the men,
along with all that had been rescued from the flames when the camps
were burned. Syphax entrenched himself in a fortified spot some
eight miles away,* and Hasdrubal hastened to Carthage to prevent
the shock of the recent defeat causing any weakening of strategy.
In Carthage, there was at first such a state of alarm that people
believed Scipio would abandon Utica and immediately lay siege to
their city. The sufetes––amongst the Carthaginians they held the
equivalent of consular power––accordingly convened the senate, and
there it came down to a struggle between three points of view. One
proposal was for sending a deputation to Scipio to discuss peace. A
second was for recalling Hannibal to protect his country from a war
that would be their undoing. The third showed a truly Roman resolve
in time of crisis: it advocated rebuilding the army and encouraging
Syphax not to abandon the war. Because it had the support of
Hasdrubal, who was attending the meeting, and all members of the
Barca faction, this was the proposal that prevailed.
After that a troop-levy got under way in the city and the country-
side, and envoys were dispatched to Syphax, who was also vigorously
preparing for a renewal of hostilities. It was Syphax’ wife who had
prevailed on him to do this, and no longer with sweet nothings, as
before––though these were themselves powerful enough to sway the
lover’s heart––but with entreaties and appeals to his compassion.
Her eyes swimming with tears, she would implore him not to let
down her father and her country, and not to allow Carthage to go
up in the same flames as had destroyed his camp. The envoys
also brought with them some well-timed assurance. Four thousand
570 book thirty 203 bc
Celtiberians, men in their prime who had been hired in Spain by
their own recruiting officers, had met them in the environs of a city
called Oppa,* they said, and, in addition, Hasdrubal would very soon
be there with a force that was not to be despised. As a result, Syphax
did more than simply give the envoys a warm response; he actually
brought to their attention a large number of Numidian peasants to
whom he had in recent days given weapons and horses, and declared
that he would call up all the young men in his kingdom. He was
aware, he said, that the disaster they had suffered was the result of a
fire, not a battle, and that the loser in war was the man defeated in
the field.
Such was Syphax’s reply to the envoys, and only days later*
Hasdrubal and he once again joined forces. That army totalled about
30,000 men.
8. Assuming that, as far as Syphax and the Carthaginians were con-
cerned, the conflict was at an end, Scipio was now pressing on with
the siege of Utica. He was actually moving the siege-engines up to
the walls when the news of their renewed hostilities drew him away
from the operation. He left a small force merely to keep up the
façade of a blockade being maintained by land and sea, and he him-
self proceeded against the enemy with the main body of his troops.
At first he dug in on a hill about four miles from the king’s camp, and
the next day he went down with his cavalry into what are called ‘The
Great Plains’,* which lie at the foot of the hill. There he spent the day
approaching and harassing the enemy outposts with light skirmish-
ing. Similarly, on the two days that followed, both sides in turn
engaged in disorderly sallies here and there, without achieving any
worthwhile result; but on the fourth day they both came out to do
battle.
The Roman commander deployed his principes behind the hastati,
whose maniples formed the front line, leaving the triarii in reserve,*
and he placed the Italian cavalry on the right wing, and the Numidians
and Masinissa on the left. Syphax and Hasdrubal positioned the
Numidians facing the Italian horse, and the Carthaginians facing
Masinissa; and they placed the Celtiberians in the middle of the line
to face the maniples of the legions.
Such was the formation in which the two armies encountered
each other. With the first charge, the enemy wings, the Carthaginians
as well as the Numidians, were both driven back at the same time.
203 bc chapters 7–9 571
The Numidians, who were mostly peasants, were no match for the
Roman cavalry; and the Carthaginians, new recruits themselves,
were no match for Masinissa, a redoubtable figure, and especially
so after his recent victory. Though shorn of both wings, the Celti-
berian line still stood its ground. Ignorant of the land, they could see
no prospect of safety in flight; and there was no hope of clemency
from Scipio––they and their people had been well treated by him,
and had still come to Africa as hired soldiers to fight him. And so,
with the enemy completely surrounding them, they fought stub-
bornly to the end, falling over each other in heaps. While attention
was entirely focused on the Celtiberians, Syphax and Hasdrubal
gained some time to make good their escape; and night fell on the
victors, exhausted from the bloodbath, which had gone on beyond
the battle.
9. The next day Scipio sent Laelius and Masinissa, together with
all the Roman and Numidian cavalry, and the lightest-armed of the
infantry, in pursuit of Syphax and Hasdrubal. Scipio himself took
the main body of the army, and proceeded to reduce the neighbour-
ing cities, all of them under Carthaginian control.* In some cases
he did this by giving them hope, in others by intimidation or the use
of force. At Carthage there was sheer terror. People assumed that
Scipio, moving around the country with his forces, would quickly
subdue all their neighbours and make a sudden attack on Carthage
itself. The walls were therefore being repaired and strengthened
with buttresses, and everyone was bringing in from the country
whatever he needed for facing a protracted siege. Peace was rarely
mentioned; more often there was talk of sending envoys to summon
Hannibal home. But most felt that the fleet that had been mobilized to
intercept Roman supplies should be sent to Utica in order to catch
the enemy ships anchored there off their guard with a surprise
attack––it might even overwhelm the naval camp, which was left
only lightly garrisoned.
This was the strategy they favoured most, but they nonetheless
voted to send a deputation to Hannibal. They thought that even a
completely successful operation by the fleet would lead only to
limited relief of the siege of Utica, and for the protection of Carthage
itself they were left with no commander but Hannibal, and no army
apart from his. The ships were therefore launched the next day, and
at the same time the envoys also left for Italy. And, under the stimulus
572 book thirty 203 bc
of their plight, all was being done in a hurry, with everyone thinking
that any slacking on his part was a betrayal of the safety of them all.
Scipio was in the process of trailing around an army that was now
heavily burdened with spoils from many cities. He sent his prisoners
of war and other booty to the old camp near Utica and, focusing now
on Carthage, he seized Tynes,* some fifteen miles from Carthage, its
garrison having fled and abandoned it. Tynes was a place enjoying
protection from its geographical situation as well as defence-works;
it was also visible from Carthage, and itself afforded a view both of
the city and the sea around it.
10. From Tynes, just when the Romans were constructing their
rampart, the enemy fleet was spotted heading from Carthage to
Utica. The work was therefore abandoned and the order given to
march. The troops began to move out at a rapid pace so that their
ships would not be taken by surprise––for these were facing the
shore to take part in the siege, and were in no way ready for a naval
battle. The vessels had artillery and siege-engines on board, and had
either been converted for use as transports or had been brought up
so close to the walls that they could be used for scaling in place of the
usual mound and bridges. There was no way they could have stood
up to a fleet that could manœuvre swiftly and was fully equipped
with nautical gear and weaponry.
On reaching his destination,* Scipio abandoned the strategy usu-
ally employed in a naval engagement. He set the warships, which
could have given protection to the other vessels, in the rearmost
position, close to shore, and he had four rows of freighters deployed
to form a wall against the enemy. Fearing that his lines could be
broken in the tumult of battle, he harnessed the freighters with a
relay of masts and yardarms running from one ship to another, and
with strong ropes that lashed them together in what was virtually an
unbroken chain. He also set planks on them to form a path along the
whole line of ships, and under the bridges so formed he left spaces to
enable scouting boats to run out against the enemy, and then beat a
retreat in safety. All of this was put in place as swiftly as circum-
stances allowed, and then about 1,000 hand-picked men were set
aboard the freighters to defend them. A huge stock of weapons,
mostly of the throwing variety, was also brought together, in num-
bers sufficient for an engagement of any length. Thus prepared, the
Romans remained on the alert, awaiting their enemy’s approach.
203 bc chapters 9–10 573
Had the Carthaginians moved quickly, they could have taken their
enemy by surprise with their first onset, for confusion reigned
everywhere and men were scurrying about in disorder. But they were
shaken by their defeats on land, and after them they had little con-
fidence even on the sea, where they were stronger than their enemy.
They spent the day sailing around in a dilatory manner, and towards
sunset they put in at a harbour that the Africans call Rusucmon.* At
sunrise the next day they deployed their vessels out at sea, anticipat-
ing a regular naval engagement, and expecting the Romans to come
out to face them. They held their position for some time, finally
attacking the freighters only when they could see that there was no
movement on the enemy’s part.
What developed was very dissimilar to a naval engagement and,
more than anything, looked like ships making an attack on walls.
The freighters had the clear advantage in height. The Carthaginians
were hurling their missiles from their warships at a point above
them, unsuccessfully for the most part because of the upward trajec-
tory; and those thrown from the heights of the freighters fell more
heavily and, thanks to the weight, were more accurate. The scouting
boats and other light craft that would sally forth through the spaces
under the planked gangways were, at first, merely sunk by the enemy
warships with their greater momentum and size. Later on they
also proved to be an obstruction to their own defensive troops; for,
becoming interspersed amongst the enemy ships, they often obliged
these men to hold back their weapons for fear of hitting their own
side with a poorly aimed shot. Finally, the Carthaginians proceeded
to hurl poles tipped with an iron hook (harpagones* in military ter-
minology) from their vessels onto those of the Romans. The Romans
found it impossible to hack through these instruments, or the chains
on which they were slung. The result was that, as each Carthaginian
warship backed water, dragging a freighter that was hooked, one
could see the cables by which it was connected to the other vessels
snapping, or a number of ships being dragged off in a row. By this
particular process all the bridges were torn apart, barely giving the
fighting men on them time to jump over to the second row of ships;
and about sixty freighters were hauled off to Carthage by the stern.
The euphoria this inspired in the Carthaginians was not justified by
the action, but it was all the more gratifying since it appeared as a
single unexpected gleam of joy, no matter how small, interrupting an
574 book thirty 203 bc
unbroken sequence of disasters and misery. In addition, the Roman
fleet had apparently come close to being destroyed, and this had been
thwarted only by the hesitation on the part of the captains of their
own ships, and the timely arrival of Scipio.*
11. It so happened that, at about this time, Laelius and Masinissa
had arrived in Numidia after a march of about fourteen days, and
there the Maesuli happily bestowed on Masinissa his father’s throne,
as being their long-lost king. Syphax, whose officers and garrisons
were driven from the kingdom, now kept to his old realm, though he
had not the slightest intention of remaining inactive. Lovesick, he was
under constant pressure from his wife and father-in-law, and he
possessed men and horses in such numbers that the very sight of the
military resources of a kingdom that had prospered for many years
could have inspired a spirit even less barbarous and unruly than his.
He therefore gathered together all his men who were fit for war,
and distributed horses, armour, and weapons amongst them; and he
also formed up his cavalry in squadrons and his infantry in cohorts,
as he had learned to do earlier from the Roman centurions. He then
went out to meet the enemy with an army no smaller than his former
force, but one that was almost completely new and without training.
He encamped close to them, and at first a few horsemen went for-
ward from the outposts, reconnoitring at a safe remove, but then
running back to their comrades when driven off by a shower of spears.
After that there were minor sorties from both sides in turn, with more
coming into the fray as men were driven back and roused to indigna-
tion. This is what usually prompts cavalry engagements, with
the successful side’s hopes, and the defeated side’s anger, bringing
comrades into the action.
So it was in this instance. The battle was started by a few, but then
the wish to join the action eventually brought the entire cavalry of
both sides pouring onto the field. While it was a cavalry engagement
pure and simple, there was little possibility of resisting the Masae-
sulians’ superior numbers, as Syphax sent his huge columns of men
into action. Then the Roman infantry* made a sudden charge
through the gaps that the cavalry squadrons left for them, and
thereby brought stability to the battle line, stemming the wild onset
of the enemy. At this, the barbarians first of all slowed their horses;
then they came to a halt, and were almost thrown into disorder by this
strange way of fighting. Eventually, they not only gave ground before
203 bc chapters 10–12 575
the enemy infantry, but they also failed to withstand the cavalry,
which was given fresh courage now by the assistance of the infantry.
By this time, too, the legionary troops were coming up, and at that
point it was not simply a matter of the Masaesulians not waiting for
the initial onset––they could not even resist the sight of the Roman
standards and weapons! So powerful was their memory of earlier
defeats, or else their present fear.
12. Syphax then rode up to the enemy cavalry squadrons, hoping
he could check the flight of his men by putting them to shame when
he put himself in harm’s way. But his horse received a serious
wound, and he was thrown off. He was overpowered, taken prisoner,
and brought alive to Laelius––a sight that would please Masinissa
more than anyone.
The loss of life in that battle was lighter than the margin of victory
might have suggested, because the fighting had been limited to cav-
alry. No more than 5,000 were killed, and less than half that figure
were taken prisoner when an attack was launched on the camp, to
which large numbers, dismayed at losing their king, had made
their way.
The capital of Syphax’s realm was Cirta,* and it was here that a
huge body of men had come after the rout. Masinissa declared that
nothing could be more gratifying at that moment than to tour his
ancestral kingdom as victor, now recovered after such a long period
of time, but he cautioned that it was just as important not to fritter
away time when things went well as when they went badly. If Laelius
would allow him to go ahead to Cirta with the cavalry, and with
Syphax in irons, he said, he would bring about confusion and panic
everywhere. Laelius could then follow with the infantry in easy
stages.* Laelius agreed, and Masinissa went ahead to Cirta, where he
had the leading citizens of the town summoned to parley. While
these men were still unaware of what had befallen the king, Masinissa
made no progress with them either by informing them of what had
happened, or by threats or persuasion––until the king was brought,
in irons, into their sight. The shameful spectacle provoked an out-
burst of lamentation. Some abandoned the walls in panic, and others,
hurriedly agreeing they should try to win the victor’s favour, flung
open the gates. As for Masinissa, he first dispatched troops to make
the rounds of the gates and suitable spots on the walls, to prevent any
escape, and then galloped in to seize the palace.
576 book thirty 203 bc
As he entered the vestibule, Sophoniba,* wife of Syphax and
daughter of Hasdrubal, met him right on the threshold. When she
saw him surrounded by a body of soldiers, cutting a conspicuous
figure with his armour and general appearance, she assumed––as was
indeed the case––that he was the king. She flung herself before his
knees and said: ‘The gods, and your own valour and good fortune,
have seen to it that you have absolute power over us.* But perhaps a
captive may be allowed to make a suppliant plea before the man who
can decide if she lives or dies, and to touch his knees and his con-
quering hand. If so, then I beg and entreat you by that royal majesty,
in which we too lived until a short time ago, and in the name of the
Numidian race, which provided a common bond between you and
Syphax, and I beg you by the gods who preside over this palace––
with a prayer that they welcome you with more favourable omens
than those with which they sent Syphax from here––to grant a sup-
pliant this favour, that you personally decide the fate of your captive,
no matter what your feelings are in that regard, and not let me face
the overbearing and ruthless judgement of some Roman. Had I been
no more than Syphax’s wife, I would still have preferred to rely on
the honour of a Numidian, of a man born, as I was, in Africa, rather
than that of a foreigner from overseas. But you can understand what
a Carthaginian, and what a daughter of Hasdrubal, has to fear from a
Roman. I earnestly entreat you, if you can achieve it in no other way,
to save me from falling under the control of the Romans by letting
me die now.’
Sophoniba was a woman of outstanding beauty and in her prime.
She was now grasping Masinissa’s right hand and begging him for
an undertaking that she not be surrendered to any Roman, her lan-
guage more that of love than of entreaty. The result was that the
victor’s heart succumbed to pity; but, more than that, thanks to the
Numidian proclivity for sensuality, the victor was brought to his
knees by passion for his own captive. He gave her his right hand
as a guarantee that he would fulfil her request, and went into the
palace.
Masinissa then began to puzzle over how he could honour the
commitment he had made. Finding no solution, he was prompted
by his infatuation to employ an ill-considered and shameless plan of
action, and gave orders for a marriage ceremony to be hurriedly
arranged for that very day. His intention was not to allow either
203 bc chapters 12–13 577
Laelius, or even Scipio himself, any leeway in deciding the case of a
presumed captive, for she would by then be married to Masinissa.
Laelius appeared on the scene when the ceremony was over. Far
from hiding his disapproval of what had taken place, his initial reac-
tion was to try to tear her from the wedding couch, and send her off
to Scipio, along with Syphax and the other prisoners. He was then
overcome by the pleas of Masinissa, who begged him to leave it to
Scipio to decide to which of the two kings’ fortunes Sophoniba
would be appended. Laelius accordingly sent off Syphax and the
prisoners of war and, with Masinissa’s assistance, reduced the other
cities of Numidia* held by the king’s garrisons.
13. Following the announcement that Syphax was being brought
into the camp, all the soldiers poured out in a crowd, as if to view a
triumph. Syphax was at the front, in chains, and a crowd of Numidian
noblemen came after him. At that point all the soldiers did as much
as they could to play up Syphax’s importance, and the fame of his
race, thereby aggrandizing their own victory. This was the king, they
would say, whose grandeur was recognized by the two most powerful
nations on earth, the Roman and Carthaginian. So much so, indeed,
that their own commander Scipio had left his assignment in Spain,
and his army, to sail to Africa with a couple of triremes to seek
the man’s friendship. And the Carthaginian commander Hamilcar
had not merely visited Syphax in his kingdom––he had even given
him his daughter in marriage! Syphax, they said, had at the same
time had both generals, the Carthaginian and the Roman, under
his thumb, and just as both sides had used sacrifices to seek the
blessing of the immortal gods, so too Syphax’s friendship had
been sought by both. Such had been his power, in fact, that he had
driven Masinissa from the throne, and brought him so low that his
life was protected only by a report of his death, and by his evading
detection, living in the woods, like a wild animal, on what he could
catch.
Such was the praise Syphax received from the bystanders; he was
then brought to Scipio in his headquarters. Scipio, too, was touched
when he compared the man’s earlier and present fortunes, and also
when he remembered their ties of hospitality, the clasping of their
hands, and the pact they had made on the official and private level.
These same reflections also came to Syphax, raising his confidence
as he addressed his conqueror. For when Scipio asked him what he
578 book thirty 203 bc
thought he would gain in not only rejecting a Roman alliance but
in actually opening hostilities, Syphax admitted that he had been
wrong and had acted irrationally––but this did not date only from
the time when he finally took up arms against the Roman people.
That, he explained, had been the culmination, not the beginning, of
his madness. He had lost his mind, and cast from his thoughts
all private and official compacts, at the time when he welcomed
a Carthaginian woman into his home as his wife. Those wedding
torches had sent his palace up in flames, he said, and that fury, that
fiend, had resorted to all manner of wheedling to turn his head and
make him crazy. She had not rested until she had, with her own
hands, fastened on him his abominable armour, making him face a
man who was his host and friend. Even so, he added, while he might
be done for and ruined, he still had one thing to console him in his
misery––he could see that that fiend and fury had now passed into
the house and home of the greatest enemy he had in the world. And
Masinissa had shown no more caution or resolve than Syphax––
because of his youth he was even more thoughtless. His marriage to
Sophoniba, at all events, was characterized by greater folly and
abandon than his own had been.
14. These words came not only from hatred felt for an enemy;
they were prompted, too, by the pangs of love felt by a man aware
that his loved one was with a rival, and they brought Scipio no
small measure of concern. The haste with which the marriage had
been celebrated, virtually in the midst of battle, lent substance to the
charges––Masinissa had not even consulted or waited for Laelius.
He had been in such a feverish rush that he took the woman into his
home as his wife, completing the wedding rites before his enemy’s
household deities, on the very same day as he had set eyes on her
as a prisoner of war. And Scipio found this all the more offensive
because, when he himself had been a young man in Spain, he had
been tempted by the looks of no female captive. He was mulling over
such thoughts when Laelius and Masinissa appeared.
Scipio welcomed both of them with a friendly expression, and
lavished on them words of the highest praise in the presence of a
large number of his staff. He then took Masinissa aside and addressed
him as follows:
‘Masinissa, I think it was because you saw some merit in me that
you came to me initially, in Spain, to establish ties of friendship with
203 bc chapters 13–15 579
me, and then later, in Africa, when you put yourself and all your
hopes in my hands. But of those virtues for which you thought me
worth seeking out I would pride myself on none as much as my
restraint and self-control. I wish, Masinissa, that you too could have
added this quality to your other exceptional virtues. At our age,
believe me, there is not so much danger from an enemy under arms
as there is from the pleasures that surround us everywhere. A man
who by his own self-control has held these in check, and suppressed
them, has won much greater glory and a greater victory than we have
now in defeating Syphax. Your dynamic and courageous conduct in
my absence I have been delighted to record publicly and to remem-
ber; your other behaviour I prefer to let you reflect on yourself rather
than have you blush at my mention of it.
‘Syphax was defeated and taken prisoner under the auspices of
the Roman people. That means that Syphax himself, his wife, his
kingdom, his towns with the men inhabiting them, in short all that
belonged to Syphax, now belong to the Roman people as their spoils.*
The king and queen would have to be sent to Rome, even if the
queen were not a Carthaginian citizen, and even if we did not discern
in her father an enemy commander. It should be for the Senate and
People of Rome to judge and decide the case of a woman who pur-
portedly turned an allied monarch against us and drove him head-
long into war. Have some self-control. See that you do not mar your
many good qualities with a single vice, and ruin the gratitude you
have earned for all your services by an error of greater importance
than what was responsible for the error.’
15. When he heard this not only did a blush of embarrassment
spread over Masinissa’s face but tears also welled up in his eyes. He
would, he said, abide by his commander’s decision, but he begged
him, as far as circumstances permitted, to take account of the prom-
ise he had thoughtlessly made––he had given an undertaking not to
let Sophoniba pass into anyone’s hands. Then, in an agitated state,
he left the headquarters for his own tent. There, after sending off any
who might see him, he spent a long time sighing and moaning, which
was easily audible to the men standing around the tent. Finally, he let
out a loud groan and sent for a trusted slave, the man in whose
keeping lay the poison that was to be used to meet the uncertainties
of fortune––a regular practice with royalty. He ordered the man to
mix the poison in a cup and take it to Sophoniba,* and at the same
580 book thirty 203 bc
time to announce to her that Masinissa would have been glad to carry
out his first commitment to her, one which he, as a husband, owed to
his wife. Now those with the power were taking that option from
him, and so he was honouring his second commitment, namely to
see that she did not fall into the hands of the Romans alive. She
should think of her father the commander, of her country, and of the
two kings to whom she had been married, and make her decision
with them in mind.
The servant came to Sophoniba bearing this message, and the
poison along with it. ‘I accept this wedding gift,’ said Sophoniba. ‘It
is not unwelcome, if my husband has found it impossible to give his
wife a greater one. But tell him this: my death would have been more
acceptable had my marriage not coincided with my funeral.’ The
resolve with which she spoke was no greater than that with which she
took and, with no sign of perturbation, fearlessly drained the cup.
When the incident was reported to him, Scipio feared that the
headstrong young man might be prompted to some reckless act by his
chagrin. He immediately summoned Masinissa, and by turns con-
soled him and gently rebuked him for having committed one hasty
act to pay for another, and making the whole affair more grievous
than it needed to be.
The next day, in order to divert the man’s thoughts from the pain
he was suffering, Scipio mounted the tribunal and had an assembly
called. There he first of all addressed Masinissa as ‘king’ and lav-
ished extraordinary praise on him, and then conferred upon him a
crown of gold, a golden bowl, a curule chair, and an ivory sceptre,
along with an embroidered toga and a tunic with a palm motif. He
did him further honour by explaining that, amongst the Romans,
there was nothing more splendid than a triumph, and those celebrat-
ing a triumph had no more splendid finery than that which the
people of Rome thought Masinissa, alone of foreigners, now mer-
ited. He then paid tribute to Laelius, whom he also presented with a
golden crown, and other soldiers were given awards in proportion to
their merits. The king’s feelings were soothed by such honours, and
his hopes were raised that, with Syphax out of the way, he would
soon take possession of all Numidia.
16. Scipio sent Gaius Laelius to Rome with Syphax and the
other prisoners of war, and envoys from Masinissa accompanied
them. He then moved his camp back to Tynes where he completed
203 bc chapters 15–16 581
the fortifications he had started earlier. Thanks to the momentary
success of their attack on the fleet, the Carthaginians were filled with
an exhilaration that was not only of brief duration but practically
groundless; but they were stunned by the report of the capture of
Syphax, in whom they had placed more hope than they had in
Hasdrubal and his army. They no longer paid attention to anyone
advocating military action, and they sent their thirty leading elders
to sue for peace. (This was a council that enjoyed considerable
respect* amongst the Carthaginians, and had a very great influence on
the decision-making of the senate.)
On their arrival in the headquarters in the Roman camp, the elders
prostrated themselves before Scipio like men performing obeisance,
a practice that I suppose derives from the area of their origin.* Their
language suited such obsequious flattery. Instead of trying to excuse
their own culpability they shifted initial responsibility for the war to
Hannibal and those who supported his power.* They asked for par-
don for a city-state that had now been twice brought low by the
recklessness of its citizens, and whose future preservation would once
more depend on the favour of its enemies. It was power the Roman
people looked for from victory over its foes, not their destruction,
they said, and Scipio could give them any orders he liked, as they
were ready to follow them to the letter.
Scipio replied that the hope with which he had come to Africa––
and his hope had been further raised by the successful outcome of
his campaign––was that he would return home with a victory, not a
peace settlement. However, despite almost having victory in his
hands, he said, he did not reject a peace treaty, so that all peoples
might be made aware that the Roman people were fair-minded
both in undertaking and concluding wars. He then declared that the
following were his peace-terms. The Carthaginians were to hand
back prisoners of war, deserters, and runaway slaves. They were to
remove their armed forces from Italy and Gaul. They were to stay
out of Spain. They were to leave all the islands that lay between Italy
and Africa.* They were to surrender all but twenty of their warships
and hand over 500,000 measures of wheat and 300,000 of barley. As
for the financial indemnity in Scipio’s demands, there is little agree-
ment on the amount.* In one source I find 5,000 talents, in another
5,000 pounds of silver, in a third a demand for double his men’s pay.
‘You will be given three days to consider whether you are willing
582 book thirty 203 bc
to accept peace on these terms,’ said Scipio. ‘If you are willing, make
a truce with me and send representatives to the Senate in Rome.’
With that the Carthaginians were dismissed. As they were now play-
ing for time* to allow Hannibal to cross to Africa, they felt that no
terms of peace should be refused, and so they sent one group of rep-
resentatives to Scipio to arrange the truce, and another to Rome to
ask for a peace treaty. The latter group made a show of taking along
a few prisoners, deserters, and runaway slaves, so that a peace treaty
would be more easily attainable.
17. Many days before this* Laelius arrived in Rome with Syphax
and the more important Numidian prisoners of war. He gave the
senators an ordered account of operations in Africa, prompting great
elation over the current situation and raising great hopes for the
future. When the question was put on the matter, the senators voted
that the king should be sent to Alba for imprisonment, and that
Laelius should be kept back in Rome until the Carthaginian repre-
sentatives arrived.* A decree was passed authorizing four days of
public prayer.
The praetor Publius Aelius adjourned the Senate and then con-
vened the popular assembly. There he mounted the Rostra with
Gaius Laelius. The people were told of Carthaginian armies being
routed, of an enormously famous king being defeated and taken
prisoner, of all Numidia being overrun in a singularly successful
campaign. The people could not contain their euphoria in silence;
they made clear their extravagant jubilation with cheers and all the
usual manifestations of joy of the masses. The praetor accordingly
gave an immediate order for the temple-custodians to open up the
holy places throughout the city, and for the people to be given the
opportunity of doing the rounds of them, throughout the day, paying
homage and giving thanks to the gods.
The next day Aelius brought Masinissa’s envoys into the Senate.
They first of all congratulated the senators on Publius Scipio’s suc-
cesses in Africa, and then expressed their gratitude to them for the
fact that Scipio had not merely addressed Masinissa as a king, but
had actually made him so by restoring him to his father’s kingdom.
Now that Syphax had been deposed, Masinissa would remain on the
throne without fear, and without opposition, if such was the Senate’s
decision, they said. They also thanked the Senate for Scipio’s com-
mendation of Masinissa before an assembly of his army, and for
203 bc chapters 16–18 583
the presentation of splendid gifts that he had made to the king.
Masinissa had done his best, and would go on doing his best, to show
himself worthy of this treatment. They added that the king requested
that the Senate ratify by decree the royal title and other benefits and
gifts conferred on him by Scipio, and he further requested that, if it
did not displease them, they send back any Numidian prisoners in
custody in Rome. That, they explained, would very much redound
to the king’s credit amongst his people.
The response given to the envoys was that congratulations for
successes in Africa that they offered to the Senate should be shared
with the king. Furthermore, they said, Scipio’s action in addressing
Masinissa as a king was, in the Senate’s opinion, correct and proper,
and the members fully approved of everything else Scipio had done
to gratify Masinissa. They also passed a decree authorizing gifts for
the envoys to bear to the king: two purple cloaks, each with a golden
clasp; two tunics with a broad stripe; two horses with their harness-
decorations; two sets of cavalry armour with cuirasses; and tents and
military paraphernalia of the kind usually provided for a consul. The
praetor was instructed to see that the gifts were sent to the king. The
envoys were each given a minimum of 5,000 asses, and their attend-
ants 1,000 each; and two tunics were presented to each ambassador,
and one to the attendants and to the Numidians who were to be
released from custody and restored to the king. In addition, a decree
authorized the provision of free-of-charge accommodation and
entertainment for the envoys.
18. During the summer that these senatorial decrees were passed
in Rome and military operations were being conducted in Africa, the
praetor Publius Quinctilius Varus and proconsul Marcus Cornelius
clashed in pitched battle with the Carthaginian Mago in the land of
the Insubrian Gauls.* The praetor’s legions were in the front line;
Cornelius kept his in reserve but he himself rode up to the front and
there, positioned before the two wings, praetor and proconsul both
urged on the men to mount an all-out attack on the enemy. They
were achieving no success with this, and then Quinctilius said to
Cornelius: ‘As you see, the battle is losing momentum. The enemy’s
fear is being hardened into stubbornness by a resistance that is suc-
ceeding beyond their expectations, and there is a risk of it developing
into boldness. We should get a brisk cavalry charge going if we want
to shake them and make them give ground. So either you must keep
584 book thirty 203 bc
up the pressure at the front, while I lead the cavalry into battle, or I
shall look after matters here in the front line, while you unleash the
cavalry of four legions on the enemy.’
The proconsul was prepared to accept whatever part of the task
the praetor wanted him to take on. The praetor Quinctilius then
went forward to the cavalry with his son, an intrepid young man
(his praenomen was Marcus), and, ordering them to mount up, he
unleashed them against the enemy.
The disarray caused by the cavalry was heightened by the shouts
that arose from the legions, and the enemy line would not have held
had it not been for Mago who, when the cavalry first made their
move, immediately brought the elephants, which were kept ready for
action, into the fight. The horses were terrified by their trumpeting,
their smell, and their appearance, and this completely undermined
the assistance brought by the cavalry. While the Roman cavalry were
in the midst of the action, where they could use lance and sword at
close quarters, they had the upper hand; but when they were carried
away from the fight by the startled horses they became, at a distance,
better targets for the Numidian javelins. At the same time, among
the infantry, the twelfth legion had been mostly cut down, and was
holding its ground more to avoid humiliation than by virtue of its
strength. It would not have held on any longer had not the thirteenth,
which was brought into the front line from the reserves, taken up the
indecisive struggle. Mago, too, went to his reserves, bringing up some
Gauls to face this fresh legion. But these were scattered without
much of a fight, and the hastati of the eleventh legion then bunched
together and charged the elephants who were by now wreaking havoc
on the infantry line as well. The animals were massed together, and so
when the Romans hurled their javelins at them hardly any missed
the mark. They then drove them all back to their own battle line,
four of them collapsing from the severity of their wounds.
It was at that point that the enemy line was first driven back, and
when they saw the elephants turn to run all the Roman cavalry came
pouring out to increase the panic and disorder. As long as Mago
stood before the standards, however, the Carthaginians retreated only
by degrees, preserving their ranks and orderly manner of fighting.
But when they saw him fall, his thigh run through by a weapon, and
being carried from the field virtually lifeless, they all immediately
turned to flight.*
203 bc chapters 18–19 585
Approximately 5,000 of the enemy were killed that day, and twenty-
two military standards were taken. But it was no bloodless victory for
the Romans, either. Casualties in the praetor’s army numbered 2,300,
by far the greatest number coming from the twelfth legion. Two
military tribunes, Marcus Cosconius and Marcus Maevius, were also
lost from that legion, and from the thirteenth, which had been
involved in the closing moments of the fight, another military tribune,
Gaius Helvius, fell as he was re-establishing the battle. In addition,
about twenty-two eminent knights, along with a number of centur-
ions, were crushed to death by the elephants. The battle might have
gone on, but the Carthaginians ceded victory when their leader was
wounded.
19. Mago left that night, when all was quiet, and, marching in
stages as long as his wound would permit him to bear, he came to the
coast in the land of the Ligurian Ingauni.* Here delegates from
Carthage, who had docked in the Gallic Gulf* a few days earlier,
came to him with orders for him to cross to Africa at the earliest
possible moment. His brother Hannibal would be doing the same,
they told him, for a delegation had gone to him with the same
orders––the situation in which the Carthaginians were now placed
would not permit them to hold Gaul as well as Italy with their armed
forces.
Mago was galvanized to action not only by the command from
his senate, and the danger his country faced, but also by fear of an
attack from the victorious enemy if he delayed. He was also afraid
that, once they saw Italy being abandoned by the Carthaginians, the
Ligurians themselves would go over to the side in whose power they
would soon find themselves. At the same time he was hoping that
his wound would be less severely jolted on a sea journey than on
the road and that he would find everything at sea more conducive to
his recovery. He therefore boarded his troops and set sail, but barely
had he passed Sardinia when he died from his wound.* Further-
more, a number of the Carthaginian ships that had been driven off
course on the high sea were captured by the Roman fleet lying off
Sardinia. Such were land and sea operations in the area of Italy close
to the Alps.
The consul Gaius Servilius had done nothing worthy of note in
his area of responsibility, Etruria, nor in Gaul, into which he had also
gone. He did, however, deliver his father Gaius Servilius, along with
586 book thirty 203 bc
Gaius Lutatius, after they had been enslaved for fifteen years, both
men having been taken prisoner by the Boii near the village of
Tannetum.* He then returned to Rome, flanked by his father and
Catulus, his reputation enhanced by a splendid act that was personal
rather than official in nature. A proposal was brought before the
people freeing Gaius Servilius from any liability for having con-
travened lawful procedure in serving as plebeian tribune and ple-
beian aedile while his father, who had held a curule chair, was
(unbeknownst to him) still alive.* The proposal passed into law, and
Servilius returned to his sphere of duty.
In Bruttium, where the consul Gnaeus Servilius was then serving,
Consentia, Aufugum, Bergae, Baesidiae, Ocriculum, Lymphaeum,
Argentanum, Clampetia,* and numerous other communities of little
importance came over to him when they saw the Punic war effort
flagging. That same consul also fought Hannibal in pitched battle
in the vicinity of Croton, but information on that engagement is
unclear. Valerius Antias gives a count of 5,000 enemy dead, making it
an event of such magnitude as to suggest either a shameless fiction
on his part or a negligent omission on the part of others. It is a fact,
however, that nothing more was achieved by Hannibal in Italy.
Envoys from Carthage recalling him to Africa happened to come to
him, too, at about the same time as they did Mago.
20. It is said that as Hannibal listened to the words of the envoys
he was gnashing his teeth and groaning, and barely able to hold back
his tears. When his orders had been delivered to him, he said: ‘Those
men who were long trying to drag me back from here by blocking the
shipment of reinforcements and cash are no longer using devious
means to recall me, but doing it openly. So Hannibal has not been
defeated by the Roman people, who have been so often slaughtered
or routed, but by the Carthaginian senate with its carping jealousy.
And Publius Scipio will not feel as much delight and exultation over
this ignominious departure of mine as will Hanno who, unable to
effect it by other means, has crushed our house by bringing down
Carthage.’*
Anticipating this very outcome, Hannibal had prepared his ships
ahead of time.* He therefore sent off the mass of his unserviceable
troops, ostensibly as garrisons, to the few Bruttian towns that had
been kept in check more by fear than loyalty, and the real strength of
his army he shipped over to Africa. A large number of men who were
203 bc chapters 19–21 587
of Italic descent had refused to go to Africa with him. They had
taken shelter in the shrine of Juno Lacinia, which had remained
inviolate till that day, but they had been foully murdered within the
temple itself.*
Rarely, they say, has anyone departing into exile from his own
country displayed such distress as Hannibal did then as he left the
country of an enemy. It is said that he often looked back at the coast
of Italy, levelling accusations against gods and men and even invok-
ing curses on himself and his own head for not having led his men
straight to Rome when they were covered with blood from the vic-
tory at Cannae. Scipio, he said, had dared to march on Carthage––a
man who as consul had never set eyes on a Carthaginian in Italy!––
while he himself, after slaughtering 100,000 soldiers at Trasimene
and Cannae, had merely grown old in the vicinity of Casilinum,
Cumae, and Nola! With such words of recrimination and regret
Hannibal was pulled back from his long occupation of Italy.
21. Mago’s departure was reported in Rome at about the same
time as Hannibal’s. There were thus two reasons for rejoicing, but
the joy was diminished by the fact that the Roman commanders had
evidently lacked the determination, or the strength, to hold back the
two men, although they had been ordered to do so by the Senate.* It
was lessened, too, by anxiety over how things might turn out now
that the entire weight of the war rested on one army and one
commander.
It was at about this time that envoys arrived from Saguntum,
bringing with them some Carthaginians who had allegedly crossed to
Spain to hire auxiliaries. These men had been captured along with
their money. The envoys deposited in the vestibule of the Senate
house 250 pounds of gold and 800 pounds of silver. The men were
taken in charge and incarcerated, but all the gold and silver was given
back. The envoys were thanked and also presented with gifts and
ships for their return to Spain.
The point was then made by senior members of the house that
people recognize good fortune more slowly than they do bad. One
remembered well the extent of the terror and panic when Hannibal
crossed into Italy, they observed––what disasters and what sorrows
that had brought! The camp of the enemy was sighted from the city
walls––what individual and communal prayers had gone up then!
How often, in meetings, men would stretch their hands towards
588 book thirty 203 bc
heaven, and they were heard poignantly asking if that day would ever
come when they would see Italy free of the enemy and living in
peace and prosperity again! Now, in the fullness of time, after fifteen
years of war, the gods had finally granted this prayer––and yet there
was no one ready to move that thanks be offered to them. That only
shows, they said, that men did not appreciate a blessing even as it
came to them, much less cherish the memory of it once it was past.
Shouting then broke out from every quarter of the house demanding
that the praetor Publius Aelius put the motion to the members. The
motion was then carried that a five-day period of thanksgiving be
held at all the couches of the gods, and that a hundred and twenty
full-grown victims be sacrificed.
Laelius and the envoys of Masinissa had already been dismissed*
when it was reported that the Carthaginian delegation that was com-
ing to the Senate to sue for peace had been sighted at Puteoli and
that it would be coming overland from there. It was decided there-
fore that Gaius Laelius be recalled so that he could be present at the
peace negotiations. Scipio’s legate, Quintus Fulvius Gillo, escorted
the Carthaginians to Rome and, since they were forbidden to enter
the city, they were lodged in the state villa and granted an audience
with the Senate at the temple of Bellona.
22. The Carthaginian delegates made substantially the same
speech as they had in Scipio’s headquarters, and placed all responsi-
bility for the war on Hannibal rather than on state policy. It was
without the order of their senate that he had crossed the Ebro, not
merely the Alps, they maintained, and he had on his own initiative
launched his offensive not just on the Romans but even on the
people of Saguntum before that. On any fair assessment, they said,
the Carthaginian senate and people had kept their treaty with the
Roman people intact up to that day. Accordingly they had been
instructed to ask for nothing more than that they be allowed to
continue with the terms of peace of the last treaty, the one concluded
with Gaius Lutatius.*
Then, following tradition, the praetor gave all the senators the
opportunity of putting any questions they wished to the delegates.
Older members, who had been present at the negotiation of the
treaties, put various questions to them, but the delegates’ response
was that they did not remember because of their age (for they were
almost all young men). With that there was uproar from every corner
203 bc chapters 21–24 589
of the Senate house. Choosing individuals to ask for a renewal of
the old treaty, of which the men themselves had no memory, was,
they said, a case of Punic duplicity.
23. The envoys were then taken from the Senate, and members’
opinions were solicited. Marcus Livius proposed that they summon
Gaius Servilius, since he was the closer of the two consuls, so that he
could be present for the discussion of the peace treaty. No topic for
debate could be more urgent than this, said Livius, and, in his view,
discussion of it in the absence of one or both of the consuls was not
really in accordance with the dignity of the Roman people. Quintus
Metellus, consul three years earlier and also a former dictator,
observed that, by massacring their armies and laying waste their
farmland, Publius Scipio had brought the enemy to such a pass that
they were suing for peace. Absolutely no one, he said, could more
accurately appraise the Carthaginian intentions in suing for peace
than could the man who was fighting a war before the gates of
Carthage, and when it came to accepting or rejecting their peace
proposal they should follow Scipio’s advice and nobody else’s.
Marcus Valerius Laevinus, who had been twice consul, claimed that
the men who had come to them were spies, not envoys. They should
be ordered to leave Italy, he said, with guards sent to escort them
right to their ships, and Scipio should be given written instructions
not to relax the military pressure. Laelius and Fulvius made the
further point that Scipio, too, had premised his hopes of a peace
accord on the expectation that Hannibal and Mago would not be
recalled from Italy. In fact, they said, the Carthaginians would resort
to all manner of deception while they waited for their armies and
their generals, and would then continue the war with no thought for
their treaties, however recent they were, and in defiance of all the
gods. This made even more people vote in favour of Laevinus’ pro-
posal, and the envoys were sent off with no peace concluded and
almost without being given an answer.*
24. At about this time Gnaeus Servilius, who was in no doubt that
the credit for restoring peace to Italy belonged to him, crossed to
Sicily. He was intending to proceed from there to Africa, in pursuit
of Hannibal who, he imagined, had been driven out of Italy by him.
When word of this spread through Rome, the senators had initially
passed a motion authorizing the praetor to inform the consul by
letter that the Senate felt it appropriate that he return to Italy. But
590 book thirty 203 bc
when the praetor declared that Servilius would pay no attention to
any letter of his, Publius Sulpicius was appointed dictator* expressly
to resolve the problem and he, by right of his higher authority,
recalled the consul to Italy. Sulpicius spent the remainder of the year
on a tour of Italy with Marcus Servilius, his master of horse, visiting
the cities that had split from Rome in the hostilities, and trying the
cases of each of them.
During the period of the truce* a hundred freighters were sent
from Sardinia by the praetor Publius Lentulus. Carrying supplies,
and escorted by twenty warships, they crossed to Africa on a sea free
of danger from both the enemy and bad weather. Gnaeus Octavius,
who made the crossing from Sicily with two hundred freighters and
thirty warships, did not enjoy the same good fortune. He had had a
favourable passage to the point where he was almost in sight of
Africa but then, first of all, the wind dropped and then it later veered
to the south-west, throwing him off-course and scattering his ships
far and wide. Thanks to a superlative effort by his oarsmen, Octavius
himself struggled through the contrary swell and made the promon-
tory of Apollo with the warships. Most of his freighters were swept
to the island of Aegimurus––this lies out to sea across the mouth of
the bay on which Carthage stands, and is roughly thirty miles from
the city––while the others were carried to Aquae Calidae, right
opposite the city.
All this happened in full view of Carthage.* As a result, people
converged on the forum from all over the city, and the magistrates
convened the senate. In the forecourt of the senate building the
people were in uproar, demanding that such rich plunder not be
allowed to slip out of their sight and through their fingers. Some
objected that the peace negotiations, or else the truce––for it had not
yet expired––put them under a moral obligation. The agreement
they reached, however, as the senate meeting virtually merged with
that of the people, was that Hasdrubal* should take a fleet of fifty
ships over to Aegimurus, and then gather up the Roman ships dis-
persed along the coastline or in the harbours. The freighters had
been abandoned by their crews and they were towed to Carthage by
the stern, first from Aegimurus, then from Aquae Calidae.
25. The envoys had not yet returned from Rome, and the Roman
Senate’s decision on war or peace was still not known.* In addition,
the truce had not yet expired. Scipio felt the Carthaginians’ offence
203 bc chapters 24–25 591
to be all the more outrageous in that hopes of a peace settlement, and
the moral obligation of the truce, had been trampled underfoot
by the very men who had sued for a peace treaty and a truce. He
immediately sent Lucius Baebius, Lucius Sergius, and Lucius
Fabius to Carthage as his spokesmen.* The Romans were almost
manhandled by the crowd that quickly gathered around them, and
since they could see that their return journey would be no safer, they
asked the magistrates, through whose assistance the violence had been
prevented, to send ships to escort them. They were assigned two
triremes. The vessels came with them as far as the River Bagradas,
from which the Roman camp could be seen, and then returned to
Carthage.
The Punic fleet was anchored off Utica, and three of its quadri-
remes suddenly launched an attack from out at sea as the Roman
quinquereme was rounding the promontory. Either a message telling
them to do this had been sent from Carthage or else the admiral of
the fleet, Hasdrubal, had dared to take the step without official
authorization. But the Carthaginians were unable to ram the Roman
ship, her speed enabling her to scud away, nor were their marines
able to jump over from what were lower vessels to a higher one. The
ship was also brilliantly defended for as long as it had a supply of
missiles. When the weapons began to run out she could not have
been saved had it not been for the proximity of the land, and the
crowd of men that came pouring from the camp onto the beach.
Driving her with all the speed the oars could manage, the crew ran
her aground, and, with the loss of only the ship, those on board
escaped without harm.
And so, with one violation following another, there was no doubt
that the truce had been broken, and now Laelius and Fulvius arrived
from Rome with the Carthaginian delegation. Scipio let these men
know that it was not only the obligations of the truce that had been
violated by the Carthaginians; in the case of his representatives
international convention had been violated, too. He declared, how-
ever, that he would, in their case, take no action that was unworthy of
the institutions of the Roman people, or beneath his own principles.
He then dismissed the delegates and proceeded with preparations
for war.
As Hannibal was approaching land, he ordered one of his crew to
climb the mast to get a look at the area they were heading for. The
592 book thirty 203 bc
man told him that the prow was set towards a ruined sepulchre,
and Hannibal, with a prayer to avert the omen, told the helmsman
to sail on past it. He put in with the fleet at Leptis,* and there
disembarked his troops.
26. Such were that year’s events in Africa, and what follows runs
into the year of the consulship of Marcus Servilius Geminus (master
of horse to that point) and Tiberius Claudius Nero.
At the end of the previous year delegates had come from allied
cities in Greece protesting that their farmlands had been laid waste
by the forces of King Philip, and that envoys sent into Macedonia to
seek redress had not been granted an audience with him. At the same
time they apprised the senators of reports that an armed force of
4,000 men had crossed to Africa, under the command of Sopater, to
assist with the defence of Carthage, and that a sum of money had
been sent with them.* The Senate then voted in favour of sending
a delegation to the king to report to him that, in the members’
view, this contravened their treaty. The delegates sent were Gaius
Terentius Varro, Gaius Mamilius, and Marcus Aurelius, and they
were assigned three quinqueremes.
The year was marked by a huge fire, in which the Clivus Publicius
was burned to the ground, and also by flooding. It was notable, too,
for the cheapness of grain. For, apart from the fact that, thanks to the
peaceful conditions, the whole of Italy was now open,* large quan-
tities of wheat had also been sent from Spain. The curule aediles
Marcus Valerius Falto and Marcus Fabius Buteo distributed this to
the people, district by district, at a price of four asses a measure.
That same year saw the death of Quintus Fabius Maximus, at an
advanced age (if there is any truth in the statement of some histor-
ians that he was an augur for sixty-two years). He was certainly a
man who deserved his impressive cognomen, even if it had been a new
one that he was the first to bear.* He exceeded the number of public
offices held by his father, and equalled those of his grandfather. His
grandfather Rullus was famous for a greater number of victories and
for battles on a larger scale than those of Fabius, but simply having
Hannibal as an adversary can compensate for all that. Fabius has been
regarded as a man of more caution than action, but while one may
question whether he was by nature a ‘delayer’, or whether such tactics
were simply very appropriate to that stage of the war, nothing is
more certain than that ‘one man restored our fortunes by delaying’,
203–202 bc chapters 25–27 593
as Ennius puts it.* His son Quintus Fabius Maximus replaced him
as augur, and Servius Sulpicius Galba replaced him as pontiff (for
Fabius held two priesthoods).
Under the supervision of the aediles Marcus Sextius Sabinus
and Gnaeus Tremelius Flaccus, the Roman Games were repeated
once in their entirety, and the Plebeian Games three times. Both
these men were made praetors, and Gaius Livius Salinator and
Gaius Aurelius Cotta along with them. Discrepancies in the sources
make it unclear whether elections that year were held by the consul
Gaius Servilius or by Publius Sulpicius, who was appointed as dicta-
tor by the consul when he was detained in Etruria on official business
(holding Senate-authorized judicial investigations into conspiracy
amongst the leading citizens).
27. At the start of the following year, Marcus Servilius and
Tiberius Claudius convened the Senate on the Capitol and raised
the matter of the allocation of provinces. Since both men had their
heart set on Africa, they wanted to have Italy and Africa decided by
sortition, but thanks mostly to the efforts of Quintus Metellus they
were neither denied nor granted Africa. Instead, the consuls were
instructed to take joint action with the tribunes of the plebs to have
the question brought before the people––if the tribunes so agreed––
of the man they wished to see in charge of the campaign in Africa.
The tribes unanimously voted for Publius Scipio, but the consuls
still proceeded to sortition––for so the Senate had decreed––for the
province of Africa.* Africa fell to Tiberius Claudius, who was to cross
with a fleet of fifty ships, all quinqueremes, and there hold command
with the same authority as Publius Scipio. Marcus Servilius was
allotted Etruria. In that same province, Gaius Servilius also had his
term of command extended in case the Senate decided that the
consul should remain in the city.
Of the praetors, Marcus Sextius was allotted Gaul, and Publius
Quinctilius Varus was to turn over to him his two legions along with
the province. Gaius Livius received Bruttium with the two legions
that the proconsul Publius Sempronius had commanded the year
before. Gnaeus Tremelius received Sicily, with instructions to take
over the province with its two legions from Publius Villius Tappulus,
praetor the previous year. Villius was made propraetor, and ordered
to protect the coast of Sicily with twenty warships and 1,000 fighting
men. With the remaining twenty ships Marcus Pomponius was to
594 book thirty 202 bc
ferry 1,500 soldiers back to Rome. Gaius Aurelius Cotta was allotted
the city praetorship. The other praetors saw their commands
extended, with arrangements for their provinces and armies remain-
ing the same in each case.
The defence of the Roman empire that year rested on no more
than sixteen legions. To secure the favour of the gods at the start of,
and during, all these activities, the consuls were ordered to stage some
games before they set off for the war. These were games that, in the
consulship of Marcus Claudius Marcellus and Titus Quinctius, the
dictator Titus Manlius had promised in a vow, along with the sacrifice
of full-grown animals, should the republic remain in the same condi-
tion over the following five-year period as it was at that time. The
games took place in the Circus Maximus over a four-day period,
and the victims were sacrificed to the gods to whom they had been
promised in the vow.
28. Meanwhile, hopes and fears were both increasing with every
day that passed. People could not be sure in their minds whether
they should be pleased over the fact that Hannibal’s departure from
Italy, after sixteen years, had left the Roman people with free occupa-
tion of the land, or whether they should rather feel fear because he
had crossed to Africa with his army intact. The venue had changed,
they thought, but not the danger, and the recently deceased Quintus
Fabius had been a prophet of this great struggle; with good reason,
he used to predict that Hannibal would be a more fearsome enemy in
his own country than he had been in another’s.
Furthermore, they said, Scipio’s struggle would not this time be
with Syphax, a king of ill-disciplined barbarians, whose troops were
usually under the command of Statorius,* who was little more than
a camp-follower. Nor would it be with Syphax’s father-in-law
Hasdrubal, a leader who was quick to flee, or with makeshift armies
hastily put together from a poorly armed horde of peasants. No,
it would be with Hannibal, a man practically born in the military
headquarters of his father, a leader of consummate courage, and
then nurtured and brought up surrounded by arms. He had been a
soldier in boyhood, a commander when he was barely a young man,
and he had come to old age with multiple conquests, filling the
Spanish and Gallic territories, and Italy from the Alps to the straits
of Messina, with monuments to his great achievements. He was at
the head of an army that had seen as many campaigns as he,* and one
202 bc chapters 27–29 595
toughened through enduring hardships that one could scarcely
believe humans capable of bearing. It had been drenched in Roman
blood on a thousand occasions, and it was carrying along spoils taken
not just from the rank and file but from generals, too. On the field of
battle Scipio would meet many men who had, with their own hands,
killed praetors, generals, and consuls of Rome. He would meet many
who were decorated with crowns given for courage in scaling walls
and earthworks, and who had moved freely through captured Roman
camps and captured Roman cities. The magistrates of the Roman
people did not on that day have as many fasces as Hannibal was able
to have carried before him, having taken them from the commanders
he had killed!
Such were the alarming thoughts people turned over in their
minds, increasing their worries and fears. There was another con-
cern, too. Over the years they had become accustomed to conducting
a war, right before their eyes, in various areas of Italy, and they had
entertained little hope of an early end to the conflict. But now they
were all on tenterhooks at the thought of Scipio and Hannibal as
leaders pitted against each other for what seemed to be the final
struggle. Some had tremendous confidence in Scipio and high hopes
of victory, but even in their case the more their thoughts focused on
the victory that was now so near, the more their worries grew.
Feelings amongst the Carthaginians were little different. At one
moment, when they looked at Hannibal and the greatness of his
achievements, they would regret having sued for peace. At the next
they would reflect that they had been twice defeated on the battle-
field, that Syphax had been taken prisoner, and that they had been
driven from Spain and driven from Italy. All that, they realized, had
been brought about by the valour and strategy of Scipio alone, and
now they lived in awe of this man who was destined* from birth to be
the leader who would bring about their downfall.
29. Hannibal had by now reached Hadrumetum. After spending
a few days there* to let his men recover from the rigours of their
sea journey, he moved on swiftly to Zama by forced marches, galvan-
ized to action by alarming reports that the entire area around
Carthage was occupied by Roman forces. Zama is five days’ march
from Carthage.
Some scouts that had been sent ahead by Hannibal were surprised
by the Roman sentries, and brought before Scipio. Scipio put them
596 book thirty 202 bc
in the hands of a military tribune and, telling them to make a thor-
ough inspection of everything without fear, gave orders for them to
be taken wherever they wanted to go in the camp. Asking them later
if they had had a good look at everything at their leisure, he gave
them an escort and sent them back to Hannibal.
Hannibal was not pleased with any of their reports––for they also
brought the news that Masinissa had happened to arrive that very
day* with 6,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry––but he was especially
shaken by his enemy’s confidence, which was evidently not unwar-
ranted. And so, although he was himself the cause of the war, and
although by his arrival he had also sabotaged a negotiated truce
along with hopes of a peace treaty, he nevertheless thought more
equitable terms could be obtained by suing for peace with his
strength intact than after defeat. He therefore sent a message to
Scipio asking permission to discuss matters with him. Whether he
did this on his own initiative or on orders from the state I cannot
confirm. Valerius Antias has it* that Hannibal was defeated by Scipio
in an initial battle, in which 12,000 of his soldiers fell and 1,700 were
taken prisoner, and that it was after this that he came to Scipio in his
camp, along with ten others, as an official representative of Carthage.
Whatever the truth of this, Scipio did not refuse to parley with
him, and the two commanders agreed to bring forward their camps
so they would be close to each other for the meeting. Scipio took up a
position not far from the city of Naraggara*––it was favourably situ-
ated in general, and water was also available within a spear’s throw––
and Hannibal selected a hill four miles away which was safe and
convenient, apart from the fact that it was some distance from water.
To eliminate any possibility of treachery, a meeting place that was
open to view from all directions was chosen at a point between these
two locations.
30. The men came together with one translator each,* and the
armed escorts of both were kept back at an equal remove. They were
the greatest generals not merely of their own day, but of the whole of
history down to their time, and they were a match for any king, or
any commander, from any nation in the world. At the sight of each
other they remained silent for a brief moment, almost dazed in their
mutual admiration. Hannibal spoke first.*
‘Perhaps it was from the start ordained by fate that I should be the
one coming to sue for peace,’ he said, ‘I, who first commenced the
202 bc chapters 29–30 597
hostilities with the Roman people, and who so often had victory
almost in my grasp. If so, then I am happy that it is you rather than
anyone else whom fortune has given me to petition. You have many
remarkable achievements to your name. But in your case, too, not
your least claim to fame will prove to be that Hannibal, to whom
heaven had granted victory over so many Roman commanders,
capitulated to you, and that you brought to an end this war, which
was noted in its earlier stages for your defeats rather than ours.
Chance, too, will be found to have brought about a laughable twist of
fortune. I took up arms when your father was consul, and he was also
the first Roman general whom I met in battle––and now I come
unarmed to that man’s son to sue for peace.
‘It would clearly have been best if our ancestors had been tem-
peramentally disposed by the gods to feel satisfied with the dominion
they held, you over Italy and we over Africa. For not even in your
case are Sicily and Sardinia prizes that can adequately compensate
for the loss of all those fleets of yours, all those armies, and all those
fine commanders. But while one may criticize the past, one cannot
set it right. We have both striven after the possessions of others only
to end up fighting for our own, and the war has not been confined to
Italy for us, nor to Africa for you. You have seen the standards and
arms of your enemy almost at your gates and at your walls, and we in
Carthage are listening to the commotion coming from a Roman
camp. Accordingly (something we should have found abhorrent, and
something you should have wanted before all else) peace is under
discussion at a time when you are enjoying the greater success. We
who are conducting the negotiations stand to benefit most from the
peace, and our respective states will ratify whatever terms we negoti-
ate. All we need is a frame of mind that does not reject discussing
plans for peace.
‘In my case, I am returning as an old man* to the country I left as a
boy, and the passage of time as well as the ups and downs of my
career have taught me to prefer to follow the path of reason rather
than that of fortune. In your case, I harbour misgivings over your
youth and your unbroken record of success, both of which are con-
ducive to a hot-headedness ill-suited to plans for peace. The man
fortune has never disappointed cannot easily reflect on the vagaries
of chance. Today you are just what I was at Trasimene and at
Cannae. You took command when you were barely of age to be a
598 book thirty 202 bc
soldier, and in all your exploits, no matter how reckless, fortune
nowhere let you down. You exacted revenge for the deaths of your
father and your uncle, and drew from a calamity a wonderful repu-
tation for courage and extraordinary filial duty. The Spanish prov-
inces that had been lost you recovered, driving from them four Punic
armies. After you were made consul, and all others had little spirit
even for defending Italy, you crossed to Africa. Here you cut to
pieces two armies, captured and burned two camps within the same
hour, made a prisoner of the powerful King Syphax, and seized so
many cities in his kingdom, and so many that were under our con-
trol! And so you dragged me back from Italy on which I had kept a
grip for sixteen years.
‘Your heart may be set on victory rather than peace. I have greater
familiarity with the proud spirit than the practical––and fortune
such as yours once smiled on me, as well. But if the gods granted us
rational thought, too, in the midst of success, then we should be
thinking about not only what happened in the past but also what
could happen in future. Forget about everything else––I myself am
proof enough of all fortune’s vicissitudes. Recently I had my camp
pitched between the Anio and your city, and you beheld me carrying
forward my standards, and practically scaling the walls of Rome.
Now you see me here as a man who has lost two brothers, the
bravest of men and the most eminent of commanders, and you see
me before the fortifications of my city, which is virtually under
siege, begging for it to be spared the sufferings with which I terrified
yours.
‘It is the greatest luck that one should trust the least. In your hour
of success, and our precarious situation, granting peace will bring
distinction and glory to you, while for us, who are suing for it, it is a
matter of necessity rather than honour. A guaranteed peace is better,
and safer, than a hope of victory: it rests in your hands, while the
other is in the hands of the gods. Do not risk the success of so many
years on the outcome of a single hour. When you consider your own
strength, consider too the power of chance, and the evenly balanced
fortunes of war; on both sides you will find the sword and the phys-
ical strength of humans. But nowhere less than in war do results
match expectations. The glory that victory in battle will add to what
you can now have by granting peace is not as great as what you will
have thrown away in the event of a reverse. Honours won, and those
202 bc chapters 30–31 599
anticipated, the hazard of a single hour can wipe out. In arranging a
peace accord, Publius Cornelius, you have everything under your
control; in the other scenario, you must accept the fortunes the gods
assign you. One of the rare examples of success combined with
courage here, in this land, would have been that of Marcus Atilius*––
had he, in his hour of victory, granted our fathers a peace treaty
when they sued for one. Instead, he failed to limit his success, or
place controls on the good fortune that was sweeping him along, and
the higher he was elevated the more ignominious became his fall.
‘Now it is for the man who grants the peace, not the one who sues
for it, to dictate its terms, but perhaps we Carthaginians may be
thought not unworthy of imposing the penalty on ourselves. We are
not averse to everything falling to you that was the cause of our going
to war: Sicily, Sardinia, Spain, and all the islands in the sea between
Africa and Italy. Let it be the lot of us Carthaginians to be confined
within the coastline of Africa, and to see you holding sway by land
and sea even over territories outside yours, since such has been the
will of the gods.* I would not deny that the integrity of Carthage has
been called into question because we were disingenuous in seeking
the peace accord, and because, recently, we did not wait for its
implementation. Scipio, the scrupulous observance of a peace treaty
depends largely on the character of the people through whom the
request for it is made. Your senators, I am told, have even refused
peace* partly because the members of the delegation were not of
sufficient status. This is Hannibal asking for peace. I would not be
asking for it if I did not think it to be in our interests, and I shall keep
that peace because of those same interests for which I asked for it.
The war was started by me, and because of that I saw to it that
nobody should regret my action––that is, until the gods themselves
became envious of me. Likewise, I shall do my best to see that
nobody regrets a peace accord that was gained through my efforts.’
31. The Roman commander’s reply was in the following vein:* ‘It
did not escape me, Hannibal, that it was anticipation of your arrival
that led the Carthaginians to scuttle the existing truce (to which you
had given your word) as well as hopes of peace. And, in fact, you
yourself do not try to hide that, since you withdraw from the terms
of the earlier treaty everything except what has long been in our
power anyway! You are anxious to make your fellow citizens aware
of the great burden that is, thanks to you, being taken from their
600 book thirty 202 bc
shoulders; but I too must endeavour to see that those items to which
they then agreed are not removed from the terms of peace for them
to enjoy as the rewards of their treachery. You Carthaginians do not
deserve to have the same terms available to you as then, and you are
actually seeking to profit from your duplicity!
‘Our fathers did not fight a war of aggression over Sicily, nor did we
over Spain. On the earlier occasion it was the peril of our Mamertine
allies that armed us for a war of duty and justice, and on this it was
the destruction of Saguntum. That you took the offensive you your-
self admit, and the gods are also witnesses to the fact––the gods who
provided a result in the earlier war that was in line with justice and
righteousness, and who are providing, and will provide, the same in
this one.
‘As for me, I am aware of the frailty of man, I think about the
power of fortune and I know that all our actions are at the mercy of a
thousand vicissitudes. Now I admit that it would have been an arro-
gant and headstrong reaction on my part if you had come to sue for
peace before I crossed to Africa, and I had rejected your petition
when you were yourself voluntarily quitting Italy, and had your
troops embarked on your ships. But, as it is, I have forced you back to
Africa, and you are reluctant and resisting almost to the point of
fighting, so that I feel no need to show you any consideration.
Accordingly, if something is actually being added to the terms on
which it seemed probable that a peace could be concluded––some
sort of indemnity for the forceful appropriation of our ships, along
with their cargoes, during the truce and for the violation of our
envoys––then I have something to take to my council. But if you
consider even that to be excessive, prepare for war, for you have
found peace intolerable.’
So it was that they left the meeting to rejoin their escorts; no peace
had been concluded and they reported that the discussion had been
fruitless. They had to decide the issue in battle, they said, and accept
whatever fortunes the gods might give them.
32. On reaching their respective encampments, both commanders
gave orders for their men to make ready their weapons and their
courage for the final struggle, which, if success were theirs, would
make them victors not for a single day, but for all time. They would
know by the night of the following day whether Rome or Carthage
would rule the world, for the prize of victory would be not Africa
202 bc chapters 31–33 601
and not Italy, but the four corners of the earth.* And, they added, for
those for whom the battle turned out to be a defeat the danger would
be as great as the prize. For, in fact, there was no escape-route open
to the Romans in a land that was strange and unknown to them, and,
once her last resources were spent, Carthage seemed to be facing
imminent destruction.
The following day they went out to decide the issue, by far the two
most famous generals and the two most powerful armies that the
world’s two richest peoples could field. That day they were going to
crown the many glories they had already won, or else lay them in the
dust. As a result, their feelings wavered between hope and fear.
Looking first at their own line, then that of the enemy, the men
weighed up the strength of the two with their eyes rather than by
calculation, and bright and gloomy reflections would simultaneously
beset their minds. Considerations that did not occur to them auto-
matically their commanders would supply, as they encouraged them
and roused them to action. The Carthaginian leader would call to his
men’s minds their sixteen years of exploits in the land of Italy, the
many Roman commanders and armies that they had totally annihi-
lated; and when he had come to a soldier who had distinguished
himself in some battle, he would cite the man’s famous deeds. Scipio
recalled the Spanish provinces, the recent battles in Africa, and the
enemy’s admission of inferiority––they had been obliged by fear to
sue for peace but, thanks to their inherent faithlessness, unable to
abide by it.* Moreover, since his discussion with Hannibal had been
held in private and so offered scope for invention, Scipio gave it the
spin he wanted. He made the prediction that, as the Carthaginian
were taking the field, the gods had given them the same omens with
which their fathers had fought at the Aegates Islands. The end of
the war and their efforts was nigh, he said, and they now had in their
hands the spoils of Carthage, and their return home to their country,
parents, children, wives, and household gods. He uttered these
words with head held high and with an expression of such happiness
that one might have thought that victory was already his.
Scipio then drew up the hastati in the first line, with the principes
behind them, and the triarii closing up the rear. 33. However, he did
not draw up the cohorts* in close formation before their respective
standards. Instead, he placed the maniples at some distance from each
other, so as to leave a space through which the elephants could be
602 book thirty 202 bc
driven without disordering the ranks. He positioned Laelius on the
left wing with the Italian cavalry, and Masinissa and his Numidians
on the right. (Scipio had earlier made use of Laelius’ services as a
legate, but that year, in conformity with a senatorial decree rather
than sortition, he had him as his quaestor.) The open lanes between
the maniples of the troops in the front line Scipio filled with velites,
which were the light-armed troops of those days.* These were under
orders to fall back behind their battle lines when the elephants
charged, or else run left and right, position themselves with the
front-line troops, and leave an alleyway open for the beasts, along
which they would, as they ran, be showered with weapons from
both sides.
To strike terror into the Romans, Hannibal placed his elephants at
the forefront of his army––eighty of them, a total greater than he
had had in any previous battle––and behind them he positioned his
Ligurian and Gallic auxiliaries,* combined with Balearic and Moorish
troops. In the second line he placed his Carthaginian and African
forces, and a Macedonian legion.* Then, a short distance behind
these, he drew up a supporting line of Italian troops, Bruttians
for the most part, men who had gone with him when he left Italy,
more of them under duress than of their own free will. Like Scipio,
Hannibal also set his cavalry on the wings; the Carthaginians took
the right, and the Numidians the left.
Hannibal’s army was composed of so many men who had nothing
in common in terms of language, culture, law, weaponry, dress, phys-
ical appearance, and their reasons for fighting, and he varied his
exhortations accordingly. For the auxiliaries it was a matter of point-
ing out the pay they were receiving, and how this would be multi-
plied by proceeds from the booty. The Gauls could be aroused by
their own particular and instinctive hatred for the Romans. The
Ligurians, who had been brought down from their rugged mountain
homes, were inspired to hopes of victory by the prospect of the rich
plains of Italy. The Moors and Numidians Hannibal frightened by
telling them how brutal Masinissa’s rule would be. He worked on the
various races by inspiring different hopes and different fears. As for
the Carthaginians, they were told to keep in mind the walls of their
native city, their household gods, and the sepulchres of their ances-
tors, as well as their children and parents, and their trembling wives.
It was to be destruction and slavery for them, they were told, or else
202 bc chapters 33–34 603
mastery of the world––there was nothing to be feared or hoped for
between the two.
Such were the addresses being delivered by the commander
amongst the Carthaginians, and the leaders of the various races
amongst their own people (mostly through interpreters since there
were also foreigners amongst each of the nations). But just then
trumpets and bugles rang out on the Roman side, and such a loud
shout went up that the elephants turned on their own men, espe-
cially on the Moors and Numidians on the left wing. Masinissa had
no difficulty in adding terror to their disarray, and he stripped the
Carthaginian line of its cavalry support in that sector. A few of the
beasts, however, maintained their composure and were driven into
the enemy, causing great carnage in the ranks of the velites, though
they also received many wounds themselves. For the velites darted
back to their maniples, leaving a path for the elephants so they
would not be trampled under by them, and proceeded to hurl
their spears at the animals, who were now in a cross-fire, from either
side. There was no let-up in the javelins coming from the front-line
troops, either, until eventually these beasts, too, driven from the
Roman line by weapons raining down on them from every direction,
put to flight the Carthaginian cavalry on their own right wing. When
Laelius saw the disorder amongst the enemy, he added panic to their
confusion.
34. The Punic line had been deprived of its cavalry cover on both
flanks when the infantry engaged, and they were no match for the
Romans either in confidence or strength. There were also factors
that seem trivial in the telling but which are of great importance in
action. There was the battle-cry of the Romans which was in unison,
and therefore louder and more terrifying; while on the Carthaginian
side there were only dissonant cries, coming as they did from a
plurality of races with different languages. There was also, thanks to
their own weight and that of their arms, the firmness of the Roman
assault as they pressed into the enemy; on the other side there was
skirmishing characterized by agility rather than strength.* As a result
the Romans immediately drove back the enemy line with their first
assault. Then, smashing into them with the shoulder and their
shield-bosses, and moving forward as they forced them back, they
made considerable ground, almost as if they were meeting no resist-
ance. Furthermore, as soon as they felt the enemy line give way,
604 book thirty 202 bc
those at the rear pressed forward on those in front, and that in itself
added great momentum to the thrust into the enemy.
On the enemy side, the auxiliary troops, who were giving ground,
received no support from the second line, which comprised the
Africans and Carthaginians. Instead, these also fell back, fearful that
the enemy might reach them by cutting down those who were firmly
resisting at the front. The auxiliaries therefore suddenly turned to
run, and faced their own comrades. Some found shelter in the sec-
ond line, but others, given no assistance earlier by that line and now
excluded from it, proceeded to cut down the men who would not let
them in. And there were now virtually two battles blending into one,
since the Carthaginians were obliged to fight hand-to-hand with the
enemy and at the same time with their own comrades. They would
not, however, accept these demoralized and angry men into the line.
They closed ranks, and drove them towards the wings and out into
the open country round about, outside the actual fighting; their
line was intact and still in formation, and they did not want these
panicking and wounded fugitives to join it.
However, there were so many corpses and weapons littering the
ground, on which the auxiliaries had been standing moments before,
that the Romans found it almost more difficult to wade through
them than it had been to get through the serried ranks of the enemy.
The hastati, who formed the front line, were now pursuing the
enemy wherever they could over heaps of bodies and weapons, and
through pools of blood, and this threw the standards and the ranks
into disarray. The formation of the principes had also begun to falter
when they saw the line before them losing its solidity. Observing this,
Scipio swiftly gave the order for the retreat to be sounded for the
hastati. He then brought the wounded back to the rear line, and led
the principes and triarii to the wings, so that the hastati forming the
centre would have more cover and support.*
And so the battle started afresh,* for the Romans had reached their
real enemies, men who were a match for them in weaponry, military
experience, and the renown of their exploits, and men who faced
prospects, and dangers, as great as theirs. But the Romans had greater
numbers and greater confidence: they had already routed the enemy’s
cavalry and his elephants, and were now directing their fighting
against the second line, having driven back the first.
35. After pursuing the routed enemy cavalry for some distance,
202 bc chapters 34–36 605
Laelius and Masinissa made a timely return to attack the enemy
formation in the rear. It was that cavalry charge that finally van-
quished the enemy. Many were surrounded, and killed in action;
many scattered in flight over the broad plain surrounding the battle-
field, only to perish there, at various points, since the Roman cavalry
had complete control of the area. More than 20,000 of the Cartha-
ginians and their allies lost their lives that day, and about the same
number were taken prisoner, with the capture also of a hundred and
thirty-two military standards and eleven elephants. On the winning
side there were about 1,500 casualties.*
In the turmoil Hannibal slipped away with a few horsemen and
escaped to Hadrumetum.* Before he left the field, he had done all he
could, both before the battle and in the fight itself, and even Scipio,
and all the military experts, had to admit that he had deserved credit
for his remarkably skilful deployment of the battle line that day.* He
had put his elephants right up front, so that their random charging,
and irresistible momentum, would make it impossible for the
Romans to follow the standards and keep ranks, the style of fighting
in which they had most confidence. Behind the elephants he had
placed the auxiliaries, ahead of the line of Carthaginians. In this way
a motley crowd of men, composed of the scum of all races and held
together by pay and not loyalty, would have no easy way of running
off. At the same time, by accepting the initial brunt of the enemy
charge, they would tire the Romans and, if nothing else, blunt their
swords by taking their wounds. Then came the Carthaginian and
African infantry, in whom lay all Hannibal’s hopes. Their enemy’s
equal in all other respects, they would have the advantage of being
fresh to the field and facing troops suffering from exhaustion and
wounds. As for the Italians, it was unclear whether they were allies or
foes, and so Hannibal had banished them to the back line, and also
left a space between them and the other troops.
After this final demonstration of his military prowess, Hannibal
fled to Hadrumetum. From there he was summoned to Carthage, to
which he now returned thirty-five years after leaving it as a boy.
There, in the senate, he admitted his defeat, not just in the battle but
in the war, and said that the only hope of safety lay in Carthage being
granted a peace treaty.
36. After the battle Scipio immediately overran and pillaged
the enemy camp. Then, having been brought the news that Publius
606 book thirty 202 bc
Lentulus had arrived at a point off Utica with fifty warships, and a
hundred freighters with cargoes of supplies of all kinds, he returned
to his ships on the coast with massive quantities of plunder. He felt
that terror should be brought to bear on the shaken Carthage on
every side, and so, after sending Laelius to Rome with the news of
the victory, he ordered Gnaeus Octavius to lead the legions overland
to the city, while he himself rejoined his old fleet, now strengthened
by the addition of Laelius’ new one. He then set out from Utica and
steered a course for the port of Carthage. He was not far away from
the city when a Carthaginian vessel decorated with woollen fillets and
boughs of olive came to meet him. There were ten envoys aboard,
leading men of the community, who had been sent on Hannibal’s
initiative to sue for peace. They approached the rear of the flagship,
holding out the emblems of suppliants and earnestly begging for
Scipio’s protection and mercy. The only answer they received was
that they should make their way to Tynes, to which, they were told,
Scipio would move his camp. Scipio sailed on to inspect the layout of
Carthage, not so much with a view to gathering intelligence on the
spot as to discomfit his enemy. He then returned to Utica, to which
he also recalled Octavius.
While the Romans were en route to Tynes, they were brought the
news that Syphax’s son Vermina was coming to help the Carthagin-
ians, with a force made up of more cavalry than infantry. Some
of Scipio’s infantry and all of his cavalry were sent to face Vermina,
and they attacked the Numidian column on the first day of the
Saturnalia,* putting them to flight after a slight skirmish. The
Numidians, completely surrounded by Roman cavalry, found every
escape-route cut off, and 15,000 of their men were killed and 1,200
taken alive, with the capture of 1,500 Numidian horses and seventy-
two military standards. In the confusion, the prince himself escaped
with a few of his followers. The Roman camp was then established at
Tynes, in the same location as earlier, and thirty spokesmen* came to
Scipio from Carthage.
The approach of these men was perforce, given their more dif-
ficult situation, far more abject than on the previous occasion, but
they were heard with considerably less compassion because the
memory of their treachery was still fresh. In the meeting of the
general’s council there was a righteous indignation that prompted all
present to advocate the destruction of Carthage. Then, however,
202 bc chapters 36–37 607
they began to think about the size of such an undertaking, and the
length of the siege needed to take such a well-fortified and powerful
city. Scipio, too, had his own cause for concern, namely that he
would have a successor coming to appropriate to himself the credit
for terminating the war, when the way to this had already been
prepared by the efforts and dangers of another. Accordingly, all were
brought round to the idea of peace.
37. The next day the spokesmen were recalled. They were sharply
rebuked for their treachery, and cautioned that their many disasters
should now make them finally believe that the gods and oaths were to
be taken seriously. The following peace-terms, under which the
Carthaginians would live as a free people under their own laws, were
then dictated to them:*
The Carthaginians were to retain possession of the cities and
territory that they had held before the war, and with the same
boundaries, and the Romans would that day put an end to their
depredations. They were to return to the Romans all deserters, run-
away slaves, and prisoners of war, and surrender all their warships
with the exception of ten triremes. They were also to surrender any
trained elephants in their possession, and not train any more.
They were not to make war within Africa or outside Africa with-
out the authorization of the Roman people.* They were to pay
compensation to Masinissa and strike a treaty with him.
They were to keep the Roman auxiliary troops supplied with grain
and pay until the time when their envoys returned from Rome.They
were to pay an indemnity of 10,000 talents of silver in equal annual
instalments over fifty years.*
They were to hand over a hundred hostages, chosen by Scipio,
who would be between the ages of fourteen and thirty.
Scipio would grant the Carthaginians a truce on condition that
the freighters captured during the time of the previous truce were
restored to him, along with everything that had been aboard these
vessels. Failing that, there would be no truce, and no prospect of
peace.
The spokesmen were ordered to take these terms home. When
they presented them in a public assembly, Gisgo* came forward to
speak against settlement, and he was receiving a favourable hearing
from the crowd, which did not want peace but was incapable of war.
Hannibal, furious at such a case being put forward and reaching an
608 book thirty 202 bc
audience at this critical juncture, grabbed Gisgo with his hand, and
pulled him down from the raised dais. The sight of this, unfamiliar
in a free community, provoked a buzz of disapproval amongst the
people; and Hannibal, a military man, was, in turn, very disturbed
by this licence of city life. ‘I was nine when I left you,’ he said, ‘and I
have come back after thirty-six years.* I think I have a thorough
acquaintance with the arts of war, which the fortunes of both my
private and official life have taught me from boyhood; but it is for
you to educate me in the conventions, laws, and customs of civil life
and the forum.’
With this apology for his ignorance, he discussed the peace treaty at
length, explaining how far it was from being unfair, and how essential.
The greatest difficulty of all the terms related to the ships that were
captured during the truce––nothing could be found beyond the ves-
sels themselves, and any investigation was not easy since those who
would be accused were men opposed to the peace. It was decided that
the ships should be returned, and the men tracked down at all costs.
Scipio was to be allowed to appraise the value of all else that was
missing and the Carthaginians would pay cash in that amount.
Some claim that Hannibal came to the coast from the battlefield,
and from there immediately sailed to King Antiochus on a ship that
had been made ready for him beforehand. Then, when Scipio
demanded before everything else that Hannibal be surrendered to
him, he was given the answer that Hannibal was not in Africa.*
38. When the spokesmen returned to Scipio, the quaestors were
instructed to itemize, on the basis of public accounts, what had been
state property aboard the vessels, and owners were to declare what
was private. As an indemnity for the total amount, a demand was
issued for an immediate payment of 25,000 pounds of silver, and the
Carthaginians were granted a three-month truce. A rider was added
that during the period of the truce the Carthaginians were to send
envoys to no place other than Rome, and they were not to dismiss
embassies that came to Carthage without first apprising the Roman
commander of their identity and their mission. Lucius Veturius
Philo, Marcus Marcius Ralla, and Lucius Scipio, the commander’s
brother, were sent to Rome with the Carthaginian delegation.
At about that time supplies from Sicily and Sardinia made the
price of grain so low* that the merchant would leave his cargo of wheat
to the crew to pay the cost of its transport.
202 bc chapters 37–39 609
The first announcement of renewed hostilities with the Carthagin-
ians had caused panic in Rome. Tiberius Claudius was instructed to
take a fleet to Sicily post-haste, and cross from there to Africa; the
other consul, Marcus Servilius, was to remain in the environs of
Rome until the state of affairs in Africa became known. However, all
the arrangements for bringing together and launching his fleet were
made in a lackadaisical manner by the consul Tiberius Claudius,
because the senators had voted that authority to decide the terms on
which peace would be granted lay with Publius Scipio rather than
the consul.
A number of prodigies reported just after the news arrived of the
renewal of hostilities, had also caused alarm. At Cumae, there seemed
to be a shrinking of the sun’s orb,* and there was a shower of stones;
and in the territory of Velitrae the earth subsided in huge chasms,
with trees pulled down into the abyss. At Aricia, the forum and the
neighbouring shops were struck by lightning; so, too, was the city
wall (which was struck at several points) and a gate at Frusino. On
the Palatine it rained stones. Atonement for that particular prodigy
was made with the traditional nine-day sacrifice, and for the others
with the sacrifice of full-grown animals. Amidst all these occurrences,
there was some extraordinary flooding, which was also interpreted as
supernatural. The Tiber was in such spate that the Circus Maximus
was flooded and arrangements were made for staging the Games of
Apollo in the area of the temple of Venus of Eryx outside the Porta
Collina. However, on the very day of the games there was a sudden
clearing of the sky. The procession had already started out for the
Porta Collina, but when it was announced that the waters had
receded from the Circus it was suddenly recalled and re-routed into
it. The restitution of its traditional site to the solemn spectacle
increased the pleasure of the people, and also the numbers attending
the games.
39. When the consul Claudius finally did leave the city, a violent
storm blew up between the ports of Cosa and Loreta, causing him
great alarm. From there he reached Populonium, where he waited at
anchor for the rest of the storm to spend its force, and then crossed
to the island of Elba. From Elba he went over to Corsica, and from
Corsica to Sardinia. There, as he was passing the Insane Mountains,*
a much more severe storm overtook him in what was also a more
treacherous location, and scattered his fleet. Many vessels were
610 book thirty 202–201 bc
damaged and stripped of their rigging, and some were wrecked; and
in this battered and mutilated condition the fleet put in at Carales.
The ships were hauled ashore and, while they were being repaired,
winter overtook the consul. The year then came to an end and, as
nobody proposed an extension of his command, Tiberius Claudius
brought his fleet back to Rome as a private citizen.
To avoid being recalled to the city to conduct elections, Marcus
Servilius had, before setting out for his province, appointed Gaius
Servilius Geminus dictator; and the dictator then appointed Publius
Aelius Paetus master of horse. The elections were scheduled on
several occasions, but storms prevented them from being held.* And
so, when the outgoing magistrates left office on 14 March, there were
no new ones elected to replace them, and the state was left without
curule magistrates.
The pontiff Titus Manlius Torquatus died that year, and was
replaced by Gaius Sulpicius Galba. The Roman Games were
repeated in their entirety three times by the curule aediles, Lucius
Licinius Lucullus and Quintus Fulvius. On evidence provided by an
informer, some clerks and couriers of the aediles were convicted of
secretly removing money from the treasury, and this also damaged
the reputation of the aedile Lucullus. The plebeian aediles Publius
Aelius Tubero and Lucius Laetorius resigned their offices because of
a flaw in the electoral procedure. They had by then already put on
the Plebeian Games, and the banquet for Jupiter that was celebrated
for the games, and they had also set up on the Capitol three statues
that were financed by money taken in fines. The dictator and the
master of horse, in accordance with a decree of the Senate, staged the
games in honour of Ceres.
40. The Roman and Carthaginian envoys arrived together from
Africa, and the Senate then met in the temple of Bellona. There,
to the immense pleasure of the senators, Lucius Veturius Philo
delivered a report on the battle with Hannibal, which, he said, was
the last struggle with the Carthaginians, and it had finally brought
an end to a dreadful war. He added, too, that Syphax’s son Vermina
had been conquered, a small increment to a successful campaign.
Veturius was then instructed to go to the popular assembly and
impart the glad tidings to the people. After that, all the temples in
the city were thrown open for prayers of gratitude, and a proclam-
ation was issued for three days of public thanksgiving. The envoys
201 bc chapters 39–40 611
from the Carthaginians, and envoys who had also come from King
Philip, sought an audience with the Senate, and, on the authority of
the members, they were given the answer by the dictator that the
new consuls would grant them one.
After that the elections were held. Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus
and Publius Aelius Paetus were elected consuls. The praetors elected
were Marcus Junius Pennus, to whom the urban jurisdiction came by
sortition; Marcus Valerius Falto, who was allotted Bruttium; Marcus
Fabius Buteo, who was allotted Sardinia; and Publius Aelius Tubero,
who drew Sicily. With regard to the consular provinces, it was the
will of the Senate that no action be taken before the envoys of King
Philip and those of the Carthaginians had been heard. The senators
foresaw the end of one war being followed by the start of another.*
The consul Gnaeus Lentulus had a burning desire to have Africa
as his province––he was seeking an easy victory should the conflict
continue or, if it were now at an end, the glory of terminating such a
momentous war during his consulship. He therefore declared that
he would allow no business to proceed until Africa was officially
assigned to him. His colleague, a reasonable man of some foresight,
was in agreement––he could see that Lentulus’ competition with
Scipio for that honour was not only unjust but would also be
one-sided. The plebeian tribunes Quintus Minucius Thermus and
Manius Acilius Glabrio observed that Gnaeus Cornelius’ tactic had
already been attempted the previous year by Tiberius Claudius,
without success. On the authority of the Senate, they said, the matter
of whom they wanted to have imperium in Africa had been brought
before the people, and all thirty-five tribes had formally awarded it
to Scipio.
There were many impassioned debates on the issue, both in the
Senate and before the people, and the eventual result was that the
decision was left with the Senate. The senators, accordingly, voted
after swearing an oath (as they had earlier agreed to do) and decreed
that the consuls should settle on their respective provinces between
themselves, or else proceed to sortition to decide which would have
Italy, and which the fleet of fifty ships. The consul to whom the fleet
came was to sail to Sicily. If it had by then proved impossible to
negotiate peace with Carthage, that consul would cross to Africa
where he would direct sea operations, while Scipio, who would
retain his command, would direct those on land. Should there be
612 book thirty 201 bc
agreement on the peace-terms, the plebeian tribunes were to consult
the people on whether they would instruct the consul or Publius
Scipio to grant the peace treaty and, if the victorious army needed to
be brought back from Africa, which man should bring it. If the people
then ordered that the peace be granted by Publius Scipio, and also
that the army should be brought back by him, the consul was not to
make the crossing from Sicily to Africa. The other consul (the one to
whom Italy came by lot) was to take over command of two legions
from the praetor Marcus Sextius.
41. Publius Scipio had his imperium extended in Africa, his sphere
of responsibility, and he retained command of his armies. The prae-
tor Marcus Valerius Falto was officially assigned the two legions in
Bruttium that had been under the command of Gaius Livius the
year before. Publius Aelius was to take over from Gnaeus Tremelius
command of the two legions in Sicily. For Sardinia, Marcus Fabius
was assigned the single legion that Publius Lentulus had com-
manded as propraetor. Marcus Servilius, consul the previous year,
had his imperium extended in Etruria, and he also retained command
of his two legions.
With respect to the Spanish provinces, it was noted that Lucius
Cornelius Lentulus and Lucius Manlius Acidinus had already been
there for a number of years, and it was decided that the consuls
should arrange with the tribunes, if that met with their approval, to
put before the plebs the question of whom they authorized to have
command in Spain. To secure the province, that man was to enrol,
from the two armies, a single legion of Roman soldiers, and fifteen
cohorts of Latin allies, and Lucius Cornelius and Lucius Manlius
were to bring the veterans back to Italy.
The consul was assigned a fleet of fifty ships which was to be
made up from two fleets, that of Gnaeus Octavius in Africa, and
that of Publius Villius, which was patrolling the Sicilian coast, and
he would have his choice of vessels. Publius Scipio was to retain
the forty warships that had previously been under him. If Scipio
wanted to have Gnaeus Octavius command them, as before, then
Octavius was to have imperium for that year as propraetor. If Scipio
put Laelius in command, then Octavius was to leave for Rome, and
bring back with him the ships of which the consul had no need.
Marcus Fabius was also assigned ten warships for Sardinia. In
addition, the consuls were instructed to raise two city legions, so that
201 bc chapters 40–42 613
affairs of state would that year be managed with fourteen legions and
a hundred warships.
42. The next item of business was the envoys from Philip and
from the Carthaginians, and it was decided that Macedonians should
be brought in first. Their address varied in its content, ranging from
self-justification in the matter of the protests lodged by the emissar-
ies sent from Rome to the king, about his raids on Roman allies, to
actual charges against the allies of the Roman people and, with much
greater vitriol, against Marcus Aurelius.* Aurelius, they said, one of
the three envoys that had been sent to them, had raised troops there
and stayed behind, making attacks on the Macedonians in contraven-
tion of their treaty, and frequently engaging their commanders in
pitched battle. There were also demands for the return of those
Macedonians, along with their commander Sopater, who had fought
as mercenaries in Hannibal’s army, and who were at that time kept in
irons as prisoners of war.
These points were countered by Marcus Furius, who had been
sent by Aurelius from Macedonia expressly for this purpose. Furius
explained that Aurelius had been left behind to ensure that nations
which were allied to the Roman people were not exhausted by
Philip’s depredations, and driven to defect to the king by his violent
acts of aggression. Aurelius had not left the territory of the allies, he
said, and he had ensured that marauders did not cross over into
their fields with impunity. Sopater, Furius added, was a courtier and
relative of the king, and he had been sent recently to Africa with
4,000 Macedonians and a sum of money for the purpose of aiding
Hannibal and the Carthaginians.
Tackled on these points, the Macedonians gave evasive replies,
and the reply they received themselves was not at all pleasant––their
king was looking for war, they were told, and if he kept on he would
soon find it! The treaty had been violated by him in two ways: by the
wrongs he had inflicted on, and the armed aggression he had dir-
ected against, allies of the Roman people, and then by the military
and financial assistance he had given to enemies of Rome. Moreover,
said the senators, Publius Scipio seemed to them to have acted, and
to be acting, quite rightly and properly in keeping in irons as enemies
men who had been taken prisoner while bearing arms against
the Roman people. Also, Marcus Aurelius was acting in the interests
of the state, for which the Senate was grateful, in giving armed
614 book thirty 201 bc
protection to allies of the Roman people, since he could not rely on
treaty rights to safeguard them.
The Macedonians were sent off with this stern reply, and the
Carthaginian delegation was called in. When the senators observed
its members’ ages and rank (for they were by far the foremost men
of their community) every one of them admitted that this was now a
genuine peace conference. The man who stood out from all the
others was Hasdrubal (his compatriots gave him the sobriquet
‘Haedus’), who had always been a promoter of peace and opposed to
the Barca faction.* Thus, on this occasion, he carried all the more
weight when he proceeded to shift responsibility for the war from his
state to a few greedy men. His address was wide-ranging, at one
moment rebutting charges, and at the next making certain admis-
sions, so that gaining forgiveness would not be made more difficult
by a shameless denial of known facts. Then he would even admonish
the senators to handle their good fortune with care and restraint. If
the Carthaginians had listened to him and Hanno, he said, and if
they had been prepared to take advantage of a favourable opportun-
ity, then they would have been in a position to grant the peace-terms
they were seeking at that moment! Rarely are men given good for-
tune and good sense at the same time, said Hasdrubal. The reason
for the Roman people’s invincibility, he declared, was the fact that
they remembered to be sensible, and use their judgement in times of
success. Indeed, it would have been surprising if they had acted
differently. Those for whom good fortune was something new lost
control, because they were unused to it, and went mad with joy; but
for the Roman people the joy of victory was familiar and almost
routine, and they had extended their sway almost more by sparing
the conquered than by conquest.
The other envoys were more plaintive in their address, emphasiz-
ing the position of enormous affluence from which the state of
Carthage had fallen, and to what depths. Recently they occupied
practically the whole world with their arms, they said, and now they
were left nothing but the walls of Carthage. From behind these walls,
they could see nothing that was under their sway, either on land or
sea, and even their city itself and their own homes they would occupy
only if the Roman people chose not to take the final step and vent its
wrath on them.
It was apparent that the senators were leaning towards compassion.
201 bc chapters 42–43 615
Then, they say, one of them, furious over the Carthaginians’ perfidy,
called out and asked which gods they would swear by to conclude the
treaty, since they had proven faithless to the ones they had invoked
for the earlier one. ‘By the same ones,’ replied Hasdrubal, ‘since they
are so hard on those who violate treaties.’
43. All were now disposed to a peace treaty, but the consul
Lentulus, whose area of responsibility was the fleet, vetoed the
senatorial resolution. The plebeian tribunes Manius Acilius and
Quintus Minucius then brought to the people the question of whether
it was their wish and command that the Senate pass a decree author-
izing peace with the Carthaginians. They also asked for the people’s
instructions on who was to grant the peace, and who bring the army
back from Africa. On the question of the peace, the tribes voted
unanimously in favour of it, and they further voted that Publius
Scipio should grant the peace and that he, too, should bring back the
army. Following this decision of the people, the Senate decreed that
Publius Scipio should make peace with the people of Carthage, on
terms he considered appropriate and in consultation with a board of
ten commissioners.
The Carthaginians then thanked the senators, and they requested
leave to enter the city and speak with their fellow citizens who were
incarcerated there by the state as prisoners of war. Some of them,
they explained, were their relatives and friends, men of noble birth;
for others they had messages from their families. This being granted,
the Carthaginians further requested an opportunity to ransom a
select number of these men, and they were told to supply the men’s
names. When they supplied about 200, a senatorial decree was passed
authorizing the Roman commissioners to take to Publius Scipio, in
Africa, the 200 prisoners whom the Carthaginians selected. The
commissioners were to report to Scipio that, in the event of peace
being concluded, he should restore these men to the Carthaginians
without payment.
The fetials* were then instructed to proceed to Africa for the con-
cluding of the peace treaty, and at their request a decree of the
Senate was passed expressed as follows: the fetials were each to take
with them a flint knife and a bunch of sacred herbs so that, when the
Roman general ordered them to conclude the treaty, they might ask
the general for the sacred plants. It is the practice for this type of
vegetation to be culled on the citadel and given to the fetials.
616 book thirty 201 bc
With that the Carthaginians were dismissed from Rome, and
when they reached Scipio in Africa they made peace on the terms
given above. They surrendered their warships, their elephants, the
deserters, the runaway slaves, and 4,000 prisoners of war, including
the senator Quintus Terentius Culleo. Scipio had the ships taken out
to sea and burned. Some authorities state they numbered five hun-
dred, and included every kind of oar-propelled vessel, and that sud-
denly seeing them on fire was as painful for the Carthaginians as if
it had been Carthage itself going up in flames. Punishment for
the deserters was harsher than that for runaway slaves: Latins were
beheaded and Romans crucified.
44. Peace had last been concluded with Carthage forty years
earlier, during the consulship of Quintus Lutatius and Aulus Manlius.
The war commenced twenty-three years after that, in the consulship
of Publius Cornelius and Tiberius Sempronius, and was brought to
an end seventeen years later, in the consulship of Gnaeus Cornelius
and Publius Aelius. They say that, later on, Scipio frequently com-
mented that it was the ambition of Tiberius Claudius in the first place,
and then that of Gnaeus Cornelius, that held him back from finish-
ing off the war with the destruction of Carthage.
In Carthage, people were drained by the protracted war, and meet-
ing the initial payment of cash seemed difficult. There were sadness
and tears in the senate house but, they say, Hannibal was seen with a
smile on his face. Hasdrubal Haedus criticized him for smiling while
the people were weeping, when Hannibal was himself the cause of
their tears. ‘If one’s inner thoughts could be observed with the eyes
like one’s facial expression,’ Hannibal replied, ‘then it would be clear
to you that this smile you are criticizing comes not from a joyful
heart, but from one almost insane with suffering. Even so, my smile
is nothing like as inappropriate to the occasion as those irrational and
absurd tears of yours. The time for weeping was when our weapons
were taken from us, our ships burned, and an interdiction placed on
foreign wars––that was the blow that finished us off. And you have
no reason to believe that Romans were concerned that you should
have peace. No powerful state can remain peaceable for long; if she
does not have an enemy abroad, she finds one at home, just as very
strong bodies, though apparently safe with regard to external factors,
can collapse under their own strength. It is so true that we feel public
misfortunes only to the extent that they impinge on our private
201 bc chapters 43–45 617
interests, and in them there is no sting more painful than the loss of
money. And so there was no groaning when the spoils were being
hauled away from defeated Carthage, and when you were watching
her being left unarmed and naked amidst all those heavily armed
African tribes. But now, because tribute must be gathered from pri-
vate sources, you are in mourning, as though you were attending the
funeral of our state. How I fear that you will soon realize that today
your tears have been for the most trivial of misfortunes!’ Such were
Hannibal’s words amongst the Carthaginians.
Scipio called a meeting at which he conferred on Masinissa, in
addition to his ancestral kingdom, the town of Cirta and other cities
and lands from the realm of Syphax that had fallen under Roman
power. He ordered Gnaeus Octavius to take the fleet to Sicily and
hand it over to the consul Gnaeus Cornelius. He also instructed the
Carthaginian envoys to leave for Rome so that the measures that
he had taken in consultation with the ten commissioners might be
ratified by the authority of the Senate, and on the order of the people.
45. With peace established on land and sea, Scipio put his army
aboard his ships and crossed to Lilybaeum in Sicily. From there
he sent most of his men on by sea, but he personally took a route
through Italy, which was now happily savouring the peace no less
than the victory. Crowds poured from the cities to pay their respects
to him, and crowds of peasants also blocked the roads until he finally
reached Rome. There he rode into the city in the most illustrious
triumph ever. He had 123,000 pounds of silver borne to the treasury,
and from the spoils he distributed 400 asses to each of his men.
Syphax’s death meant that he was missing from the public spectacle,
but it did not diminish the glory of the triumphing Scipio. Syphax
had died shortly before at Tibur, to which he had been transferred
from Alba; but his death did, in fact, receive public attention because
he was given a state funeral. (Polybius, who is by no means a source
to be disregarded,* attests that this king was led along in the tri-
umphal procession.) Behind the triumphing Scipio came Quintus
Terentius Culleo, the cap of freedom on his head, and throughout
his life thereafter Culleo rightly honoured Scipio as the man
responsible for his liberty.
As for the cognomen ‘Africanus’, I have been unable to verify
whether it was Scipio’s popularity with his men or the favour of the
people that brought it into circulation, or whether it began as flattery
618 book thirty 201 bc
with his cronies, like Sulla’s name ‘Felix’ and Pompeius’ ‘Magnus’ in
our fathers’ day. At any rate he was the first commander to be hon-
oured with the name of a nation he had defeated. Following his
example men who were not in his class with respect to their victories
later left impressive inscriptions on their portraits, and distinguished
cognomina for their families.
 APPENDIX 1
LIST OF VARIATIONS FROM THE TEUBNER TEXT

Teubner This edition

23.3.2 in curiam in curia
23.35.19 capti*et capta sunt
25.12.9 vomica vomicam
26.31.1 ut <velut> si ut si
28.21.6 Ibem Idem
29.17.17 qui nesciat qui sciat
There are also a few misprints in the four Teubner volumes that make up
Books 21–30. In the hope that it may be of some use to those following the
Latin, I note those that I have detected: 21.4.3 read discerneres (for diszer-
neres) and quid (for quit); 22.54.3 hospitaliter (for hopitaliter); 23.17.5 urbis
(for ur bis); 23.18.1 ubi (for idu); 23.30.16 Ti. Sempronius Gracchus (for
T. Sempronius Gracchus); 23.44.6 utraque pars avidi (for utraque, pars avidi);
25.22.2 exercituum (for exercitum); 25.31.5 quidem (for qui em); 25.41.9 res
(for es); 27.28.5 allatae (for allati); 28.21.6 homines for hominum (my thanks
to Professor Walsh for pointing this last instance out to me).
J.C.Y.
 APPENDIX 2
HANNIBAL’S ROUTE OVER THE ALPS

Polybius and Livy on the route

Hannibal crossed the Alps by one of the western passes, arriving in the
territory of the Insubres according to Polybius (3.56), but the Taurini
according to both Livy (21.38) and, it seems, Polybius himself later on (see
below). Polybius does not identify the pass; Livy (ibid.) discusses the
question briefly but only to dismiss the Poenine pass, or Great St Bernard,
and the Cremo, or Little St Bernard. His arguments are sensible, but he
does not then say which pass, if any, he himself thinks was the right one.
The Alps had not been mapped or even extensively visited by Greeks
and Romans before 218. So we cannot say how precise were the accounts
of the primary sources (on whom see Introduction). Our main authorities
are Polybius and Livy. Polybius reports that he himself visited the area
and questioned eyewitnesses (3.48); but such persons must have been very
old by then, and relying chiefly or wholly on their memories. He must also
be using some or all of the primary sources. Livy evidently combines
Polybius’ account with at least one other; or, less likely, reproduces a
predecessor who did the combining. Both mention relatively few place
names after Hannibal’s crossing of the Rhône, and not all are readily
identifiable. With no archaeological evidence available, every theory thus
depends on interpreting these accounts and comparing them with existing
topography. Unsurprisingly, theories abound (see Further Reading below)
and none has won universal acceptance.

The crossing of the Rhône

Where Hannibal crossed the Rhône is the first, much-debated issue. Poly-
bius equates his route to the Rhône with the later Roman road, the Via
Domitia, built around 120 bc from northern Spain to that river (it fol-
lowed, rather more smoothly, the ancient ‘way of Hercules’). This was
marked out with milestones (P. 3.39) and met the Rhône’s west bank near
Ugernum (Beaucaire), facing Tarusco (Tarascon) on the eastern. So if
Hannibal crossed farther upriver, Polybius has made a mistake.
Polybius also locates Hannibal’s crossing point ‘at the undivided
stream’ (meaning before it branches into its delta) at ‘four days’ distance
from the sea for an army’ (3.42). This would be 50–60 miles, as normal
marching-speed in good country was some 12–15 miles (20–24 km.) a
day. If he means the sea at the mouths of the Rhône, uncertainty strikes.
 hannibal’ s route over the alps 621
River-silt seems to have pushed the coastline there as much as 12 miles
further south since his time––in the fourth century ad Arelate (Arles) was
about 18 Roman miles, just over 16 modern miles, from the sea (Ammianus
Marcellinus, Histories 15.11), while now it is 25 miles. This averages 0.56
miles a century. Many moderns, therefore, place the army’s crossing a
good deal farther upriver, supporting the theory that ‘the Island’ was the
Rhône–Isère triangle (see below).
This looks implausible, however. The Rhône delta, the famous
Camargue marshes, was no place for an army, and it would have been
useless to take measurements there of distances from the sea. One sugges-
tion is that Polybius means the army reached the Rhône four days after its
last sight of the sea near Lunel, west of Nîmes; but Lunel is only about 32
miles from Beaucaire––two and a half days’ march. Polybius’ four days
‘for an army’ is best explained as starting from the sea at Massilia (Mar-
seille). In the 120s Roman armies operated extensively in southern Gaul
against many tribes, including the Volcae west of the Rhône, the Vocontii,
and the Allobroges. A settlement was founded at Aquae Sextiae (Aix) and
the Via Domitia built. Massilia, an old ally and a beneficiary of the inter-
vention, was a crucial reference point for these operations. It lies 60 miles
(96 km.) from Tarusco: four days’ march.

The problem of ‘the Island’

From the crossing, a four-day march took Hannibal to a triangle-shaped
district called ‘the Island’, where he settled a succession dispute, befriended
the inhabitants, and resupplied his army (P. 3.49; L. 21.31). The Island lay
between the Rhône and a river which Polybius’ manuscripts call the Ska-
ras or Skoras, Livy’s Sarar or Arar or Bisarar. A widely accepted view
identifies the ‘Skaras/Sarar’ as the River Isara, today’s Isère, while another
possibility is the shorter River Eygues further south, which flows into the
Rhône at Orange. Its ancient name is otherwise unknown, but in medieval
times it was varyingly called the Araus, Escaris, and other forms––
names possibly descended from ‘Skaras/Sarar’.
It is likely that the Island lay at this confluence. From Tarascon to
Orange is only some 27 miles by road, but Hannibal had further to go.
Polybius does not name the Island’s inhabitants, while Livy––or a pre-
decessor of his––thinks they were the Allobroges, because these ‘live close
by’ (21.31). But this is unconvincing, as Allobrogan lands lay beyond the
Isère, while the Vocontii lay in between––north and south of the River
Drôme. Beside the Rhône, between the Eygues and modern Montélimar,
dwelt the Tricastini: the district is still called le Tricastin. If they were not
the tribe Hannibal befriended at this stage, it was the Vocontii whose
centres included Noviomagus (Nyons) halfway up the Eygues. At all
622 appendix 2
events, Polybius and Livy imply that Hannibal went further than the river
confluence, and on departing later ‘he veered to the left into the lands of
the Tricastini’ (L. 21.31).
From Tarascon via Orange to Nyons, for instance, is a reasonable four-
day march of some 53 miles (27 + 26). The difficulty is that 53 miles equal
only 445 stades: a ‘stade’ (stadium) was 210 yards long, thus 8.4 to the mile.
Polybius (3.39) implies the distance was 600 stades, 71 miles: but this is
surely too much for a four-day march––especially with elephants––even
on level ground. The ‘600’ needs another explanation (see below).
An objection to identifying this triangle as the Island is its small area,
for Polybius compares the Island to the Nile delta in size as well as fertil-
ity. Nor is it bounded by ‘almost impassable’ mountains on its third side,
another Polybian feature, but by high uplands like the Massif du Diois.
Still, on its third (northern and eastern) side, the district does have the
upper Drôme as a boundary, with only a narrow gap between it and the
upper Eygues; and more high ground lies there, pierced by the 1,180-
metre Col de Cabre.
The Rhône–Isère triangle is often preferred as the Island because it is
larger and its eastern side is partly bounded by the Grande Chartreuse
ridges (and the Lac du Bourget). All the same, these hardly amount to an
impenetrable boundary, nor of course is this region the size of the Nile
delta either, which is as large as the southern half of Provence. Polybius is
plainly writing, or over-writing, for dramatic effect. Moreover, the region
begins 90 miles (about 760 stades) from Hannibal’s Rhône crossing––a
distance hard for an army (including elephants) to cover in half a week;
while to look for a more northerly Rhône crossing causes still other
difficulties (see above). Again, this district was the heartland of the
Allobroges, who were not friendly.
In the whole region, the only difficult mountains are the Vercors massif,
but these lie between the Drôme and the Isère. The Drôme meets the
Rhône 74 miles north of Tarascon––600 stades indeed, and in Vocontian
land, not Allobrogan. But, as just noted, that is too far for a four-day
march; nor is Druma, the ancient name for the Drôme, corruptible into
‘Skaras’, ‘Skoras’ or ‘Sarar’ by the worst of copyists. Besides, this district
leaves the Tricastini well to the south. An army north of the Drôme and
making for the Alps would not pass through them.

The march ‘along the river’ and the question of the Durance
On leaving the Island, escorted initially by Island warriors, the army
marched ‘along the river’ for ten days and 800 stades (about 95 miles),
according to Polybius, to reach ‘the ascent of the Alps’ (P. 3.50), where the
Allobroges unsuccessfully attacked it. Then it was another 1,200 stades to
 hannibal’ s route over the alps 623
the pass (3.39). Along which river does Polybius mean? Clarifying this
item of Polybian vagueness requires first a study of the puzzles thrown up
by Livy.
Livy adds non-Polybian details for this march-sector (21.31–2). Han-
nibal ‘veered to the left’, passed through the Tricastini, then moved
‘through the border territory of the Vocontii into the lands of the Trig-
orii’, and so to the River Druentia (Durance), which he describes. These
tribal names and relative positions are genuine: the Tricastini along the
Rhône as mentioned above, the Vocontii farther east (the Vercors pre-
serves the name of a Vocontian sub-tribe, the Vertamocori), and, east of
them, the Trigorii in the River Drac valley with the Alps on their east side.
Livy’s puzzles are these. Why the initial left turn, which sent the army,
at least for a short time, in a direction generally away from the Alps?
Again, why does he vividly describe the lower course of the Druentia, with
its multiple, shifting, and gravelly branches––features of the southern half
of the river––when his own account requires the upper, Alpine Druentia
beyond the Trigorii? Third: why does he write (21.32) that ‘from the
Druentia’ Hannibal moved over ‘a mostly flat route’, ‘after being granted a
safe passage by the Gauls inhabiting those parts’, until he and his men
reached the Alps? There was no safe-passage agreement in the Alps, and
the implication that the army could leave the upper Durance behind them
is a topographical absurdity. If its upper valley was their route, they had to
follow the river to reach the pass.
These statements have produced very varying interpretations. For
example, that Hannibal and the army marched up the Durance, not the
Rhône, to reach the mountains; or their march ‘along the river’ was in fact
along the Drôme to the middle Durance, then upstream; or the march
ignored the Durance and followed the Isère and its tributaries to one of
the more northerly passes, like the Little St Bernard, the Mont Cenis, or
the Col du Clapier; or the army advanced in two or even three divisions by
different (unidentifiable) routes, joining up again in Italy––even though
such a division would have incurred catastrophic risks and is totally
unattested.
The first puzzle is the simplest. Moving from the Island to the Tricastini
meant (schematically at least) a left turn for an army that had marched up
the Rhône and encamped, say, near Nyons. The Tricastini, too, may have
had useful supplies available, or Hannibal perhaps wanted the latest word
from downriver about the movements of the Roman army under the consul
Scipio, for he may have expected a Roman pursuit. His next stages (via
Vocontii to Trigorii) were north-eastwards, which would certainly bring
him near the Allobroges along and beyond the generally westward-flowing
Isère.
624 appendix 2
The Durance is the crucial Livian puzzle. The first thing to note is that
Hannibal had indeed crossed its lower reaches en route to the Island, for
the Rhône–Durance confluence near Avignon is only a short distance
above Tarascon. Secondly, past Avignon the region is mostly flat and open
(in contrast to hillier terrain between Tarascon and Avignon). But neither
Livy nor Polybius mentions these details at the appropriate point. It has
often been suggested that an inept later copyist managed to detach and
misplace Livy’s details, which suit the lower Durance, into two separate
places on the Alpine sector of the march. But it is hard to see how this
could happen, particularly with the brief second item about the flat
country and the safe-passage. Both misplacements look like Livy’s own
ineptitude.
It is reasonable to infer that one or more non-Polybian writers had
recorded Hannibal crossing the lower Durance, and at that point had
described the river in terms suited to its southern half (there are two or
more channels over lengthy stretches below Sisteron, for instance). They
had also mentioned the flat peaceful march after Hannibal crossed it. But
Livy simply hurries him to the Island, like Polybius. Then, conceivably,
one or more writers reported that, after passing through the Trigorii,
Hannibal reached the Durance (again): this would be its upper course,
well north of Sisteron. But Livy seems not to have realized that the
description he had available would no longer suit, and it seems no source
named a different river being crossed in the Alps; therefore he did not stop
to take stock. He may have been in a hurry here, interested less in topo-
graphy than in the drama, bloodshed, and excitement of the march, to
which he devotes much more space (21.32–7).
In Polybius, ‘along the river’ can hardly mean along the Eygues or
Drôme. These would eventually lead to the middle Durance valley and so
up to the Montgenèvre pass, far from contact with the Allobroges: a route
from Island to pass moreover involving a maximum of 140 miles––1,176
stades, whereas Polybius’ figures for the same march, though obviously
rounded, total 2,000 (800 + 1,200). That the Isère was ‘the river’ is widely
supposed instead. If so, and if Hannibal was advancing via le Tricastin, he
would not have reached the Isère immediately, though Polybius taken
literally might imply this; Polybius would be compressing the details, as
often. But most likely, as often suggested too, Polybius means the Rhône
itself.
For if Livy is right about the Tricastini, the army marched from the
Island west or north-west through le Tricastin––thus along the Rhône
again for some distance––before turning towards the Vocontii. If so,
Polybius is treating a short initial advance along the Rhône as though it
lasted the entire 800 stades. But the same part-for-the-whole treatment
 hannibal’ s route over the alps 625
would apply to the Isère theory, if Hannibal reached that river via le
Tricastin. (The theory that the Island lay between Rhône and Isère, making
the 800 stades run entirely along the Isère, is unworkable: see above.) As to
the Rhône, Polybius in fact sees it as flowing from north-east to south-west,
and Hannibal as moving eastwards overall (3.47)––so from this viewpoint,
even a brief march along it was towards ‘the ascent’.
With any of these scenarios, it must be noted, Polybius does not contra-
dict (or contribute to) Livy’s implication that, after the Trigorii, Hannibal
marched to the upper Durance.
Once Hannibal reached the western edge of the Vercors, he must have
crossed this massif itself. For, before modern roadworks, the south bank of
the Isère would have been too narrow for an army and he is not recorded
as crossing to its farther and broader bank (Allobrogan territory). The
Allobroges avoided attacking while he was on level ground, but did so as
soon as he started ‘the ascent of the Alps’ (P. 3.50). This was not in their
territory, for Hannibal then forced them to flee ‘to their own land’ (3.51)
which Polybius implies was not far off. The attack itself took place in a
pass (3.50). These items, as J. Lazenby has very plausibly suggested, suit
the spectacular pass of Gorges de la Bourne in the northern Vercors. Its
eastern end rises to a plateau which then gives a descent to the Drac–Isère
confluence at Cularo (Grenoble), which was Allobrogan (Cicero, Letters to
his Friends 10.23). Hannibal then captured the town which the enemy had
used as their base, seizing welcome cattle and grain (P. 3.51): very likely
Cularo.
Polybius’ 800 stades for this sector is another rounded figure. The
actual distance looks more like 86 miles or 722 stades, which we can round
off to 750 (see below).

The route through the Alps

The next sector would be up the valley of the Drac, where the Route
Napoléon now runs. A new attack was launched by ‘the people dwelling
around the pass’ (P. 3.52)––therefore not the Allobroges but the Trig-
orii––in ‘a difficult and steep gorge’ (3.52–3; L. 21.32–3). Polybius
reports that Hannibal came into great danger ‘on the fourth day’ (3.52),
for the deceitful natives came pretending to be friendly guides, only to
launch their attack ‘after a march of two days’. This should not point to
the attack occurring on the sixth day, but ‘on the fourth day’, for the
previous deceitful offer did not itself put the army in great danger. The
locals had probably made it on the first or second day.
The army’s speed in the Drac’s winding valley can hardly have been
faster than the previous sector’s 80-stades daily average. This would put
the new attack in the ‘difficult and steep gorge’ at most 320 stades south of
626 appendix 2
Cularo––38 miles––somewhere along the Drac. Hannibal, with half the
army, became separated from the rest and spent the night ‘around a strong
position of bare rock’––not necessarily on a bare high crag, as sometimes
supposed and sought for (P. 3.53; L. 21.34 leaves out the rock). Certainly
this attack site should not be sought far up the valley of the Durance, as
often suggested (e.g. at L’Argentière-en-Bessée, 12 miles from the
Montgenèvre). For, after the attack, it was still several days––punctuated
by hit-and-run harassments––to the summit of the pass: the army reached
it ‘on the ninth day’ (P. 3.53; L. 21.35). We cannot reckon this ninth day
from the start of ‘the ascent of the Alps’: it would mean that, in under a week
and a half, the army had advanced from Cularo along 120 or more miles
(see below) of often very difficult country, fighting off severe attacks yet
doing a minimum average of 13 miles a day, a normal rate on good terrain.
Beyond the Drac valley the route would be along the line of the later
Roman road: over the Col Bayard at 1,248 metres, then 25 miles or so of
relatively open plateau along the middle Durance––a noteworthy feature,
this––via Vapincum (Gap) and Caturigomagus (Chorges) to Ebrodunum
(Embrun) where the upper Durance valley begins to narrow. If Livy’s
non-Polybian source(s) mentioned the relatively open terrain here, that
would help explain how he confused it with the earlier open country past
the lower Durance. They had, moreover, been ‘granted a safe passage’ by
the Gauls back there, whereas safe passage did not occur along this later
sector. But very carelessly Livy inserts that detail here too.
From Embrun it is 30-odd miles northwards to the pass, whether
the Montgenèvre or one of its neighbours, most notably the Col de la
Traversette and Col Agnel (respectively north and east of Monte Viso) via
the Durance’s tributary the Guil, and the Col de Larche via the Ubaye.
The road distances today from Grenoble to the Montgenèvre, the
Traversette or Agnel, and the Larche are about 127, 120, and 143 miles
respectively (206, 194, and 230 km.), and therefore 1,067, 1,008 and 1,201
stades. Polybius’ distance from the start of Hannibal’s ascent is 1,200
(3.39). We must look at his figures overall.

Polybius’ distances and times

From the Rhône to the start of Hannibal’s ‘ascent of the Alps’ Polybius
gives as 1,400 stades, and for ‘the crossing of the Alps’ the 1,200 just
mentioned. From the Island to the start of ‘the ascent’ he reports as 800
stades.
But from the Rhône to the Island is some 445 stades (53 miles), not 600
as the above figures would imply. Then from Nyons to the Rhône at (say)
Montélimar, ancient Acunum, is about 30 miles. Next, if the route went
upriver to around Valence for 27 miles and then via the south bank of the
 hannibal’ s route over the alps 627
Isère for 29 (open country nearly all the way) to the start of the Gorges de
la Bourne at Pont en Royans, the total is 86 miles. This is only 722 stades:
if so, Polybius’ ‘800’ rounds the total up. Yet, with one sector totalling 445
and the other 722, we are left––even if the figures are rounded to 450 and
750––with a shortfall of 200 stades (1,400 claimed but 1,200 actual).
What then of ‘the crossing of the Alps’, claimed as 1,200? Through the
Gorges and over to Cularo is 35 miles (297 stades). Then (as noted above)
from Grenoble to the Montgenèvre area is at least 120 miles or 1,070
stades. Thus ‘the crossing of the Alps’ took at least 1,367 stades. Rounded
off, this makes 1,400: an excess of 200.
Hannibal, Sosylus, and Silenus cannot have taken careful measurements
all the way. In the mountains especially, they were otherwise occupied; and
in any case they are hardly likely to have taken complex measuring
instruments with them. Nor were most Alpine routes surveyed and meas-
ured until well after Polybius’ time, unlike the milestones on the Roman
highway from the Rhône to Emporiae in north-east Spain, which gave
that distance as 1,600 stades (P. 3.39). So Polybius’ calculations must owe
much to estimates, dead-reckonings and roundings by informants (verbal
and written) and himself.
It may be mere chance that the rounded ‘real’ distances just arrived
at––1,200 from Rhône to ‘ascent’ and 1,400 for ‘crossing’––are the
mirror-opposites of Polybius’ 1,400 and 1,200. After all, there can be no
certainty of the precise roads or paths followed by the army; even on fairly
flat terrain, its progress may often have been more zigzag than most
Roman or modern roads. Thus few distance-reckonings for it, ancient or
modern, can claim precision. But if there is more than coincidence
involved in the mirror-opposites, it may simply be that Polybius mis-
takenly reversed his totals when writing them in (particularly if he wrote
them as numerals, for each would consist only of two Greek letters).
He also gives fifteen days for ‘the crossing of the Alps’ (3.56). The
Trigorii attacked ‘on the fourth day’ from the captured town (day four),
and arrival at the pass was ‘on the ninth day’ thereafter (day thirteen).
Two days camping there make days fourteen–fifteen. There followed three
of arduous road-repair (3.53–5; L. 21.37), so many moderns see eighteen
as the figure Polybius meant or should have meant––or even twenty-one,
as it took another three days to reach the plains. Still, with the army now
technically in Italy, he may simply have excluded these further six days
from his fifteen.

Characteristics of the pass

What we are told of the pass itself is not a great help in identifying it. Its
most famous reported feature is that it gave a panorama of Italy. Again, it
628 appendix 2
had enough flat ground for the army to camp for two days, while its
descent on the Italian side was steep, partly broken off, and made more
dangerous by having old and hard ice beneath a covering of newly fallen
snow. It seems surprisingly difficult to find one western pass that com-
bines such a panorama with ground for thirty thousand-odd troops, thou-
sands of horses and pack-animals, and dozens of elephants. Nor is it
encouraging that experienced modern visitors differ on what constitutes a
view or non-view of Italy, for instance from the Montgenèvre, Traversette,
or Clapier.
In reality, none of these supposed features is helpful. It is entirely
possible that the ‘view’ was a dramatic exaggeration by Hannibal’s
historian-admirers––or an outright invention. In Greek and Roman his-
toriography, a general preparing to lead his army into the land of their
enemies was virtually obliged to give them a rousing speech full of vivid
imagery; or at any rate historians were virtually obliged to compose one
for him. Silenus and Sosylus surely did not fail their friend and patron.
The evidence of ice and snow is no help either. For one thing, experts
differ on whether the climate in the Alps of 218 bc was more rigorous
than today, and therefore whether ice and snow could be present in lower-
level passes, like the Montgenèvre and the Larche, or only on much higher
ones like the Traversette or Clapier. But in any case the state of the
weather in late 218, and of the ice and snow on any pass, depended on the
nature of that particular half-year. This holds true whether Hannibal
crossed around the beginning of November as Polybius indicates (near the
time of the setting of the Pleiades: 3.54), echoed again by Livy (21.35), or
in late September––a widespread but unconvincing revisionist view.
Polybius wrote elsewhere, as cited by Livy’s contemporary the geog-
rapher Strabo (P. 34.10 = Strabo 4.6.12), that there were four western
Alpine passes, all of them steep: a pass by the Mediterranean coast (the
Col de Tende), ‘the pass through the Taurini which Hannibal crossed’
(and even though the last three words are not in every MS, none of the
other three passes would qualify as Hannibal’s), one through the Salassi
(who inhabited the Aosta valley; thus the Little or Great St Bernard), and
the fourth through Rhaetia (western Austria). These descriptions are not
topographically precise. In similar vague fashion, Cicero’s scholarly con-
temporary, Varro, listed five passes (according to a late Roman commenta-
tor on Virgil: Servius on Aeneid 10.13)––the coastal pass, the one ‘by
which Hannibal crossed’, another used by Pompey the Great en route to
Spain in 78 bc, one that brought Hannibal’s brother Hasdrubal to Italy in
207, and a fifth through the Graian Alps (thus the Little St Bernard).
According to Livy’s older contemporary Sallust (Histories 2, fragment
98), Pompey claimed that his pass was different from Hannibal’s and more
 hannibal’ s route over the alps 629
convenient. But which pass he used, and which other pass was Hannibal’s,
remains unclear. We do not even know whether his claim was justified or
merely a boast. The Montgenèvre was certainly used for the later Roman
road, and being one of the lowest passes was a convenient one, so Pompey
may well have used it. Meanwhile, for Hannibal’s pass, quite possibly, he
was relying on Coelius Antipater’s recent history of the war––and Coelius
implausibly took Hannibal via the iugum Cremonis, that is, the Little
St Bernard or another northerly crossing route (L. 21.38).

Conclusions
Hannibal most likely crossed the Rhône near Tarascon, and it is best to
identify the Island as the district between the Rhône and Eygues. The
Allobroges, it seems, attacked the army in the Vercors; and we may reckon
‘the ascent of the Alps’ as via Cularo up the valley of the Drac, and over
to the upper Durance valley. The second wave of attacks was probably by
the Trigorii in the Drac valley; and the pass into Italy was––in order of
probability––the Montgenèvre, the Traversette or Agnel, or the Larche.
Polybius’ distance-reckonings look like broad estimates, when not
guesstimates.
These conclusions depend not only on interpreting how far Polybius’
and Livy’s accounts correspond with known geographical facts but, as
much or more, on assessing the way they construct narratives, what their
priorities in writing are (literary and moralizing, as well as factual), and the
oversights and slips that could occur. Until a suitable Carthaginian cache
(or graffito) is found, all these criteria will remain essential.
We may note how important Livy’s non-Polybian contribution is. From
the Rhône-crossing to the descent into Italy, Polybius supplies three
names: Island, Skaras, and Allobroges. It is Livy’s range of tribe- and
place names, despite the faults, that makes practicable any attempt to
reconstruct Hannibal’s route over the Alps.

Further reading
In a short Appendix, footnotes and detailed modern references would be
cumbrous. Distances are from the AA Big Road Atlas of Europe (4th edn.:
Basingstoke, 1984), France Routière et Touristique: Motoring Map (Geo-
graphia series: London), both on the scale 1 : 1,000,000 and marking
kilometre-distances on roads; and Guide Bleu France 1974 (Paris, 1974).
The literature on Hannibal’s route is huge. The careful bibliography in
J. Seibert, Forschungen zu Hannibal, 195–7, starts with an Oxford work of
1820 and runs for more than two pages of small print. Among significant
recent studies are:
630 appendix 2
P. Connolly, Greece and Rome at War (London and New York, 1981),
153–66.
G. de Beer, Hannibal’s March (London, 1967).
E. de Saint-Denis, ‘Encore l’itinéraire transalpin d’Hannibal’, Revue des
Études Latines, 51 (1973), 122–49.
G. de Sanctis, Storia dei Romani, 2nd edn., vol. 3, part 2 (Florence, 1968),
64–81.
S. Lancel, Hannibal (Paris, 1995), 98–133.
J. Lazenby, Hannibal’s War: A Military History (Warminster, 1978),
34–48.
D. Proctor, Hannibal’s March in History (Oxford, 1971).
A. L. F. Rivet, Gallia Narbonensis: Southern France in Roman Times
(London, 1988).
J. Seibert, ‘Der Alpenübergang Hannibals: Ein gelöstes Problem?’,
Gymnasium, 95 (1988), 21–73.
–––– Forschungen zu Hannibal (Darmstadt, 1993), 193–213.
–––– Hannibal (Darmstadt, 1993), 96–113.
F. W. Walbank, A Historical Commentary on Polybius, vol. 1 (Oxford, 1957),
361–95.
 EXPLANATORY NOTES

The numbers in the left-hand column refer to the chapter numbers set in bold
type in the text.

BOOK TWENTY-ONE
1 an enemy . . . at the earliest opportunity: Polybius’ version is ‘never to be on
friendly terms with the Romans’ (P. 3.11), a much less bellicose promise,
and less satisfying to Roman tradition. L. produces the Polybian version
only much later (35.19).
upheavals in Africa: after losing the First Punic War in 241, the Carthagin-
ians had to cope with a mutiny of their unpaid foreign mercenaries, who
were joined by large numbers of the much-oppressed native Libyan popu-
lation of Punic Africa. The savage ‘Truceless War’ lasted from 241 to 238
(L. in ch. 2 rounds it up to five years) and Carthage’s survival was chiefly
due to Hamilcar, who became its effective ruler.
2 the war he was fighting: in 237 Hamilcar went to Spain and built a large and
wealthy Carthaginian province in the south, perishing in battle in late 229
or early 228.
would retain its independence: in 225 (some think 226) the Romans struck an
agreement with Hasdrubal that he would not lead an army north of the
Ebro. In effect, this recognized Punic interests over the rest of Spain.
Roman writers after 201 also insisted, contrary to all likelihood, that it
exempted Saguntum from Punic interference. Saguntum was a small
but wealthy Spanish town on the Mediterranean coast, not far north of
Valencia; its Roman ruins survive. There is no sound evidence for its being
an ally of Rome, but this did not deter later writers from claiming it.
3 summoned him by letter: a bogus story, set in 224, and by 30.37 L. has
forgotten it (see note there). Hannibal went with his father to Spain in 237
and returned home only in 203.
Hanno, who led the opposing faction: Hanno, for some reason called ‘the
Great’ in some sources, had been the dominant figure in Carthaginian
affairs during the 240s, but lost primacy to Hamilcar Barca and Hamilcar’s
successors as generals-in-chief. See Introduction.
5 a people south of the Ebro: just where is debated. Somewhere in east central
Spain seems likely.
the Vaccaei: a tribe living on the plains around the middle River Duero;
Hermandica is modern Salamanca. The Carpetani, meanwhile, were a
powerful people of Old Castile, who often supplied professional fighting
men to Punic armies.
6 in order to provoke a war: L. must be wrong about the name Turdetani for
the Saguntines’ neighbours, as it applied to most of the peoples of the
632 notes to book twenty-one
Baetis (Guadalquivir) river valley in modern Andalusia––far from the east
coast. Later he calls the neighbours ‘Turduli’ (28.39), another misnomer.
Very near Saguntum was a town called Turis or Tyris (the river is still
called the Turia), and its people––probably ‘Turitani’––seem the likeliest
neighbours to be involved.
6 the infraction of the treaty: Roman tradition dated this embassy to 219,
during Hannibal’s siege of Saguntum, but in following this L. gets himself
into chronological confusions that he later only partly recognizes (ch. 15).
Polybius reports an embassy in 220 and none during the siege: this is
almost certainly correct. The envoys’ names can be accepted all the same.
Valerius (Flaccus) was probably a consul of 227, Baebius (Tamphilus) an
ex-praetor. According to Polybius (3.15), they urged Hannibal to respect
the Ebro treaty and not molest Saguntum; he flew into a rage and
dismissed them.
7 even when faced with destruction themselves: the loyalty (fides) of the Sagun-
tines to Rome became proverbial––an irony, since they were not formal
allies at all. L.’s account of the siege is entirely from non-Polybian sources,
for Polybius (3.17) merely reports that Hannibal took seven months to
capture the town. Some of L.’s details, notably the speeches, are free
compositions but others (e.g. Hannibal’s wound, his later absence,
episodes of the assaults) may cautiously be accepted.
8 some 150,000 under arms: a fantastic exaggeration from some Roman annal-
ist (the egregious Valerius Antias comes to mind). In 218 Hannibal’s entire
military strength in Spain, with the expedition to Italy being planned,
barely exceeded 100,000 men (ch. 38 and note).
10 the one with right on its side: the Romans’ final victory in the earlier war with
Carthage was the naval battle by the Aegates Islands, just offshore from
Drepanum (Trápani), in 241. During the previous three years, Hamilcar as
commander of Punic forces in Sicily had occupied nearby Mt. Eryx
(Monte San Giuliano) to harass the besieging Romans. The ‘Tarentum
incident’ occurred much earlier, in 272, when a Punic fleet briefly turned
up outside that city when it was about to capitulate to the Romans: this was
afterwards claimed to be a violation of a treaty of friendship between Rome
and Carthage, so as to put the Carthaginians in the wrong even before the
First Punic War broke out.
11 the Oretani: a tribe living between the Baetis and Anas rivers (today’s
Guadalquivir and Guadiana); their notable towns were Castulo, where
Hannibal himself had found a wife (24.41 and note), Ilugo, Mentisa, and
Oretum. Castulo, south of the Sierra Morena, may not have been involved
in this brief insurgency.
15 returned to his army in its winter quarters: second- and first-century bc
Roman historians misdated the siege of Saguntum from 219 to 218, thus
creating the chronological dilemma L. describes. He himself accepted it in
ch. 9; having now realized it is unworkable, he contents himself with
acknowledging this but does not trouble to revise the earlier statement.
 notes to book twenty-one 633
16 before their city walls: this depiction of gloomy alarm is hardly supported
by the Romans’ leisurely preparations for war, and their clear expectation
of fighting it in North Africa and Spain. At this moment war had not yet
been declared; still less had Hannibal started his march from New
Carthage. But for dramatic purposes L. wants to have the Romans
foreseeing what afterwards did happen.
18 Quintus Fabius . . . and Quintus Baebius: the leader of the war embassy
of 218 was almost certainly not Quintus Fabius Maximus (the later
Cunctator) but Marcus Fabius Buteo, as the later historian Cassius Dio
states (fragment 55.10). It was not official practice to provide the third
names (cognomina) in such lists, but Livius and Aemilius were probably the
consuls (Salinator and Paulus, respectively) of the previous year, Licinius
(Varus) a consul of 236, and Baebius one of the two earlier envoys in 220.
19 no such escape clause: typically, Roman historical tradition sought to base its
case for the Second Punic War on legalisms. This, however, suffered the
basic flaw that at no time were the Saguntines formal allies of Rome (at
best they were ‘friends’, amici)––although the war embassy plainly sought
to make the Carthaginians think they were allies. L. draws much of his
argumentation from Polybius, who is equally fuzzy (3.29–30).
to dissuade them from joining the Carthaginians: these further journeyings of
the Roman envoys are generally disbelieved, partly because our sources are
not clear on when they got back to Rome. But there is no good reason why
Roman historians should have invented the account (the envoys receive
mostly hostile replies) or pro-Punic writers should be interested. One
possibility is that some envoys made this trip while others returned to
Rome, a nuance afterwards lost on historians.
22 fitted out and furnished with crews: though L. does not acknowledge it,
the military details in chs. 21–2 go back to Hannibal himself, via Polybius
who affirms that he read them in an inscription put up by the general at
Cape Lacinium in southern Italy (3.33; Livy reports this memoir later, in
28.46).
There is a tale: told by Hannibal’s friend Silenus, later his historian, accord-
ing to Cicero who gives Coelius’ version of it (De divinatione 1.49). There is
an obvious resemblance to the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, but this is
not enough to disprove that Hannibal had––or at least claimed to have––
such a dream. ‘Jupiter’ would then equate to a principal Carthaginian
deity, perhaps Ba’al Hammon (‘Hercules’ was Melqart, Carthage’s pro-
tector). Onussa is usually identified with Peñíscola on the Spanish coast
just south of the Ebro.
23 at the foot of the Pyrenees: as usual, Spanish names in L. raise problems.
Certainly the Bargusii were friendly to Rome (ch. 19); but Hannibal had
left an Ilergetan unit with Hasdrubal (ch. 22), which implies the Ilergetes
were already pro-Carthage, and so does other evidence; while the Ausetani
and Lacetani are found resisting Roman forces later in the year (chs. 60–1).
Polybius (3.35) has Hannibal subdue the Bargusii, Ilergetes, Aerenosii, and
634 notes to book twenty-one
Andosini––the last two tribes otherwise unknown, and whose names per-
haps baffled Roman annalists and so were replaced arbitrarily by ones
better known. In turn, the Ilergetes now subdued may well have been, not
the powerful people inland whose name survives in Ilerda (modern
Lérida/Lleida), but a coastal people between Tarraco (Tarragona) and
Barcino (Barcelona): interestingly, a coast town there bears the name
Olérdola.
25 and Gaius Papirius Maso: later L. shows that Servilius at any rate was one
of the other triumvirs (27.21 and note; 30.19). Here he fails to make clear
whether the spokesmen seized by the Gauls were one or more of the land-
commissioners or were other persons entirely. At least one commissioner,
Servilius, seems to have gone out as a spokesman but not necessarily all
three, and this could account for the later discrepancies.
were manhandled: or possibly, ‘whether these men were roughly handled
when they were on a mission to protest to the Boii’, as Polybius has no
mention of a separate delegation to the Boii: see Walsh’s note (translator’s
note).
Tannetum: between Mutina and Parma.
27 Hanno son of Bomilcar: Appian terms him Hannibal’s nephew (Hannibalica
20), which may or may not be correct. He was a reliable and energetic
lieutenant but, when commanding a secondary army in Italy later on, too
liable to suffer defeats at Roman hands.
at the first watch of the night: the night was divided into four watches
(vigiliae) of three hours each, midnight being at the end of the second and
start of the third watch. As night- and day-lengths vary with season and
latitude, the first watch in this episode can be only roughly estimated as
between 6 and 7 p.m.
had larger vessels: the text is perhaps unsound at this point: see Walsh’s
note (translator’s note).
28 how it was accomplished: L.’s second, ‘more reliable’ description is a short-
ened and simplified version of Polybius’ (3.46), and certainly seems
likelier.
was disconnected from the other: the Latin actually says ‘from the others’, ab
ceteris (translator’s note).
31 have been given the name ‘the Island’: see Appendix 2.
33 The pass had precipitously steep cliffs on either side: L. writes, and perhaps
thinks, confusingly. He visualizes the pass as a road cut along the side of a
steep mountain, for it has cliffs on either side, one of them falling into an
abyss. Yet Hannibal is able to swoop down to the rescue from a higher
position with armed support. L. is retelling Polybius’ version (3.51) in
more dramatic, but less lucid, form; Polybius shows that the Gauls could
attack from the upper slopes (not a cliff) until Hannibal, up ahead of his
column, came back to drive them off.
35 he pointed out to them Italy . . . at the foot of the Alps: it was probably now
 notes to book twenty-one 635
late October or early November, though many scholars prefer September.
The setting of the Pleiades (that is, when it sank below the horizon just
after sunset) occurred around late October/early November in 218. The
site of this famous panorama is even more debated, probably a pointless
effort: see Appendix 2.
37 by pouring vinegar on them: a measure often seen as Livian fantasy, but
now accepted by many scholars; the practice is also mentioned by the
architect-writer Vitruvius (8.3.19).
38 he lost 36,000 men . . . after crossing the Rhône: Cincius became a prisoner
of Hannibal’s in or after 208; the general evidently found his conversa-
tion agreeable (both spoke Greek). But debate and disbelief bedevil
assessment of L.’s and Polybius’ figures for Hannibal’s forces. L. avoids
mentioning that the lowest figure here is Hannibal’s own (recorded by
Polybius, 3.56); he sees Cincius as a more ‘authoritative’ source than the
general himself. In turn, the highest looks like an earlier source inflatedly
estimating Hannibal’s original forces in Spain and then blithely assuming
that all of them were with him in Italy. It has occasionally been suggested
that Hannibal had a propaganda interest in under-reporting his arrival-
strength; but this is not obvious and his figure is at any rate consistent with
those reported down to Cannae in 216. L. has followed Polybius in giving
him 102,000 at New Carthage (ch. 23); Polybius reports 59,000 crossing
into Gaul (3.60) after losses, detachments, and desertions; and then up to
the Rhône there was no fighting. Hannibal’s figure for losses after the
Rhône is thus––very roughly––compatible with his figure for the forces
reaching Italy.
the Taurini Semigalli: the Romans added the term ‘Semigalli’ (half-Gallic)
to denote the mixed origin of this Alpine folk.
was given its name on that account: the Poenine Alps are now called the
Pennine Alps (highest peak Monte Rosa), crossed by the Great St Bernard
pass. The Taurini ‘Semigalli’ lived at the foot of the Alps farther south;
their name survives in modern Turin (Torino); the other peoples men-
tioned dwelt in the Alpine valleys to their west and north. The Cremo
ridge was the Little St Bernard.
39 with the following harangue: the consul’s address to his men is matched by
one of Hannibal’s (chs. 43–4). The symbolism of this pairing is import-
ant: it marks the war’s opening combat between Carthaginians and
Romans, minor as this was (L. ignores the skirmish of ch. 29). Similarly
to mark the last battle, in 202, L. will give Hannibal and Scipio Africanus,
this consul’s son, speeches in their turn, in reverse order (30.30–1): thus
a Scipio opens, and a Scipio will close, the rhetorical accompaniment of
the war’s battles. Again, although not Hannibal’s first speech in L. but
his third (see chs. 21, 30), the new one is his first full-length oration in
direct speech. It is noticeable that all three are made to his army: they
make vivid L.’s picture of Hannibal as charismatic leader and bold
commander.
636 notes to book twenty-one
40 as prizes of war: this is rhetoric; the Carthaginians had ceded only Sicily
at the peace of 241––Sardinia was taken from them years later––and the
war-indemnity (in rhetoric, ‘tribute’) finally agreed was for ten years.
46 ran back amidst the supporting troops to the second line: perhaps, with Walsh,
we should read inter subsidia ac secundam aciem (‘between the reserves in
the second line’) (translator’s note). The text as translated is at odds with
L.’s preceding report that Scipio’s Roman and Italian allied cavalry were
‘in reserve’, i.e. were the supporting troops, for if so they were the second
line. But in any case, L. misinterprets Polybius (3.65). The latter reports
that the javelineers, given no time to throw their weapons––a point not in
L.––retreated hastily ‘through the gaps between their own squadrons’ to
avoid being trampled. L., trying to clarify this, ends up seemingly confus-
ing himself and certainly baffling the reader, not to mention his later
copyists.
an account . . . entrenched in popular tradition: L.’s criterion for preferring
the younger Publius Scipio (later Africanus) as his father’s rescuer is
illuminatingly subjective. When Polybius tells the same story later (10.3)
he cites Africanus’ close friend Laelius as the source; L. does not, whether
because he may not yet have read that far into Polybius and got the story
elsewhere, or because he was uninterested in mentioning Laelius. That
Laelius was entirely trustworthy on such a topic is not guaranteed; on
the other hand, Coelius’ source for his version is equally unknown, and
Africanus did later have plenty of critics eager to deny him glory wherever
possible.
47 under Mago’s leadership: L., himself north Italian, uses his acquaintance
with the area to help judge between Coelius’ version and others’. The
historians with the alternative account included Polybius (3.66).
48 bribed with 400 gold pieces: in L.’s day this would be equivalent to 10,000
denarii––a year’s pay for nearly 50 ordinary legionary soldiers––and in
218 bc the value was probably much greater; so by rating the bribe as
‘not high’ he must be thinking of it in comparison with the value of
capturing Clastidium.
49 conducted by the consul Sempronius: these operations, ignored by Polybius,
are nevertheless detailed and plausible.
Hiero of Syracuse: Hiero had made himself leader of the city around 274,
then king (265); after a short war with Rome (264–263) he aligned himself
with the republic and remained a loyal ally until his death in 215 aged over
90. Syracuse and its surrounding territory were exceptionally prosperous
under his rule. His chief scientist was Archimedes.
51 sent it up the Adriatic to Ariminum: Polybius has Sempronius dismiss the
army under oath to reassemble in forty days’ time at Ariminum (3.61), but
then he reports it and him coming to Rome en route and heartening the
city (3.68). Perhaps part of the army did so, or this may be a dramatic
invention by Polybius. As the time was late autumn (roughly November
218: see Appendix 2), L.’s sea journey does seem unlikely.
 notes to book twenty-one 637
52 or else there was simply no hope: a good example of dramatic interpretation
by L. He is clearly visualizing what he feels was in the Romans’ thoughts,
though he presents it as a statement of fact. Literary colouring of this sort
is common in ancient historians, including the normally prosaic Polybius
(see previous note), and may occasionally mislead.
54 Select from your entire force: according to Polybius (3.71), Hannibal himself
had earlier selected these men and now he put Mago in command of them.
L., who is otherwise following Polybius closely, adds vividness to the
story––and to his depiction of the brothers––by having Hannibal leave it
to Mago to select the initial force.
the winter solstice: thus 21 December, or thereabouts. Sempronius must
have been sent his recall notice before Hannibal crossed the Alps in
October–November. Most scholars see him reaching the north then, but a
junction with Publius Scipio even as late as 10 December would still leave
enough time for the skirmish (ch. 52), the consuls’ wrangling (ch. 53), and
then the battle.
56 to barely experience the joy of victory: again, L. seeks to dramatize matters,
this time the victors’ psychology. Whether he draws on a different source
for this or follows his own intuition, his picture is the opposite of Polybius’
(3.74), who reports them being overjoyed at the completeness of their
victory and their small losses.
57 an act of sheer bravado on his part: L. is hard on Sempronius, who plainly
thought it his duty to return to Rome to hold the elections, and who then
returned––presumably through the same dangers––to his troops in the
north.
the Gallic War: the operations in Cisalpine Gaul after the defeat of the
great Gallic invasion of 225.
58 Hannibal . . . struck out into Etruria: this dramatic account of a failed effort
to cross the Apennines is unique to L., and it is hard to decide whether
he should be believed. As it is not in Polybius and is followed by a cer-
tainly fictitious winter battle with Sempronius (ch. 59)––besides being
reminiscent of the Alpine-crossing narrative in its carefully described
torments––it must be doubted. Conceivably Hannibal did send out
some exploratory units to scout the Apennine passes but decided that
the weather was too violent for a winter’s move; this could readily be
magnified by an annalistic writer into a full-scale thwarted attempt.
59 Luca: modern Lucca, south of the Apennines; yet Sempronius’ troops
are afterwards reported wintering at Placentia (ch. 63), whence in March
217 they are summoned by the new consul Flaminius to meet him at
Ariminum (Rimini), across the Apennines and by the Adriatic. Flaminius
then advanced to Arretium (Arezzo) in Etruria (22.3). It is most unlikely
that the troops were moved back and forth, from Placentia to Luca, then
back to Placentia––all this during bitter winter weather––and afterwards
to Ariminum. Sempronius may have betaken himself to Luca while
leaving the army at Placentia; more likely this report is a Roman annalistic
638 notes to book twenty-one
mistake. Whether the new consul summoned the troops to Ariminum or,
as some have suggested, to Arretium is another debated question.
60 putting in at Emporiae: Emporiae (a site today called Ampurias) was an old
Greek colony, founded by Massilia. At some date it had established
friendly relations with the Romans. L. describes it more fully in 34.9
(195 bc).
Cissis . . . was also taken by storm: this Iberian town was either the same as,
or very near to, Tarraco (Tarragona) on the coast; Iberian coins stamped
Cese are from there. L. does not mention that one of the ‘important people’
captured was Indibilis, king of the inland Ilergetes (Polybius 3.76, calling
him Andobales); but he soon got away and would cause much trouble to
the Romans until 206.
61 imposing a fine on them as well: this operation is generally judged a bogus
annalistic confection, because the Ilergetes are thought of as those dwelling
around Ilerda, who were Punic allies. But Atanagrus is a distinctive name
and there were other Ilergetes on the coast (ch. 23 note); these were
Hasdrubal’s likely targets.
The details of the campaigns by Gnaeus and Publius Scipio in Books
21–5, from 218 to 211, are much doubted by moderns, in the belief that
they involve improbable or impossible place names and are largely
unmentioned by Polybius (whose history survives, however, only in
excerpts after 216 bc). In this interpretation, the campaigns were largely
invented by L.’s annalistic predecessors. Yet they include many items
which are not intrinsically improbable, even though annalists––and L.
himself––clearly had trouble correctly identifying place names or under-
standing the course of events. Coelius Antipater, we know, drew on
Hannibal’s friend and historiographer Silenus (see note to ch. 22); we
know, too, that Hannibal’s other confidant Sosylus narrated Spanish
events in detail (a papyrus fragment shows this). At least indirectly, then,
L. had access to good materials on these campaigns.
returned to their winter quarters at Tarraco: Polybius and Appian (in his
Iberica) say nothing of this operation; but Appian leaves out much else that
is well attested, and Polybius himself can be selective about events (ch. 49
note). With Hannibal firmly subduing Spain’s north-east earlier in the
year, including the Ausetani and Lacetani (ch. 23), Gnaeus Scipio’s forces
need not have been so imposing as to lure these into revolt. Amusicus, a
unique and possibly Celtic name, is hard to account for as just a Roman
annalistic invention.
62 at Caere the oracular lots had shrunk: the lots (sortes) were wooden tablets
with ancient prophetic writings, as also at Falerii (see 22.1) and Praeneste
(Cicero, De divinatione 2.85–6). If they shrank, it was a bad omen.
Juventas: abstract divinity of Youth.
the Sibylline Books: three ancient scrolls which prescribed rituals for
consulting and, when necessary, placating the gods; reportedly they also
contained prophecies. They were under the care of the decemvirs.
 notes to book twenty-two 639
63 at Ariminum by 15 March: because L. has the consul Sempronius retire to
Luca at year’s end.
gained him a second consulship: Flaminius was a vigorous and popular
leader whose feisty style did not endear him to much of the ruling elite.
As consul in 223 he had helped to complete the conquest of northern
Italy (then called Cisalpine Gaul), but his championship of popular
interests––for instance, land-grants to poorer citizens when tribune in
232––had made him a suspect demagogue to most politically powerful
aristocrats. Many of these belonged to families with long pedigrees
of consulships (the ‘nobles’––nobiles, an unofficial term): for instance,
Quintus Fabius Maximus, one of his severest critics, had consular ances-
tors going back to 485. As a result all our sources, Polybius included, are
disparaging towards him. But Flaminius was able to exploit a mood of
intermittent assertiveness among voters (22.34 note). Claudius’ law seems
just such an example: an effort to curb senators’ supposed proclivity
towards looking after their personal wealth at the expense of devotedly
serving the res publica.
the Alban Mount: now the Colli Albani, 12 miles south-east of Rome,
where the great Latin Festival in honour of Jupiter was celebrated annu-
ally by the consuls (see also 26.21 note).
the vote for recalling Flaminius . . . was unanimous: L. had presumably
also told the story of the earlier attempted recall in 223; it does not
strike him as odd that almost exactly the same thing should happen now,
and clearly his feelings are with the outraged Senate. It is much likelier
that this alleged recall is just a recycling of the earlier one by a hostile
annalist.
BOOK TWENTY-TWO
1 changes of clothing and headgear: by headgear L. means wigs. The same
story is in Polybius (3.78; Cassius Dio’s abbreviator Zonaras (8.24) offers
even more imaginative details) but it is hard to visualize how Hannibal
could remain unrecognizable and still direct the army day by day. The
Gauls, all the same, may well have been growing restive.
entered office in Rome: until late in the third century bc, consuls seem to
have entered office on or around 1 May, but L. often notes 15 March as the
date from here on. The change may have been made to enable campaigning
to start as early as possible in spring; it is thought to date from around 222.
In 153 the entry-date for consuls would become 1 January.
2 went blind in one eye: Nepos, Hannibal 4, has his sight damaged, not lost, in
the right eye; the ailment must have been ophthalmia.
3 as once they did Camillus from Veii: Marcus Furius Camillus, exiled from
Rome around 391, was urgently summoned home to take charge after
raiding Gauls captured and sacked the city (cf. ch. 14, and note to ch. 50).
L. is economical: Camillus had been at Ardea, but then collected what was
left of the defeated Roman army at Veii.
640 notes to book twenty-two
4 would then be shut in between the lake and the mountains: L.’s and Polybius’
descriptions of the site (close but not identical) and Hannibal’s disposi-
tions show that the Trasimene battlefield lay by the north shore of the
raggedly oval lake. Neither makes the site clearer, and the difficulty is
sharpened by Polybius’ view (3.83–4) that the ambush took place, not
along the shore, but in a valley at right angles to it. There is in fact such a
valley at the north-west corner of the lake, by the village of Tuoro. If
Polybius means something else, he has expressed it very opaquely (notably
in an opening sentence (3.83) eighteen lines long!). L., utilizing at least one
other source and, possibly, personal acquaintance with the area, locates the
battle along Trasimene’s northern shore; this has become the accepted
view. Even so, the shore is a good 10 miles long and debate continues over
whether the battle was along its western half or the much narrower eastern
half. Burial-pits found near Tuoro have been both claimed as stemming
from the battle (cf. ch. 7 on burials) and rejected as medieval. Current
opinion inclines to the north-eastern half, around the lakeside town of
Passignano.
5 considerable composure in such a precarious situation: L.’s picture of
Flaminius in this crisis is much friendlier, despite his past criticisms, than
Polybius’, who has him shattered and desperate (3.83); Plutarch, Fabius 3,
echoes L.
legion, cohort, or maniple: the cohort, as a unit of a Roman legion, seems to
have been devised in this war for greater flexibility; previously it was only
used in Latin and Italian allied contingents. In a legion it consisted of one
maniple each of hastati, principes, and triarii, so there were ten cohorts to a
legion. This seems L.’s first mention of it as a legionary formation; though
here it may be just a rhetorical touch, there are many more to come:
notably 23.18 (though this too may be L.’s own choice of term); 27.13, 18,
32, and 48–9; 28.14, 25, and 33.
there was an earthquake: not in Polybius, but the report was in Coelius
(Cicero, De divinatione 1.78). Given Coelius’ penchant for dramatizing
events (see note to 29.27), this is no guarantee of factualness. L. does not
record any measures afterwards by the Senate in reaction to the supposed
calamity or its religious import, careful though he is as a rule about such
items: a clue that, if there was any earthquake, it was much exaggerated in
the later telling. The date by the Roman calendar was 21 June (Ovid, Fasti
6.767–8), but it is not certain that the calendar was correct at this period
(cf. 30.29 note).
7 contemporary with this war: on Fabius Pictor, see Introduction. Though L.
names him only here as a source, it hardly follows that he knew him solely
via Coelius’ history (he does not mention Polybius, one of his major
sources, until 30.45). His use of Fabius here is a sensible one; Polybius too
has 15,000 killed, perhaps from Fabius again. L. gives no figure for
prisoners, but his report of 10,000 men getting away looks improbable; the
6,000 who did break though (ch. 6) were afterwards taken by Maharbal.
 notes to book twenty-two 641
Polybius has 15,000 captured and it seems clear that Flaminius’ army was
virtually wiped out.
Romans he put in irons: but Campanians, who were Roman citizens too,
though of a special kind (see Glossary: ‘Campanian citizens’), were
released (ch. 13).
8 the hitherto unprecedented step of appointing a dictator themselves: it was
normal for one of the consuls to nominate a dictator for an emergency.
Fabius had been consul in 233 and 228, Minucius in 221, so both were of
high rank, and had been sound though hardly brilliant performers. Fabius’
earlier dictatorship was around 221, not for war but for a civilian task (and
his master of horse had been Flaminius, according to a late source). Later
on L. finds himself unhappy with this account of Fabius being elected
dictator by the people and argues he can have been only a ‘provisional’ one
(pro dictatore: ch. 31), but this view is not supported by other evidence.
That Minucius too was elected, to be master of horse, is again significant,
for normally this officer was nominated by the dictator.
9 as far as Spoletium: Hannibal’s attempt on Spoletium (Spoleto) is not in
Polybius, who has him reach the Adriatic coast ten days after Trasimene
(3.86). Roman tradition may have wanted to account for his not marching
directly on Rome by inventing this claim of a heroic town’s resistance.
Spoletium was a Latin colony (see Glossary: ‘colony’).
11 had forgotten the authority it carried: the last time there had been a dictator
for war (rei gerundae causa) had been in 248 during the First Punic War.
a Carthaginian fleet: what was this fleet doing in that area? Polybius states
that it had expected to link up with Hannibal (3.96). Possibly he had
originally intended to march on Rome, supported by the fleet, but changed
his mind after Trasimene; by then it was too late to get word to the fleet at
Carthage.
12 felt unspoken concern: this is patriotically imaginative colouring by L. Only
pro-Hannibalic writers, like Sosylus and Silenus, could give him an idea of
Hannibal’s thinking, and they would scarcely depict the general in this
light.
13 ‘Casilinum’ rather than ‘Casinum’: Casilinum stood on the River Volturnus
just north of Capua, whereas Casinum (modern Cassino) lay 30 miles to
the north-west. Casinum would indeed control the main route from
Latium into Campania, but for Hannibal, with Fabius’ army coming up
behind him, moving thither was hardly sound strategically; nor would so
distant a position do much to encourage the Campanians to defect. The
tale seems invented, perhaps as an excuse to tell a tale of Hannibal’s alleged
cruelty.
into the plain of Stellas: the eastern part of the fertile Falernian plain, on
the north side of the River Volturnus. The route L. describes includes
Caiatia or (in the manuscripts) Calatia, neither of which fits a march via
Allifae and Cales; it represents some early copyist’s error. Because manu-
scripts were copied by hand, and our surviving manuscripts date to the
642 notes to book twenty-two
Middle Ages at the earliest and thus are at several removes from L.’s
original, such errors can crop up at times––and then become perpetuated
(or worse ones creep in).
14 knights: that is, men of the equestrian order (see Glossary; cf. note to
27.11).
would have chosen Minucius . . . over Fabius: Minucius is the third head-
strong Roman in succession who revolts against more cautious and––for
L.––wiser counsels. Sempronius vs. Scipio, and Flaminius vs. the Senate,
have preceded, and Varro vs. Aemilius will follow. Polybius offers a rather
similar (though not identical) picture, and some of this must be historically
based (cf. ch. 25 note). But for literary and moral impact L. stylizes the
picture with rhetorical and dramatic scenes, as here. These clashes bring to
life the Romans’ path to wisdom in Hannibal’s war: to defeat this enemy,
they must accept the ironic and painful paradox of discarding their normal
aggressive élan and embracing caution and procrastination.
17 and encamped in the region of Allifae: the area of this famous ruse was
north-eastern Campania, but it is not clear which heights are L.’s Callicula
(Polybius calls them Mt. Eribianus: 3.92).
20 set sail for Onussa: this naval raid down Spain’s Mediterranean coast is not
widely believed because Polybius does not report it, the distances seem too
ambitious, and ‘Longuntica’ is unknown. Yet the Carthaginian fleet
had just been destroyed, so there could be little immediate opposition.
‘Longuntica’ is very possibly a copyist’s error for Lucentum (today’s
Alicante), where the locally grown esparto could well have been stored as
L. states. A mistake by a copyist is conceivable, because in the manuscripts
ad rem nauticam (‘for the use of the fleet’) comes soon after the words ad
Longunticam; an early copyist’s eye could thus have miscopied ad Lucentum
as ad Longunticam. Ebusus, modern Ibiza, was an old Carthaginian
possession.
the pass of Castulo: an impossibility, for the area is over 300 miles in a
straight line from the Ebro, and lies far inland, near Linares. A pass into
the interior behind Tarraco may be meant, for the inland Ilergetes (around
Lérida) soon reacted against the Romans. Years later the Scipio brothers
did reach the Castulo area, where they met with disaster (24.41 note); an
annalist who knew the name might carelessly suppose it was also reached
in 217.
21 Mandonius and . . . Indibilis: these inseparable brothers were leaders of the
inland Ilergetes and had been pro-Carthaginian enthusiasts even before
218. Indibilis had been captured at Cissis the previous year (21.60 note),
hence his being here termed the ‘former’ chieftain; but clearly he was
again free, maybe thanks to Mandonius. Gnaeus Scipio’s inferred demon-
stration against the Ilergetes may have been an effort to thwart his return
to them.
Ilergavonenses . . . Nova Classis: the latter (‘New Fleet’) is unknown but
looks coastal; the Ilergavonenses or Ilercavonenses dwelt near the mouth of
 notes to book twenty-two 643
the Ebro, with Dertosa (Tortosa) their chief town, and were perhaps kin to
the coastal and inland Ilergetes.
22 Tarraco: this town was built up into a major base by the Scipio brothers,
and would become the capital of the later Roman province of Nearer
Spain.
25 the same constitutional powers: Fabius had been elected by the people as
dictator, not nominated by a consul (ch. 8). It was therefore open to the
people to grant equal powers to Minucius, though it is unlikely he
also received the title. On a dedicatory inscription he does term himself
‘dictator’, but he seems to have held the post earlier (ch. 8 note).
Marcus Atilius Regulus: he had been consul in 227. Not until 27.6 does L.
mention that after Trasimene, and so around this time, a law was passed
permitting the re-election of ex-consuls as often as the people wished.
family background was . . . downright sordid: Varro suffered a very bad press
from ancient writers, including Polybius, both because he was in command
at Cannae and because of his non-elite origins (even more so than
Flaminius’). On the sequence of military ‘hotheads’ in 218–216 see note to
ch. 14. Roman historiography was created, unluckily for Varro et al., more
by writers with connections to Fabius and the Scipios than by writers
friendly to the hotheads. But the blame is exaggerated rather than
invented, for disasters did occur under their commands.
30 under your command and auspices: Minucius’ manly remorse is not in
Polybius and is clearly dramatized by L. for moralizing impact. Such
episodes may well have formed the scenarios of verse history-plays at
Rome (praetextae) and a current view, notably urged by T. P. Wiseman
(Roman Drama and Roman History (Exeter, 1998) ), is that these heavily
influenced later Roman historiography. As we lack any surviving
Republican-era praetextae, this remains a hypothesis. But at times L. does
seem to shape an episode in such a way: see notes to 23.4 and 30.12.
31 island of Meninx . . . inhabitants of Cercina: Jerba and Kerkenna lie just off
the Tunisian coast in the Gulf of Sirte. Many Greeks, Polybius among
them (1.39), identified Jerba as the Odyssey’s fabled isle of lotus-eaters.
had actually been dictator: see note to ch. 8.
32 Geminus Servilius: Roman authors sometimes reverse the usual order of
second and third names for literary variety.
33 20,000 full asses: L. literally has ‘20,000 of heavy bronze’ (aeris gravis), i.e.
coins of aes grave, the original Roman currency, and he means the old
standard of ten bronze asses to the later denarius––thus equivalent to 2,000
denarii, a handsome sum (cf. 21.48 note). A few years later the 10 asses were
increased to 12 and then 16 to the denarius, so L. is careful to indicate he
means the original standard.
payment of his indemnity: the Illyrians’ country is more or less modern
Albania; after wars with Rome in 229–228 and 219 they had been forced to
pay a yearly indemnity. Demetrius of Pharus, an Illyrian princeling whose
644 notes to book twenty-two
activities had prompted the Romans into the war of 219, had fled to Philip
V, and was reportedly urging the king to mischief.
33 a dictator . . . to hold the elections: a civilian function of the dictatorship.
Only a consul could normally appoint a dictator, which could lead to
complications (see 27.5 for a notable example). Presumably the present
consuls’ objections were overcome somehow. In turn, irregularities of
formal procedure or in omens––even an inopportune mouse-squeak on
one occasion before 218––could vitiate an appointment to office.
34 antagonism between the senatorial party and the plebeians: there had been
intermittent tensions, since at least the 230s, between the ruling elite
(followed no doubt by supporters in the citizen body) and a vocal element
of other citizens who wanted policies more socially assertive––and, at
times, more militarily so as well. But in Roman historical writings the
details became contaminated by the still more virulent political tensions
(and sometimes actual violence) after 150 bc, which makes it now hard to
identify fully the factors existing in the late third century.
The idea that it was a simple case of Senate vs. commoners (as ancient
writers often claim) must be rejected, for consuls were elected by the
Comitia Centuriata, the format of which gave preponderance to well-off
and at least comfortably off citizens: men worth 100,000 asses and above.
We should think, rather, in terms of contests between a well-established,
though always evolving, elite of birth and wealth long used to enjoying
most offices of state, and generally deferred to by the electorate, and more
newly affluent and ambitious men seeking to become part of this ‘in’
group. Successful incomers then tended to take on the ethos of the estab-
lished elite, to the exasperation of their former friends and associates, as L.
notes (and as proved true even of the vilified Varro, whose descendants
were mostly paragons of aristocratic mediocrity).
35 almost went up in flames: in the year after the Second Illyrian War of 219,
fought by both consuls, one consul––Marcus Livius––was convicted of
peculating booty (see 27.34 and note); the other, Paulus, had his reputation
blasted even though he escaped a conviction.
Marcus Pomponius Matho: not the same as the praetor of the same name in
217 (ch. 7). There were several Pomponii about in these years and L. does
not, perhaps could not, clearly distinguish between them.
36 87,200 men . . . when the battle was fought at Cannae: the figures are much
debated, with estimates based on Polybius’ and L.’s evidence ranging from
50,000 to 87,200. L.’s later piecemeal figures for casualties, prisoners, and
survivors total 82,000 (chs. 49, 50, 52, 54, 62). What is clear is that the
Romans created as large an army as possible in order to overwhelm their
enemy by simple force.
38 for the troops . . . to arrive: on allies and Latins see Glossary: ‘Latins’. The
chronology of the campaign is not entirely clear. Consuls assumed office
on 15 March (ch. 1), but Cannae was fought on 2 August, by the Roman
calendar anyway––only a few days, L. writes, after Paulus and Varro took
 notes to book twenty-two 645
over command of the army (ch. 40). Some scholars have argued that the
calendar was inaccurate in 216; their proposals for the ‘correct’ date range
from early March to July. Polybius has Hannibal staying at Gereonium
until the crops were ready (3.107), and some date during summer is
acceptable. Even so, the large army enrolments must have taken quite a
while, and Polybius also reports that in the interim the proconsuls in
Apulia were ordered not to take offensive action, and that great care and
time were devoted to training the army (3.106). Only when the Senate
decided on a pitched battle did it send the consuls to Apulia (3.107–8). L.
regrettably finds no room for these clarifications: he wants to get on to the
battle.
decuries: the smallest units of a cavalry squadron, each consisting in prin-
ciple of ten horsemen and commanded by a decurion. Thirty decuries
constituted the Roman cavalry of a legion.
the following words: nothing suggests that this is a genuine tête-à-tête. L.
covers himself with the caveat, ‘is said to have addressed him’. Its real aim
is literary: to re-emphasize the superior insight and moral quality of
Fabius and the need for the Romans to adopt the difficult but essential
policy of Fabian tactics.
40 long enough for them to do so: L. lays the entire blame for seeking a pitched
battle on Varro, but Polybius more carefully blames him for choosing to
fight when he did. The Greek historian does makes it plain that the deci-
sion to seek out Hannibal and overwhelm him with unprecedentedly huge
forces had been made by the Senate (3.107–8); the battle was awaited at
Rome with great anticipation (3.112).
42 the chickens refused their approval: a coop of sacred chickens accompanied
generals to war to give the auspices. If they ate when offered food by their
keeper, especially if they let some of it fall from their beaks, this was an
omen of victory; their refusing food was a divine warning (cf. 27.16). In
249 an impatient consul disregarded the chickens’ refusal to eat (allegedly
he threw them overboard: ‘then let them drink’), attacked the Carthagin-
ian fleet at Drepana in Sicily, and met with suitable disaster.
the dignity of his office: none of this detailed account in chs. 41–2 is in
Polybius, and L.’s language is censorious and emotional. Yet the precision
about Statilius (the name was Lucanian) and the two escaped slaves is
surprising if the episode is wholly imaginary.
43 with destiny thrusting them on: a phrase famously adapted by the historian
Tacitus in prophesying Rome’s possible fall to German invasions––
‘urgentibus imperii fatis, with the destinies of the empire thrusting us on’
(Germania 33).
the Volturnus wind: the sirocco, which blows from the south or south-east.
Not mentioned by Polybius, but Fabius Pictor or Cincius could have
recorded it.
46 Hannibal . . . with his brother Mago: Polybius does not mention Maharbal
but gives command of the right wing to Hanno (3.114). Earlier the cavalry
646 notes to book twenty-two
supremo had been Carthalo (ch. 15), who reappears in ch. 49. Perhaps
Hannibal varied his appointments from time to time, and if Maharbal was
not commanding the right wing now, he was somewhere else in the army;
later historians––or even Hannibal’s friends Silenus or Sosylus––might be
confused.
48 commenced with a Carthaginian trick: ‘Carthaginian’ in the charged sense
of ‘deceitful’. The trick is not in Polybius. L. reports the rest of the
Numidians as being ‘in the centre of the line’, fighting listlessly, then being
given fresh orders by Hasdrubal, the ‘commander in that quarter’; but the
Numidians had been on the Punic right, Hasdrubal on the left (ch. 46).
L. has not fully understood proceedings and has also incorporated this
dubious tale. The Numidian wing had neutralized the Italian allied left,
and Polybius then reports Hasdrubal coming around from his wing after
routing the Roman citizen cavalry there. Now the Italian cavalry fled
and he sent the Numidians to pursue the Roman horse, while with his
own he struck the rear of the legions. What had become of the Numidians’
own commander, whether Hanno or Maharbal? Neither was killed or
wounded, both were energetic, yet this initiative came from Hasdrubal.
49 taken prisoner in the battle: L.’s Roman dead, 48,200 in all, are many fewer
than Polybius’ 70,000 (3.117). But L.’s total of 19,300 for prisoners taken
in battle and then at the Roman camps is virtually twice Polybius’ figure of
10,000. Polybius gives only 3,370 survivors who got away, whereas L.
claims 14,550 did. These figures are not really reconcilable, but two
legions––of Romans plus Italian allies––were afterwards formed from the
Cannae survivors who got away, which suggests that L.’s figure for them is
more or less accurate. So too Polybius’ total of prisoners, for Punic
sources, including Hannibal himself in his Cape Lacinium inscription (for
which see Introduction), could have recorded the prisoner count.
By contrast, Polybius’ high figure for the slain is not preferable to L.’s. All
the same, many modern historians estimate lower totals again for Roman
dead, arguing that the sources’ figures were physically impossible to
achieve by Hannibal’s army of fewer than 50,000.
50 disaster at the Allia: in 390 bc (or more likely 387) an invading army of
Gauls had shattered the Romans at the River Allia north of the city, cap-
tured Rome, and exacted a heavy ransom (cf. note to ch. 3). It was after this
disaster that Camillus had been recalled (ch. 3 and note).
51 ‘you do not know how to use the victory!’: this famous story has been widely
disbelieved, as Cannae is over 300 miles from Rome and not even cavalry
could have raced from one to the other in four or even five days (Maharbal
says ‘on the fifth day’, die quinto)––yet Maharbal promises the banquet to
Hannibal and the infantry by then. Yet the tale is at least as old as Cato the
Censor’s history (Cato had been born in 234), and all our versions insist on
the same time-span. Possibly Maharbal’s advice was really given after
Trasimene in 217, for that region is four to five days’ reasonable march by
an army; then he repeated it after Cannae or, in later memories (even his
 notes to book twenty-two 647
own?), it got transferred to the more crushing victory. Compare also 30.12
and note.
the salvation of the city and the empire: L.’s view is usually rejected by
moderns, on the grounds that Hannibal could not have captured heavily
fortified Rome, in any case had an exhausted army, and was therefore right
to stay in southern Italy to consolidate his victory by winning over defect-
ing Roman allies. Still, he could have done this as effectively, or more so,
from outside Rome; and could have disrupted all Roman efforts at
recovery by blockading the city. There were few Roman troops left to
prevent him. The alarm he caused when he made his famous, but totally
ineffective, march on Rome in 211 (see Book 25) suggests how much
greater panic would have erupted in summer 216.
52 300 quadrigati: coins of silver worth two Greek drachmas each; equivalent
to two denarii, the famous Roman silver coin introduced later in this war
(23.15 note). Purchasing conditions differed from today, but the denarius
was approximately worth £20–25 ($US30–40) in early twenty-first-
century money and so a quadrigatus would be double that.
some 8,000 of his finest soldiers: Polybius’ figures total 5,700, of whom 4,000
were Gauls (3.117). L. obviously prefers a more optimistic source.
53 Publius Scipio, who was just a young man: this is not young Scipio’s first
appearance in the story (see 21.46) but it is even more romanticized than
the earlier one. The detail of the names does suggest that these tribunes
were indeed at Canusium and it may also be true that they chose Scipio,
now 20 years old, as unofficial leader; but the story looks very embroidered
beyond that. Incidentally, L. later gives young Metellus’ first name as
Marcus (24.18).
54 made them abandon Sicily and Sardinia: L. knows perfectly well (21.1) that
the peace of 241 did not require the Carthaginians to cede Sardinia, but he
often lets rhetoric have its head (cf. 21.40). The ‘tax-paying and tributary
status’ is likewise loaded language for the war-indemnity the Carthagin-
ians had had to pay over ten years.
57 charges of sexual misconduct: the Vestal Virgins, the only Roman priestesses,
were custodians of the sacred fire that guaranteed the existence of the city,
so loss of a Vestal’s virginity (or the quenching of the fire) sacrilegiously
imperilled Rome itself. Cf. 28.11.
an end to their great disasters: Fabius Pictor was later the first Roman
historian (see ch. 7 note). Sending embassies to consult the Delphic oracle
was an old custom; L. tells of one sent by Tarquin the Proud, last king of
Rome (1.56), and another in 398 (5.15–16).
the Books of Fate: the Sibylline oracles (see 21.62 note).
58 a struggle for honour and power, he told them: this statement is at odds with
the popular Roman view of Hannibal as hater and would-be destroyer of
Rome (cf. 21.43), but it sounds authentic, chiming as it does with the
implications of his agreement the following year with King Philip V of
648 notes to book twenty-three
Macedon (see note to 23.33). Hannibal’s effort to reach a settlement with
the Romans directly after his greatest victory itself fits this address to his
Roman captives. For the theme of honour and power, cf. 28.19 and note.
59 to ransom prisoners of war: ransoming prisoners was a standard feature of
warfare up to modern times. The ransom paid to the Gauls who captured
Rome in 390 is recorded with some embarrassment by L. and others––
some claimed that the recalled hero Camillus (ch. 3 note) had arrived in
the nick of time to cancel it. Tarentum, in 280, had called in King Pyrrhus
of Epirus to aid it in its war with Rome.
61 the following peoples defected to the Carthaginians: L.’s list, for impressive-
ness’ sake, covers all those who defected from 215 to 212, save of course
the Gaulsa who had gone over to Hannibal in 218 and, more oddly, the
Campanians of Capua, Hannibal’s most important gain. Their omission
(though condoned in Dorey’s edition of the text) is likely to be a later
copyist’s error. The Hirpini were one of the four Samnite cantons, along
with the Caudini, Caraceni, and Pentri. Nor did all of Bruttium and Luca-
nia join Hannibal. The notice given to the Uzentini is odd; Uzentum was a
little town in the Sallentine peninsula, the heel of Italy, and presumably
defected in 213 along with others even more obscure (L. 25.1). In late 213
and 212 so did Tarentum and Metapontum; Locri and Croton, like several
towns in nearby Bruttium, had gone over to Hannibal as early as 215.

BOOK TWENTY-THREE
1 a coastal city in his possession: holding a port would greatly ease Hannibal’s
communications with Carthage (and Spain), a need all the more important
as he was both the commander-in-chief of Carthage’s operations and the
leader of the governing group at home.
2 a rogue, but not totally unscrupulous: strangely for so powerful and estab-
lished a leader as L. makes Pacuvius out to be, he never reappears after his
city’s change of alliance, though apparently he was among the leaders put
to death after Capua surrendered to the Romans in 211 (see 26.27). He
may have lost dominance to Vibius Virrius (ch. 6 below), who was still
influential until Capua surrendered to the Romans in 211 (26.13–14). But
the entire Pacuvius story may be a highly worked-up account, focusing
exaggeratedly on only one out of several leaders (ch. 4 note).
3 ‘People of Capua’: the Latin actually says ‘Campanians’ or ‘People of
Campania’ (Campani). Capua was the chief city of the region of Campania,
around modern Naples, and often the term ‘Campanian’ is used specific-
ally of the Capuans (as it is by Livy throughout this section). Where the
reference is clearly to the people of Capua, I have used ‘Capuan’ rather
than ‘Campanian’ (translator’s note).
4 everybody deferred to him: Pacuvius’ saving of the Capuan senators seems a
very contrived story. To judge by it, Pacuvius had been the sole senator
trusted by the Capuans, with few or no other senators as his allies––a very
unlikely situation for a leading politician. It is worth noting how the
 notes to book twenty-three 649
account of Pacuvius’ intrigues and Capua’s defection could almost fall into
five sections like a play (chs. 2–3, 4–6, 7, 8–9, 10). Like some other epi-
sodes in L., for instance the memorable story of Lucretia’s rape (1.57–60)
and the tale of Sophoniba and Masinissa (30.12–15), it shows his strong
feeling for dramatic scenes––and, perhaps, his use of actual Roman histor-
ical plays (praetextae) for inspiration, as T. P. Wiseman has suggested for
other episodes.
5 disdain for him and his plight: this miserable performance by the defeated
Varro continues L.’s hostile portrayal from Book 22. It is hardly compat-
ible with the consul’s continuing efforts to pull together the remnants of
the army of Cannae, or his many responsible posts, by Senate appoint-
ment, in the years to come.
to feed on human flesh: a glancing allusion to an accusation that L. otherwise
ignores. Polybius (9.24) tells a story of one of Hannibal’s close friends, also
named Hannibal but nicknamed ‘the Gladiator’ (Monomachus), warning
him that the arduous march to Italy could succeed only if he accustomed
the troops to cannibalism; but, Polybius adds, Hannibal refused to act on
this. The story of Hannibal using a bridge of corpses to cross a torrential
stream is widely told in later writers (e.g. Appian, Hannibalica 28), but
L. alludes to it only via Varro, a clear sign that he does not believe it.
6 about recording it as a fact: L. reported the Latins’ demand of 338 bc in
8.4–6, and his refusal to believe it of the Capuans is sound. See also ch. 22.
‘In some sources’ (in quibusdam annalibus) very likely means L. found the
claim in later annalists like Quadrigarius and Antias.
7 asphyxiation in the searing heat: a very similar atrocity story in Cassius
Dio’s History (fragment 57.30) tells of Hannibal later treating the senators
of nearby Nuceria thus. Both may be invented, or the Capua event may
have been transferred by later writers to Nuceria, and Hannibal, as a piece
of propaganda.
Marius Blosius: sometimes spelt Blossius; for the family, see note to 27.3.
10 onto a ship and sent off to Carthage: L. does not indicate where on the coast
this usefully available ship was. Capua lay over 20 miles inland, and all the
ports were in Roman allies’ hands. Possibly there was a prearrangement
with Carthage for ships to approach the coasts from time to time: cf. note
to ch. 11.
Ptolemy in Alexandria: King Ptolemy IV Philopator (222–204 bc); Egypt
was on friendly terms with both warring powers.
11 the Bruttian and <. . .> communities: Dorey believes the name of an Italian
people has dropped out of the text at this point (translator’s note).
his brother’s exploits in Italy: how did Mago, in turn, find passage to Africa?
With the Italian and also the Sicilian coasts hostile, ancient ships needing
regular land-stops to resupply, and the Roman navy on patrol, it was quite
risky. Mago probably embarked from a Bruttian or Apulian shore, and on a
waiting Punic ship––another hint that Hannibal was keeping up contacts
650 notes to book twenty-three
with home. Compare the arrangements for Philip V’s envoys to Hannibal
(chs. 33–4).
12 Himilco: this may have been Maharbal’s father (cf. 21.12).
13 and a dictator: the text is corrupt at this point. Rather than ‘dictator’,
probably a Carthaginian officer’s name has been corrupted (‘Hannibal son
of Bomilcar’?––cf. ch. 49) as well as the amount of the silver. Probably a
line in an early manuscript was omitted by oversight. In ch. 32, L. has
Mago still at Carthage, and assembling now 13,500 troops, 20 elephants,
and 1,000 talents for Italy. This must be from a different source, so the
missing figure for silver here may not be ‘1,000’ as sometimes suggested.
14 in no sphere for which he was responsible: a somewhat backhanded compli-
ment for Varro.
to mount a horse: in archaic Rome the dictator led the infantry legion, and
the master of horse (his subordinate) the cavalry. It had become normal for
the dictator to seek this permission, as Fabius too had done (Plutarch,
Fabius 4).
were all for change: see note to 24.2 on such claims.
15 was sacked and put to the torch: cf. note to ch. 7 above.
500 denarii: the denarius was not introduced until later in the war; L.’s
source (or L.) may have used the term by mistake for quadrigati (on which
see 22.52 note) or victoriati. The victoriatus was a silver coin, struck early
in the war, worth half a quadrigatus; sometime around 215–213 it was
replaced by the denarius, with the same value but on a more reliable
standard.
16 possibly the greatest of that war: L. allows patriotic pride to sway him for a
moment, despite just having indicated that even 2,800 alleged Punic dead
was a clear exaggeration.
17 with a few Romans and Latin allies: L.’s phrasing is odd in relation to the
500 Praenestines, for Praeneste itself was a Latin town. He may mean that
the other Latin allies were much fewer and from various towns.
massacred the town’s population at night: not all, but probably those who
showed pro-Carthaginian sympathies. Some at least of the townspeople
were still there, holding out along with the garrison, the next spring
(ch. 19).
18 Isalca: the Gaetulians were nomad Berber people of southern Tunisia and
Algeria. This is their unit’s only mention; probably they were part of the
Numidian cavalry, for Isalca was a prefect (praefectus), a cavalry officer.
a column of elephants in their way: all of Hannibal’s elephants had now
perished save one (22.2) and reinforcements were yet to arrive (ch. 41
below), so this ‘column’ looks like a later writer’s fancy; possibly most
of the details of the assaults, too. Whether Hannibal really had all these
siege-machines is particularly questionable.
its former discipline: L.’s own account, not to mention those of other
 notes to book twenty-three 651
historians, gives the lie to this complacent but widespread claim. It may
have arisen from rancour more at the faithless Capuans than at the
invaders.
19 in the temple of Fortune: this temple at Praeneste (Palestrina), as rebuilt
around 80 bc, remains one of the most grandiose architectural structures
of the republican era.
22 all mention . . . was stifled: if so, one wonders how L. could have a record of
it. Yet the report in itself seems plausible––it may even have inspired the
less trustworthy story of the Latins in 338 demanding it (see note to ch. 6
above)––not to mention being eminently sensible. Fabius Pictor, a senator
himself, may well be L.’s direct or indirect source.
Marcus Fabius Buteo: probably the oldest living ex-consul (having been
consul in 245) as well as oldest ex-censor, and probably he had been the
leader of the war embassy to Carthage in 218 (21.18 note).
23 the civic crown: one of the highest Roman honours, a wreath of oak-leaves
awarded to a man who had saved a fellow citizen in battle.
26 the Tartesii: seemingly a Spanish people dwelling in the south-west of the
peninsula; their name recalls that of legendary Tartessus (Tarshish in
the Bible), famed for its precious metals, generally located in the Río
Tinto area. Some scholars suppose ‘Tartesii’ to be Roman historians’
mistake for Turdetani, but that was the general name for most of the
peoples of the broad and fertile Baetis valley (see note to 21.6). Greek
and Roman writers are all too often vague about Spanish names and
places: thus L. in the next paragraph is uninterested in, or ignorant
of, what ‘city’ the rebels were besieging. Ascua (ch. 27) must be one of the
towns called Oscua or Osca in the River Baetis (Guadalquivir) region in
Andalusia.
28 Hibera: probably Dertosa (modern Tortosa) near the mouth of the Ebro; in
imperial times it bore the extra titles ‘Hibera Iulia Ilercavonia’ as it was
chief town of the Ilercavonenses (cf. 22.21 note).
29 were placed on the right wing, however: possibly (but less likely), ‘Those on
the right wing, however, were not all Numidians; there were also those
whose practice etc.’ (so Jal, Budé edn. of Book 22, p. 49) (translator’s note).
sacked the enemy camp: from L.’s description, the stages of the battle of
Hibera look almost like Cannae’s. The difference was that, even though
the armies were equal in size and the Roman centre was surrounded by
Hasdrubal’s crack troops, these were beaten back, and his cavalry, soon
routed, could not repeat the envelopment by Hannibal’s cavalry which had
decided Cannae.
30 Petelia . . . in Bruttium: first mentioned in ch. 20.
Croton: the operations around Croton, Locri, and Rhegium are reported
more fully, and rather differently, in 24.1–3.
repeated three times: if some flaw occurred in these ritual games, the entire
activity had to be repeated, as the gods would accept nothing flawed.
652 notes to book twenty-three
31 Castra Claudiana: a large fortified encampment established by Marcellus
the previous year, on a westward spur of the Campanian mountains
roughly halfway between Capua (to the west) and Nola to its east.
to be replaced by Quintus Fabius Maximus: either an example of Roman
piety even in the midst of war and at the cost of a much-desired appoint-
ment (compare ch. 36); or, as many suspect, a cunning manipulation of
religious forms by the long-serving augur Fabius to his own advantage.
32 Porta Capena: the Capena gate in the south-eastern city wall, close to the
Circus Maximus.
Mago . . . sixty warships: see note to ch. 13 above.
33 a treaty of friendship with the Carthaginian: Polybius (7.9) quotes verbatim
the Greek version, drafted by Hannibal in the form of a sacred oath. The
contrast with L.’s summary is striking. Hannibal’s text says nothing of
Philip invading Italy, or of Italy and Rome becoming possessions of the
Carthaginians, or of Hannibal and his forces then joining Philip as allies in
Greece. In fact, it provides that, should the Romans in future make war
again on either signatory, the other will assist against them: a plain sign
that Hannibal expected the Roman state to survive and to act independ-
ently after the war. L. of course knew Polybius’ account––but has chosen
to follow a grotesquely inaccurate but patriotic rival version, no doubt
Roman (Fabius Pictor’s? a later annalist’s?).
34 Calvus: Latin version of his nickname, ‘the Bald’. Many Carthaginians had
nicknames, as the range of names among the political elite was narrow.
35 thirty-four military standards < . . .> were captured: reading capta sunt signa
(translator’s note).
36 not easy to obtain: a striking example of Roman (and not least Fabius’)
punctiliousness in religious observance even in such a crisis.
37 near Grumentum in Lucania: Longus was the consul of 218 defeated at the
Trebia. Hanno seems to be the one whom another writer (Appian) calls
Hannibal’s nephew and who had been the hero of the crossing of the
Rhône (21.27). As an independent general he was less brilliant.
Vercellium, Vescellium, and Sicilinum: these places, like the three taken later
by Fabius (ch. 39), were small; the correct name of the third was probably
Vicilinum.
40 the Pelliti-Sardinians: ‘skin-clad Sardinians’, the hardy population of the
mountainous interior.
42 the following address to the Carthaginian: the appeal of the Samnites to
Hannibal, and his rather testy reply, encapsulate the difficulties that the
Carthaginian leader faced despite his successes. His new Italian allies
expected him to protect them, resented having to provide him with
recruits, and found themselves being harried in his absence by the ever-
growing Roman military forces in central and southern Italy. If he tried to
protect all of them, he would fatally disperse his field forces; but if he
failed to help, he risked losing them.
 notes to book twenty-four 653
43 the Hirpini and Samnites: an odd expression, for both groups were
Samnites (Hirpini and Caudini).
reinforcements . . . and a number of elephants: these must be the forces voted
at Carthage (ch. 13).
46 fewer than a thousand: it is hard to treat this account of Marcellus’ battle at
Nola as accurate, consisting as it does of two sizeable speeches and only a
fuzzily brief battle account. It, and perhaps the alleged previous day’s
fight, may be annalistic exaggeration of skirmishing sorties by Marcellus’
men. But the 272 cavalry deserters from Hannibal look genuine, and
possibly too his loss of six elephants (see 26.5 note).
spolia opima: the arms and armour taken by a general from the opposing
general’s body after slaying him in personal combat; Marcellus himself
had won them against a Gallic king in northern Italy in 222. Here Vibellius
Taurea is speaking metaphorically, for neither he nor Claudius Asellus
held a command.
47 passed down as a country proverb: the sense of the proverb (in Latin: minime,
sis, cantherium in fossam) is obscure. It seems to mean ‘don’t put your nag
into a ditch’ (Taurea describing his warhorse ironically), as such a confined
spot would hamper a horse’s movements.
49 The scrupulousness with which the contracts were fulfilled: L. later tells a quite
different story about certain contractors (25.1, 3–4). Here he settles for the
patriotic picture.
the operations in Spain that summer were far more impressive than those in
Italy: again Livy’s use of annalistic sources makes these hard to follow.
The only Iliturgi known was in the far south, on the upper River Baetis,
whereas Intibili lay about 20 miles south of Dertosa. So ‘Iliturgi’ is prob-
ably an error for a nearby town, perhaps Dertosa Ilercavonia (cf. ch. 28
note). The same sources also seem to have turned one moderate Roman
victory into two shattering ones.

BOOK TWENTY-FOUR
1 the Carthaginian Hamilcar: though evidently a Carthaginian, he is men-
tioned only in this chapter. Why L. should take the trouble to term him a
Carthaginian (Poenus) is not obvious; so some editors of the text attach the
adjective to ‘his cavalry’. But one feels a need for some term explaining
Hamilcar; maybe L. termed him a ‘Carthaginian officer’ (Poenus praefectus)
and the noun got overlooked by a later copyist.
clear unanimity: in 23.30, L. wrote briefly that ‘the common people
[had] been betrayed by the aristocrats’ at Locri. This present account
must draw on a different source, and L. presumably overlooks his earlier
report.
and Locri Carthage: as with Capua, Hannibal bound himself to respect the
independence of the city. Continuing control of their port assured the
Locrians of its harbour-dues and returns from trade.
654 notes to book twenty-four
2 infected all the city-states of Italy: L. is still echoing his strongly opinion-
ated source (it seems unlikely this was Polybius, though his account of
these years is largely lost). The evidence for a sharp commons-vs.-
aristocrats divide is far from being so clear-cut. If L. himself is to be
believed, Capua was taken over to Hannibal’s side by a combination of
its leading aristocrat (who had ties to the Roman aristocracy: 23.2), aris-
tocratic allies of his like Vibius Virrius, and the ordinary people. At Arpi
in Apulia, which defected about the same time, the ordinary citizens
were able to convince the Romans, when they retook it in 213, that the
town’s treachery had been due to its own aristocrats (ch. 47 below).
Tarentum was to be betrayed to Hannibal in late 212 by a group of
young nobles (25.7–10). The Samnites who defected are not reported as
doing so against the wishes of their local notables either (cf. 23.1). In
Etruria later in the war, it was again to be aristocrats who came under
Roman suspicion (27.24, 29.36, 30.26). L.’s facile generalization has had
the serious further consequence of encouraging many admirers of Han-
nibal to judge him as promoting democracy in Italy, a quite inaccurate
notion.
Roman dominance was less than three generations old over much of
Italy, and even younger in the south. Discontent with its constraints and
demands was natural from time to time, and could be expected at more
than one level of society––especially when (after Cannae) it seemed to be
leading nowhere save to disaster and when a self-proclaimed rescuer was at
hand. (Etruscan cities, whatever their dissatisfactions, were much more
circumspect because Hannibal was elsewhere.) This was also a signal for
regional, and sometimes domestic, dissensions to break out: Trebii versus
Mopsii at Compsa (23.1), Pacuvius Calavius and friends versus Decius
Magius at Capua, the Bruttii thirsting for revenge––and loot––against
Greek cities like Croton, Locri, and Rhegium, and even against their
kinsmen of Petelia (23.20). But when it was all over and passions
had calmed, later writers––most of them aristocrats or with aristocratic
patrons––could easily slip into the comforting generalization that it had all
been the common people’s fault.
3 the temple of Juno Lacinia: this stood on Cape Lacinium, now Capo
Colonna (one column of the temple survives there). See also 28.46.
Dionysius, tyrant of Sicily: in reality of Syracuse, ruling 405–367 bc, but he
did extend his power over much of Sicily and parts of southern Italy. He
took Croton in 379.
4 Hieronymus: son of the deceased Gelo (23.30). He was about 14 on his
accession. L.’s narrative of Sicilian, and particularly Syracusan, affairs
down to the Roman siege is remarkably detailed––almost too much so for a
Roman history––and well balanced. Surviving extracts from Polybius
show that L. used him as almost his exclusive source for the events, to the
point of mere paraphrase at times, though typically he does add colour and
moralizing in places: for instance, a more hostile depiction of the young
king.
 notes to book twenty-four 655
6 a young nobleman, also called Hannibal: perhaps Hannibal’s close friend
Hannibal ‘the Gladiator’ (on whom see 23.5 note).
These two had been born in Carthage: L. thus interprets Polybius’ statement
(7.2) that Hippocrates and Epicydes ‘had lived as citizens among the
Carthaginians’ or ‘had adopted Carthage as their country’. Perhaps he
modifies Polybius from some other account, as often.
7 before help could be brought: Hieronymus reigned for thirteen months
(Polybius 7.7), so his assassination must date to 214, probably the summer
as campaigning was about to start. L. includes it under 215 to make a
single connected account of the reign.
the right to vote first: it was chosen by lot to be the praerogativa tribus; see
Glossary: ‘tribes’. Fabius’ intervention in these elections was altogether
extraordinary, consul though he was––and all the more so as Otacilius was
his own kinsman by marriage and was Marcellus’ half-brother (Plutarch,
Marcellus 2). L. tries to explain it favourably in ch. 9.
8 Flamen of Quirinus: later (29.11) Regillus is called Flamen of Mars; here, in
a speech composed by L., ‘Quirinus’ is probably a slip.
9 Marcellus for the third: Fabius’ re-election for 214 was the second irregular
consular election in as many years: see 23.30 for the first. Otacilius’
election to a second praetorship was plainly a consolation prize. Fabius’
criticism of his handling of the fleet makes it surprising that this was
entrusted to him once more––but Fabius had perhaps been disingenuous.
Maximus Rullus: actually Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus, a noted
ancestor of the Delayer and the first to bear the cognomen Maximus, five
times consul between 322 and 295. The event mentioned is the war of 295
which resulted in a great victory at Sentinum, at the cost of Decius’ life,
over a coalition of Gauls, Etruscans, and Samnites. Lucius Papirius Cursor
and Spurius Carvilius Maximus achieved great things as consuls together
for the second time in 272.
10 Vicus Insteius: a street running up the western side of the Quirinal hill.
11 eighteen legions: eighteen legions of Romans and allies would amount to
some 200,000 men; in fact the total was probably twenty legions (J.
Lazenby, Hannibal’s War: A Military History (Warminster, 1978), 100).
The fleets must have required another 45,000–50,000 as crews. For an
ancient state, even Rome, this was a gigantic military effort.
12 ostensibly to offer sacrifice: the deep and sulphurous crater-lake Avernus
(Lago d’Averno), west of Naples, was believed to have one of the entrances
to the underground world of the dead (most famously depicted in Virgil,
Aeneid 6).
13 than hope of taking the city: it is noteworthy how often Hannibal failed in
his efforts to capture cities and even small towns, even though supposedly
he had siege equipment (23.17, 18, 37).
16 a painting of that festive day: L. seems to be describing the scene of festiv-
ities shown in this painting. Hanno’s losses, however, must be seriously
656 notes to book twenty-four
exaggerated (something quite a few of L.’s sources were happy to do); he
was active in Lucania later (ch. 20), although like Gracchus he may well
have replenished his army with levies.
17 sent for the propraetor Pomponius: Pomponius was last reported as proprae-
tor in Cisalpine Gaul (ch. 10) and he would end the year there (ch. 44).
Probably another Pomponius is involved, perhaps as a legate, even if L.
and his source failed to realize this; several––all named Pomponius
Matho––were active in these years (22.35 note).
Battle . . . reprimand by the consul: whether this battle really happened, or is
a much exaggerated version of a brief Roman sortie, is hard to determine.
That Gaius Claudius Nero should be the officer supposedly sent out with
a picked force to work round the enemy army and then attack it unex-
pectedly, only to fail in his assignment, might look like a hostile writer’s
parody of his famously successful manœuvre at the battle of the River
Metaurus in 207 (27.48), but the point of so laboured an invention would
be hard to see.
18 More than 2,000 such names were found: if accurate, a remarkable example of
the administrative information available, through the periodic censuses, to
Roman officials in the third century bc, even if bureaucratic limitations
meant that still others were missed.
20 from the rock: a cliff on the south-west side of the Capitoline Hill, named
the Tarpeian Rock after a legendary traitress. (Soon after Rome’s founda-
tion, a girl named Tarpeia had betrayed the Capitoline, its citadel, to
enemies.) From it, traitors and murderers were thrown. The enemy
prisoners would be sold as slaves.
21 had secured the Island with armed guards: the Island (Ortygia) was the
original, and is the heart of the modern, city, with its citadel facing the
mainland; the mainland comprised the suburbs of Achradina, Tycha, and
Neapolis. The broad plateau beyond these was called Epipolae and was
surrounded by a long wall; the Hexapylon (‘six-door’) gate was halfway
along this wall’s northern face (cf. 25.24), it seems, at the northern end of
Viale Scala Greca, where the highway to Lentini slopes downhill out of the
modern city.
23 praetors: L. uses Roman titles, as he and other Latin writers often do for
foreign states. At Syracuse the title was ‘generals’ (strategi); the ‘quaestor’
would be the tamias, the finance magistrate.
24 not dishonourable in Greek society: at Rome the profession of actor was
legally of ill-repute (infamis) and subject to restrictions, even though some
actors attained high respectability.
26 they fell lifeless to the ground: L.’s vivid narrative of this frenzied slaughter
of former rulers, including womenfolk, has affinities with Polybius’ account
of a coup and similar massacres at Alexandria in 202 after the death of
Ptolemy IV (15.24a–36). Polybius is probably his source here, as he
certainly is for the account of the ensuing siege (P. 8.3–7).
 notes to book twenty-four 657
33 the Olympium, a temple of Jupiter: the ruined remnants of this temple stand
about 4 miles south-west of Syracuse.
34 Archimedes: a native Syracusan, he was now about 73 years old.
35 Himilco: either another Punic officer of this name, or just possibly
Hannibal’s subordinate of 23.30, now on a new and independent mission
(he is not heard of again in Italy). Heraclea Minoa lay more than 120 miles
west of Cape Pachynus.
to meet any eventuality: Marcellus had two, or perhaps three, legions
besieging Syracuse; he must have drawn off at least one, with some Italian
allied contingents, in his effort to save Agrigentum, but these were too few
against Himilco’s powerful army. They were more than a match, though,
for Hippocrates’ 10,500.
36 Panormus: modern Palermo (this legion was numbered ‘I’). It is hard to
account for the legion disembarking at the diagonally opposite end of
Sicily from its destination (the siege of Syracuse). An advance ‘through
the coastal areas’ to Pachynum is equally baffling, whether L. means it
went along the west and south coasts via Drepana, which was Roman-held,
then past the Punic-held cities of Heraclea and Agrigentum (a needlessly
risky route); or along the north-east and east coasts via Messana and
Tauromenium (a peculiarly roundabout route). ‘Panormus’ may be a
mistake for Phintias (Licata) on the south-east coast––for Himilco, already
outside Syracuse, tried to intercept the legion. He must have expected it to
be marching cross-country to join Marcellus, and not eastwards along the
coast.
39 an act . . . heinous, or necessary: L. seems to think both, but is clearly
embarrassed at the amorality of Pinarius’ action; cf. the following
paragraph.
40 war with King Philip also broke out: Philip’s operations suggest that he
meant to exploit the Romans’ preoccupation with Hannibal to establish his
own hegemony over Illyria and the Greek cities on the Adriatic east coast,
rather than any idea of joining in the war as such. He was completely
unprepared for the vigorous Roman response.
41 routed huge forces of the Spaniards: presumably the rebel Tartesii, last heard
of in 215 when they ‘did not long abide by the terms of surrender’; but no
details are given (23.27). According to L., the Scipio brothers’ response to
this Punic victory in 214 was an advance into south-east Spain. But that
almost certainly dates to 212. Were L. correct here, then the brothers’
successful advance was followed by two years (213 and 212) of inactivity––
as he asserts in 25.32––followed by a renewed southern push the year after.
Yet this renewed push he narrates under the year 212 itself. Much more
likely, L.’s chronology as well as his geography is confused. He or one of
his sources may have misdated these events through wrongly inferring that
the defeat of the Tartesii imperilled all the Roman alliances in southern
Spain and so forced the Scipios to come south. There cannot, in reality,
have been many (or any?) such alliances yet. L. optimistically depicted
658 notes to book twenty-four
much or most of the Spanish peoples as joining the Romans’ side in 215
(23.29), and earlier supposed that Gnaeus Scipio had advanced briefly
from the Ebro to the environs of Castulo in 217 (22.20 note), but none of
this is plausible. The years 214–213 are much likelier to have been the
inactive ones, followed by a drive south in 212 which L. has misdated to
this point. His and his source’s, or sources’, indistinct awareness of
Spanish geography has much to answer for.
41 Mt. Victory: these places seem to have lain in inland south-eastern Spain,
beyond the vast and wild mountain ranges north-west of Cartagena and
around the upper reaches of the River Baetis (Guadalquivir). L. mentions
that Hamilcar had perished there on campaign in winter 229–228, and this
is plausible (the problems with his present chronology do not affect it).
The river may have been the Segura, probably the one in which Hamilcar
was drowned.
Castulo: a wealthy silver-mining city close to modern Linares. The later
epic poet Silius Italicus (Punica 3.97–107) names Hannibal’s wife as Imilce
and claims she was descended from a king named Milichus. These are
Punic names, but ‘Imilce’ could reflect the Phoenician and Carthaginian
cultural influences that L. implies. Iliturgi(s) (Mengíbar) was on the River
Baetis 12 miles further south; Bigerra is not otherwise known.
42 Munda: the name must be incorrect, for the only Munda known lay inland
from Málaga; but, as it happens, an obscure town named Unda or Undi
stood near the upper Baetis (Pliny, Natural History 3.10). Here again L.’s
annalistic sources, seconded by L. himself, seem to have made an uncritical
guess about a place name which they did not recognize, just as some
sources happily expanded alleged enemy losses.
Auringis: possibly an annalist’s version of Aurgi (modern Jaén), as prob-
ably also is the Orongis of 28.3, for neither of L.’s place names is otherwise
known and Aurgi would be in the right area.
But the Spanish people: most translators here take the Latin gens to refer to
Hannibal’s family, but see Weissenborn–Müller’s note (translator’s note).
seven years in enemy hands: L. puts Saguntum’s restoration too in the year
214, but Saguntum had fallen five years before then, in 219. This is one of
the clues that the Scipio brothers’ campaign should in reality be dated to
212.
the Turdetani: more likely the Saguntines’ neighbours the Turitani; see
note to 21.6.
43 prevented from performing the ceremony: the lustrum, which was both a five-
year period from one censorship to the next (see Glossary: ‘censors’) and,
more precisely, the purification ceremony (lustrum) with which each pair of
censors closed their magistracy. This was a sacred procession, with ritual
implements, around the boundary of the city. It could not be held if one
censor had died in office.
45 he burned them alive: it is hard to see why Hannibal should have been so
 notes to book twenty-five 659
savage, unless it was to frighten other possible defectors; by contrast, it is
easy to see why Roman propagandists might want to plant on him another
atrocity story that could not be too readily checked (see 22.13 note).
47 was razed to the ground: fires were all too common in crowded cities, and
Rome was particularly vulnerable. The Salinae was a space (originally for
storing salt from Ostia’s salt-pans) beside the Tiber at the foot of the
Aventine Hill, and the Porta Carmentalis was near the river at the foot of
the Capitol. Near this, below the Capitol, was the Aequimaelium (a stretch
of open ground) and the Vicus Iugarius which linked the riverside to the
Forum. The temples of Fortuna and Mater Matuta stood on the Sant’
Omobono site close by. Beyond the gate lay the Campus Martius, then a
broad meadowland still barely encroached on by buildings.
48 to include Africa as well: this development more likely dates to 212, like the
events earlier discussed (ch. 41 note).
confined to horses: Numidia was a very large but thinly peopled region,
extending over the coasts and mountains between Carthage’s territories
and Mauretania about 800 miles westward. It thus covered much of
northern Algeria as well as north-western Tunisia. Its people formed a
number of fluctuating kingdoms and were famous for their cavalry skills.
Syphax was in the process of uniting them under one rule, which did not
please some of his fellow kings.
Gala: thus L., but his name (known from Numidian inscriptions in Punic)
was actually Gaia. The Maesuli, or Massyli, dwelt near the territories of
Carthage, Syphax’s people (Masaesuli/Massaesyli) further west.
49 seventeen years old: Masinissa died in 149 aged 90 or more (Polybius 37.10;
Livy, Epitome 48), so in 213 he should have been about 27. ‘Seventeen’ is,
all the same, L.’s intended figure, for he judges Masinissa’s leadership
qualities unusual for his age, and in Book 30, recording events a decade
later, L. still depicts him as youthfully ardent. A copying slip––‘XVII’
misread for ‘XXVII’––may have been in the text of L.’s source here,
assuming he was following a Latin author like Coelius.
Carthaginian legions: as often, L. uses a Roman technical term for a foreign
item (cf. ch. 23 for Syracusan ‘praetors’).
BOOK TWENTY-FIVE
1 went over to him: the Sallentine peninsula is the heel of Italy. The only city
known to have defected is Uzentum (part of L.’s list in 22.61).
superstition . . . permeated the citizen body: L. has already commented caus-
tically on this phenomenon (24.10), but now gives examples of it at some
length; there is more in chs. 12–13. Roman authorities, and the educated
elite, viewed unsupervised––especially ecstatic––religious practices with
deep misgivings. The strains of war, and later the widening contacts with
the Mediterranean world, encouraged a steady stream of new cults; L.
records an officially sanctioned example in 29.10 and 14, and for a famous
furore in 186 bc over a new religion see 39.8–20.
660 notes to book twenty-five
2 legal age to seek office: Scipio was born in 235 or maybe 236. There was
a convention that a man did not seek office until he had served ten
campaigns, starting from the age of 16 or 17.
with a single day’s repetition: see 23.30 note.
3 separate portfolios: this was the norm (one praetor for each), but the state
of the war required as many praetors as possible to serve as field
commanders.
twenty-three: the size of forces in the field was steadily growing; L. seems
to omit the two legions of slave volunteers again, which would make the
real number twenty-five––a total of at least 75,000 Roman citizens in
arms (and this only if many legions were under strength) and as many or
more Latins and Italian allies. There were 30,000–40,000 men (mostly
allies) in the fleets as well. With half of southern Italy on Hannibal’s
side, the pressure on the remaining Roman and allied manpower was
immense.
Pyrgi: a small seaport on the Etruscan coast, not far north of Rome.
They would put . . . than they really were: this revelation of some tax-
collectors’ skulduggery, and the support they received from other
collectors (ch. 4), comes as a surprise after the glowing words about
the scrupulous honesty of the tax companies in 23.49. It may well be that
L. had not yet come across this episode when he was researching for
Book 23.
4 Most simply went into exile: exile, by which a citizen lost his citizenship, was
the legal equivalent of capital punishment and was often resorted to by
offenders, but (as L. implies) it was hardly a satisfactory penalty for serious
crimes.
5 Publius Cornelius Calussa: pontifex maximus around 332 bc. Crassus proved
an outstanding pontifex maximus.
two triumviral boards were established: a triumviral board was simply a
board, or commission, of three men set up for a specific task. The term
was adopted by Mark Antony, Octavian, and Lepidus in 43 bc to cover
their dictatorial control of the state.
6 members of the Senate?: L.’s rhetorical bent leads him to direct nearly all
the rest of this speech, not to Marcellus, but to the Senate far away in
Rome. He is thinking, of course, of it being read out via Marcellus’ des-
patch to the house.
the Caudine Forks: in 321, a Roman army invading mountainous Samnium
had been bottled up in an enclosed plain and forced to capitulate (see Livy
9.1–11 for the story). On the Allia, see 22.50 note.
7 the fire of the previous year: see 24.47 and note.
Hall of Liberty: attached to the Temple of Liberty on the Aventine hill
(cf. 24.16). The rock shortly afterwards mentioned was the Tarpeian Rock
(see 24.20 note).
 notes to book twenty-five 661
9 fourth watch of the night: roughly between 3 and 6 a.m.
The Roman commander’s reaction: one Marcus Li vius (24.20, 26.39). At no
point in his account of the capture, though, does Livy mention this
incompetent’s name.
11 an earthwork was erected behind it: so Nicolet-Croizat suggests in the
Budé edition, rather than the alternative ‘inside it’. Nicolet-Croizat cites
Polybius’ description of the defence works (8.33.1–6) (translator’s note).
from Metapontum: these forces came by sea, as Polybius states (8.34); L.,
as often, follows his account closely though omitting some details and,
conversely, adding a few from other sources.
most . . . place it in this year: the capture of Tarentum is indeed best dated
to early 212, perhaps March or April; a less likely alternative is near the
end of 213.
12 the prophecies of Marcius: see note to ch. 1 above. Marcius, who evidently
lived before this time, was a famous soothsayer mentioned also by Cicero
(e.g. De divinatione 1.89, giving him a brother as well), Pliny the Elder
(Natural History 7.119), and Macrobius (Saturnalia 1.17).
the River Canna: no such river is known, but (as L. implies) believers
assumed the seer meant the Aufidus and the battle of Cannae.
the tumour: reading vomicam (translator’s note).
after the Greek manner: with the head uncovered (the only detail known).
13 from seeding their fields: in contrast to what was done in 215 (23.48). The
pressure was being increased on Capua.
had fallen by sortition: in ch. 3, L. stated that both consuls had been
assigned to the front against Hannibal; and he shows them now operating
jointly near Bovianum in Samnium, across the mountains from Capua. So
either L. changes to a different source here, or he thinks that the consuls
themselves now drew lots to decide who should move into Campania. The
latter seems rather likelier.
Hanno’s quaestor: another use of a Roman term; presumably Hanno’s
quartermaster.
14 Paelignian cohort: an allied unit from central Italy.
the first centurion of the principes: centurion of the first maniple of the
principes of a legion (see Glossary: ‘legion’).
15 Mago: not Hannibal’s brother, who was in Spain, but his good friend
Mago ‘the Samnite’ (cf. ch. 16 below; he is described by Polybius, 9.25).
to some ships on the shore: this recalls the similar escape, by the townfolks’
good graces, of Lucius Atilius from Locri in 215 (24.1).
17 met his end: the story of Gracchus’ death by the treachery of the outwardly
loyal Flavus is widely told (the post-Livian sources probably draw on L.)
and was also Polybius’ version as a fragment shows (P. 8.35.1). It may come
from a pro-Carthaginian writer like Silenus or Sosylus, who were with
Hannibal on campaign, for it includes the report of Hannibal’s full-scale
662 notes to book twenty-five
funeral for the fallen Roman leader. The less flattering account of how
Gracchus died (ch. 17) is still compatible with treachery.
18 strong ties of hospitality: on such ties, cf. 23.4 and 46. This Crispinus was
not the officer under Marcellus’ command in Sicily (24.39)––he was still
there (ch. 26 below)––but perhaps was his son. The officer in Sicily, who
became consul in 208, must be the older man. This hospitality-bond, as
often, probably bound the two families into a whole.
19 the initial cavalry attack: this fight is doubted by some scholars, but it
seems too inconsequential to have been worth some annalist’s inventing.
More likely a skirmish is all that occurred.
perished . . . by one means or other: another item often doubted, partly
because it seems strange for so substantial a force to have been entrusted to
a centurion, partly because the name Centenius was also that of the cavalry
officer whose force had been destroyed after Trasimene by Hannibal
(22.8). But some other such corps are heard of in southern Italy during the
war, e.g. Pomponius Veientanus’ (ch. 1 above) and another in 209 (27.12
and 17). None enjoyed much success. Hannibal may not have been led
astray by Appius Claudius as thoroughly as L. supposes: he took the
opportunity to annihilate Paenula.
21 not more than 2,000 got away: this first battle of Herdonea, too, is rejected
by some scholars as improbable or even invented. But it is hard to see why
Roman sources would invent a Roman disaster; and, if pro-Carthaginian
writers did so and were the only ones to tell of it, why L. would accept it––
or how such sources would know the details of the later successful pros-
ecution of the defeated praetor (26.2–3). All the same, the victory did
Hannibal little good.
22 written orders from the praetor Publius Cornelius: Cornelius must have been
transmitting an order from the Senate; as a praetor he could not himself
issue one to the consuls, who held superior imperium.
before 15 March: it was now the second half of the year, so this seems rather
a long interval of grace; but there is no basis for emending the text.
23 the Aetolians: on this powerful Greek state see note to 26.24.
Galeagra: at a small cove, now Santa Panágia, on the coast just north of,
and below, Epipolae not far from the Hexapylon gate.
Diana: in Greek she is Artemis; Livy gives the Roman equivalent.
24 Nassos: local form of Greek nesos, ‘island’ (its formal name was Ortygia).
Later L. seems to Latinize the word to ‘Nassus’.
He was reminded . . . ablaze and reduced to ashes: Marcellus was recalling
the great Athenian siege of Syracuse (415–413 bc), under two generals,
which had ended in the annihilation of the besiegers at sea and on land
(Thucydides, books 6–7). The tyrant Dionysius I had made Syracuse a
major power and so it had remained until the First Punic War. The motif
of generals weeping at the prospect of slaughter and destruction is recur-
rent: supposedly Xerxes did so when reviewing his expeditionary forces in
 notes to book twenty-five 663
480 (Herodotus 7.45–6) and Scipio Aemilianus, destroying Carthage in
146, wept at the thought that the same fate might befall Rome (Polybius
38.21–2).
25 interconnected house-walls: the Latin text is uncertain, but, as the army was
now at the walls around Neapolis and Tycha, perhaps it or part of it was
quartered in suburbs or buildings just outside.
27 had taken over <. . .>: at least two names are missing from the manu-
scripts. One such village was probably Dascon, on the shore of the Great
Harbour south of Syracuse; the other perhaps the little town of Bidis
(cf. Cicero, Against Verres II 2.53–60). The forces holding them are not
mentioned again, and probably fled after Syracuse fell.
a hundred and thirty warships and seven hundred freighters: this was the
largest fleet put to sea by Carthage during the war. Its miserable perform-
ance was typical of her naval effort in the conflict.
28 the Sicilian camp: this must mean the forces at the villages just outside
Syracuse (ch. 27).
freed from a high-handed tyranny <. . .>: there is another lacuna in the text
at this point.
30 the Arethusa fountain: this still rises in the southern sector of the Island
(Nassos). L. visualizes it in Achradina on the mainland––plainly he had
never visited Syracuse––but this must be a misunderstanding, and his
own narrative eventually sets the record straight. In myth, the nymph
Arethusa fled to Sicily to escape the amorous river-god Alpheus, and
was transformed into this fountain.
32 after leaving their winter quarters: L. records these Spanish events under
the year 212, but his account of the Scipio brothers’ earlier activities in the
south, supposedly in 214, is almost certainly misdated from 212 (see notes
to 24.41–2). In ch. 36 below he dates the brothers’ disaster, in this new
campaign, to ‘the eighth year’ since Gnaeus’ arrival (cf. ch. 38 also), thus to
211. It is likely that the Scipios had wintered in southern Spain after their
earlier campaign in 212 (as Appian states, naming Castulo as one of their
bases: Iberica 16). If so, it was the two years 214–213 that had seen ‘no
significant development’.
Amtorgis: an unknown name; perhaps an error for Iliturgi(s) (Mengíbar) on
the upper Baetis, or for another town, in Roman times called Iliturgicola,
known to have lain nearby. A Greek source, perhaps even Silenus or
Sosylus, may well have been one of those consulted by L. or by his own
source. The Greek letters for ILIT- could be miscopied as AMT- while
the form -urgi(s)/orgis was variable in renditions of Spanish place names.
33 Roman commanders will always have to be circumspect in this regard: this
piece of sententiousness from L.’s armchair he may really owe to Polybius;
the latter’s account of these events does not survive, but he regularly offers
helpful object lessons of this and many other kinds to readers.
34 with 7,500 Suessetani: Indibilis, former ruler of the Ilergetes in northern
664 notes to book twenty-five
Spain, is here reported leading a corps from their neighbours the
Suessetani; L. does not explain why.
36 twenty-ninth day after his brother’s death: this chronological item is plaus-
ible. The eighth year since Gnaeus’ arrival in 218 bc would be 211: see
notes to ch. 32 and to 24.41. If he and his army were crushed four weeks
after Publius (a chronology reiterated in 26.18), the events in ch. 35 cannot
have happened as swiftly as L. suggests in his narrative––the two Roman
armies must have been far apart, and the Carthaginians’ pursuit of Gnaeus
must have lasted several days, not just one or two. L. preserves the chrono-
logical data (which he may have found in Polybius or even Fabius Pictor)
while lavishing much more attention and empathy on the dramatic
features of the brothers’ catastrophes. Their error in dividing their forces
in the face of three Punic armies is ignored.
Gnaeus’ disaster can plausibly be located in the region around Castulo
(Linares); Publius’ somewhere to the west in Andalusia. With the disaster
Pliny the Elder associates a town Ilorci, which stood not far from the upper
Baetis (Natural History 3.9) and is probably identical with the ‘Ilurgia’
later punished for its treachery to survivors of Gnaeus’ army (28.19 and
note).
37 the town-garrisons: the first and only mention of these.
camp . . . north of the Ebro: L. fails to mention (or realize?) that, if this
camp is factual, the survivors of the two disasters must have retreated from
eastern Andalusia across hundreds of miles back to north-east Spain––a
remarkable achievement by them, and a no less remarkable indicator of
how sluggishly the Carthaginian generals handled their victory. L.’s
account of how the surviving Romans repelled the enemy’s attack is, at
best, heavily embroidered for patriotic effect (see note below).
39 two enemy camps were attacked: this story of the Roman survivors decisively
turning the tables on their foes must be plain invention, with some borrow-
ing from Scipio Africanus’ destruction––by night again––of two enemy
camps outside Utica in 203 (cf. 30.5–6).
Claudius: this translator-historian, mentioned also in 35.14, is not otherwise
known (he was not Claudius Quadrigarius); see note to 29.22.
who counterattacked from his camp: the Latin is unclear as to who actually
made the counterattack. It could possibly have been Marcius (counter-
attacking from the first camp when Hasdrubal appeared on scene)
(translator’s note).
Piso: as an annalistic historian writing about eighty years after the war, he
may have some better reliability if he recorded simply a victorious Roman
ambush, though his 5,000 enemy dead still look exaggerated. These
Roman claims presumably arose from the fact that the survivors did make
it back to the Ebro, and from Roman writers’ wish to palliate somehow the
extent of the Scipios’ disaster. But the Carthaginians’ sluggish follow-up
seriously limited the disaster’s benefit to them.
 notes to book twenty-six 665
40 things sacred and profane: L. bases his comments on similar (much longer)
reflections by Polybius (9.10). Polybius judges the transfer of art works to
Rome a political, rather than a moral, miscalculation. But Roman writers
and thinkers, at least as early as Cato the Censor, were gravely exercised
about their fellow citizens’ moral slide from primeval rugged virtue, a slide
so far gone by L.’s own day––so he declares in his ‘Preface’––that ‘we can
bear neither our vices nor the remedies for them’. Opinions varied over
when it began: another favoured date was 187 (booty from Asia Minor),
but the favourite was 146 (after the sack of Carthage). Significantly, in all
these cases the ensuing moral atrophy was ascribed to massive quantities of
corrupting war-booty. Admiring works of art was a particularly degenerate
habit (cf. the pained remarks of Sallust, Catiline 11).
of Libyphoenician nationality: Hippacra, later named Hippo Diarrhytus, is
modern Bizerte on the coast 40 miles north of Tunis. ‘Libyphoenicians’
were a mixed group in the North African population, through intermar-
riage between Carthaginians and native ‘Libyans’. It was highly unusual
for a non-Carthaginian officer to hold authority equal or superior to
Carthaginian commanders, and when it happened it could arouse jealousy.
Xanthippus the Spartan, whose generalship saved Carthage from the
invading Romans in 255, soon afterwards found it politic to depart
elsewhere.
41 6,000: a conjectural figure, as a numeral is missing from the manuscripts.
if he saw fit: see 26.16 note on this standard formula (si ei videretur or, at
times, si ita videretur).

BOOK TWENTY-SIX
1 refused to grant discharge: see 24.18, 25.5–7.
twenty-three Roman legions: L.’s breakdown involves only thirteen,
while modern calculations give a total of twenty-one rather than twenty-
three.
2 At the beginning of the year: L.’s year is 211, but the events concerning the
Spanish command really occurred in 210: see notes to 24.41–2, 25.32.
‘From the propraetor to the Senate’: a propraetor was, properly, an ex-
praetor whose imperium had been extended by the Senate after his year in
office expired (see Glossary: ‘magistrates’). The Senate’s almost too lively
sensitiveness to protocol is clearly illustrated; nor did it thank Marcius for
his outstanding services to the republic––contrast the thanks to Varro after
Cannae (22.61).
losing his army in Apulia: the technical term was perduellio, treachery in
time of war; L. uses it in ch. 3 (‘treason’).
4 light infantry amongst the legions: the light infantry (velites) already existed
(the ‘skirmishers’ of 21.55). Navius’ innovation was, it seems, to have
skirmishers mount up with cavalrymen as occasion demanded; L., no
military expert, slightly misunderstands this.
666 notes to book twenty-six
5 thirty-three elephants: Polybius, here extant (9.3), does not mention
elephants in Hannibal’s subsequent actions. This need not mean they were
invented by later writers; Polybius also ignores the presence of a much
more important figure, Fulvius Flaccus. Bomilcar had brought forty ele-
phants in 215 (23.13 and 41); six may afterwards have been lost (23.46 and
note). A seventh might have been lost, or incapacitated, by 211. L.’s
emphasis on Hannibal’s speed can be judged merely relative.
he took . . . Calatia: surprising, for this town, west of Capua, near modern
Maddaloni, had joined his side after Cannae (22.61). The manuscripts read
Galatiam, but no such place is known around Capua.
6 nothing like as momentous: Polybius (9.3) narrates Hannibal strenuously but
unsuccessfully assaulting the Romans’ outer siege-lines, much like L.’s
first version, but has no Capuan sortie or combat details. Appian
(Hannibalica 38) echoes Polybius in even vaguer terms, but later (Hann.
41) has elephants and Latin-speaking troops unsuccessfully attacking
Fulvius Flaccus’ camp during Hannibal’s return from the march on
Rome: a fairly typical Appianic muddle. L.’s details of the fighting look
broadly trustworthy, if exaggerated––especially the enemy’s casualty
counts, always optimistic in annalists.
then being a minor: or, possibly, ‘without a father’ (translator’s note).
8 a dispatch to the Senate in Rome: Polybius by contrast (9.5) has Hannibal
appear unexpectedly outside the city, causing general panic; this seems
improbable. Hannibal allowed up to ten days for his march (ch. 7) and,
even if L. is wrong about Flaccus’ despatch, communities along and
near Hannibal’s route must have sent word ahead, as Fregellae sup-
posedly did (ch. 9). Polybius’ account dramatizes the elements of
unexpectedness and coincidence (cf. next note); it need not be accepted
uncritically.
crossed the Volturnus with about 15,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry: whether
this is factual is much debated, for Polybius continues to ignore the exist-
ence of Fulvius Flaccus. As he tells it (9.6–7), the consuls just happened
to be enrolling two legions at this time, and they conducted the defence.
L. obviously prefers the more dramatic version of Flaccus marching
with might and main to save Rome, but it need not be pure fiction. Could
the Senate and consuls feel secure that recruits just coming in would
withstand Hannibal on their own? Besides, Flaccus surely sent word as
soon as he learned of Hannibal’s plan, or at least departure. He and Appius
Claudius may indeed have been ordered to detach a force to Rome if at all
possible. But it remains uncertain when this order reached them, and
whether Flaccus did then march all the way to Rome––or turn back en
route if, for instance, he learned of Hannibal’s retreat. If the latter, it was a
detail quickly lost in the various tellings.
9 to retard his progress: L. describes the route along the Via Latina, one of the
great highways between Rome and the south. Coelius reported a different
route (ch. 11 and note).
 notes to book twenty-six 667
on a par with that of the consuls: another carefully recorded example of
constitutional niceties. Ordinarily, a proconsul or propraetor forfeited his
imperium if he crossed the sacred boundary (pomerium) of the city.
10 Porta Esquilina and the Porta Collina: the Esquiline and Colline gates were
in the eastern and northern sectors, respectively, of the city wall. The areas
outside the wall on these sides were relatively open ground at this time,
though built over in later ages.
Clivus Publicius: a street crossing the Aventine Hill north-westwards and
coming down (clivus means ‘slope’) to the Forum Boarium, site of the
famous round temple, near the Tiber.
11 bright and tranquil weather: these thwarted battles must be suspect, but
the Roman troops did march out of the city and fortify a camp (Polybius
9.6–7).
According to Coelius . . . from the city: Coelius’ route is commonly accepted
by scholars, because Polybius writes of Hannibal marching ‘through
Samnium’ (9.5) and––although the communities mentioned by Coelius
were not Samnites––Polybius’ phrase would fit it better. Yet Coelius’ route
is astoundingly zigzag: first northward, skirting the Monte Matese massif,
next through the central Italian valleys almost up to the Gran Sasso moun-
tains, then westwards and finally southwards. Following this route,
Hannibal could have no hope either of achieving a surprise arrival or,
worse, of outdistancing possible reinforcements from Capua to the city.
A retreat that way, on the other hand, lessened the risk of the Romans
attempting to cut him off, or catching up with him.
12 the suddenness of his appearance: most of southern Italy was held by
Hannibal’s garrisons or allies, so an unexpected arrival outside Rhegium
(the one major place not so held) is easier to account for than one outside
Rome. Yet such a march will have taken weeks, for Rhegium (Reggio) lies
some 420 miles from Rome. Hannibal in effect consigned Capua to its fate,
as the letter from his officers there bitterly pointed out; we can accept its
authenticity.
13 razed to its foundations: Alba, the city in Latium traditionally founded by
Aeneas and ruled over by his descendants, fell fatally foul of the third king
of Rome, Tullus Hostilius, in the seventh century bc.
15 the chief magistrate: literally ‘the Sidicinian magistrate’ (magistratum
Sidicinum), the Sidicini being the people whose chief city was Teanum.
placed it unopened in the breast fold of his robe: Flaminius, who had similarly
ignored a Senate decree in 223 when recalled before a battle in north Italy,
was virulently attacked for it, a hostility L. plainly shares (21.63 and note).
Fulvius Flaccus, a successful hero, gets much milder treatment.
Taurea Vibellius, a Capuan citizen: the braggart cavalier last heard of in 215
(23.46–7).
16 if the proconsul sees fit: the standard formula used by the Senate in instruct-
ing magistrates and promagistrates (also in 22.33, 25.41, 29.24, 43.14, and
668 notes to book twenty-six
elsewhere). Fulvius treated the formula literally as giving him the decision,
whereas in practice it was meant simply as a courtesy.
laudable in every respect: L.’s detailed report of the punishment of Capua is
followed later by a second one, still more detailed and differing on various
items, which he dates to the following year 210 (chs. 33–4). Not all Capuan
citizens, for example, were in fact enslaved.
17 assigning troops to Gaius Nero: Gaius Claudius Nero, last heard of in
Campania the previous year (25.22). His activities more likely belong to
210, as the disaster to the Scipios should be dated to 211.
between the towns of Iliturgi and Mentisa: more annalistic confusion over
Spanish geography. Nero’s advance was southwards, whereas the Ausetani
dwelt near the Pyrenees and had no places called Iliturgis or Mentisa. Very
likely ‘Ausetani’ is a mistake for the Oretani, who dwelt between the Baetis
and Anas rivers, and whose towns included Mentisa (21.11 note). Ilitur-
gi(s) on the Baetis was not Oretanian, but here it could be a mistake for
Ilugo, north of Castulo, which was. If so, Nero must have marched far into
southern Spain to confront the Carthaginians. A nugget of truth may be
concealed––a flying raid into the south by Nero, perhaps via the restored
Saguntum.
the Punic trickery: this tale of Carthaginian cleverness outwitting Roman
ingenuousness is improbable at best, and at worst may be invented. Yet the
otherwise unknown name Black Rocks could be genuine; an inventor
would more likely use a name he and his readers already knew.
18 announced a date for that election: another unconventional measure, com-
parable to the people’s electing Fabius as dictator in 217 and Minucius
later as co-dictator. Its outcome, the election of a 24-year-old junior
senator to a major proconsular command, proved to be the turning point
of the Second Punic War. L. dramatizes suitably.
19 showcasing them: L. draws partly on Polybius (10.2–5) for this account,
but, as often, uses only some of his details while adding others, like
Scipio’s rumoured divine origin. Like Polybius, L. underlines both
Scipio’s charisma and the careful calculatedness that underlay it.
his adoption of the toga virilis: the adult toga was ceremonially put on when
a boy turned 16.
gave the state the confidence: it is hardly likely that one reason for people
choosing Scipio was a belief that his real father was a god. Polybius, who
knew the family personally, more prosaically writes of Scipio’s ability to
convince others that his plans were divinely inspired (10.2, 5, 9); and of
course he says nothing about divine parentage, a tale L. himself disdains. It
was in fact a very much later––first-century bc––addition to the Scipio
legend. Why does the sceptical L. bring it into his narrative? For literary
effect: it adds colour both to the picture of religious fervour which he has
more than once stressed (25.1 and 12) and also––even if he himself sees it
as spurious colour––to his introductory pen-portrait of one of Rome’s
greatest leaders.
 notes to book twenty-six 669
also derive from Phocaea: Phocaea, a Greek town in Asia Minor on the
Aegean Sea, had sent out colonists to the western Mediterranean centuries
earlier; Scipio’s route took in Massilia, as the escort of Massiliot ships
shows, and it was the most famous such colony.
20 The Carthaginians . . . wintering in the neighbourhood of Saguntum: here
there is a startling contrast with Polybius’ account (10.7). He locates
Hasdrubal son of Gisgo near the mouth of the River Tagus (i.e. by the
Atlantic Ocean); Mago in the far south-west of the peninsula; and
Hannibal’s brother Hasdrubal besieging ‘some city’ among the Carpetani,
i.e. in Castile. L.’s location for the first Hasdrubal is––very roughly––near
where Polybius puts Mago, but the other locations are irreconcilable.
Possibly ‘Saguntum’ in L. is an error by him, or a source, for Segontia
(a stronghold in central Spain): this would make his location for the other
Hasdrubal compatible with Polybius’. Possibly too, the other two Punic
armies moved around during winter trying to keep troops and animals
properly supplied, and L. may reflect locations found in a different source.
As often, when diverging from Polybius he does not indicate why he
prefers an alternative.
21 temple of Bellona: at the foot of the Capitoline hill, near the later Theatre
of Marcellus. Bellona was the goddess of war; her temple stood just out-
side the city boundary (pomerium), a convenient venue for meeting with
promagistrates, whose imperium would lapse within the pomerium.
a triumph on the Alban Mount: this could be celebrated, unofficially, by a
general who was denied, or not entitled to, a formal triumph in the city.
Murgentia: this town, also spelled Murgantia, lies inland at modern Serra
Orlando between Catania and Enna.
22 the voting enclosure: this area of the Campus Martius was termed ‘the
Sheepfold’ (Ovile), presumably a memory of the site’s original use; rebuilt
under Augustus as the Saepta Iulia (with the Pantheon alongside).
the one that voted first: this was the centuria praerogativa; see Glossary:
‘centuries’. Another result of Torquatus’ self-denial was that the hapless
T. Otacilius, formerly denied a consulship due to his kinsman Fabius the
Delayer’s intervention (24.7–9), was yet again thwarted.
slight and ineffectual: an illuminating outburst by L., revealing both his
sentimental admiration for the virtuous Rome of old and his conservative
temperament’s dissatisfaction at the disrespectful ways of modern youth.
23 Cincius Alimentus: praetor in 208, later a prisoner of Hannibal (cf. 21.38)
and historian of Rome.
Forum Subertanum: a little Etruscan town (modern Suvereto, inland from
Piombino?); cf. Pliny, Natural History 3.52. L.’s text may really mean ‘in
the forum of Subertum’.
the nine-day rite: showers of stones, and there were a lot of them in this war
(e.g. 21.62, 23.31, 27.37), called for this particular ritual.
oversight in placing the entrails: the Flamen of Jupiter (F. Dialis) was
670 notes to book twenty-six
attended by a large and varied roster of ritual requirements and con-
straints. The rite involving a sacrificial animal’s entrails was elaborate; to
get any of it wrong showed that the Flamen no longer enjoyed Jupiter’s
favour.
24 Marcus Valerius Laevinus . . . discuss the matter: the Aetolian League was a
federal state in north-west Greece, formed during the previous century.
The Aetolians were aggressive, enthusiastic for plunder, and often at odds
with their neighbours, especially Macedon to their north and the Achaean
League (Polybius’ homeland) in the Peloponnese. The Romans wanted
them as allies to counter Philip V’s alliance with Hannibal.
they were copied . . . to witness them: part of the Greek text of this treaty,
Rome’s first with a Greek state, survives in a damaged inscription. It
deals chiefly with how to treat cities that surrendered to the Romans and
Aetolians, and so corresponds roughly to L.’s third treaty-paragraph but
with several differences of detail. A fragmentary reference at its end to ‘the
peace’ may, in turn, correspond to the fourth paragraph. Possibly L.
includes items from Laevinus’ original understanding with the Aetolians
that were omitted from the final version; but his performance with better-
attested treaties (cf. 23.33 and note) may point to his using a garbled source
for this one. Polybius’ report of the treaty has not survived.
Nassus: Acarnanian Nassus should not be confused with the Nassos, or
Island, that formed the oldest part of the city of Syracuse (see 25.24 note).
25 Perseus: not Philip’s son (born in 212) who succeeded him as king in 179,
but a Macedonian general.
Thrace: this country covered roughly the area of modern Bulgaria; its
peoples were warlike and still largely untouched by Greek civilization. The
Maedi, in the middle and upper valley of the River Strymon (Struma),
were still giving trouble to Macedonia’s Roman rulers in 120 bc. Perhaps
the most serious difficulty for every Macedonian king was that he was
chief general as well as ruler, and virtually every military frontier claimed
his personal attention (often simultaneously).
27 the night preceding the Quinquatrus: 18 March, for this festival in honour of
Minerva was celebrated on the 19th (later it ran to several days).
the Quarries district . . . and the Royal Atrium: these sites and buildings were
in and around the northern part of the forum; for the bankers’ establish-
ments cf. ch. 11. The fire of 213 had been by the Tiber just to the west of
this (24.47).
destiny’s pledge of Roman imperial power: the Palladium, an immemorially
ancient sacred image of Pallas Athena, believed to have been brought from
Troy to Italy by Aeneas and then lodged at Rome as a guarantee of the
city’s integrity.
31 brought against me personally: reading ut si de meo (omitting Walsh’s
addition of <velut>) (translator’s note).
33 had long enjoyed: see 23.2 for examples.
 notes to book twenty-six 671
the Satrican case: in 319 Satricum, in the River Liris valley near modern
Frosinone, had been punished for defecting from its Roman alliance;
interestingly, L.’s account of this (9.16) does not mention Antistius’
intervention.
Sabatum: unknown but presumably another satellite town of Capua.
Our wish and command: cf. 21.17 for this formula, used in enactments of the
people. L.’s very detailed account here ignores his earlier report (ch. 16)
of the decisions supposedly made the year before. The simplest explan-
ation, though not the only one possible, is that he has uncritically drawn on
two sources: one dating the decisions to 211 and presenting them in the
harshest light (perhaps with the implacable consul of 211, Fulvius Flaccus,
in mind), the other recording them in 210 and offering a text of the
Senate’s decrees. The fuller details here may indicate they are reason-
ably trustworthy. A rather less likely explanation might be that these
decrees superseded a harsher set of decisions that Flaccus had previously
instigated.
34 individual Capuan households: the context implies this affected those of
high status.
beyond a certain date: this proviso seems not to have been rigorously enforced.
Some decades later, in 188, Capua and its satellite towns were restored to
citizen status (L. 38.28 and 36).
Veii, Sutrium, or Nepete: towns in southern Etruria not far from Rome.
35 came up for discussion: for an earlier expedient to fund naval crews, see
24.11. It had either been discontinued or now had to be supplemented
further. These new contributions were repaid in instalments between 204
and 202 (29.16).
picked on the common folk of Rome: not very plausible, even if good populist
rhetoric. The complainants owned or had owned slaves and silver- or
bronzeware; this suggests fairly sizeable property. Moreover, the damage
done by Hannibal outside Rome in a few days’ raiding cannot have been
total, and this was the only time an enemy army came within 100 miles of
the city.
36 bulla: a Roman child wore a leather or metal locket round the neck until
the age of manhood at 16, or, for girls, the age of marriage. It contained an
amulet with religious properties.
treasury officials: the triumviri mensarii, the special board created in 215
(23.21) to superintend the state’s war-finances.
39 Sybaris: this city had been destroyed by Croton in 510 bc, and in 443
Thurii had been founded nearby; L. or his source, maybe for sentimental
reasons, uses the old name for the newer.
to stow the rigging: ancient sea battles involved manœuvring the ships using
oars, so sailing tackle had to be taken down and stowed when a battle
loomed (cf. 21.49).
672 notes to book twenty-six
40 farming the land: Laevinus’ measures and the restoration of peace had
long-lasting beneficial effects on Sicily, which suffered no more disturb-
ances until the slave revolts of the 130s bc.
Agathyrna: a town on the north coast of Sicily, east of Cephaloedium
(modern Cefalù) and probably at or near Capo d’Orlando.
41 at the start of spring: L.’s time-indicators, even apart from the year, have
difficulties; see note to 27.7.
gave the following speech: Polybius (10.6) gives Scipio an oration of half a
page, which L. uses for parts of his own composition.
as free from grief <. . .>: there is a lacuna at this point; indeed the chief
Livian manuscript, the Puteanus, has a lacuna extending to the end of ch.
43. The text in between is preserved in some later manuscripts’ text of the
next book (27): they got it from a now-lost manuscript. At some earlier
stage, the section had been somehow transposed. Editors have restored it
to its correct position.
42 Gaius Laelius: Scipio’s closest friend and associate. Polybius became
friendly with him forty years later, and Laelius may have given him a copy
of the letter that Scipio wrote, around 190, to Philip V of Macedon detail-
ing the events (P. 10.9). The Roman fleet numbered 35 warships (P. 10.17)
plus a number of transports.
were completed in six days: L. relies extensively, though as usual not solely,
on Polybius, whose own account of the capture of New Carthage survives
(10.6–20). Both have the Romans reach New Carthage on the seventh day
(thus P. 10.9). But Scipio’s army would have had to march 50 miles a day
for all six days, a quite impossible speed, for from the mouth of the Ebro
the distance, even by modern roads, is about 290 miles (480 kilometres);
Polybius (3.39) makes it 2,600 Greek stadia, about 310 miles. L. reports
Scipio in 206 covering the same distance, in reverse, in ten days, hardly
more plausibly (28.33 note). Various problematic solutions have been
offered: that Polybius’ Greek text reads ‘seventh’ erroneously and he really
wrote ‘seventeenth’ (but this incurs manuscript objections); that the trans-
ports (ch. 41) carried the entire army (but this contradicts the sources’
statements); or that the six days were counted from a spot nearer to New
Carthage (but it is hard to see why).
the rise and fall of the tide: the lagoon lay on the northern––not western––
side of the city (it was drained in the eighteenth century). Polybius’ and
L.’s compass points are out by 90 degrees. On the supposed tide, see ch. 45
note.
43 from here Africa threatens the whole of Spain . . .: the lines that follow here
in the manuscripts are bracketed as spurious by most editors, but not by
Walsh. The translation follows his text in assuming that something has
dropped out after ‘the whole of Spain’ but that the rest of the speech is
genuine (translator’s note).
44 Mago: in his pre-battle speech, Scipio also told his men that Neptune, the
god of the sea, had given him the attack plan in a dream and promised him
 notes to book twenty-six 673
victory (P. 10.11). Mago the commandant of New Carthage (this is not
Hannibal’s brother) had hastily armed able-bodied citizens to supplement
his 1,000 soldiers, as L. mentions just below.
the Hill of Mercury: by the eastern wall of the city; today called Castillo de
los Moros. The Roman camp was on this side.
45 as the tide ebbed: Polybius (10.8) does not specify that Scipio’s fishermen
informants were from Tarraco, or that a tide caused the outflow; L. must
draw on another source for this. It is again instructive how he blends this
into a narrative largely based on Polybius. But both writers’ accounts are
full of difficulties: most crucial of all, the Mediterranean lacks tides (L.
seems unaware of this), so the daily rise and fall of the lagoon’s level––if
genuine––must have had another cause. L.’s mention of a ‘brisk north
wind’ may be that cause, for Polybius is inaccurate to insist (10.9) that
hardly any breezes blow over the city and harbour. Many other theories
have been put forward. A further question is why Mago had taken no steps
to hold that side of the city wall, when he must have known of the daily
recession of the lagoon, whatever its cause. A lesser issue is L. having the
phenomenon occur around midday, while Polybius (10.13) makes it late in
the day.
47 state property of the Roman people: these 2,000 craftsmen must have been
resident non-citizens of New Carthage, perhaps including some skilled
slaves. Capture made them Roman slaves; and instead of selling them off as
normal, Scipio declared them ‘state slaves’ and left them to carry on their
work, now for the Roman forces (see 27.17).
eighteen captured vessels: the manuscripts read ‘eight’ (octo) but Polybius
10.17 has the higher figure and a manuscript error is quite possible. The
statistics that follow may also come from Polybius (but cf. ch. 49), but his
account breaks off at this point to resume with the events that L. reaches
in ch. 49.
48 the marines: the forces of the naval allies, who were not Roman troops.
Polybius does not mention them, or the ensuing dispute over the mural
crown, at all.
‘mural crown’: a gold crown awarded to the first man to scale the wall of an
enemy city (P. 6.39). Polybius has Scipio promise it (10.11) but his surviv-
ing account does not include its award. The emotional outburst of soldiers
and marines over who should have it, if genuinely recorded, is testimony
to the stress they had all been under since the start of this immensely
hazardous expedition.
to both men: Digitius’ mural crown and Scipio’s lavish commendation of
Laelius might be read as attesting that the marines had taken the city’s sea-
wall, and scholars largely follow this view. Yet on both L.’s and Polybius’
showing, the fleet had played a minor role in the assault (ch. 44 ‘rather
than real pressure . . . just a chaotic scramble’; Polybius 10.12 restricts the
fleet to hurling missiles), and the heaviest fighting had been at the gate
facing the Roman land camp. This should be accepted. With no accurate
674 notes to book twenty-seven
time-pieces or synchronization available, it would be impossible to estab-
lish whether a marine was first on the sea-wall or a centurion first on the
lagoon-wall (on opposite sides of the city)––still more whether they were
simultaneous. More probably both were in Scipio’s picked 500-strong
force crossing the lagoon. Elite allied soldiers (extraordinarii) formed a
Roman general’s crack force (cf. 27.12 note); Digitius may well have been
one. Laelius’ commendation can be seen as reward for distracting the
defenders on the seaward side and a further diplomatic gesture to placate
the naval allies, as well (no doubt) as for being Scipio’s closest collaborator
(cf. 27.17).
49 3,724 in another: the modest total of 300 is Polybius’ (10.18); the inflated
one could be Valerius Antias’ since L. then notes other excessive Valerian
statistics and variant items. L.’s difficulties in sorting through his varied
and conflicting predecessors are vividly illustrated, though his rather
desperate solution, to take the mean between the extremes, is not to be
recommended.
the fabrication of historians!: or possibly, ‘so unbridled is his [i.e. Antias’]
fabrication’. Antias is elsewhere criticized by Livy for his inflation of
numbers (33.10: ‘Valerius, who is guilty of gross exaggeration of numbers
of all kinds’) (translator’s note).
50 well-merited eulogies of Scipio: L.’s dramatized, if rather stilted, account of
these tactful dealings by Scipio aim at bringing to life his nobility of
character and its impact on the Spaniards. L. develops Polybius’ matter-
of-fact reports (10.18–19) using direct ‘quotations’ and significant elabor-
ation: for instance, Polybius says nothing about returning the gold to
Allucius. Some of the additions must be taken from other sources (e.g.
Allucius’ name) but much no doubt arises from L.’s own imagination.
51 both physically and mentally: these commendable tasks, also highlighted by
Polybius (10.20), mark the beginning of Scipio’s remarkable training of his
forces in Spain to reach a level of skill and manœuvrability perhaps
unmatched in the ancient world.
BOOK TWENTY-SEVEN
1 would also have the same outcome: the battle of ‘first Herdonea’ is dis-
believed by many scholars, but not all; see note to 25.21.
2 with victory unclear: a later writer (Frontinus, Stratagems 2.2) claims
Hannibal defeated Marcellus; but even if Frontinus is right––which is not
guaranteed––it seems clear that Hannibal did then withdraw, in effect
conceding the field to Marcellus.
3 the Blossii brothers: Marius Blossius had been the pro-Carthaginian medix
tuticus of Capua in 216 (23.7) and probably paid for this with his property
and his life when the city capitulated in 211. The Blossii brothers may
have been his sons or nephews, and been among the 300 young aristocrats
who had joined the Romans in 216 (23.31) or the 112 who did so in 213
(24.47).
 notes to book twenty-seven 675
4 consuls for the coming year: another example of procedural punctilio; cf.
22.8, 23.36, 26.9, and further wrangles in chs. 5–6 below. A praetor, whose
imperium was inferior to the consuls’, could not conduct elections to the
consulship.
Ptolemy and Cleopatra: Ptolemy IV of Egypt (cf. 23.10) and his sister-wife
Arsinoe; why L. calls her ‘Cleopatra’ is not clear, but perhaps it is just a
mistake. Polybius (9.11a) records a Roman embassy to Egypt, between 215
and 211 or 210, on an urgent mission to procure grain; this hardly looks
like L.’s, but L. records no other Egypt-bound embassy, and his report,
deriving ultimately (it seems) from official records, looks preferable to the
fairly woolly––and perhaps rephrased––excerpt from Polybius.
5 made a citizen of Rome: ‘Marcus Valerius Mottones’ and his four sons, all
with Roman names, were later honoured at Delphi; the dedicatory inscrip-
tion survives. Muttines added his patron Laevinus’ personal and family
names to his own, the usual practice for enfranchised foreigners.
furtively away to Sicily: just what the sticking-point was in this procedural
merry-go-round is far from plain, or why Laevinus obstinately wished to
appoint his (not close) kinsman Messalla dictator for holding the elections.
If he favoured particular men (including himself ?) for the consulship of
209, and needed Messalla for success, there is no sign of it in our evidence.
6 as often as they wished: L. did not mention this enactment in his narrative
of 217, but there is no reason to doubt it.
7 At the end of this year: the year 210, by L.’s faulty chronology. Here there is
a further oddity, for why should it take Laelius so long, thirty-three days,
to reach Rome?
without actually doing anything: L.’s puzzlement goes back to his misdating
of the elder Scipios’ disasters to 212 instead of 211 (see 25.36 note). He
ignores a separate puzzle, as do most moderns: if Scipio took New
Carthage early in the year, why did neither he nor his Carthaginian
opponents do anything noteworthy for the rest of that year?
recalled by the Senate: yet in ch. 22 (see note) L. reports each having his
command extended in 208 for one more year.
8 turning into a good one: L. likes tales of moral regeneration––but this one
quickly turns into yet another item on legal and constitutional usages.
into Roman and Punic spheres of power: no such line existed; once the
Romans took over Sicily in 241, there was no Punic sector. ‘Roman and
Punic’ is either a careless slip of L.’s or a manuscript miscopy. ‘Greek and
Punic’ would make more sense, for Sicily had indeed once been partially
under Greek and partially under Punic rule.
9 in their meetings: L. does not say where these meetings were held. It is not
at all likely that the allies had formal gatherings without Roman envoys
being present, a step the Romans would have considered subversive. The
simplest explanation may be that Latin and allied delegates, sent to Rome
perhaps to discuss their grievances, or simply work out their next required
676 notes to book twenty-seven
quota of men and munitions, held discussions––discussions no doubt
informal and unobtrusive. L. shows that only some allies, Latins, dared to
act.
9 thirty colonies: loose phrasing again; L. means Latin colonies, not those of
Roman citizens (see Glossary: ‘colony’). Most of the twelve defaulters
were relatively close to Rome, while most of the rest lay further afield; the
‘inner’ group, paradoxically, may have been more provoked because it was
geographically easier for the authorities at Rome to call repeatedly on their
resources and manpower.
their senate: L. means the senate in each colony.
10 mobilized from the register: the register (formula) of reciprocal services
agreed upon by the colony and Rome, including a list of men of the colony
eligible for military service.
their meed of praise: most of these colonies were in or near war zones, and
so had a strong interest in keeping the war effort up to strength.
the five-per-cent tax: levied on the value of a slave set free by his or her
owner. The 4,000 pounds of gold would be equivalent to about 5 million
denarii.
11 formation of compound words: a touch of inverse snobbery. Latin, too, could
form complex compound words (especially in epic verse), but Greek ones
had greater cachet.
Senate leader: the honorary but highly prestigious position of princeps
senatus, who would always be called on first to speak.
their horses taken from them: ‘knights’ proper (equites Romani) were sup-
plied with horses by the state; other men of means who served in the
cavalry had to provide their own mounts, but informally could be called
equites Romani too. Why such ongoing punishment––if not mistreat-
ment––of the survivors of Cannae? Our sources offer no reason save a
rather self-satisfied glow about ancestral severity (cf. ch. 7 above; also 25.7;
Plutarch, Marcellus 13).
12 as noted above: 26.40 and note.
elite contingent of allies: these were called extraordinarii. A Roman consul or
proconsul in the field selected the best of the allied cavalry and infantry of
his army as a crack corps (Polybius 6.26); these troops were thus ‘outside
the [normal] ranking’ (extra ordinem).
13 barley-rations: that is, barley instead of the usual wheat for baking their
bread.
14 no bloodless victory, either: this victory retrieved from a defeat looks dubi-
ous, and later L. reports a tribune of the plebs blaming Marcellus for two
costly defeats (ch. 21), but in a partisan speech; and then Marcellus was
elected consul for 208. So this second combat, bloody on both sides, may
have occurred but on a smaller scale, later to be exaggerated by Roman
historians. Once again Hannibal left the area, as he had after Numistro
(ch. 2): if he could not inflict a disastrous defeat, he had to keep his forces
 notes to book twenty-seven 677
in being for a later try. But it looks as though Marcellus had worked out a
technique of sharp, indecisive, but draining clashes which, in effect, stead-
ily wore Hannibal’s army down––an attrition-war which the Romans
could sustain far better. Again, Hannibal’s withdrawal to Bruttium to save
Caulonia left the field clear to Fabius Maximus to attack Tarentum, just as
Fabius had designed (ch. 12).
15 Vulceii: this town was itself Lucanian, near Samnium and Campania, so
it is odd that L. mentions it separately. Moreover, other Lucani stayed
loyal to Hannibal (ch. 51). Possibly L. wrote, or should have written,
‘the Lucanian Vulceientes’ (i.e. not Lucani et Vulceientes, but Lucani
Vulceientes), to distinguish them from the famous Vulci in Etruria, whose
citizens were ‘Vulcientes’.
in that particular sector: that is, where Fabius had installed himself.
16 met him and killed him: Hannibal had left a modest Punic force at
Tarentum (25.11), while Carthalo may have been the officer mentioned in
217 and 216 (22.15, 58). His inherited link with Fabius’ family strikingly
illustrates social ties between upper-class Carthaginians and Romans even
amidst intense war.
left to their angry gods: i.e. the gods of Tarentum must have been angry
with its people to allow the city to be captured.
the birds: the sacred chickens (22.42 note).
a more intensive investigation: that is, under torture.
17 the start of the summer: in reality summer 208 (see ch. 7 note). But some lines
later, L. declares it the beginning of spring! Spring seems likelier if Scipio
was keen on an early battle. Edesco was, it seems, a local Sedetanian king
(see note to 28.24).
18 Baecula: near Castulo (Polybius 10.38) and usually identified with modern
Bailén, but not attested otherwise. For the ensuing battle L. again follows
Polybius closely. Scipio outnumbered Hasdrubal, though the gap usually
estimated (35,000–40,000 versus only 25,000) looks too wide.
took the light-armed troops: here L. diverges from Polybius, but implausibly.
Scipio in fact stayed with the legions who then climbed the hill to attack
Hasdrubal’s right flank––as L. gets round to mentioning near the end of this
chapter. Polybius (10.39) also explains that Hasdrubal was still drawing up
his main battle line when Scipio and Laelius fell on his flanks with the
main Roman forces.
19 fugitives from the battle: some of the Carthaginian army did get away in
good enough order to be reconstituted but, if 20,000 were killed or
captured, the fugitives must have been relatively few. Even if L.’s and
Polybius’ figures for the captives really include the slain as well, as is
sometimes (not very convincingly) suggested, Hasdrubal’s army was
effectively shattered.
‘general’: in Latin, imperator; the first recorded acclamation of a title volun-
tarily accorded to a victorious general by his troops. It was taken over by
678 notes to book twenty-seven
Augustus and his successors as the imperial title. The first Spaniard to
acclaim Scipio as ‘king’ was Edesco (cf. ch. 17), echoed by the irrepressible
Indibilis (Polybius 10.40).
19 a tunic with the broad stripe: the broad purple stripe (latus clavus) on a
garment was reserved for senators and their sons, and so was a gift that
flattered the recipient’s status.
20 might join forces with him: Scipio had feared this earlier (Polybius 10.38),
but in fact, as Polybius notes, this Hasdrubal’s antagonisms towards both
his colleagues kept them away (10.37). Even so, their ensuing inactivity
during Scipio’s consolidation of his victory is dumbfounding.
decree of the Carthaginian senate: passed seven years earlier (23.27–8),
unless more recently renewed.
to hire mercenary auxiliaries: but Mago next appears in Celtiberia, the
following year, hiring troops (28.1); perhaps L. changes to a different
source, or Mago’s mission was changed in the interval––due to
Mediterranean storms?
21 Sextus Julius Caesar: reportedly the first member of the family to bear the
third name ‘Caesar’ (Pliny, Natural History 7.47).
alive and in enemy hands: the reason for this objection, which L. fails to
explain, was that the son of a still-living father who had held a curule office
(curule aedileship, praetorship, or consulship) was barred from a plebeian,
i.e. non-curule, one. See also 30.19.
22 assigned the provinces . . . for a year: contrast ch. 7. L.’s source for this
statement perhaps mechanically assumed a yearly renewal, in contrast to
the source for the ch. 7 item.
eighty ships: contrast notes to 26.42 and 47; Scipio had 53 ships after taking
New Carthage.
25 Honos and Virtus: ‘Honour’ and ‘Courage’, qualities worshipped as
divine.
26 between the Carthaginian and Roman camps: these are the main armies’
camps, near Venusia in Apulia.
the rest from Etruria: the consuls’ escort seems to have been some of their
own bodyguard of extraordinarii (see 27.12 note). Polybius, extant again,
reports two cavalry squadrons and 30 light-armed troops with them
(10.32); so either the two squadrons were very unequal in numbers or L.’s
figures are faulty. The details of the combat are also divergent in the two
accounts, while later on Plutarch, Marcellus 29, draws on Livy, and Appian
(Hannibalica 50) has a brief and, typically, quite different version.
lacking its ‘head’: one of the organ’s lobes was defined as its ‘head’. For this
to be missing was a very bad sign from heaven. There is a similar ill-omen
in 30.2.
28 a letter . . . was brought from Hannibal: reading allatae for Walsh’s allati
(misprint?) (translator’s note).
 notes to book twenty-seven 679
the killing of his cavalrymen: see 26.38.
stones, stakes, and javelins: for stakes as weapons, cf. 23.37.
29 That same summer: these events in Greece really date to 209, the correct
year for the Nemean Games, celebrated in July near Argos (chs. 30, 31;
F. W. Walbank, A Historical Commentary on Polybius, 3 vols. (Oxford,
1957, 1967, 1979), 2.15).
the king of Asia, Attalus: in fact of the small kingdom of Pergamum in
western Asia Minor, which in 129 became the Roman province called
‘Asia’ (is L., then, drawing here from Coelius? He was writing later than
this). Attalus reigned from 241 to 197 and greatly built up his kingdom’s
power, especially in later years through an astute alliance with the Romans.
30 the council meeting . . . scheduled quite some time before: i.e. the council of the
Achaean League, as the previous paragraph shows.
31 promise of a royal marriage: Polycratia’s husband Aratus was son and
namesake of the famous statesman who had led the Achaean League from
245 until his death in 213.
33 with their own lives: a sound comment; the consuls had been eager to fight
(ch. 25) and, had this happened, Hannibal quite possibly would have won.
Such a victory, with Hasdrubal soon to start his own march from Spain to
Italy, might have revolutionized the war.
34 convicted of a crime: a fine in 218 for peculation of war booty (see 22.35 and
note). Livius, despite returning to the Senate, remained embittered and
acerbic, with a particular animus, L. says, against Claudius Nero who
supposedly had borne false witness against him (so we learn later, in
29.37).
was disallowed: it had been legally forbidden in the fourth century, though
there remained a strong convention that one consul should be a patrician
(see 23.31).
the white toga: candidates for office wore a brightly whitened toga (toga
candida; so they were candidati).
had been unseated: see 22.3 note; Camillus had been exiled––the story
went––because of the same kind of accusation levied against Livius.
35 drawing Gaul as his province: L. only later (ch. 38) shows that this province
fell to Livius.
36 smaller than . . . before the war: according to Polybius (2.24), the census
total in 225 was 273,000; similarly Livy, Epitome 20, for the census of 223.
But it is not certain that all citizens were registered who were serving in
the legions (21 under arms in 208, rising to 23 for 207), especially those
abroad.
37 the Armilustrum: an area on the Aventine Hill, close to the Tiber, where
every October a ceremony was held to purify the weapons of war.
the poet Livius: Livius Andronicus (284–204 bc), the earliest Roman poet.
Brought a captive to Rome when Tarentum surrendered in 272 at the end
680 notes to book twenty-seven
of Pyrrhus’ war, he adapted Greek tragedies and comedies into Latin (the
first was produced at the Ludi Romani in 240 bc), and a translation/
adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey. As L. then remarks, later ages thought his
works ‘tasteless and uncouth’ (and so L. refuses to quote anything from the
hymn); only a small number of quotations survive.
37 affecting only married women: Juno, like her counterpart Hera in Greek
myth and religion, was a goddess particularly associated with marriage and
women.
the Porta Carmentalis: close to the Tiber (see 24.47 note).
38 forces from Spain: almost certainly incorrect; Scipio could hardly afford to
detach forces from his theatre, nor do the alleged contingents appear in the
record of the Metaurus campaign.
39 a largely open thoroughfare: L. believes both that Hasdrubal followed
Hannibal’s route through the Alps and that the Arverni (in modern
Auvergne) welcomed him. L.’s grasp of Gallic geography, at this stage of
his History, seems nearly as vague as his grasp of Spain’s––unless
‘Arverni’ is an error for a more southerly people, e.g. the Volcae
Arecomisci by the Rhône or the tribe whose king Hannibal had appointed
(21.26, 31). His point about regular Carthaginian(?) communications via
the Alps is mistaken, too: Hannibal had had none. L. is further mistaken,
below, about a supposed attempt on Placentia by Hannibal in 218: the
general had tried and failed to take a nearby depot (21.57).
40 Tarentine territory: a plausible emendation for the manuscripts’ ‘Larinum’s
territory’ (that is, agri Tarentini for their agri Larinatis). Larinum is topo-
graphically impossible, for it lay over 150 miles north of the Sallentini.
They too are odd here, for such a move took Hannibal still further away
from the north. Attacking and capturing pro-Roman strongpoints in the
Sallentine peninsula would hardly help him to join forces with his brother.
Conceivably, Hannibal’s real hope was to take Brundisium, something he
had failed to do five years earlier (25.22); it would give him a major port for
contact with Carthage and even, perhaps, with Hasdrubal.
41 Grumentum in Lucania: this town lay about 90 miles due west of Tarentum,
in hilly country.
42 Losses . . . were around 500: at best, L.’s source or sources have magnified a
small clash into a big Roman victory. Hannibal, despite the supposed heavy
loss of life in his army, soon was able to slip away by a simple ruse. The
figures for enemy dead and captured are suspiciously out of proportion too
(but see next note).
went on to Canusium: Hannibal’s zigzag movements are a puzzle. It has
been suggested that some (like the one to Metapontum) are Roman inven-
tions; but the reason for such invention is hard to see and, in any case, he
certainly got no further north than Canusium in the end, wherever he had
been. He may well have lost a lot of men in the intermittent clashes,
for he spent time recruiting fresh troops. His activities suggest either
indecision––the last thing he could afford at this crucial stage––or such
 notes to book twenty-seven 681
unrelentingly close Roman attentions that his freedom of action was half-
paralysed. The tactics that Marcellus had, perhaps, worked out (see note
to ch. 14) were being used by his successors.
43 to meet him in Umbria: Hasdrubal’s dispatch cannot have been just deliber-
ate disinformation meant to fall into Roman hands, as sometimes sup-
posed, for it was the only message he sent south; nor do we know of any
message at all to him from Hannibal. The brothers had to make contact
somehow, and as no other missive is heard of, this one probably was
genuine.
45 vows . . . made on their behalf: in Greek and Roman religion a petitioner
always promised an offering to the god(s) in return for the granting of
the prayer. Once the prayer was granted the petitioner was obliged or
‘condemned’ (Latin damnatus) to make good on the promise.
46 The tablet had been circulated: the tessera, a wooden tablet bearing the orders
of the day, that was circulated through the maniples of the army.
at Sena: many scholars judge Livy, and all other ancient writers who
mention it, as wrong about Sena (today’s Senigallia) and locate the camps
11 miles further up the coast near Fanum (Fano) on the River Metaurus,
where the Via Flaminia to Rome began. This stems from the view that
Sena lay too far south if Hasdrubal expected to meet Hannibal in Umbria,
for he needed to swing inland along the Via Flaminia. But such a
reinterpretation makes it very hard to understand the ensuing movements
leading to the battle, especially Hasdrubal’s desire to cross the Metaurus––
on such a view, from its northern bank to its southern––which would lead
to him ultimately being cornered, in front by the legions at Narnia and in
Etruria, and in his rear by the pursuing consuls. In reality, from Sena too
he could also strike inland if he wished (Lazenby, Hannibal’s War, 183);
nor is it obvious that Hasdrubal meant to cross the Apennines to meet
Hannibal.
went forward immediately to their battle stations: this seems close to incred-
ible for an army that had just made a 250-mile forced march from Apulia.
The immediacy of the battle after Nero’s arrival may be exaggerated for
effect; on the other hand it cannot have been long delayed, for the very
reasons Nero is then reported as giving.
47 caused him some concern: thus Roman punctiliousness over protocol––and
perhaps the frosty relations between Livius and Nero––nearly cost them
their advantage. Fortunately for them, and maybe for Roman history,
Hasdrubal’s clumsiness as a general was more pronounced than ever.
swam across the River Metaurus: L., as often, is unclear about topography.
If the Carthaginians and Romans were encamped near Sena, their water-
supply came from the River Misa or, 4 miles further north, the Cesano.
The Metaurus lies another 7 miles further north again. Hasdrubal thus
had to ford at least one of these rivers, unmentioned by L., before reaching
the Metaurus.
682 notes to book twenty-eight
48 The Ligurians: not mentioned by Polybius in his surviving excerpt on the
battle (11.1–3). L. soon joins them to the Spaniards on Hasdrubal’s right;
and it seems likelier that there was no Punic centre, but only the Gallic
corps on the left and these troops on the right. Nor does the praetor
Porcius Licinus, in the supposed Roman centre, play any part.
49 the 8,000 mark: L.’s figures for the slain are dubious. Polybius has 2,000
dead on the Roman side, 10,000 on Hasdrubal’s (11.3). The 5,400
prisoners are more plausible, for they could be counted. According to
Ovid, the battle was fought on 22 June (Fasti 6.770).
50 in five days: an entirely impossible time-span for 250 miles (see note to ch.
46), least of all the day after a fierce battle. Supposedly they brought some
prisoners with them, too (ch. 51). A dose of Roman propaganda can be
diagnosed.
51 saw clearly the destiny of Carthage: Horace, in a splendid ode, celebrates
this event (Odes 4.4).
BOOK TWENTY-EIGHT
1 as serious as before: L.’s chronology is now correct, as he reported no
Spanish operations under 208.
our sea: the Mediterranean.
2 Baetica: the valley of the River Baetis (modern Guadalquivir) and sur-
rounding uplands and coasts; Augustus so renamed the southernmost
Spanish province, until then called Further Spain.
through the strait: of Gibraltar.
3 called Orongis by the barbarians: not otherwise known, and probably a
variant form of Aurgi, modern Jaén (24.42 note). The ‘Maesesses’ are
unknown; the word looks like an annalist’s or copyist’s error.
to secure the forum: i.e. the town’s marketplace.
4 on the fringes of Carthaginian territory: Utica, only 30 miles north of
Carthage, was a small independent ally with its own prosperous territory.
Its sparse ruins are now inland, because alluvial build-up from the River
Bagradas (Mejerda) has caused the Mediterranean to recede quite a
distance.
5 as noted above: see 27.33.
the Maedi: see 26.25 and note.
Gulf of the Aenianes: another name for the Malian Gulf, the narrow waters
with Thermopylae on their southern shore.
6 Demetrium in Phthiotis: on the mainland to the north; the fortress city of
Demetrias stood nearby.
7 to Elatia in Phocis: within 24 hours Philip and his troops cannot have
marched from Scotussa in Thessaly, have a fight with the Aetolians at
Thermopylae, pursue them westwards to Heraclea, and then push on to
Elatia. But from Heraclea to Elatia, first along the coast and then turning
 notes to book twenty-eight 683
inland, the road is about 25 miles, which is just possible in 24 hours and
which L.’s source (Polybius?) may really have meant.
Oreus: in the Latin at this point the town is actually called Oreum, but
elsewhere it is Oreus (translator’s note).
Philip left for Torone: thus the manuscripts, but Thronium is meant (a town
just east of Thermopylae). The real Torone was a northern Aegean town,
something L. perhaps did not realize.
9 comments from spectators: their lavish praise in L. for Claudius Nero,
and comparative downplaying of his fellow consul (despite him being a
Livius), may not be entirely unconnected with the eminence of the Claudii
Nerones in Augustan Rome––the emperor’s wife Livia and her sons,
including the future emperor Tiberius, all belonged to that family and L.
knew them well.
banter: in triumphs soldiers were allowed to sing rude, and sometimes
quite obscene, songs about their general (notorious examples in Suetonius,
Caesar 49, 51); the aim was to avert any divine wrath over the general’s
unusual glory.
10 dictator . . . master of horse: it was very unusual, if not unique, for a dictator
to be nominated to hold elections when both consuls were at Rome, and
equally striking that Nero should nominate his colleague who, supposedly,
disliked him intensely. The simplest explanation would be that it was an
effort to perpetuate a harmony brought about by their joint victory (more
complicated theories also exist).
Gaius Claudius: it is striking that the co-victor of the Metaurus did not
have his imperium extended, unlike his colleague Livius. He is not heard of
again until 204 (29.37).
11 temple of Vesta: on the importance of Vesta’s sacred fire, see note to 22.57.
to Sicilian agriculture than Italian: a reference to Valerius Laevinus’ success-
ful measures in Sicily some years before (26.40, 27.5). L.’s report is a
noteworthy though brief statement of agricultural conditions by 206 bc.
not only the men with the plunder but anyone carrying arms as well: reading
praedatores with Walsh. If we accept the variant praeda, as most editors do,
it would translate: ‘putting at risk not just the booty, but the soldiers, too’
(translator’s note).
12 than when things were going well for him: the first half of L.’s discussion of
Hannibal’s leadership is based on Polybius’ own admiring comments
(11.19); the second half, with interesting remarks about Hannibal’s
finances and logistics, presumably from a different source.
Augustus Caesar: having indirectly highlighted the eminence of the Claudii
Nerones (ch. 9 and note), L. now manages a complimentary mention of
the emperor. The north-west of Spain, the last unconquered region, was
subdued in a series of wars from 26 to 19 bc.
to the city of Silpia: Polybius gives 70,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry
(11.20), so L. is drawing on some other source for the figures he prefers.
684 notes to book twenty-eight
Scipio had some 50,000 men (ch. 13 and note), and his complicated
manœuvres at the ensuing battle imply that he was much outnumbered.
‘Silpia’ is an error, whether L.’s or a later copyist’s; but manuscripts of
Polybius too have an otherwise unattested name, Elinga (11.20). In Greek
letters this could be a copying mistake for the known name Ilipa; L.’s
‘Silpia’ in turn looks like a misreading of ‘Elinga’; and Ilipa is generally
accepted as the right name. There were several Ilipas in southern Spain:
the best-known lay upriver from Hispalis (Seville) and was later called
Ilipa Ilia. But an Ilipa near the river south of Castulo, much further east, is
another possibility: for Polybius, followed by L., almost certainly locates
the battle there, and there is some independent evidence for such a town.
13 Culchas: this ruler (Kolichas in Polybius) must have built up a lordship
somewhere in eastern Spain; but if his twenty-eight ‘cities’ could supply
only 3,500 men, the realm was of no great size.
45,000 men . . . infantry and cavalry: L. understates the numbers of the
Roman army if the manuscripts are correct. Polybius reports 45,000 infan-
try and about 3,000 cavalry; the latter figure may have been accidentally
left out of L.’s original text by a later copyist. Similarly, nearly all manu-
scripts omit the numeral ‘500’ just above, despite its being in Polybius.
14 looked like castles: at least some elephants had crenellated towers strapped
to their backs, from which marksmen could throw or shoot missiles (see
also L. 37.40; Pliny, Natural History 8.22, 27).
horses bridled and saddled: proper saddles had not yet been invented (though
they existed in imperial times); a cloth or cloths, strapped to the horse’s
back, served instead.
three cohorts of infantry: Polybius (11.23) writes ‘three maniples (this
grouping of infantry is called by Romans a cohort)’, using the respective
terms speirai and koortis; but L. misreads him. On the cohort in this
period, see 22.5 note.
advancing more slowly: Scipio’s tactics at Ilipa are hard to follow, and L.
does not help by heavily compressing Polybius (11.22–3). Scipio advanced
but then held back his centre, consisting of the Spanish allied units; and
put the Roman and Italian troops on his left and right wings through a
complicated sequence of manœuvres which brought them obliquely onto
the flanks of Hasdrubal’s corresponding wings. Despite Polybius’ detailed
account––or maybe because of it––just how the Roman wings manœuvred
is still debated. Even more worth asking is why Hasdrubal son of Gisgo
simply stood in position and allowed all this to be done in front of him,
instead of launching his own attack or attacks: for instance, against
Scipio’s complexly manœuvring wings––which at one point were march-
ing away from the Roman centre, leaving gaps and exposing their flanks to
the Carthaginians––or against Scipio’s relatively weak centre. But on all
the evidence Hasdrubal son of Gisgo was a hopeless general.
15 Attenes, chieftain of the Turdetani: ‘Turdetani’ was the general name for the
many peoples of the Baetis region, who at the local level were known by
 notes to book twenty-eight 685
their town names or regional names. Attenes must have been one of the
regional lords, and hitherto a vassal of the Carthaginians (as Culchas too
possibly had been).
two fortified towns were betrayed: if news of the battle reached them, and
their handover occurred, within a few hours of Scipio’s victory and before
Hasdrubal retreated, these towns must have been very close by. L. may be
compressing for dramatic effect. Unfortunately Polybius’ excerpt on the
battle breaks off with the torrential downpour.
16 had ships sent to him: since L. gives no place names here except Gades, the
geography of events is hard to clarify. If the battle was fought at Ilipa near
Hispalis, and the Carthaginians––when prevented from crossing the Baetis
southwards––‘veered towards the ocean’, they had to march due west
towards the Río Tinto district, over 60 miles away; for the coast country
north of Gades was (and is) a vast flat marshland, agreeable for nature-
walkers but lethal for a fleeing army. Besides, L. writes that the remnants
of the army camped on a high and barren––i.e. waterless––ridge not far
from the sea.
It would make more sense of his account, probably drawn mainly from
Polybius, if we infer that the Ilipa of the battle lay in eastern Baetica (see
ch. 12 note) and that the beaten army retreated for some days westward
down the Baetis valley until the Romans caught up with it. They then
cornered its last remnants on a dry ridge not far from the Baetis (a river
navigable far inland), at which point Hasdrubal and then Mago deserted
their men to escape by water. L. does make the retreat seem to last only a
day or two, but he similarly compressed into a seeming few days the
disastrous four-week retreat of Gnaeus Scipio in 211 (see 25.36 note).
took seventy days: if true, this causes difficulties. Much more happened
between the battle––notably, further military operations in various parts of
Spain, Scipio’s trip to Africa, a serious illness of his, and a dangerous
mutiny by some Roman troops (chs. 16–38)––and Scipio’s return to Rome
to seek the consulship for 205. This has caused some scholars to date Ilipa
to 207, not 206. The problem of 206 eases, but does not entirely disappear,
when we note that Polybius implies the battle was fought early in spring
(11.20). Scipio’s visit to Syphax cannot, in turn, have needed more than a
number of days; it took at most three days’ travel either way (ch. 18). It has
been suggested, too, that Scipio travelled not all the way back to Tarraco,
but to New Carthage, taking less than seventy days (if so, these would be
mistakes by L. or his source); and that the consular elections might have
been delayed at the end of the year to enable him to stand. Cf. next note
also.
the province with its army: ‘the fourteenth year’ would be 205, but L. here
contradicts ch. 10 (‘thirteenth’, and cf. ch. 38). The slip is perhaps due to
counting the war as starting with the attack on Saguntum in 219. By
contrast, the year 206 was indeed the fifth year from Scipio’s appointment,
which had occurred in 210 (though L. put it in 211: see notes to 24.41–2).
Rather than supposing that L. switches from one source for ‘fourteenth’
686 notes to book twenty-eight
to a separate one for ‘fifth’, we can infer faulty reckoning by the man
himself.
17 Masaesulians: a large, or at least very spread-out, Numidian people whose
western border was with Mauretania.
helped by a gentle breeze: this suggests summer weather, a useful indication.
The distance in a direct line is about 160 nautical miles. This smooth
outward trip should have taken less than the more difficult three-day
return journey that L. afterwards reports.
the harbour of Siga: ‘of Siga’ is added for clarity; it was Syphax’s capital,
now in western Algeria, a short distance inland.
19 Iliturgi and Castulo: the first town is named Ilurgeia in a brief Polybian
excerpt (11.24) and Ilurgia by Appian (Iberica 32); both fit Pliny the
Elder’s Ilorci (25.36 note), but L.’s presumably Roman source(s) found
‘Iliturgi(s)’ again irresistible. The place is best identified with Ilugo, about
30 miles north-east of Castulo, a town attested on inscriptions (Appian
writes of ‘Ilurgia’ and ‘Castax’ as the treacherous towns). Many scholars
identify it, instead, with either Lorquí or Lorca near Cartagena, because L.
has Scipio march from New Carthage to ‘Iliturgi’ in five days; but no
believable reconstruction of the disastrous campaign of 211 fits this, while
Lorquí and Lorca are too close to Cartagena. And for implausibly acceler-
ated marching-times, we need look no further than Scipio’s ‘six-day’
march to New Carthage in 209 (26.42 and note).
struggle for empire and glory: for this theme (here de imperio et gloria),
compare 22.58, where Hannibal after Cannae speaks of it as ‘a struggle for
honour and power’ (de dignitate atque imperio).
at no small risk to himself: according to Appian he was wounded on the
neck; but it was clearly a minor injury.
21 Ide: site unknown, but perhaps in the mountains north of Córdoba, for an
‘Idiensian’ is attested on a late Roman inscription found in that region.
The correction to ‘Ibes’ by most editors is not substantiated by evidence.
22 Cirtes: as a local name for the river, this is mentioned only here.
Astapa: inscriptions and Pliny (Natural History, 3.10) call it Ostippo; it is
modern Estepa on the plains about 45 miles south of Córdoba. It is not
clear how the Romans came to have allies in that district, as mentioned by
L. in this paragraph, but most probably some communities had joined the
plainly winning side after Ilipa and thus prompted reprisals from the still
pro-Carthaginian Astapans.
24 Lacetani . . . Suessetani and Sedetani: the Lacetani, rather misleadingly
termed ‘countrymen’ of the Ilergetan brothers (L. probably means neigh-
bours), dwelt between the Pyrenees and the Ilergetes of Ilerda, as did the
Suessetani. L. only afterwards mentions (chs. 27, 31, etc.) that Mandonius
and Indibilis had also stirred up their own people.
The Suessetani had once supplied troops to Indibilis (25.34) but––like
the two brothers––must have sided with the Romans after Baecula. The
 notes to book twenty-eight 687
Sedetani, in later times spelt Edetani, occupied country south of the
Ilergetes from the middle Ebro, including the later city of Caesaraugusta
(Saragossa), to the hinterland of Saguntum where their centre was
Liria (Llíria today). Edesco (27.17) may have been ruler of one or more
Sedetanian towns. If L.’s naming them is correct, the brothers were trying
to raise the whole of the east and north-east against the conquerors. What
had become of Edesco is not known.
Sucro: a town on the river of the same name, today the Júcar, which enters
the Mediterranean 25 miles south of Valencia. Livy describes its garrison
as protecting the tribes ‘on this side [i.e. north] of the Ebro’ (cis Hiberum),
but this is another geographical error; no Sucro is known in those parts.
L.’s account fairly closely follows what survives of Polybius’ (11.25–30),
but Scipio’s speech (chs. 27–9) is lengthier than, and largely independent
of, Polybius’ version (11.28–9).
Gaius Albius . . . and Gaius Atrius: the names are often doubted, as albus
means white and ater black (Scipio plays on the latter point in ch. 28). But
both do occur elsewhere; the Augustan poet Tibullus’ family name was
Albius, for instance. (In Australia in the 1980s–1990s, two successive
leaders of a national political party were named, respectively, Blunt and
Sharp.)
27 duly elected tribunes: i.e. military tribunes (see Glossary: ‘tribunes,
military’).
28 to garrison Rhegium: in 280 a legion of Campanian citizens was sent there
to protect the city against Pyrrhus, but seized control of it, expelled the
menfolk, and ruled there until 270, when a Roman army retook the place
and restored it to its citizens.
four thousand men: Polybius also tells this story (1.7) but gives a figure of
300 executed. ‘Four thousand’ merely generalizes from the theoretical
strength of a legion of the period.
kept Messana in Sicily: Samnites had taken Capua around 425 and became
Campanians; a body of Campanian mercenaries, serving in Sicily around
288, had taken over Messana, where they remained for ever (unlike their
imitators at Rhegium). In 264, by agreeing to help them against their
Sicilian enemies, the Romans managed to bring about the First Punic War
against Carthage.
the same powers: rhetorical licence, for Silanus took his orders from Scipio.
But both men held imperium, and in Scipio’s absence or death Silanus
could have taken charge. On his visit to Syphax Scipio had left him in
charge at New Carthage and Laelius at Tarraco (ch. 17).
29 Coriolanus: in the very early Roman republic, Gnaeus Marcius, an attract-
ive but arrogant patrician, won glory by capturing the nearby city of
Corioli (hence his honorific cognomen), but opposed the plebeians’
demands for social justice and was forced into exile, supposedly on false
charges. He offered his services to the Romans’ recent enemies and put
Rome itself under siege in 488, only to be shamed into retreating when his
688 notes to book twenty-eight
mother and wife came out to appeal to him in his camp. Shakespeare’s play
is based on Plutarch’s biography, not L.’s account in Book 2 of From the
Foundation of the City.
30 Carteia: L. counts the Atlantic as beginning immediately outside Gibral-
tar; Carteia stood near or at Algeciras. In 171 it became the first place
outside Italy to be granted the status of a Latin ally, after 4,000 illegitimate
sons of Roman troops in Spain sought recognition from the Senate and
were settled there.
the praetor Adherbal: one of Gades’ chief magistrates, it seems, though
later on L. uses their correct title ‘sufetes’ (ch. 37). Roman authors often
translated foreign institutions by supposed Roman equivalents (thus
‘Carthaginian legions’: 24.49 and note). Adherbal’s remaining colleagues
or successors themselves soon began to plan on delivering Gades to the
Romans (ch. 37).
31 the hopes with which they had come: or perhaps ‘the hopes with which he and
his men had come . . .’ (translator’s note).
32 an island surrounded by the Ocean: Gades stood on a small island just off the
Spanish coast, though silting-up has since joined it to the mainland.
33 reached the River Ebro: a few years earlier Scipio, reportedly but improb-
ably, had marched from this river to New Carthage in six days (26.42 note).
The present alleged ten days’ march, again taken from Polybius (11.32), is
also improbably fast––all the more so as L. has just had Scipio tell his men
that the campaign is not a crucial one. We may wonder whether Laelius in
old age exaggerated the speeds with which his friend and hero moved to
confront foes.
L. has reported the Spaniards crossing into Sedetanian territory (ch.
31), and this lay south of the Ebro (ch. 24 note); yet now he, like Polybius,
has Scipio crossing the river himself, thus to its northern side. The
simplest explanation would be that, at word of his advance, the Spaniards
had retired to Ilergetan territory––something neither Polybius in his
surviving excerpt (11.31–3) nor L. notes.
busy with their plunder: L. does not make it fully clear that these Spaniards
were only skirmishers from the main army (Polybius does rather better).
a front of four cohorts: on cohorts, see note to 22.5; here L. does echo
Polybius correctly. Four cohorts, all the same, amounted to little more than
1,400 men, a very small force to take on supposedly 20,000 Spanish
infantry. At some stage the rest of Scipio’s infantry must have joined in
(some 1,200 Roman and allied troops were killed, and 3,000 wounded:
ch. 34), but even Polybius fails to mention this.
34 With that Mandonius was sent off: the brothers were incorrigible; a year
later they were in arms again (29.1–3).
35 revived after his illness: Scipio was now 28 years old (see 26.18). Interest-
ingly, a gold signet ring of around 200 bc from Capua, and a later coin
struck at Canusium in Italy, bear the profile of a young man with hair to
 notes to book twenty-eight 689
the nape of the neck: portraits which have tentatively been identified as
young Scipio (H. H. Scullard, Scipio Africanus: Soldier and Politician
(London, 1970), 249–50, and plate 1).
36 the gate that faced the lagoon and the sea: L. seems to misunderstand his
source (and to forget his own account in 26.44–6), for the two bodies of
water were on opposite sides of the city. Mago may have been outside the
eastern gate, which Scipio had attacked in 209 and which could be
described as between both lagoon and sea; this would also allow the
defenders to pursue his men to the shore.
Cimbii: unknown, but plainly a haven on the Ocean. The mainland oppos-
ite Gades is called ‘the Curum coast’ by Pliny (Natural History 3.7),
perhaps a variant name for the place.
sufetes: see note to ch. 30. For ‘financial officer’ L. uses the Roman term
quaestor.
Pityusa: later called Ebusus (modern Ibiza due east of Valencia); in fact
there are two main islands (Ibiza and Formentera) plus islets, and they
were more often termed, in the plural, the Pityussae. The town of Ebusus
was an old Carthaginian colony.
two Balearic islands: Mallorca and Menorca.
took possession of the city: Port Mahón, the chief town of Menorca, was
called Mago in Roman times, reputedly because it was settled (or resettled)
by Mago, though no ancient writer seems to claim this.
38 under Publius Scipio’s command and authority: only Appian (Iberica 37)
records that Scipio also settled a number of convalescing Roman and
Italian veterans at a new town he named Italica––the first Roman city
outside Italy, though without official status until much later. Italica, just
north of Hispalis (Seville) at modern Santiponce, was the home town of
the emperors Trajan and Hadrian, who lavished attention on it.
Lucius Lentulus and Lucius Manlius Acidinus: Lentulus and Manlius
(praetors in 211 and 210 respectively) had been vested with special
imperium and sent out to relieve Scipio. L., usually so detailed in his record
of appointments, is surprisingly abrupt in announcing these. Yet the
appointment of Lentulus and Manlius must have been made some weeks
or months earlier, for they were plainly at hand to take over from Scipio.
This reveals that he had, for quite some time, been intending to leave
Spain.
as Gaul was then designated: L. means Cisalpine Gaul, i.e. northern Italy.
39 Turduli: L. called the Saguntines’ hostile neighbours ‘Turdetani’ earlier
(21.6) and refers to Turdetania a few lines below. But ‘Turduli’ is not
correct either. Various communities of Turduli dwelt in western Spain,
none in the east. On the neighbours’ likely name, Turitani, see 21.6 note.
discussion of . . . the distribution of provinces: L. is either careless or
has changed his source without checking back, for he reported this
distribution just above (ch. 38). The real issue, of course––as he goes on to
690 notes to book twenty-eight
clarify––was whether Scipio should invade Africa. Yet in giving him Sicily
without sortition, the Senate had virtually agreed to invade; there was no
point otherwise in sending the republic’s best general to an island at peace.
Raising the issue now looks like a last-ditch effort by the opponents of
invasion to scuttle it––and indeed L. makes Fabius more or less admit this
at the start of his speech. Fabius and his supporters certainly felt genuine
concern at the risks, and they would have been proved correct if Hannibal
had shown some of his old military energy. L., in turn, uses the well-
established literary device of contrasted speeches to offer his readers an
analysis of the pros and cons of the project. In this the two speeches are
brilliantly effective.
40 to me . . . if he is refused it, of course: this is ironically meant.
41 Publius Cornelius: in the Senate, senators were addressed by first and
family names only.
Drepana or Eryx: see 21.10 and 21.41.
cannot support two armies . . . in Italy and in Africa: Fabius exaggerates
rhetorically. In 205 there were still eighteen legions under arms––
including six in south Italy, four in Cisalpine Gaul, two in Sicily and four
in Spain––and sizeable fleets, accounting for 20,000–40,000 more men on
active service.
The normally prudent state of Athens . . . their own prosperous community
back home: a very potted version of the Athenian expedition to Sicily of
415–413 bc. The nobly born ‘young man’ must be Alcibiades, who had
instigated it but lasted only a few weeks as one of its generals before being
recalled.
42 fortune cutting both ways: Marcus Atilius Regulus’ initially successful inva-
sion of Punic Africa in 256 ended the following year in disaster, and he
himself was captured.
without the sanction of a senatorial decree: the visit to Syphax (ch. 17);
another example of constitutional punctilio, here used in a dig at Scipio. It
is a neat literary touch that L. makes Fabius grow more heated, and more
critical of Scipio personally––despite earlier compliments––as he nears the
end of his speech. Scipio then alludes to this at the start of his.
43 forty years ago: in fact, fifty.
the Spartan Xanthippus: unable to cope with Regulus themselves, the
Carthaginian generals allowed Xanthippus, a seasoned mercenary officer
who had recently joined them, to direct operations, with stunning success.
Agathocles, King of Syracuse: this resourceful and unscrupulous leader
(who in fact took the royal title only later) invaded Africa in 310 and, as
Scipio says, brought the Carthaginians to their knees––though Scipio does
not mention that he too was ultimately unsuccessful, abandoning his army
and his son in a hurried return to Sicily when the situation turned against
him in 307.
45 assigned as follows: this denouement is abrupt. The dispute in the Senate
 notes to book twenty-nine 691
has reached its height––then suddenly the Senate gives Scipio what he
wants. He must have used the day’s grace to good effect behind the scenes.
L. is more interested in the constitutional and procedural issues arising
from the dispute than in the dispute itself. More broadly still, what inter-
ests him is the emblematic opposition between young, charismatic vigour
and old, perhaps weary caution––rather than (for instance) who supported
Scipio’s position and who Fabius’, or what the relative strength of the two
sides in the debate was. Scipio’s abrupt victory suggests, despite L., that
he had a majority all along, partly perhaps because he promised to recruit
volunteers only and otherwise cut costs.
the means of each: what follows is a noteworthy, even though limited,
register of the economic capacities of Etruria’s communities at this time.
What munitions other parts of Italy contributed L. does not detail, or who
built the fleet (no doubt the naval allies like Naples and Paestum). His
source’s interest, or his own, lessens after the Etruscan entries.
46 Fossa Graeca: a channel near Cumae, dug in earlier centuries to drain
marshland in the coastal area.
captured Genua: and destroyed it, according to 30.1.
the Epanterii Montani: this and the other warlike Ligurian peoples dwelt
in the mountains between Genua (Genoa) and Massilia. The Ingauni, or
a section of them, are called Albingauni in 29.5 (see note there).
‘Alpine’ Savo is on the coast (modern Savona), at the foot of the
Maritime Alps.
Coelius claims . . . prisoners of war: it is preferable to believe Coelius against
Valerius Antias, not only on principle but because it is hard to see how
Mago, just arrived from the Balearic Islands, can have acquired Etruscan
booty. This, then, was another of the Carthaginians’ infrequent efforts to
send Hannibal supplies. That it consisted of foodstuffs (if Coelius’ claim is
correct) fits L.’s ensuing report of food-shortages in Hannibal’s army,
which recalls his statement (ch. 12) that the general could not obtain
enough for his army from the ravaged lands he still occupied. That the
effort failed is typical, in turn, of the Carthaginians’ feckless naval
performance throughout the war.
listed his achievements: on this famous, unfortunately lost, inscription, see
21.22 note. Hannibal set it up on a bronze column (Polybius 3.33, 56),
probably one of those around the altar area. For his knowledge of Greek,
see Nepos, Hannibal 13; Cassius Dio, fragment 54.
BOOK TWENTY-NINE
1 into ranks and centuries: this was the process of forming them into legions,
first by assigning men to the three ranks of hastati, principes, and triarii,
then distributing each rank into its ten centuriae.
to be superb: this measure of Scipio’s resembles one by the Spartan king
Agesilaus: during a campaign in Asia Minor in 396, he required each of
the local rich to supply a fully equipped horse and cavalryman, or be
692 notes to book twenty-nine
conscripted themselves (Xenophon, Hellenica 3.4). So the story has been
judged an annalist’s invention. Yet some details are different; and it is
better to judge the story as an annalist’s elaboration of a real act (Scipio
finding a way to equip his 300 without cost to the republic). It is also
possible, of course, that Scipio himself got the idea from reading
Xenophon (cf. ch. 19 on his interest in Greek books and culture at this
time).
1 contemplating the destruction of Carthage: rhetorical flourish. Nothing
suggests that Scipio or the Romans had this goal in mind, then or
later. Meanwhile, many if not most of the seasoned legionaries were the
long-suffering survivors of Cannae.
withdrawn a seasoned army: this is L.’s first mention of such a withdrawal,
but Scipio did send two legions back to Italy, leaving the new governors
with the remaining pair. These were hardly ‘a disorganized bunch of
recruits’, but Indibilis is of course trying to arouse support.
the Ausetani, and other peoples: the Ausetani dwelt near the Pyrenees, so
the other rebels were probably also neighbours––‘little-known’ tribes
according to L. (ch. 2).
2 a brisk cavalry charge: L.’s description of this battle bears some notable
(and, to some scholars, suspicious) resemblances to a later one in Italy; see
note on 30.18.
3 delivered up for punishment: the Latin term here for ‘punishment’
(supplicium) implies execution.
Hippo Regius: this town (Annaba/Bône in eastern Algeria) lay over 200
miles from Carthage, with difficult country in between, and over 300 miles
by sea from western Sicily; it was also in the territory of Masinissa’s people
the Maesuli or Massyli, not in Carthage’s. Though most modern histor-
ians accept L.’s report, it is likelier that he or his source has confused
Hippo Regius with Hippo Diarrhytus (also called Hippacra; today’s Biz-
erte), about 40 miles north of Carthage. Like Utica, raided in 207 (28.4),
this was a Phoenician sister-city and ally of Carthage; its nearness would
much better account for the panic there, including the belief that Scipio’s
invasion had begun.
Masinissa, who came to meet Laelius, thus had to ride through Cartha-
ginian territory from his refuge near the Emporia region (ch. 32). But if
Laelius’ landfall was Hippo Regius, then he would have had to ride a still
greater distance, and through lands patrolled by his victorious enemy
Syphax.
shifts loyalties with every prospect of gain: this is rhetorical, inaccurate, and
quite unfair to the native ‘Libyan’ population of Punic Africa, whom the
Carthaginians had ruled and conscripted for centuries. Hannibal’s, and
other generals’, best troops during the war were Africans (of course, once
recruited they had to be paid, though this often failed to happen). L. may
be drawing on an excited source––pro-Carthaginian or Roman––or
composing rhetoric of his own.
 notes to book twenty-nine 693
4 join up with Hannibal: Mago, like their brother Hasdrubal two years earlier,
had effectively thrown away any strategic advantage from his descent on
Italy by putting himself 700 miles away from Hannibal, with twelve fully
alerted Roman legions in between. Some thousands more troops sent his
way would make little difference to this losing equation.
5 Albingauni: for the Ingauni, see 28.46 and 30.19; this looks like a variant
name, taken from the town Album Ingaunum on the Ligurian coast.
6 The propraetor Quintus Pleminius: L. compresses for convenience; Pleminius
had not been a praetor but, as a legatus of the consul Scipio (ch. 8), he held
imperium equivalent to a praetor’s.
7 The tide turned in the straits: the regularly alternating south-to-north and
north-to-south currents in the Straits of Messina (which inspired the
myth of Scylla and Charybdis) are very strong. To reach Locri, Scipio
needed the north-to-south flow.
9 a hexeris: a ‘sixer’ warship, with groups of six men at the oars (a quinque-
reme or ‘fiver’ had groups of five), but how the oars and the grouping were
arranged is unknown.
10 from Pessinus: the goddess Cybele or Great Mother (Magna Mater), the
eastern deity of fertility, was worshipped at Pessinus, in central Asia
Minor, in the form of a sacred stone (ch. 11). She also had a noted shrine
on Mt. Ida, near Troy, and thus was of interest to the Romans, who
claimed Trojan descent via Aeneas. Once established at Rome, Cybele’s
rites were far more decorous than in her homeland, where orgiastic
dancing was practised, and self-castration by male enthusiasts (immor-
talized in Catullus’ remarkable Poem 63).
11 Aesculapius: worship of this Greek god of healing (in Greek, Asklepios)
had been brought to Rome in 293; his temple was on the Tiber island.
his tenure of the post: the point of electing someone already holding an
official commission elsewhere, who could not therefore exercise his new
functions, is hard to see. It is worth noting that Lucius Lentulus and his
brother Gnaeus (later consul in 201) were elected together. Perhaps it was
a step agreed on to enable Lucius to advance towards a consulship later, as
a reward for his services in Spain (he was consul in 199).
Marcus Atilius Regillus: earlier termed Flamen of Quirinus, probably in
error (24.8 and note).
12 abandoned by the Romans: a piece of welcome, if shortlived, candour. After
operations in 208 (28.5–8), the proconsul Sulpicius Galba had passed two
inactive years, leaving the Aetolians to cope with Philip V on their own. A
vigorous raid by the king into Aetolia in 207 (Polybius 11.7) broke their
resistance––something L. does not mention until 36.31! The Romans
nevertheless viewed the Aetolians’ peace with Macedon as a faithless act,
for the Aetolians had not insisted on Philip also making peace with Rome
as the treaty of 211 required (26.24).
the praetors: as usual, meaning the strategi of a Greek state.
694 notes to book twenty-nine
12 the people of Ilium: Ilium was the city on the site of Troy, its people
honoured by the Romans as kinfolk. All the states listed were ‘associated’
(adscripti) with the treaty, a form of international recognition. Some
scholars suspect that a number of the alleged ‘associates’ are Roman annal-
ists’ additions; but, that issue apart, this treaty’s details seem accurately
reported.
13 Marcus Livius: proconsul in Cisalpine Gaul, afterwards appears as censor
in this year (ch. 37), which may explain why one of the new praetors, Libo,
was also assigned Gaul as a sphere of duty.
that sphere of authority: L. writes eam provinciam; then in the next sentence
he uses the plural eas provincias for ‘these areas of responsibility’, no doubt
being aware that at this period Spain was technically one military theatre
but that, in 197, the Roman-held east and south were demarcated into two
formal provinces, Hither and Farther Spain (32.28).
14 Publius Scipio: cousin of the great Publius Scipio; perhaps to distinguish
between them, he acquired the nickname Nasica (‘Bignose’), afterwards
passed on to his descendants. He was to become consul in 191.
Claudia Quinta: other versions of the event (e.g. Suetonius, Tiberius 2) tell
a miraculous tale of how Claudia, suspected of adultery, proved her inno-
cence by drawing the goddess’s ship off a Tiber mudbank by herself. L. is
plainly unimpressed by this detail. A rival tradition, meanwhile, named the
chief matron as one Valeria.
12 April: thus the manuscripts (pridie idus Apriles, the day before the
Ides of April). But inscriptional evidence shows that the correct date was
4 April (pridie nonas Apriles, the day before the Nones). The festival was
named the Megalesia because the goddess’s temple at Pergamum, Attalus’
capital, was the Megalesium (‘Great Mother’ in Greek being Megale
Meter).
15 exemption from military service: since 209; see 27.9–10.
the register: see 27.10 note.
16 the financial contributions they had made: in 210 (see 26.36).
17 Anyone aware: reading qui sciat (Walsh reads nesciat) (translator’s note).
18 an inglorious and dishonourable end: in 272 Pyrrhus assaulted Argos, but in
confused street-fighting lost his helmet and was killed by a tile flung from a
rooftop.
19 to leave the temple: the Senate may have been meeting in the Curia, since
the Locrian envoys had approached the consuls in the Comitium outside
(ch. 16). The Curia was also a temple, in its strict sense of a consecrated
space.
20 rang true: according to Plutarch (Cato Maior 3), complaints about Scipio
were made by his own quaestor, the acerbic Marcus Porcius Cato (cf. ch.
25), later famous as Cato the Censor. L. does not mention this, but his
careful comment about criticisms implies that he found them in at least
 notes to book twenty-nine 695
one respectable source––possibly Cato’s own later history, the Origines, or
a work that drew on it. Polybius, incidentally, also knew Cato.
Marcus Pomponius: Scipio’s mother was a Pomponia, and this praetor was
Scipio’s cousin. Metellus’ choice was no doubt deliberate––and so was the
Senate’s acceptance of his proposals. Note too that the consuls then
selected Metellus himself as one of the senators to accompany Pomponius
(ch. 21).
21 Scipio had either . . . wrongs when they have been done: this is a reasonably
just verdict on Scipio’s less than admirable behaviour in the Pleminius
case, whether the Locrians themselves put it thus or L. does it for them.
22 Clodius Licinus: there were two historians named Clodius, one around
100 bc who may also be the translator Claudius (mentioned in 25.39), the
other named Clodius Licinus, who was contemporary with Livy and con-
sul in ad 4. The former may or may not have been a Licinus too. It is very
rare for L. to cite another historian so specifically, and he names Clodius
Licinus only here: this implies a particular alertness to his version, perhaps
because L. may only recently have read it. Which Clodius is meant, all the
same, is not clear.
the Tullianum: the death-prison at the foot of the Capitoline, not far from
the Curia (still accessible today). Scipio’s second consulship was in 194.
his province: i.e. Sicily.
23 Hasdrubal’s daughter: the beautiful Sophoniba (‘Safonba’al’ in Punic),
whose tragedy is famously told in 30.12–15. One Greek version of the
name is Saphonis, and as ‘Sophonisba’, a spelling in some fifteenth-
century manuscripts, she became a favourite heroine of seventeenth- and
eighteenth-century tragedy, including plays by Corneille, Voltaire, and
James Thomson. (The latter was responsible for the much-derided line
‘Oh! Sophonisba! Sophonisba! Oh!’)
24 if he were in agreement: standard polite formula (26.16 note); Scipio’s
authority outranked his cousin Pomponius’, so this was really a command.
25 the question is moot: L., working with a number of sources, is trying unsuc-
cessfully to make sense of all of them. Which, if any, of the three totals he
gives might be Polybius’ is unknown, as the latter’s account does not
survive. That each of the ‘Cannae legions’ had as many as 6,200 infantry
(ch. 24) has been doubted, but is conceivable given the importance of the
expedition, even though similarly sized legions are not heard of again until
the Third Macedonian War of 171–167. If so, their total of 13,000 Roman
infantry and cavalry would imply, in turn, at least as many Latin and
Italian troops and probably more. An army totalling around 30,000 men
made sense, especially as Scipio could not now be sure of strong Numidian
help. How L.’s various sources arrived at their varying totals can only be
guessed.
Cato: see ch. 20 note.
a course for Emporia: Emporia (to be distinguished from Emporiae in
north-east Spain) was the name for a fertile coastal district, later named
696 notes to book twenty-nine
Byzacena, south-east of Carthage and on the western shore of the Gulf of
Sirte. Whether Scipio really meant this as his destination, or used it as
disinformation, is debated.
26 had also made the crossing in the past: in 256 (Regulus and Manlius, invading
Africa with 330 warships) and again in 255 (Fulvius Nobilior and Aemilius
Paulus, with 350, to rescue what remained of the shattered invasion army).
27 the promontory of Mercury: Cape Bon, 90 miles west of Sicily. The island
of Aegimurus, Zembra today, lies near its western side.
The headland of the Beautiful One: in Latin, promunturium Pulchri, also
sometimes called the Promontory of Apollo. This cape, today’s Cap Farina
or Ras Sidi Ali el Mekki, is farther west than Cape Bon, with the Gulf of
Tunis lying between them (see also 30.10 and note). Carthage now lay
directly south of the fleet, whereas the route to Emporia lay on the other
side of the Cape Bon peninsula.
Coelius alone differs: a short quotation from ‘Coelius’ Book 6’, in a Roman
lexicon, reports an orderly landing somewhere by an army, and so some
view L.’s résumé as a falsification of his account. But the fourteen-word
quotation lacks a context and may refer to a different army’s landing: e.g.
Laelius’ earlier raid (cf. ch. 3) or Mago’s in Liguria (ch. 5).
28 the almost fifty years: in fact, fifty-two.
the leading man in the community: this Hasdrubal son of Gisgo was not a
relative of Hannibal’s family, so far as we know. But the disasters to
Carthage since 209 seem, not surprisingly, to have weakened that family’s
virtual monopoly of political power at home and enabled Hasdrubal, no
doubt with friends and supporters like the young cavalry captain Hanno
(ch. 29), to reach this pre-eminence. Nevertheless, his circle and that of
the Barcid family collaborated in defending their country (cf. 30.7).
29 Hanno, a young nobleman: a bigger cavalry defeat, again under a Hanno
who is killed with many of his men, is narrated in chs. 34–5. This
prompted some of L.’s sources (ch. 35), not to mention many scholars, to
infer that there was only one battle, which got a double mention. But that
is not convincing. The Carthaginians needed to reconnoitre the invasion
force as soon as they could, while Masinissa––who played a leading role in
the bigger battle––did not join Scipio right after the Romans landed.
Again, Hanno was the commonest male name at Carthage.
quite a prosperous town: L. unhelpfully fails to give the name, but the
likeliest town is Membrone, a small centre only 4–5 miles north of Utica.
A possible alternative is Uzalis (El Alia today), about 8 miles north.
Gala: actually Gaia (24.48 note). L. may well draw on Polybius for this
lengthy digression (chs. 29–33), as the Greek historian had conversed with
Masinissa when he visited Africa in the king’s old age (P. 9.25). No doubt
the exciting account of his adventures lost nothing in Masinissa’s telling
half a century later.
a daughter of Hannibal’s sister: another item of evidence that Hannibal had
older sisters. His vigorous lieutenant Hanno, son of Bomilcar, may have
 notes to book twenty-nine 697
been a nephew (21.27 note); and his father Hamilcar, to gain support from
a Numidian prince––perhaps another brother of Gaia’s––during the
‘Truceless War’ (21.1 note), had promised him a daughter as wife. But
neither L. nor any other source records the name of any of the sisters.
30 Baga: interestingly, a hundred years later the Mauretanian king was named
Bocchus, and in Julius Caesar’s time he was named Bogud––very likely,
variants of the same (royal?) name.
Thapsus: this cannot be the Punic town in Emporia where Caesar won a
Civil War victory in 46 bc. Here it looks like an annalist’s or a Livian
mistake for Tipasa or maybe Thagaste, both of them Numidian towns on
routes to the Masaesulii in the west.
31 a mountain called Bellus: unidentifiable, but it was near the sea as the next
paragraph shows, and near fertile Carthaginian territory too. Somewhere
in north-east Numidia is likely, not far from Thabraca (modern Tabarka);
there is plenty of mountainous country south of this, and in Roman times
even an inland town called Belalis.
their huts: huts of thatch and branches, easily portable by shepherds and
nomads.
32 Clupea: the only Clupea known is a city on Cape Bon, in the heart of
Carthage’s own territory, so this must be another annalistic misnomer. If
these events took place in eastern Numidia, the ‘large river’ that Masinissa
then crossed was the River Bagradas (Mejerda) or a tributary, and its
rushing torrent points to the season being spring (of 205).
on some hills: between Cirta (modern Constantine) and Hippo (i.e. Hippo
Regius/Annaba) stretches the range called Monts de Constantine. Cirta
was Syphax’s inland capital, on a formidable site almost surrounded by the
River Ampsaga’s deep ravines.
33 the Lesser Syrtis: the Gulf of Gabès, south of the Emporia region, 200
miles in a straight line from the Monts de Constantine (previous note)––
but much further by land, much of it across semi-desert or, nearer the
coast, real desert. Inland from the Gulf dwelt the desert people, the
Garamantes.
Large numbers . . . of an exile: a variant account, in later authors (Appian,
and Dio via Zonaras), has Masinissa patch up an agreement with Syphax
and Hasdrubal, and march with them against Scipio, only to change sides
then. If L. knows this version he plainly and rightly disbelieves it, as did
Polybius who, later on, also stresses the small force Masinissa brought to
Scipio (P. 21.21).
34 Hanno son of Hamilcar: not a brother of Hannibal’s; Hamilcar was one of
the handful of names frequently used by Carthaginian aristocrats.
Salaeca: unknown. Scholars usually site it west of Utica, but there is no
evidence of an ancient town at that distance. South-west of Utica, mean-
while, the area was a vast marshland; this rules out Salaeca being in that
direction, for Masinissa afterwards rode back from there, under pursuit,
698 notes to book twenty-nine
towards the Roman camp outside Utica––something hardly possible across
marshes. Salaeca may have lain close to the Lake of Bizerte to the north-
west: the distance would be right (15 Roman miles = 12 modern), and the
Carthaginians there could look for supplies from Hippo Diarrhytus at the
head of the lake.
34 the cover of some hills: Appian (Libyca 14) mentions a tower at the spot,
supposedly built by Agathocles during his invasion, 30 stades or about
3.5 miles from Utica. So the site has been identified with the range of
hills stretching south-west from Utica, where an ancient ruin stands in a
saddle between two of these hills (cf. 30.4 and note). Still, this would mean
Masinissa had to conduct a dangerous fighting retreat over 15 Roman
miles (see previous note) while Scipio waited comfortably for him outside
the Roman camp. Quite possibly, instead, the battle site was nearer to
Salaeca, wherever that lay.
35 Hanno taken prisoner: this is the version in Appian and Dio, who add that
Masinissa used him in an exchange to free his own mother, a captive of
Hasdrubal son of Gisgo. This pious detail may thus have been in Coelius
and Valerius too––which does not make it more believable. For L. to pass
over the opportunity to record such a commendable act strongly indicates
that Polybius did not mention it, and that L. was not convinced by those
who did.
50,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry: these seem fantastic numbers (despite
being from Polybius 14.1). Together Syphax’s and Hasdrubal’s armies
would have totalled 93,000 (not to mention the garrison in Utica), even if
Scipio may not have been too worried about Syphax’s Numidian infantry.
Scholars estimate that the two allies really had about 30,000 foot and
3,000–5,000 horse, but by contrast this estimate seems too low. For if
Hasdrubal and Syphax had numbers only just superior to Scipio’s 30,000
or so (see ch. 25 note), and many of them new and inexperienced troops at
that, they would hardly have moved so close to him. Roughly 50,000 is a
likelier total for the two men’s armies (cf. 30.6 note). All the same, the two
did not feel strong enough to launch an attack on the Roman camp.
a narrow spit of land: this is now a long and narrow ridge amid fields, with a
village called Kalaat el-Andaless at its northern end. On Utica, see 28.4
note.
36 led his army away to Croton: the Roman victory looks very exaggerated, for
Hannibal retired unmolested. L. records another supposed battle near
Croton in 203 (30.19), probably a doublet of this one. The temple to
Fortuna Primigenia was indeed dedicated (in 194: 34.53), but, as the
strategic situation remained the same after the supposed battle, a large
skirmish––favouring the Romans––seems more plausible.
a change of regime: the disaffection of Etruria seems overstated, too, though
the ongoing investigations by the consul show that the Romans were sus-
picious, and perhaps had reasons to be. Still, Etruscan communities were
not penalized after the war (contrast the fate of Capua and its associates);
 notes to book twenty-nine 699
we do not hear that they even received treatment like that meted out to the
recalcitrant twelve Latin colonies (ch. 15). Such punishments as did occur
must have been inflicted on individuals.
37 Marcus Livius and Gaius Claudius: these were the victors of the battle of
the Metaurus, elected censors for 204–203. L. seems both pained and
amused at their increasingly unseemly behaviour.
leader of the house: see 27.11 note on ‘Senate leader’.
mark of disgrace: in the census register the censors placed a mark (nota)
beside the name of a citizen whose conduct they judged disgraceful to the
community; they had very wide discretion over what acts qualified for this.
A senator thus marked out was thereby deprived of his membership of the
house.
a sixth of an as: presumably per Roman pound. Saltworks belonged to the
Roman state, but salt-collection was done by private contractors, who paid
a sum for their contract and then sought their profit by selling the product
itself to the public. By raising the price of those contracts applying outside
Rome, the censors increased revenues, while no doubt permitting the
contractors in turn to charge a higher retail price––a blow to consumers.
The tale L. then tells, of Livius’ resentment being the cause of the
increase, smacks of whimsical hindsight based on his cognomen Salinator
(‘salt-seller’): in reality he was not the first to bear this. Incidentally the
Maecia tribe, mentioned below as the only tribe in 219 not voting to
convict him, was one of the rural tribes hit by the new prices.
a public horse: citizens of means, if registered in the eighteen centuries of
cavalry, were granted a horse by the state for them to ride in war. In a
review of these centuries, each member had to present himself with his
horse for inspection; unsatisfactory cavalrymen could be made to sell their
mount. This spat seems (and plainly seemed at the time) ridiculous, but––
unlike the claimed motive for the increased salt-tax––there is little reason
to doubt it.
whim of the people: this unseemly affair appears to have been allowed to die
away, nor can the censors’ decisions about poll-tax payers have stood for
long.
38 of their own volition: Clampetia and Consentia are also reported submitting
voluntarily to the next consul in Bruttium (30.19). L. must be drawing on
two different sources, who gave the event in differing years with variant
details.
Pomponius Matho: not the praetor in Sicily; on the plurality of Pomponii
Mathones in these years, see 24.17 note.
he was very young: son of the Gracchus who was killed at the River Calor in
212 (25.15–16); he would marry Scipio’s daughter Cornelia and himself be
twice consul, in 177 and 163. Their sons were the reformers Tiberius and
Gaius Gracchus. Fabius Maximus, too, had been appointed to a priesthood
when fairly young, in 265: see 30.26.
700 notes to book thirty
BOOK THIRTY
1 Gnaeus Servilius and Gaius Servilius: the two consuls were not closely
related (if at all); Gnaeus Caepio was a patrician, Gaius Geminus a
plebeian. On Geminus, see 27.21.
a reputation as a soldier: a surprising claim, for Licinius had no military
successes to his credit, either as consul in 205 or proconsul in 204. L.’s
eulogy is unusually placed, for it embodies the sort of praises normally put
into obituaries. Licinius did not die until 183 (39.46), but L. seems
impatient to bring this character sketch into his account; perhaps he had
just unearthed it in his researches.
until the war in Africa was ended: yet later on L. reports further renewals in
202 (ch. 27) and 201 (ch. 41). He may be drawing on conflicting sources;
or else, quite possibly, other would-be conquerors’ efforts to take com-
mand in Africa––consuls in 203, 202, and 201 all tried to do this (chs. 24,
27, 40)––made it necessary to reconfirm Scipio’s commission each year
after all.
2 praetor the previous year: in fact the year before (205), then propraetor in
204 (29.13).
same condition as it was then: a standard formula. The games were not, in
the end, put on until 202 (ch. 27), so these consuls of 203 must have been
distracted.
the liver’s ‘head’ was missing: see 27.26 note.
3 had launched their ships: not out to sea, a rash act during winter; L. means
they had them in commission, as he clarifies at once.
the version of most of the sources: Polybius is one of these (we have his
account for these events: 14.1), and as usual L. is following him fairly
closely. Scipio’s position was in fact a difficult one, despite L.’s claim of
lavish supplies from abroad. The winter will have slowed, or even stopped,
these as well as immobilizing his relatively small fleet; two enemy armies
were confronting him; nor could he be sure that, when spring came,
Hannibal would stay on in Italy instead of returning––with his veterans––
to join the confrontation.
4 unreasonable conditions . . . deliberately added: this is later Roman obfusca-
tion. Polybius (14.2) reports Syphax successfully persuading Hasdrubal
and the Carthaginians to accept the terms that he and Scipio had agreed
on. He sees nothing wrong in Scipio’s ensuing withdrawal from talks, but
Romans obviously felt uncomfortable at this sharp dealing. The new
‘unreasonable conditions’ were thus invented, possibly quite early in the
tradition.
the hill . . . overlooking Utica: of the two hills usually identified as the area
of the battle of Agathocles’ Tower (29.34 and note), this is the closer to the
town. But L. has subtly modified Polybius’ order of events. Polybius
reports Scipio making these renewed moves at the start of spring––during
the negotiations with Syphax. L., unlike the Greek historian, is anxious
 notes to book thirty 701
not to ascribe any more duplicity to his Roman hero than he absolutely
must, so the moves are reported after the break-off of talks. But Polybius,
too, seeks to put Scipio in the clear in his own way (14.3): after the break-
off of talks, he writes, Syphax and Hasdrubal were eager to bring Scipio to
battle. This may, of course, be true.
5 around midnight: in Polybius (14.4), ‘towards the end of the third watch’,
roughly 3 a.m., but L. is not too fussy over such details. On the first watch,
see 21.27 note.
to douse the flames: it seems clear that neither Syphax’s troops nor
Hasdrubal’s had maintained proper vigilance, though sentries in the Punic
camp are mentioned (ch. 6). The lengthy negotiations had relaxed their
vigilance––hence Scipio’s urgency in launching his attacks as soon as the
talks were broken off (not a point L. labours).
6 From the many thousands of soldiers . . . died by the sword or in the fire: L.
may have drawn these figures from Polybius, whose excerpted account of
the events is incomplete. Polybius has the enemy generals escaping with
just a few cavalry (14.6), but reports that, a day later, Hasdrubal son of
Gisgo had 2,500 foot and horse at a town nearby; thus, as L. records (ch.
7), other escapees had rallied to him, and the same is implied for Syphax.
Of course if the two had really had Polybius’ earlier total of 93,000 men,
over half their armies must still have survived––but an original 50,000 is
much likelier (29.35 and note). Even if 40,000 dead is an optimistic Roman
exaggeration, the other numbers look plausible; and the 40,000 might
include survivors who failed to rally later and so were added to the tally of
men lost.
7 the closest city: only Appian gives it a name, Anda (Libyca 24), but––as
often with Appian––this is not known otherwise. Appian is quite capable
of confusing it with Abba, where Syphax rallied some troops (see note
below). Hasdrubal’s city may have been Uzalis, 8 miles north of Utica (if
this was not the town Scipio had captured earlier: 29.29 and note), Thizica
20 miles west, or Ad Gallinacium, the later Roman name for a village 10
miles to the south, across the River Bagradas. Just west of this last stood
Cigisa and (on the other side of the Bagradas) Ucres, two small towns
which might be termed ‘cities’, often an unrigorous term in ancient
authors. The Carthaginians’ consternation is all the more understandable
if Scipio was now operating within a couple of days’ march of their city.
Syphax . . . some eight miles away: Polybius names his halting-place Abba
(14.6) and terms it ‘nearby’; L. must get the measurement from another
source. The name is not known otherwise, but a town called Thubba lay 20
miles south-west of Utica, beyond the marshland, and this may––with a
little difficulty––count as ‘nearby’. L.’s numeral would then be wrong. (If
perhaps he had the distance rather underestimated as 18 Roman miles, a
numeral ‘XVIII’ could have been corrupted in manuscripts to ‘VIII’, for
the preceding word is ‘Syphax’.)
a city called Oppa: in some manuscript ‘Obba’, and so perhaps L.’s name
for Abba. But in contrast to L.’s account, Polybius (14.7) reports Syphax
702 notes to book thirty
himself meeting the new mercenaries near that town. A few other details
not in Polybius, like the Numidian peasants and the time-phrase ‘only days
later’, show that L. is combining Polybius’ version with someone else’s. An
Obba is known in the interior, some 120 miles south-west of Carthage, but
how and why mercenaries from Spain should end up there is hard to see.
7 only days later: Polybius specifies ‘in thirty days’ and L. can hardly imply
less time; even 30 days seems a very brief span in which to march inland,
gather up fresh forces, and equip them in more or less battle-worthy
fashion (Scipio had captured most of the earlier armies’ armament: ch. 6).
L.’s and Polybius’ figure of 30,000 has been questioned; but the Carthagin-
ians’ forces back on the coast must have been few, if Scipio could leave
behind only a small Roman force outside Utica, while the new area of
operations was close to Syphax’s kingdom. On the other hand, the 4,000
Celtiberians plainly were the most––and maybe the only––battle-hardened
unit. According to Polybius, it was given out that they were 10,000 strong.
8 ‘The Great Plains’: Syphax and Hasdrubal had moved 80 miles further
west, to broad plains around the River Bagradas near Bulla Regia, about
30 miles north-west of Thugga and between today’s Bou Salem and Jen-
douba. Polybius (14.8) records that the Romans reached the area ‘on the
fifth day’, which is feasible for an army in light array; L. may not fully
realize the distance involved. The risk Scipio was taking was immense: a
defeat so far inland would mean destruction on the scale of Regulus’
disaster in 255.
leaving the triarii in reserve: this was the normal battle formation of a
Roman army, including having the cavalry on either wing. Neither L. nor
Polybius is helpful enough to tell us where the enemy infantry units stood.
If they were with their cavalry comrades on either wing, Scipio was con-
fronting all of the enemy army except the Celtiberians with just his cavalry,
which would show how low he now rated the Africans’ fighting capacity.
All the same, since he used his second and third lines to surround the
Celtiberians during the battle (a detail Polybius gives: 14.8), he could have
brought those lines out, had need arisen, to back up the cavalry wings. A
few moderns infer that he actually did this; others think that his cavalry
had only the enemy horse to deal with, and place Hasdrubal’s and
Syphax’s infantry in the centre alongside the Celtiberians. Neither suppos-
ition matches what Polybius and L. report. The enemy generals’ hope
may have been to overpower Scipio’s cavalry with sheer numbers, then
surround the legionaries while these were held by the Celtiberians.
9 under Carthaginian control: the logic of the ensuing events shows that
Scipio now marched back towards the coast, no doubt down the populous
and wealthy Bagradas valley. The Carthaginians had not had time to
launch their attack on his fleet outside Utica before he reached Tynes.
Tynes: modern Tunis, which lies 11 miles (18 km.) from Carthage (L.’s
15 Roman miles and Polybius’ 120 stades are a little exaggerated). Rather
like New Carthage, it had the sea on one side (the Gulf of Tunis) and a
lagoon on the other.
 notes to book thirty 703
10 On reaching his destination: Utica and its environs lie 24 miles by road from
Tunis, a distance requiring at the very least a day’s forced march, though
in this emergency Scipio very probably rode ahead with an escort. Still,
the dilatoriness of the enemy fleet is striking, for the distance by sea was
about the same and yet Scipio, on reaching his fleet, had time for elaborate
countermeasures.
Rusucmon: next to the ‘headland of the Beautiful One’ (29.27 and note),
it was in early modern times the pirate stronghold of Porto Farina. It lay
15 miles across the gulf, north-east of Utica and Scipio’s beachhead.
harpagones: ‘grappling irons’, a Greek word (related to the name Harpies)
meaning ‘grabbers’; hence Molière’s choice of it for the title-character in
L’Avare.
the timely arrival of Scipio: a graphic illustration of the risks he took in his
African campaigns.
11 the Roman infantry: L. means the light-armed troops, for only afterwards
do the legionaries enter the fray.
12 Cirta: see note to 29.32.
with the infantry in easy stages: an interesting parallel to Maharbal’s advice
to Hannibal after Cannae––or maybe Trasimene (22.51 and note).
Sophoniba: first named here, though mentioned since 29.23. L.’s famous
account of her tragedy (chs. 12–15) again has a drama-like structure
and plenty of vivid confrontations: (i) the capture of Cirta, and Masinissa
meeting and falling in love with Sophoniba, (ii) their marriage and
Laelius’ reaction, (iii) the return to Scipio’s camp and Syphax’s interview
with the general, (iv) Scipio’s counsel to Masinissa and its effects, (v)
Sophoniba’s suicide. It is quite unlikely that such elaboration came from
Polybius, whose account of these events we lack: if L. has drawn on him
for the basic facts, he has worked them up very imaginatively, and may
have had one or more Roman historical plays (praetextae) to inspire him
(cf. 23.4 note).
absolute power over us: i.e. Sophoniba and Syphax.
the other cities of Numidia: the kingdom’s size, roughly equivalent to
northern Algeria, means that, despite L.’s generalization, the cities
directly subdued by Laelius and Masinissa must have been those between
Cirta and the Punic frontier as their forces made the return march to
Scipio’s camp at Utica. Masinissa still had much trouble, over the next
eighteen months or so, bringing Syphax’s territories properly under
control.
14 now belong to the Roman people as their spoils: this pronouncement may have
come as rather a shock to Masinissa. It is not at all likely that Scipio had
stated it in earlier times, when he needed the king’s help.
15 take it to Sophoniba: we are meant to understand that she had come with
Masinissa to the coast. Some later writers, like Appian, leave her in Cirta
and Masinissa has to return there with the poison.
704 notes to book thirty
16 enjoyed considerable respect: apparently an ‘inner’ council of senior
members of the Carthaginian senate (ex-sufetes?), but its formal func-
tions––if any––are not known.
the area of their origin: alluding to Carthage being a colony of Tyre in
Phoenicia, and to the practice, originally Persian, of proskynesis, self-
prostration before a ruler (equivalent to the kowtow in imperial China).
Polybius later censoriously mentions the same act (15.1), adding that the
envoys also kissed the Romans’ feet. In reality this, and possibly another
ambassadorial prostration after Zama (ch. 36), are the only such actions
ever recorded of Carthaginian envoys, and should not be supposed typic-
ally ‘Punic’. The impression the envoys obviously made with it was surely
intended.
supported his power: this is not evidence (though it is sometimes taken to be)
that the Carthaginian aristocracy as a whole had always been against
Hannibal. In the circumstances of 203 and with him far away, it was the
best the spokesmen could do. See also notes to chs. 20 and 22.
islands . . . between Italy and Africa: this must mean those besides Sicily,
Sardinia, and Corsica, which the Romans already held; the others would
include the Balearics and Ebusus (though these properly lie between Italy
and Spain).
little agreement on the amount: Polybius later (15.8) gives the 5,000 talents
figure, whereas 5,000 pounds of silver would be equivalent to little more
than 60 talents, a ridiculous amount unless L. is following a miscopied
text. (The late Roman writer Eutropius (3.21) has 500,000 pounds.)
they were now playing for time: this seems a fair comment, for Hannibal’s
recall had been voted (ch. 9) and was not now rescinded or amended.
Scipio was surely aware of this: his gamble was that Hannibal would be
held in Italy until the terms were ratified.
17 Many days before this: the talks between Scipio and the Carthaginians,
and the measures ensuing, must have taken two or three weeks at least,
allowing Laelius and his group plenty of time to reach Rome.
until the Carthaginian representatives arrived: if this item is correct, L. is
implicitly recording that word had already arrived from Africa that the
envoys were on their way; for Laelius had set out before the peace-terms
were agreed.
18 the land of the Insubrian Gauls: western Lombardy. Mago was last reported
destroying Genua on the coast (ch. 1), so he must have moved north over
the mountains, no doubt seeking to rally the Gauls in those parts.
turned to flight: L.’s account of this Roman victory over Mago has some
close resemblances to his account of the victory over Indibilis in Spain in
29.2. For (i) when either battle is in the balance, one of the two Roman
commanders calls on the other for ‘a brisk cavalry charge’ (procella eques-
tris, the same term each time) to decide it; (ii) each battle has a faltering
twelfth legion rescued by a thirteenth; (iii) each enemy leader is struck
down, causing his men to lose heart. Yet not all the details are similar, and
 notes to book thirty 705
it is not to be doubted that both battles occurred. The likelihood is that full
details were not available for one, so it was livened up by Livy (or one of
his sources) with items from the other. If so, the present battle is probably
the more accurate one, as it was fought in north Italy and against a brother
of Hannibal himself, and L. gives some precise names and figures includ-
ing quite heavy Roman losses. But a lead sling-bullet of 205 or so, found
recently in Andalusia, mentions a legio XIII: so not all the coincidences
should be judged fictions.
19 the Ligurian Ingauni: see 28.46, 29.5 and notes.
the Gallic Gulf: the Gulf of Genoa.
died from his wound: more fanciful accounts keep Mago alive, explaining his
absence from the Zama campaign either by denying he left Italy in 203
(Appian, Libyca 49, 54) or by claiming that he was promptly sent back
to Italy from Africa (so Dio’s abbreviator Zonaras); and Hannibal’s
biographer Nepos has Mago perish in 193 (Hannibal 8). In reality, Mago
left an officer, Hamilcar, behind to cause trouble for the Romans in
Cisalpine Gaul over the next several years and Dio probably confused him
with his chief. If a Mago related to Hannibal did perish in 193, it was
probably a more distant kinsman: one such––a cousin?––was mentioned in
23.41.
near the village of Tannetum: L. writes from memory. In his report of the
capture he gives the site as Mutina (21.25 and note); the Roman army that
marched to the rescue was ambushed near Tannetum.
still alive: see 27.21 and note.
Consentia . . . Clampetia: these communities were reported in 29.38 as
deserting Hannibal the year before. The supposed ‘pitched battle’ with
Hannibal that L. then mentions was also reported in 204 (29.36 and note);
if Valerius Antias was L.’s sole source this time round, the item can safely
be disregarded.
20 by bringing down Carthage: Hanno the Great (on whom see 21.3) is
reported by Appian as still alive at this time (Libyca 34); L. may imply it
too in ch. 42. But no one––not even L. apart from rhetorical flights like
this––claims that he had had any influence over Carthaginian affairs for
decades. L., in fact, admits the opposite all over again in ch. 42. If this
alleged exclamation of Hannibal’s is based on anything better than Roman
imagination, L. is probably utilizing later efforts by pro-Hannibalic
sources (like his friends Sosylus and Silenus) to shift blame for losing the
war from him onto a supposed hostile power-clique at Carthage. The same
effort, in reverse, was already being tried by the Carthaginians in 203: see
ch. 16.
ahead of time: it is quite a surprise to find Hannibal possessing a transport
fleet. Either it was sent from Carthage or (as L.’s words imply and Appian
(Hannibalica 58) affirms) he had it built locally.
foully murdered within the temple itself: this atrocity is asserted, in varied
versions, by many writers, claiming up to 20,000 victims. But the bulk of
706 notes to book thirty
the army Hannibal took with him must itself have consisted of Italians,
for not many of his original 26,000 (21.38 and note) can have survived.
This army of Italy was his most reliable division at Zama (ch. 34 note),
which makes it very unlikely that the general had previously massacred
thousands of their comrades (in a sacred place, at that). The origin of the
tale may be the 3,000 horses slaughtered because they could not be taken
along (Diodorus 27.9); conceivably, too, a number of mutinous Italian
troops were executed for refusing to leave Italy.
21 ordered to do so by the Senate: an item L. mentions almost casually, yet a
very significant one. The Senate had realized (and so had Scipio: ch. 23)
that the brothers, in Italy, were all but irrelevant to the outcome of the war;
but allowing them to return to Africa had the potential to change that
outcome. This makes it still more strange that no efforts are recorded of
Roman attempts to obstruct Hannibal’s collecting a transport fleet, his
embarking, or his journeying to Africa.
had already been dismissed: here begins a very strange episode in L. Earlier,
but not much earlier (ch. 17), he recorded the Senate deciding that Laelius
should stay in Rome until the Carthaginian representatives arrived. Here
we find Laelius first dismissed and then recalled. There follows a report,
circumstantial and yet unconvincing, of the Senate rejecting the peace-
terms agreed in Africa. The Punic envoys behave provocatively, senators
are alienated, Laelius speaks in equivocal language, and the terms are
rejected.
Such an outcome of the debate is improbable in itself, is contradicted by
Polybius’ surviving excerpts (especially 15.1 and 8) and by later writers
like Appian and Dio (despite oddities in their versions, too)––and does not
fit even L.’s own later narrative (e.g. ch. 38: alarm at Rome at the news of
resumed hostilities). Plainly he has chosen to follow a source or sources
which did not wish to record a ratification. One likely culprit would be a
pro-Hannibal writer. For to record the Senate ratifying Scipio’s terms, but
the war still going on after Hannibal’s return, would clearly suggest bad
faith by the Carthaginians. Many details of the senatorial debate itself,
however, point to a Roman source of information. L., then, seems to be
using a Roman writer who had consulted pro-Hannibalic as well as Roman
sources, and who was also (moralizingly?) keen to have the Senate reject a
deceitful and arrogant enemy’s overtures. The likeliest candidate would be
Coelius Antipater.
22 with Gaius Lutatius: the Punic envoys may well have sought to saddle
Hannibal alone with the blame for the war, a misinformation-campaign
already begun (ch. 16 and note), and they may have spoken of the peace of
241. But they could scarcely hope to avoid mentioning the terms agreed on
with Scipio, especially if the Senate knew about these already (see note on
ch. 17).
23 given an answer: some of the details of the Senate debate may be genuine––
Salinator’s and Laevinus’ grumpy interventions, the comments of Scipio’s
good friend Metellus, and even those by Laelius and Fulvius. In L.’s own
 notes to book thirty 707
report, Laelius and Fulvius do not in fact oppose peace but instead warn
against letting the Carthaginians play for time. If this is accurate, their
comments thus amounted to urging swift ratification, contrary to L.’s
claim that they influenced the vote in favour of rejection.
24 appointed dictator: Publius Sulpicius Galba was appointed by the other
consul, Gaius Servilius Geminus, as L. only later (ch. 26) tells us. There,
however, L. writes that it was the consul Geminus who was pursuing the
investigations in Etruria and who, therefore, appointed Sulpicius to hold
the elections. The official magistracy lists (the Fasti Capitolini) also give
Sulpicius this function. All the same, Sulpicius may have acted, at the
Senate’s behest, to recall the consul Caepio as L. states; for Caepio did
not persist in his bid to go to Africa. Marcus Servilius, the master of
horse, was the consul Geminus’ brother and was himself elected to the
consulship for 202.
the period of the truce: L. is vague about the time; hardly during winter
203–202, a season when sailing was highly dangerous. The supply-fleets
perhaps sailed in spring 202, for Scipio had demanded provisions from the
Carthaginians for the truce period (ch. 16); but autumn 203 is also
possible.
in full view of Carthage: on Aegimurus, see 29.27 and note. Aquae Calidae
was the Roman name for a hot-springs spa, still in use today, near the town
of Carpis (now Korbous) on the coast of Cape Bon opposite Carthage.
Ships beached at Aegimurus can hardly have been seen from the city
30 miles away, but those at Aquae Calidae could, and word of the others
would soon get around.
Hasdrubal: this seems to be a naval commander who, in Appian’s account
(Hannibalica 58), had led the warships escorting Hannibal’s transports
from Italy. He is less likely to be identified with Hasdrubal son of Gisgo.
25 Senate’s decision . . . was still not known: on this L. directly contradicts
Polybius (15.1), whose narrative survives from here up to Zama. Polybius
states that Scipio had just received word from Rome of the treaty’s
ratification. To defend his story about the Senate rejecting it, L. has
to maintain that no word at all had arrived; for to report that word of
the rejection had come in would necessarily imply that the Carthaginians
were free to resume hostilities. This burdens his account with difficulties,
since otherwise he follows Polybius closely. In reality the Senate and
people had ratified the peace, and this made the attacks on the Roman
convoy and envoys genuine breaches of faith by the Carthaginians. L.
wants to stress this while yet maintaining that the peace terms had been
rejected.
his spokesmen: but even though Polybius gives a detailed summary of what
the envoys said, L. includes none of it. Perhaps he dislikes the insulting
and rather overbearing tone of their remarks in Polybius (and other
sources?). As L. soon mentions, the envoys went to Carthage and back by
sea, in a quinquereme.
708 notes to book thirty
25 Leptis: Leptis Minor (called ‘Leptiminus’ in later times, today’s Lamta),
on the southern edge of the fertile Emporia region, about 20 miles down
the coast from Hadrumetum (Sousse) and some 110 miles south of
Carthage. L. has Hannibal arrive before the end of 203, but the chronology
of events––not only his, but that found in all sources––is very unclear: see
note to ch. 29.
26 sent with them: this is all but certainly Roman propaganda fiction. No such
troops figure in Polybius’ account, though L. has them in Hannibal’s
second line at Zama (ch. 33) and later as prisoners (ch. 42). Perhaps a small
body of Macedonian mercenaries signed up for service in Hannibal’s field
army, for he did have some mercenaries (ch. 33; P. 15.11) although Poly-
bius’ listing does not mention Macedonians. If afterwards they fell into
Scipio’s hands, they might have become the basis of Roman historians’
much-inflated claim.
The named embassy to Philip V looks circumstantial, but its real
mission has been lost or covered up. The complaints from Greek allies are
very vaguely stated, but it is possible that Philip V had been encroaching in
Illyria again. Yet when L. later reaches the preliminaries to the Second
Macedonian War, it is Philip’s aggression against Athens and across the
Aegean that becomes the casus belli (31.1–3 etc.). L.’s report here looks like
annalistic invention or exaggeration, preparing the reader for the coming
war. See also ch. 42.
Italy was now open: a valuable indicator of the start of economic recovery,
at least in areas accessible to the city of Rome; the measures authorized in
206 (28.11) were having an effect.
the first to bear: Maximus means ‘greatest’; L. knows that Fabius the
Delayer (Cunctator) was not the first to bear the name, but means that, had
he been, it would have been thoroughly justified. The first Quintus Fabius
Maximus had been his grandfather (or great-grandfather, in another
account), surnamed or nicknamed Rullus or Rullianus, who had held five
consulships between 322 and 295. His father (or, less likely, grandfather)
had held three between 292 and 265. Fabius the Delayer must have been at
least close to 80 when he died, even though his own first consulship had
been in 233.
as Ennius puts it: a famous quotation (unus homo nobis cunctando restituit
rem) from the epic verse-history of Rome, called The Annals, by this
south Italian poet (239–169 bc). Ennius’ rough-hewn and powerful epic
became one of the cornerstones of Roman literature. The praise is delib-
erately paradoxical, for delaying––the Latin can also mean ‘hesitating’––is
not usually a decisive virtue, and gave rise to Fabius’ later nickname
‘Cunctator’.
27 the province of Africa: ‘province’ in the original sense of sphere of
responsibility. These unseemly, and possibly unconstitutional, squabbles
vividly illustrate how avid consuls in office could be for the glory of com-
pleting a great war and humbling an enemy; more squabbles ensued in 201
 notes to book thirty 709
(ch. 40). Tiberius Claudius no doubt felt himself just as capable as Scipio
of crushing Hannibal.
28 Statorius: the centurion sent to train Syphax’s army in 214 or maybe 212
(24.48; on the date, see 24.41 note), but it is hardly plausible that he had
stayed in his job after the king fell out with the Romans in 206.
as many campaigns as he: L.’s imaginative rhetoric should not be taken
literally. Fifteen years of warfare cannot have left intact the bulk of
Hannibal’s original army, which by now must have been largely Italian (ch.
20 note).
man who was destined: the same expression (fatalis . . . dux, ‘destined
leader’) was used of Scipio in 22.53.
29 a few days there: the date of the war’s final battle is even harder to fix than
the site (on which see below), as there is only scattered evidence. Carthage
accepted terms soon after it and the peace was ratified in 201, which makes
a battle-date in the first half of 202 unlikely. A later skirmish was fought,
according to L., on 17 December not long after the battle (ch. 36 and
note). Again, Dio’s abbreviator Zonaras (9.14) has an eclipse of the sun
during the battle panicking the Carthaginians, and an eclipse is calculated
to have occurred on 19 October––but one barely noticeable in North
Africa’s latitudes, nor does it figure in L.’s and Polybius’ narratives.
The difficulty with a late 202 date is Hannibal’s inactivity between
landing at Leptis in 203 and marching to confront Scipio; but he lacked
cavalry until Numidian allies joined him (Polybius 15.3; L. unhelpfully
omits this) and also had to gather more infantry to bulk up his army. L.
obscures the situation by having him move against Scipio seemingly only
‘a few days’ after landing and reaching Hadrumetum. He misunderstands
Polybius (15.5): it was a few days after appeals to Hannibal from Carthage
to take action that he moved from Hadrumetum, where he had evidently
been building up his new army. The appeals were sent because Scipio was
looting and laying waste the countryside (P. 15.4), another detail L. quite
culpably omits.
The eclipse, in turn, may not have been very notable as such but could
have been noted by other observers (at Carthage, and maybe Alexandria?),
who afterwards reckoned it as occurring at or near the time of the battle.
Exaggerating its impact would then be tempting for some writers, even if
not L. and Polybius, leaving such exaggeration for Dio to pick up later.
The Roman calendar, in turn, was notoriously erratic before its reform in
46 bc; so a Roman 17 December 202 could quite possibly have been an
earlier real date (e.g. in early November). This inference is strengthened
by the arrival, around that time again (ch. 36), of a fresh supply-fleet from
Italy and by Laelius’ trip to Rome––movements unlikely to be risked in
midwinter.
that very day: L. cannot resist this dramatic touch, but Polybius (15.5)
more credibly records Masinissa arriving the day after Scipio agreed to
Hannibal’s request for a face-to-face interview.
710 notes to book thirty
29 Valerius Antias has it: plainly one of Antias’ best efforts in historical fiction.
Naraggara: recorded in Roman geographical sources as 30 Roman miles
west of Sicca (Le Kef), and thus 50 or so miles (80 km.) west of the best-
known of several towns called Zama. Polybius’ text has ‘Margaron’,
an unknown name but maybe a corruption, or Graecizing, of Naraggara.
The name ‘Zama’ for the battle was erroneously inflicted by Hannibal’s
biographer Nepos (Hannibal 6) and has irrationally stuck. As Scipio was
anxious to link up with Masinissa, the location is plausible; and, to prevent
this if he could, Hannibal had to march across country from Hadrumetum.
Since the country around Naraggara is hilly, the generally accepted view is
that the armies then advanced to face each other on the broad plains a few
miles south-west of Sicca. (If this is correct, the ‘battle of Zama’ arguably
should be called the battle of Sicca.) This meant that the Roman army had
moved even farther inland than the Great Plains––these lay 40 miles
north-east––and the sole alternative to victory would be its annihilation (as
L. notes in ch. 32).
30 one translator each: both men knew Greek, and may even have used it, but
it was native to neither. For dignity’s sake they would speak (at least to
start with) in their own language.
Hannibal spoke first: on the symbolic significance of these two speeches, see
21.39 note. L. crafts them in his own rhetorical style at much greater
length than Polybius’ versions, borrowing, developing, and adding to items
in those. Both historians’ versions may be free compositions, though still
perhaps including points that really were made; Sosylus and Silenus, in
Hannibal’s entourage, and Laelius in Scipio’s camp quite probably
recorded the gist of either man’s words sometime afterwards. Hannibal’s
speech masterfully portrays a wearier, still proud, but wiser man––who yet
succeeds in being a little patronizing towards his younger opponent.
as an old man: rhetorical exaggeration; he was 45.
Marcus Atilius: Regulus, in 255, on whom see notes to 28.42 and 43.
Let it be the lot . . . the will of the gods: Hannibal’s geographical proposals
do not differ much from the terms Scipio had set in 203 (ch. 16), or even
from the situation afterwards created by the peace of 201. But in neither
Polybius nor L. does he refer to the other demands put by Scipio (as L. has
Scipio note at the start of his reply), notably an indemnity and a minimal
Punic navy. It is likely enough that Hannibal kept to geopolitics, taking for
granted that such additional provisos were inevitable.
have even refused peace: on this falsehood––L.’s, not Hannibal’s––see note
to ch. 21. L. did not there state anything about the status of the envoys.
31 in the following vein: Polybius, too, gives Scipio a briefer speech (15.8), and
again L. borrows and enlarges on points from it. Scipio is more business-
like than Hannibal and, understandably, more dismissive.
32 the four corners of the earth: this echoes Polybius (15.9); but the latter is
stating his own view of the stakes involved, whereas L. artistically puts the
 notes to book thirty 711
claim into the mouths of the two opposing leaders themselves. It is not, in
fact, plausible that Scipio and Hannibal did have any such view. Certainly
the outcome would decide who would dominate the western Mediter-
ranean, but the many great powers in the east were a different matter. Or
so, at least, they seemed to be in 202. Just fourteen years later, the situation
would be dramatically different.
unable to abide by it: here again L. offers a view at odds with his earlier
report that it was the Romans who had rejected the peace-terms.
33 the cohorts: L. does not make his point clear. Polybius (15.9) more lucidly
explains that the maniples of the three Roman lines were deployed each
behind the other so as to leave clear passageways through the infantry
formation (maniples were normally arrayed like chessboard pieces). As
three maniples, one from each line, formed a legionary cohort (perhaps as
early as in this war: see 22.5 note), L. means to state that Scipio’s cohorts
were not formed up in the usual array. But he either fails to understand
Polybius’ description or else fails to convey it properly.
the light-armed troops of those days: cf. 26.4 note.
Ligurian and Gallic auxiliaries: these were Mago’s men from north Italy
(ch. 19). According to Polybius (15.11), this front line was 12,000 strong.
Hannibal seems to have had rather more than 40,000 men (ch. 35 note).
According to Appian (Libyca 41), Scipio had 23,000 Roman and Italian
infantry and 1,500 cavalry, and this is plausible as he had to leave troops to
hold his camp outside Utica and guard his fleet. But to Appian’s figure we
need to add the 6,000 Numidian foot and 4,000 horse whom Masinissa
brought in (ch. 29).
a Macedonian legion: see ch. 26 and note. The Carthaginian and African
forces must have been recruited recently, but L. thinks that they are the
veterans from Italy described in chs. 28 and 32: for he makes the third line
an untrustworthy one of Bruttian conscripts, and leaves it out of his battle
narrative (ch. 34; cf. 35 and note). In reality, the army from Italy formed
Hannibal’s third line, as Polybius records (15.11).
34 agility rather than strength: by contrast, Polybius reports ‘the mercenaries’
of the front line gaining an initial advantage ‘through their skill and
daring’ (15.13), and indeed L.’s own vivid detail––not Polybian but from
some other source––of the Roman ranks using their shoulders and shield-
bosses to force them back indicates a much closer combat.
more cover and support: by now L. has lost any clear idea of what was going
on. For him, the Romans’ ‘real enemies’ are the Carthaginians and Afri-
cans of the second line, but in reality these had fallen apart when attacked
both by some of the panic-stricken first line and by the advancing Romans
(P. 15.13)––leaving the third line, the veterans of Italy, face-to-face with
the survivors of Cannae.
the battle started afresh: Scipio’s leadership skill, and the expertise of his
troops, in redressing the Roman battle line and opening it out––so that
what had been the normal three-line formation now consisted of a single
712 notes to book thirty
very long line––have always been admired. It is, however, worth question-
ing why Hannibal was standing by with his veterans, while the rest of
his army was cut to pieces. Up till then, with most of the Roman army
occupied and indeed in some difficulties, and their cavalry still off the
field, it should have been the time for a potentially decisive counter-stroke,
using his third line of entirely fresh and superbly experienced veterans.
Scipio’s triarii, though fresh too, would have been outnumbered. Leaving
the initiative to the Romans, and then accepting an old-fashioned face-to-
face battle of attrition, showed a sad decline in Hannibal’s legendary talent
for manœuvres and stratagems.
35 More than 20,000 of the Carthaginians . . . about 1,500 casualties: all L.’s
figures are from Polybius (15.14). Hannibal’s army presumably totalled
rather more than 40,000; Scipio’s about 34,500 (ch. 33 note).
Hadrumetum: this town (modern Sousse on the coast) lay about 120 miles
from Naraggara and, if the battle was fought south of Sicca (see ch. 29
note on Naraggara), about 100 miles from the field. According to Nepos
(Hannibal 6) and others, Hannibal covered the distance in two days and
two nights. Like Polybius, whom he echoes (see next note), L. does not
dwell on what amounted to the general’s abandonment of his surviving
troops, but prefers to laud his generalship up to the moment of defeat.
skilful deployment of the battle line that day: L. here compresses Polybius’
laudatory remarks (15.15–16), but blends them with others; thus his
ensuing words about the Carthaginian and African second line (‘in whom
lay all his hopes’), not to mention his unmilitary notion that, because the
third line was supposedly untrustworthy, Hannibal had stationed it in his
own rear. (From which, incidentally, it must have evaporated by the time
Laelius and Masinissa returned with the cavalry––a point L. does not
notice.) Just as with the tale of the Senate rejecting Scipio’s peace-terms,
we can only guess at why L. should ignore some details in Polybius (even
when otherwise following him closely) in favour of stuff from elsewhere
which fits neither the remaining Polybian material nor common sense.
36 first day of the Saturnalia: 17 December. Polybius’ account is not extant
here, but this is a Roman date, so L. must be drawing on a Roman source.
This explains the unreliably huge claim of enemy slain and, perhaps, the
vagueness of location, but we may cautiously accept the victory itself and
its Roman date (though by the correct calendar the date may well have
been earlier: see ch. 29 note on ‘a few days there’). The Saturnalia lasted
from the 17th to the 19th (and later from the 17th to the 21st), com-
memorating the ancient Italic god Saturn: it involved merrymaking,
exchanges of gifts, and a day’s reversal of roles for masters and slaves––
slaves were set free and were waited on at table by their masters.
thirty spokesmen: the same number as in 203 (ch. 16), and probably again
the members of the inner council. See also ch. 42 note.
37 dictated to them: a few other provisos are stated by Appian (Libyca 54), for
instance a ban on enlisting foreign mercenaries and a Roman promise to
 notes to book thirty 713
leave Africa in a hundred and fifty days; both may be genuine, for Polybius,
whom L. copies, says he is recording only the major clauses (15.18).
without the authorization of the Roman people: in Polybius’ version, warfare
outside Africa was totally forbidden. This restriction on making war
within Africa was, in practical terms, another ban, hence L.’s simplified
wording. Next, L. deliberately tones down the proviso about Masinissa,
which in reality required the Carthaginians to restore to him everything
he ‘or his ancestors’ had ever possessed––a generalization exploited
repeatedly by that wily king to annex more and more Carthaginian terri-
tory over the coming half-century.
10,000 talents . . . over fifty years: i.e. 200 a year, a smaller annual amount
than the one levied in the peace of 241 (220 a year for ten years); just as the
25,000 pounds of silver required immediately (ch. 38; about 350 talents)
was smaller than the lump sum required in 241 (1,000 talents). The
Carthaginians, in fact, were able to offer full payment of the remaining
indemnity as early as 191, an inconvenience the Romans declined.
Gisgo: unknown; a connection of the indefatigable, but now dead,
Hasdrubal son of Gisgo? L. names him from a source other than Polybius,
who speaks only of ‘a senator’ (15.19).
after thirty-six years: thus exploding the bogus story of him being sent to
Spain in 224 (21.3 and note).
not in Africa: Hannibal did flee––in 195––to Antiochus III, the Great
King, after machinations by his political foes with complicity from the
Romans (see 33.47–8). This story, no doubt by some uninformed annalist,
predates the event by seven years.
38 price of grain so low: L. means at Rome. His ensuing (obscurely put) point
is that the merchant could not make enough profit from his grain cargo
even to pay off his crew, so gave it to them in lieu of pay. L. may well be
generalizing from one or two talked-about instances; it can hardly have
happened often.
a shrinking of the sun’s orb: presumably a partial eclipse of the sun is meant;
but the only eclipse known was that of 19 October (ch. 29 note), too late to
fit the period L. indicates and, anyway, barely if at all visible as far north as
Italy.
39 the Insane Mountains: in Sardinia’s north-east, supposedly so called from
the frenzied squalls they produced.
prevented them from being held: storms were not just an inconvenience, but
were ill-omened. Clearly it was a very bad winter.
40 by the start of another: war with Macedon did duly follow in 200.
42 against Marcus Aurelius: on the mission of Aurelius and his fellow-envoys,
see ch. 26 and note.
opposed to the Barca faction: this is Hasdrubal Haedus’ first appearance in
L., despite his supposedly long opposition; Appian (Libyca 34) has him
protecting Scipio’s envoys to Carthage the year before, then leading the
714 notes to book thirty
thirty senators to Scipio after Zama and making an even more florid
speech (Libyca 49–53). He disappears again after ch. 44. Haedus means
‘the Kid’ (i.e., young goat), but the reason for the nickname is unknown.
His effort to pin the whole blame for the war on the Barcid faction was the
current Carthaginian line, and was what the Romans wanted to hear:
Fabius Pictor followed it in his History.
43 the fetials: fetiales, an ancient priestly college (note their flintstone knives).
They performed the rituals for duly opening and closing Roman wars, and
in so doing had to act on enemy soil, or else a substitute for it by the temple
of Bellona at Rome. To avert the unfriendly attentions of the foreign land’s
gods, they also bore sacred herbs from the Capitol. L. carefully uses the
appropriate archaic Latin terms in this decree, including ‘praetor’ in its old
sense of ‘general’.
45 by no means a source to be disregarded: a notorious piece of faint praise, given
that Polybius has been probably L.’s single most important source for
these books, and will continue to be in the following fifteen books. Later
on, in 33.10, he is more complimentary to his Greek predecessor. For
Syphax’s death, L. seems to draw, even if indirectly, on an official record
(the pontifical annals?), and he may be correct. Polybius’ report (16.23) of
Syphax being in Scipio’s triumph could reflect the Scipionic family’s
wishful distortion, for it would have been grander to display the fallen king
in person than merely show a picture of him, the usual alternative.
 GLOSSARY

aediles two colleges of middle-ranking magistrates. The plebeian and

curule aediles supervised various amenities and activities, such as
markets, temples, streets, and festival games; they could impose fines.
Only plebeians (see patricians, plebeians) could hold the plebeian
aedileship, which was the older. A successful aedileship was often a
springboard to higher office.
assemblies citizens were members of a variety of official assemblies
which met when convened by appropriate magistrates to carry
out specific functions. There were three chief ones. The Centuriate
Assembly, in which citizens belonged to 193 ‘centuries’, arranged
mainly in five ‘classes’ according to economic worth, elected senior
magistrates, and passed laws. The Tribal Assembly, representing the 35
districts of Roman territory (see tribes), elected curule aediles and
quaestors, and it too could legislate. The Council of the Plebs, formed
on the ‘tribal’ basis again but open only to plebeian Romans, elected
tribunes of the plebs and plebeian aediles––and it could legislate
as well, by passing resolutions (plebiscita) valid for the whole state.
Centuries and tribes were very unequally distributed but, in every
assembly, voting was counted by the unit; individual citizens’ votes
determined the vote of their unit. Roman women did not have the vote.
asses see money.
augurs a senior college of priests who observed and interpreted omens
from the behaviour of birds, such as the sacred chickens (22.42 note)
and the flight of wild birds.
auspices before a major undertaking, consuls and other senior magis-
trates had to ascertain the will of the gods through a number of rituals
(auspicia), such as observing the flight of birds and the behaviour of the
sacred chickens (see 22.42 note). Action could not be taken until the
auspices were favourable, as interpreted by the priests in attendance.
Delegated officers, like legates and prefects, acted under the
auspices of the magistrate who appointed them.
caetra a light, round shield with a leather cover, used by Spanish
troops.
Campanian citizens in 343 bc the people of Capua and other Campa-
nian cities were granted an associate form of Roman citizenship. They
kept their own communal institutions but could also exercise most
citizen rights at Rome (though not the vote); and vice versa. In practice,
Rome controlled all foreign relations. As time passed, Capua and its
716 glossary
satellite towns found this subordination irksome, and after Cannae they
defected to Hannibal. As a result they lost their autonomy for a quarter
of a century (see prefects).
censors every five years, two magistrates were elected for eighteen
months to bring the administrative condition of the republic up to date.
Censors let out contracts for public buildings, roads, drains, and other
infrastructure, scrutinized the membership rolls of the Senate and
equestrian order to expunge moral delinquents (widely defined), car-
ried out a census of all citizens including their financial and economic
(and moral) status, and performed a solemn purification ceremony
(lustrum). Normally, ex-consuls were elected as censors.
centuries (centuriae) see also assemblies and legion. The same term
was used in both the Centuriate Assembly and the legion because the
former had originally been the citizen-soldiery readied for war. In the
assembly, the first century to be asked its vote on a matter was selected
by lot (the centuria praerogativa; see sortition) as the choice of the
gods, and its lead was commonly followed by most or all of the others.
cognomen a Roman man’s third name. This was not the family surname,
as is often supposed; for that was the second name (nomen), such as
Fabius or Cornelius. Many Romans had no third name, only a first
name (praenomen, such as Gaius or Publius) and the nomen (e.g. Gaius
Flaminius); but Romans of the social elite often––not always––had
three, and customarily passed the third as well the second on to their
sons. A fourth name was sometimes given as a nickname (Quintus
Fabius Maximus was at first derisively, later admiringly, nicknamed
Cunctator, ‘the Delayer’) or for military glory (so Publius Cornelius
Scipio received the extra name Africanus: 30.45). Roman women nor-
mally had only a single name, the feminine form of the nomen (e.g.
Cornelia, Claudia).
cohort an army unit of three maniples (see legion); it may have come
into existence during Hannibal’s war (see 22.5 note).
colony (Roman or Latin) a town-settlement of Roman or Latin citizens,
planted by the Roman state on a strategically important site; colonists
received grants of surrounding land. Roman colonies, composed of
Roman citizens only, were small; Latin colonies, drawn from Roman
citizens and latins, were larger and had more surrounding territory.
Each colony was self-governing but enjoyed a close bond with Rome.
The thirty Latin colonies were the most important group of Roman
allies in Italy: their military manpower, together with Rome’s, made the
Roman state practically invincible.
Comitium the open space on the north side of the Forum, before the
Senate house (Curia), where citizens could gather and be addressed by
 glossary 717
a magistrate standing on the speakers’ platform, the rostra. The
Centuriate Assembly, however, met in the Campus Martius.
consuls the chief magistrates of the Roman republic. Two were elected
each year, and entered office on 15 March (later changed to 1 January).
The year was named after them: thus ‘in the consulship of Publius
Cornelius and Tiberius Sempronius’ dated an event to 218. The consul’s
imperium was superior to a praetor’s and, in war, he commanded a
larger army. Consular responsibilities were very wide; in practice, and
in consultation with the Senate, they directed foreign affairs and
attended to the main domestic concerns of their term; they were also
the chief military commanders. Only a consul could nominate a dicta-
tor. If one or both consuls were killed or had to abdicate office,
replacement (‘suffect’) consuls were elected (see interrex). Members
of leading patrician and plebeian families attained consulships far more
often than other Romans in public life, and ex-consuls enjoyed immense
prestige and influence.
curio a very ancient office though not a magistracy. Originally the
spokesman of one of the curiae, the earliest groupings of Roman citi-
zens, in historical times he had religious functions surviving from this
role, and the position carried prestige. The chief curio (curio maximus)
was elected by the people.
curule magistrate and chair consuls, praetors, and one group of
aediles conducted civil business on a folding chair with ivory inlay,
called a sella curulis.
decemvirs, duumvirs, triumvirs officials appointed to particular areas
of administrative work. The decemvirs (the ‘board of ten for sacred
rites’) performed the rituals to expiate omens and prodigies, duumvirs
(two officials) might be appointed to oversee the building of a promised
temple, and triumvirs (‘boards of three’) were appointed to allocate
land-grants at new colonies or for many other tasks––for example,
supervising the coinage, judging serious cases (the triumviri capitales:
25.1).
denarius, quadrigatus, sestertius see money.
dictator in a military emergency, or when neither consul was available at
Rome for an important task like holding elections, one of the consuls
could nominate a dictator. The dictator’s legal authority (see imperium)
overrode all others but he, and the master of horse he in turn nomin-
ated as his deputy, could hold office for six months at most. Fabius
Maximus was the last dictator for military purposes until Sulla in 82 bc.
duumvirs see decemvirs.
equestrian order, rank Romans of means who were not senators were
expected to be available to serve as cavalrymen (equites), an expensive
718 glossary
task, which is why they are often termed ‘knights’ in English. In the
Centuriate Assembly (see assemblies), eighteen centuries were
reserved for such citizens, with precedence over the other centuries.
Other wealthy men who were not registered in them came to be termed
‘cavalrymen’ too (equites Romani). Eventually this became a social and
not strictly a military ranking. Senators’ sons, if not senators them-
selves, were of equestrian status. Men of similar rank in other states and
cities were also called equites (‘knights’) by Roman writers.
Fabius the nomen (see cognomen) of one of the most eminent families
at Rome from the earliest days of the republic. Its most famous member
was Quintus Fabius Maximus, consul five times between 233 and 209,
whose cautious resistance to Hannibal after the battle of Trasimene as
dictator, and in ensuing years, earned the nickname ‘the Delayer’
(Cunctator). Another Fabius, Marcus Fabius Buteo (consul in 245),
was probably the famous envoy who declared war on the Carthaginians
in 218 by letting fall a symbolic fold in his toga. Quintus Fabius
Pictor, also a senator, later composed the first history of Rome (see
Introduction).
fasces a Roman magistrate was attended by a body of lictors, each carry-
ing a bundle of rods and axes (the fasces) symbolizing his authority to
punish and to put to death. A consul or dictator had twelve lictors with
fasces, a praetor six. In the city, the axes were removed and the fasces
were dipped before the people in assembly.
flamen (Latin plural flamines) certain gods, notably Jupiter, Mars, and
Quirinus, had a special priest (flamen) each for his personal rites. The
flamen of Jupiter (flamen Dialis) was restricted by an elaborate and
ancient network of taboos––for example, he was not permitted to see a
dead body, and his hair- and nail-clippings must be ceremonially
buried––which much restricted the public life of the appointee.
games many religious celebrations were accompanied by shows and
entertainments (ludi), put on at state (and sometimes private) expense
by the aediles. Notable were the Apollinine Games (in July), the Great
or Roman Games (September), and the Plebeian Games (November).
There were others of lesser scope, and after 200 bc further major ludi
were instituted. Entertainments included horse-racing, athletics,
gladiatorial contests, and performances of plays, both tragedies and
comedies. But the slightest error in prescribed ceremonial, being
offensive to the gods, meant that the entire games had to be repeated.
Hanno the commonest name among the Carthaginian aristocracy. Two
men of this name play a noteworthy role in Hannibal’s War: (1) Hanno
‘the Great’, one-time colleague of Hamilcar Barca, later the chief critic
and political opponent of the Barcids. (2) Hanno son of Bomilcar,
 glossary 719
described by the later writer Appian as Hannibal’s nephew, was one of
his most trusted lieutenants; he commanded an independent army in
southern Italy for some years, but did not enjoy great success, and is not
heard of after 207. It is not absolutely certain that Hanno son of Bomilcar
was the same as the southern army commander, but it looks very
probable. Other names in the very limited range used by leading
Carthaginians included Bomilcar, Carthalo, Hannibal, Himilco, Mago,
and Maharbal.
Hasdrubal one of the most often used Carthaginian names. In Han-
nibal’s War, the most notable are these: (1) Hamilcar Barca’s son-in-law
and second-in-command in Spain, who took over as general and effect-
ive leader of the Carthaginian state in 228, made the Ebro agreement
with Rome in 225, and enjoyed great success until his assassination in
221. (2) Hannibal’s brother, whom he appointed governor of Spain in
218. A skilful organizer but not a very good general, he was killed when
he invaded Italy in 207. (3) An energetic cavalry officer in 218–216, who
helped to win Cannae but is not heard of afterwards. (4) Hasdrubal, son
of Gisgo, a leading aristocrat allied with the Barcids; co-commanded in
Spain from 213 to 207, then was general in North Africa until 203; a
vigorous and able man, but repeatedly defeated by the Romans in both
theatres, though he helped to destroy the elder Scipios in 211. Father of
the beautiful Sophoniba, whom he married to Syphax, the Numidian
king, he was reportedly driven to suicide by his ungrateful fellow-
citizens in 203 or 202.
hastati see legion.
imperium a consul, praetor, and dictator held imperium, the power
to command in peace and war. If the Senate chose, it could extend
(prorogare) this for a further year or years after his term of office expired
(see proconsul) but, as a ‘promagistrate’, he could not re-enter Rome
without losing it. The lawful civil authority of other magistrates, for
example, that of the tribunes, was termed potestas, the general word for
‘power’.
interrex an institution going back to the ancient kings of Rome. If both
consuls died, or resigned office, the Senate appointed first one interrex
and then up to four more, for five days each, to secure the proper
auspices and hold elections for new consuls. An interrex must be a
patrician senator.
iugerum (plural iugera) a Roman measure of land, equivalent to 0.625
acres or 1.54 hectares.
knights see equestrian order.
Latin Festival an annual ceremony, dating from ancient times when
Rome was a member of the Latin League, the religious and military
720 glossary
association of the cities of Latium. By 338 bc many of these had been
absorbed (or destroyed) by the Roman state, but the festival continued
under the presidency of the consuls (see 21.63 note).
Latins people of the thirty Latin colonies in Italy and of the remaining
Old Latin cities, notably Praeneste, and Tibur. Collectively, they are
always referred to as The Latin Name (nomen Latinum), distinct from
the other Italian allied states (socii or socii Italici).
lectisternium a solemn ceremony honouring a god or several gods as
banqueting-guests; their effigies were set on couches in public and tables
of food laid out before them.
legate a senior officer appointed by a magistrate or promagistrate to
depute for him, e.g. as a divisional commander or a city governor.
legion the largest structural unit of a Roman army, consisting of heavy
and light infantry, and cavalry. In the third and second centuries bc, its
average strength was 4,200 infantry and 300 cavalry, but the infantry
could be increased (as apparently at Cannae). Citizens were liable for
service from the ages of 16 to 46, but many served for longer. There
were 1,200 light infantry, called velites, recruited from those who could
not afford heavy armour. The heavy infantry was distributed into three
groups, each forming one line in battle-formation: 1,200 hastati (the
youngest men) at the front, 1,200 principes (maturer soldiers) in the
middle and 600 triarii (the oldest and most experienced) in the rear.
Each line consisted of ten maniples (manipuli) which in turn consisted
of two centuries each (centuriae); the commander of a century was a
centurion. The names hastati (‘spearmen’) and principes (‘front-liners’)
reflected an older array. By the third century, a legionary in the first two
lines had two javelins for hurling and a sword, while only the triarii
(‘third-liners’) retained thrusting-spears (hastae). Maniples were drawn
up in chessboard array and could manœuvre flexibly, unless forced to
fight in densely packed ranks (as at Cannae). The cavalry were stationed
on one or both wings. A legion was accompanied by Latin and Italian
allied contingents, normally larger in numbers, so a legion with allies
was equivalent to a strong modern division. A consul commanded two
such legions, a praetor one. See also cohort.
lictors see fasces.
magistrates the elected executive officials of the Roman state. They
held office (unsalaried) for twelve months, censors and dictators
excepted. In descending order of rank they were: two consuls, four
praetors (later increased in number), two plebeian and two curule aediles,
ten tribunes of the plebs (equal in rank to the aediles), and eight quaes-
tors (more numerous in later times). Some junior elected offices, like
military tribunes (see tribunes, military) and triumviri capitales (see
 glossary 721
decemvirs), were technically magistrates too, but the term is rarely
used of them. Each group of magistrates was termed a college (col-
legium)––cf. the word ‘colleague’. It was normal for a young man to seek
the lesser offices at the start of his career, hoping eventually to attain a
praetorship or even a consulship; naturally, only a small number suc-
ceeded to senior levels. Only consuls and praetors, and dictators, held
imperium; the authority of the rest was termed potestas. Magistrates in
office could not be prosecuted, so it was uncustomary to hold the same
office two years running or to seek another magistracy while holding
office. By 218 bc, men who had reached the consulship enjoyed the
highest political and social status of all citizens, and were often termed
‘notables’ (nobiles).
maniple see legion and cohort.
master of horse a dictator’s deputy, appointed by him (except in 217
when, unprecedentedly, Minucius Rufus was popularly elected to the
position).
medix tuticus the chief magistrate of a Campanian town, especially
Capua.
Mens abstract divinity, ‘right thought’ or ‘right intellect’.
money (Roman) Roman coinage proper began early in the third century
bc, modelled on various Greek forms. Previously, money-exchange
was by weighed and stamped pieces of ‘heavy bronze’ (aes grave). This
was replaced by the bronze as (plural asses), and by 218 a silver coinage
also existed, related to the Greek drachma. Silver coins included quadri-
gati and victoriati (cf. 22.52 note). Around 211 a new silver coin, worth
ten asses, was struck as the denarius (the ‘ten-asses coin’, but later retar-
iffed at sixteen). This and its subordinate the sestertius (four per
denarius) formed the basis of Roman silver coinage for the next five
hundred years. In 203, a year of plentiful grain, four asses per measure
of grain was a cheap price (see 30.26). The highest level centuries in the
Centuriate Assembly consisted of citizens worth at least 100,000 asses.
In 211, senators were reckoned as each worth well over a million (see
24.11).
ovation see triumph.
patricians, plebeians a formal distinction between Roman citizens. A
small number of ancient families ranked as patrician; the origins of this
status are debated, but it conferred social prestige, and patricians alone
could hold the post of interrex and a few priestly positions. All other
citizens, rich and poor, were plebeians, i.e. members of the plebs.
Defeated in efforts, early in the republic, to monopolize office, patri-
cians nevertheless continued to enjoy a disproportionate number of
magistracies (not until 172 were both consuls plebeians, for instance),
722 glossary
even though only some patrician houses, like the Cornelii, Fabii, and
Valerii, maintained their centuries-long prominence; others––like the
Julii––fell into relative obscurity for long periods. A few family names
(Claudii and Servilii, for instance) occur in both patrician and plebeian
elite houses: the great Marcus Claudius Marcellus was of the plebeian
house.
plebs the Latin term for all citizens who were not patricians; the word in
archaic times seems to have meant ‘the many’ or ‘the majority’ (like
Greek hoi polloi). See tribunes of the plebs.
poll-tax payers (aerarii) a punishment-ranking for peccant Roman citi-
zens, imposed by the censors. For moral or other failings, aerarii had to
pay a higher level of tax and could be transferred from their birth-tribe
to one of the four city tribes, which were less prestigious.
pomerium the sacred boundary of the city of Rome, marked by
boundary-stones and not always coinciding with the city walls (until
80 bc, for instance, the Aventine Hill was outside it).
pontifex maximus chief of the College of Pontiffs, and in a general sense
the most senior priest of the Roman state. Like members of all priestly
colleges, he was a man in public life and could hold magistracies,
though he was not supposed to go abroad on campaign (28.38).
praetexta see toga praetexta.
praetors the second most senior magistrates (see magistrates);
praetors held imperium and were normally assigned (by sortition)
judicial duties at Rome or the administration of a province. The
urban praetor heard cases between citizens, the ‘foreign’ praetor those
between citizens and non-Romans; Sicily and Sardinia-Corsica, the
only provinces existing in 218, were governed by the other praetors.
A praetor could also command an army, and this was a duty often
given to them during the Second Punic War. From 197 their number
was raised to six because two new Spanish provinces had been
established.
prefects officers in command of a body of troops or a squadron of
warships, or in some position of subordinate authority (praefectus means
‘one put in charge’ of something). The commanders of Latin and allied
army contingents (see latins) were prefects. After Capua and the
other rebel Campanian cities capitulated in 211, their affairs were
administered by prefects appointed by the Roman state.
priesthoods there were numerous and varied priesthoods at Rome, from
individual flamens to colleges like the pontiffs (see pontifex max -
imus), augurs, and fetials (see 30.43 note), all with specific functions
though the pontifex maximus exercised a broad supervisory religious
authority. Priesthoods were held for life and were normally held by
 glossary 723
senators, who in turn could combine them with magistracies (this was
difficult for a special priest like the flamen Dialis, however). Appointment
was by co-option.
principes see legion.
proconsul, propraetor, promagistrate a consul or praetor whose year
of office expired while in military command might have his imperium
extended or ‘prorogued’ for another year or years by the Senate and
people. He was then described as acting pro (‘in place of’ or simply ‘as’)
consule or pro praetore; the terms later became single words.
province (provincia) originally this term covered the sphere of duty of
a senior magistrate, assigned to him by the Senate (if the two were at
serious odds, he might find that his provincia was ‘forests and pathways
in Italy’). Theatres of war were designated by their territorial name,
within and outside Italy (‘Apulia’, ‘Sicily’), so the term eventually took
on a geographical meaning apart from special contexts.
quaestors the most junior magistracy (see magistrates), by 218 some
eight in number annually. The quaestorship was the first step in an
official career, and despite their relative youth quaestors had important
financial and related administrative duties. Two were attached to the
consuls as their finance officials, four performed their tasks at home
(e.g. managing the treasury) under the Senate’s supervision, and two
went to Sicily to administer taxes and levies. As the number of provinces
increased after 201, more quaestors were elected for the same tasks (one
per province).
quinquereme the standard third-century warship, with a larger crew
than a trireme (though not necessarily much larger in size). The name
seems to mean ‘a five-rower [ship]’, but the arrangement of oars and
rowers in quinqueremes is debated. There were also ‘four-rowers’
(quadriremes). Still larger craft up to ‘sixteen’ and even a ‘forty’ are
heard of, but these were more for show than for use. A Roman quinque-
reme had a crew of about 300, all citizens of maritime allies of Rome
and sometimes Roman citizens too; it would also carry between 40 and
120 armed marines. Carthaginian warships were crewed by citizens of
Carthage and her maritime allies. Quadriremes, triremes, and smaller
ships like skiffs were used in support roles.
rex sacrorum this priest had replaced the early kings in several religious
functions and sacrifices; he had to be a patrician and, unusually, was
barred from all other offices.
Rostra the speakers’ platform in the Comitium, at the northern end of
the Forum. In 338 it was adorned with the beaks (rostra) of captured
warships, and kept this name through many later rebuildings.
Saturnalia the great winter festival at Rome in honour of Saturn,
724 glossary
originally on 17 December and later extended over several more days;
see 30.35 note.
Scipio the cognomen of one branch of a distinguished Roman family,
the Cornelii; this branch was exceptionally successful and widely
spread in the third and second centuries bc. During Hannibal’s war the
most notable members were: (1) Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio, consul in
222, who in collaboration with his brother Publius commanded Roman
operations in Spain from 218 until his defeat and death in 211; he was
an abler general than his brother; (2) Publius Cornelius Scipio, consul
in 218, proconsul in Spain 218–211, and father of (3) Publius Scipio
the younger, consul in 205 and 194, given the ‘triumphal’ cognomen
‘Africanus’ for his victory over Hannibal and the Carthaginians.
scorpion a small artillery machine (Latin scorpio), powered by twisted
ropes, that shot iron bolts or arrows; its range could be several hundred
yards.
seers, soothsayers (Latin haruspices) originally Etruscan, these priests
interpreted omens from the organs of sacrificed animals, and portents
like lightning-strikes and unnatural births.
senate, Carthaginian officially named The Mighty Ones (h’drm), this
seems to have consisted of leading men, many or most of them former
magistrates and generals, who were members for life. It decided most
matters in consultation with the current sufetes, but where there was
a disagreement the issue had to be put before the citizen assembly of
Carthage. An inner council of thirty had great prestige, but its func-
tions are unclear. The Mighty Ones were some hundreds in number, for
from their ranks were appointed the members of the powerful court of
One Hundred and Four, which tried disgraced generals.
Senate, Roman this consisted of ex-magistrates and other individuals
deemed worthy of appointment by the censors; membership was for
life. Properly the advisory council to the magistrates, as it had been to
the ancient kings, the Senate’s moral authority brought it the dominant
role in the affairs of the Roman republic, especially during and after the
Second Punic War. The Senate was convened by a magistrate, normally
a consul, tribune, or praetor: former consuls (consulares) had prece-
dence in speaking and were the most influential group of senators. Next
in precedence were the former praetors, tribunes, and aediles; junior
senators (pedarii)––those who had held no magistracy, or perhaps only
up to the quaestorship––were not called on to speak but voted with the
rest on resolutions. The honorary position of Senate Leader (princeps
senatus) could be conferred by the censors on a distinguished ex-consul,
who would always be the first called on to speak (27.11 note). In debating
an issue, senators could not formally put a motion, but the presiding
 glossary 725
magistrate, who did so, in turn had to use one of the formal ‘opinions’
(sententiae) offered. The Senate also had certain residual powers such as
appointing interreges (see interrex).
senators, local cities and towns in Italy, and in many other lands,
were self-governing states, usually with executive magistrates, a sen-
ate, and a people’s assembly (whatever the differences in details). As
at Rome and Carthage, and in the Greek world, local senators and
magistrates tended to belong to the affluent social strata of their
communities.
socii Italici see latins.
sortition lots (Latin sortes) were used for selecting which century or
tribe in the assemblies should vote first, and also for allocating particu-
lar areas of responsibility to even the highest-ranking magistrates. This
meant that the choices were left to the gods’ wisdom. The process was
termed sortitio.
sufete the title of the two annual chief magistrates at Carthage; a Punic
word, etymologically the same as the Hebrew shophet, ‘judge’. Latin
writers often call the sufetes ‘praetors’ or ‘consuls’, and Greek sources
say ‘king’.
toga praetexta the toga was a large woollen garment worn over the tunic
by Romans doing public business. It was the distinctive garb of a citi-
zen; white and essentially an extended half-moon in shape, it had to be
carefully draped over the body. The toga praetexta had a crimson (Latin
purpureus) cloth border sewn to it, and was worn by boys under 16 and
by magistrates (cf. 21.63). Roman historical plays, always in verse, were
termed praetextae, as one or more magistrates invariably appeared in
them as characters. One such, for instance, was Naevius’ Clastidium, a
famous play about Marcellus’ Gallic victory in 222 and put on not long
after it.
triarii see legion.
tribes by 241 Roman citizen territory was distributed into 35 districts
(tribus) of which four were in the city while the oldest rural tribes were
near to Rome and very small. The rest lay further away and were larger,
but each tribe formed one unit of the Tribal Assembly (see assemblies)
and its members’ internal voting determined its single vote. On an issue
or in an election, the tribe asked to vote first, the praerogativa tribus, was
selected by lot (see sortition) and its choice was often followed by
most or all of the rest.
tribunes, military the six senior officers of a legion. For the first four
legions levied in a year, the military tribunes were elected by the Roman
people (until 218 it had been unusual for more than four legions a year
to be levied). Those of the other legions were appointed by the consul
726 glossary
or praetor in command. Military tribunes were usually young men of
equestrian status, including sons of senators.
tribunes of the plebs ten annual officials who in practice, though not
technically, were magistrates. They entered office on 10 December.
The tribunate was open only to plebeians (see patricians, ple -
beians), and was attained by men of both elite plebeian families and
lesser ones. Originating in the early republic’s struggles between the
patricians and plebeians, and elected to protect the latter against arbi-
trary treatment, tribunes became accepted as integral to the proper
working of the republic. Their extensive potestas (see imperium)
included the right of intervention to protect any distressed citizen and,
resulting from this, to veto any act or proposal of any magistrate or of
the Senate. A tribune could propose legislation to the Council of the
Plebs or Tribal Assembly (see assemblies) and convene the Senate.
The person of a tribune in office was sacrosanct: if struck, he could
punish the offender even with death. Even a consul who obstructed him
was liable to imprisonment (as would happen in 151 and 138). Tribunes
did not command troops and were forbidden to leave the city during
their term of office. They were seen as the most immediate recourse for
citizens in trouble, especially poor citizens; and many holders of the
office continued to take this role seriously.
triumph a religious and ceremonious procession by a general returning
victorious with his army to Rome, dating back to very early times. It
was authorized by the Senate to a magistrate or promagistrate (a pro-
consul or propraetor) acting under his own auspices; a promagistrate
needed an exemption to enter the city on that day without losing his
imperium. Booty and prisoners were exhibited, the troops sang cheer-
ful songs often insulting to their commander so as to ward off any
divine displeasure at his glory, and the triumphator rode in a chariot,
representing Jupiter himself (a slave therefore stood behind him to
remind him that he was a mortal). The triumphal procession moved
from the Campus Martius into the city and through the Forum up to
the Capitoline Hill, where a share of the booty was dedicated to Jupiter
in his temple. The prisoners were then sold as slaves or executed. A
triumph was the zenith of pride and accomplishment for a Roman
leader; if refused one, he might hold a private one on the Alban Mount.
It was a slap in the face for Marcellus that, because of political antagon-
isms, he was granted only an ovation after his conquest of Syracuse
(26.21). An ovation, granted for smaller victories, was less spectacular:
the general went to the Capitol on foot or horseback.
 INDEX

Note: Frequently occurring names, such as Carthage, Hannibal, Rome, and Italy, are not
indexed.

Abelux (Spanish nobleman) 90–1 Africa passim, esp. xiii, xxi, xxii, xxxi,
Acarnania, Acarnanians 341–3, 346, 452, xxxii, 248–52, 290, 382–4, 470–2,
457, 529, 670 500–10, 538–50, 556–9, 581–92, 631,
Accaus, Vibius (Paelignian prefect) 689–92, 700, 706
270–2 Agathocles xii, xiii, 508, 690, 698,
Acerrae (Italian town) 154, 157, 381 700
Achaea, Achaeans xxxii, 272, 420–4, 452, Agathyrna 363, 394, 672
457–8, 529, 670, 679 Agrigentum x, 235, 239, 283, 290, 307–8,
Achradina (Syracuse) 218–23, 231–3, 362–4, 657
286–94, 656, 663 Alba 324, 327, 391, 462, 532, 582, 617,
Acilius Glabrio, Manius 25, 382, 413, 667
611, 615 Alban Mount 64, 66, 260, 268, 321, 337,
Adherbal (magistrate at Gades) 488–9, 639, 669, 726
688 Albius, Gaius (ringleader at Sucro) 480,
Adranadorus (son-in-law to Hiero) 483–4, 486–7, 687
199–200, 202, 218–25 Alco (of Saguntum) 14–15
Aegates islands xiii, 11, 41, 49, 123, 125, Alexandria 145, 224, 382, 649, 656, 709
149, 601, 632 Algidus (Mt.) 63, 321
Aegimurus (island near Carthage) 549, Allia 119, 128, 259, 646, 660
590, 696 Allifae 80, 85–6, 320, 641–2
Aegina 421, 424, 452, 456 Allobroges 31, 621–5, 629
Aegium 421, 457–8 Allucius (Celtiberian chieftain) 375–6,
Aelius Paetus, Publius 428, 562–4, 582, 674
588, 611–12, 616 Altinius, Dasius 245–7
Aelius Paetus, Quintus 104, 160 Amiternum 62, 245, 323–4, 511
Aelius Tubero, Publius 562, 610–11 Amynander, king of the
Aemilius Lepidus, Marcus 49, 51, 104, Athamanians 420, 529
170 Anagnia 321, 340, 382, 531, 565
Aemilius Lepidus, Marcus (son of Anapus (river) 235
above) 170, 244, 253–5, 267, 340 Anicius, Marcus 158
Aemilius Numida, Manius 340 Anio (river) 322, 327, 364, 598
Aemilius Papus, Lucius 18, 160, 162, Anio (tribe) 203, 205
207, 388, 498 Annius, Marcus 78
Aemilius Papus, Marcus 286 Anticyra 343, 457
Aemilius Paulus, Lucius xvi, xxvii, 104, Antiochus 608, 713
108, 115, 118–19, 121, 125, 160–1, Antistius, Lucius 181
633 Antistius, Marcus 64
Aemilius Regillus, Marcus 76, 102, Antistius, Sextus 428
159–60, 203, 425, 528, 562 Antium 67, 430, 461, 565
Aesculapius 527, 693 Apennines (mountains) 53–4, 58–9,
Aetolia, Aetolians 284, 340–4, 346, 357, 65–6, 637, 681
399, 420–4, 452–3, 455–7, 528–9, 662, Apollo 77, 146, 268–9, 340, 393, 412,
670, 682, 693 430, 526, 590, 609, 696
728 index
Apollonia, Apollonians xvi, 240–1, 342, Attalus (king of Pergamum) 357, 420–4,
457, 528–9 452–8, 527, 529, 679, 694
Appian Way 67, 84, 124, 320 Attenes 468, 685
Apulia, Apulians 76, 86, 109, 113, 121, Aufidus (river) 113–14, 661
123, 133, 135, 147, 161, 164, 174, Aulius, Manius 415–16
190–1, 198, 206–7, 217–18, 245, 248, Aurelius Cotta, Gaius 593–4
254, 280–1, 309–11, 324, 338, 347, 380, Aurelius Cotta, Marcus 171, 282, 562,
409, 414, 435, 440, 459, 645, 650, 652, 592, 613, 713
654, 665, 678, 681, 723 Aurelius, Gaius 153
Aquae Calidae 590, 707 Aurunculeius, Gaius 386–8, 410, 434
Aquinum 320 Ausetani (Spanish tribe) 23, 62, 332, 516,
Archimedes 233–4, 295, 636, 657 518, 633, 638, 668, 692
Ardea 8, 67, 391, 532, 639 Avernus (lake) 208, 217, 655
Argos 421, 452, 536, 679, 694
Aricia 105, 245, 609 Badius (Campanian) 277–8
Ariminum 16, 51, 63–4, 244, 387, 392, Baebius, Lucius 591
498, 513, 521, 563, 636–9 Baebius Herennius, Quintus 103
Aristo (Syracusan) 222 Baebius Tamphilus, Gnaeus 561
Arniensis (Roman tribe) 561 Baebius Tamphilus, Quintus 8, 18, 632,
Arno (river) 68 633
Arpi 67, 76, 79, 190, 198, 208, 245–8, Baecula 404, 407, 465, 677, 687
272, 364, 654 Baetica 450, 682, 685
Arpinum 565 Baetis (river) 469, 476, 488, 632, 651,
Arrenius, Gaius 385 653, 658, 663, 664, 668, 682, 685
Arrenius, Lucius 385, 415–16 Baga (king of the Moors) 551, 697
Arretium 68–70, 410–13, 511, 513, 637–8 Bagradas (river) 591, 682, 697, 701, 702
Arverni (tribe) 432, 680 Balearic Islands xxxiv, 22, 88, 176, 183–4,
Ascua 166, 651 408, 496, 504, 512, 689, 691, 704
Astapa 476–8, 686 Balearic slingers (Carthaginian
Atella/Atellani 133, 331, 353–5, 381, auxiliaries) 22, 55–6, 70, 106, 115, 380,
429, 648 404, 467, 602
Athamania/Athamanians 420, 529 Bantius, Lucius 151–2
Athens/Athenians 286, 292, 420, 503, Barca (clan/faction) xiii, xiv–xv, 4, 11,
508, 529, 662, 690, 708 147, 149, 183, 464, 569, 614, 631, 713
Atilius, Lucius (garrison Bargusii (Spanish tribe) 20, 23, 633
commander) 196 Bastetani (Spanish tribe) 450
Atilius, Lucius (quaestor) 118 Beautiful One (African headland) 548,
Atilius, Lucius (tribune; possibly same as 696, 703
above) 353, 661 Bellus (mountain in Africa) 553, 697
Atilius Regulus, Marcus (1) 503, 549, Beneventum 80, 208, 210, 213, 215–16,
599, 643, 690, 693, 710 269–72, 274, 276–8, 312, 392
Atilius Regulus, Marcus (2, son of Bigerra 242, 658
above) 95, 101, 109–10, 112, 160, 207, Bithynia 421
243–4 Blattius (Salapian) 358–9
Atilius Regulus, Marcus (3) 244, 317, Blossius brothers 381, 674
353 Blosius (or Blossius), Marius (Campanian
Atilius Serranus, Gaius 26, 39, 63, 65, magistrate) 142, 649
104, 109, 160, 386 Boeotia, Boeotians 182, 421, 424, 452–3,
Atinius, Marcus 273–4 456, 458, 530
Atintania 529 Boii 24–5, 52, 163, 410, 586, 634
Atrius, Gaius (ringleader at Sucro) 480, Bomilcar 184, 235–6, 287, 289–90, 666,
483–7, 687 719
 index 729
Bostar 90–1, 175, 315, 324–5 654, 661, 665–6, 676, 686, 692, 696,
Bovianum 93, 270, 661 703, 711, 716, 719–20
Branceus (Allobrogian chief) 31 Cantilius, Lucius 126
Brundisium 48, 174, 191, 206–7, 209, Canusium 119–31, 138, 395, 436, 647,
217, 240, 283, 392, 680 680, 689
Bruttium, Bruttians 133, 146–7, 158–9, Capena 67, 173, 307, 321, 323, 382–3,
169–70, 180, 184–6, 190, 195–8, 205, 528, 652
210–11, 216, 252, 269, 272–5, 315, Capua, Capuans x, xx, xxvi, 67, 80, 84,
324–5, 363–4, 378, 387, 394–5, 136–56, 172–82, 187–91, 203, 208, 216,
399–401, 414, 419, 427–31, 434–6, 447, 248–9, 269–83, 309–33, 340, 345–58,
461–3, 498, 505, 509–13, 521, 527–30, 364, 380, 384–7, 391–4, 410–13, 419,
559, 562–4, 586, 593, 602, 611–12, 427–9, 434–7, 461, 485, 503, 512, 530,
648–51, 654, 677, 699, 711 565, 641, 648–54, 661, 666–74,
Bucar (Numidian) 553–4 687–8, 698
Busa (Apulian benefactress) 121–3 Capussa (son of Oezalces) 550–1
Carales 182–4, 386, 610
Caecilius Metellus, Lucius 122, 647 Carpetani (Spanish tribe) 7, 13, 24, 631,
Caecilius Metellus, Marcus 214, 243, 669
394, 428, 460–1, 527, 647 Carseoli 391, 532
Caecilius Metellus, Quintus 160, 410, Carteia 488–9, 688
428, 446, 460–2, 510–12, 526–7, Carthalo 83, 119, 127, 277, 401, 646, 677
539–41, 589, 593, 695, 706 Carvilius, Lucius 255
Caere 62–3, 67, 105, 411–12, 462, 511, Carvilius Maximus, Spurius 160,
638 340, 655
Calatia, Calatini 133, 315, 331, 352–5, Carvilius Maximus, Spurius (son of
381, 641, 648, 666 above) 255
Calavii (Capuan family) 345 Casilinum 80–4, 94, 150, 154–60, 209,
Calavius, Pacuvius 136, 142–3, 654 215–16, 280–2, 587, 641
Cales 80, 83, 94, 171, 179, 206, 209, 247, Casinum 80–1, 320, 411, 641
320, 327, 329–31, 391, 480, 532, 641 Castrum Album 241
Callicula (mountain) 83–4, 642 Castulo 88, 242, 336, 407, 464, 472–5,
Callo (Syracusan) 200 632, 642, 658, 663–4, 668, 677, 684–6
Calor (river) 210, 276–7, 699 Catius, Quintus 386, 438, 511
Calpurnius Flamma, Marcus 130 Caudine Forks (battle) 82, 259, 660
Calpurnius Piso, Gaius 133, 309, 314, Caudium 184, 217, 259
322, 329, 336, 340, 347, 385, 387, Caulonia 395, 399–401, 677
409–11 Celtiberia/Celtiberians 43, 57, 89, 251,
Campania, Campanians ix n., x, xix, 295–7, 365, 375, 448–50, 479, 504,
xx, xxvi, xxix, 80–3, 94, 135, 138–47, 570–1, 678, 702
151, 154–8, 171, 175–82, 188–91, 195, Cenomani (Gallic tribe) 55
203, 208, 215–16, 248, 269–74, 277–9, Centenius, Gaius 75
315, 323–4, 331, 354, 381, 411, 424, Centenius Paenula, Marcus 279–81, 662
512, 641–2, 648, 652, 661, 668, 671, Cercina (island; mod. Kerkennah) 100,
677, 687, 715, 721–2 643
Cannae (battle) xviii–xxvi, xxix–xxxii, Cerdubelus (Spanish leader) 475
105, 113, 119, 124–31, 136–9, 146–8, Ceres (rites of) 125
151–6, 160, 164, 170–1, 176, 185–92, Chalbus (Spanish chieftain) 165
201, 204, 208, 214–15, 243–6, 258–60, Chalcis 421, 453–8
265, 268, 275, 282, 303, 308–13, Chios 420
318–19, 325, 347, 364, 378–9, 387–90, Cincius Alimentus, Lucius xxviii, xxx,
394–5, 411, 433, 444, 461, 508, 530, xxxi, 38, 340, 346–7, 383, 387–90, 415,
545–6, 587, 597, 635, 643–6, 649–51, 418–19, 635, 645, 669
730 index
Cincius Alimentus, Marcus 540 Cornelius Asina, Publius 25, 103, 319
Cincius, Publius 100 Cornelius Calussa, Publius 257, 660
Circeii 391, 532 Cornelius Caudinus, Lucius 410
Cirta 555, 577, 617, 697, 703 Cornelius Caudinus, Publius 372
Cissis (Spain) 61, 638 Cornelius Cethegus, Marcus 253–4, 257,
citizenship (Roman) x, xxvi, 139, 158, 309, 338, 344, 347, 428, 528–30, 559,
160, 172, 260, 337, 353, 660 562–3, 583
Clampetia 562, 586, 699, 705 Cornelius Dolabella, Gnaeus 428
Clastidium 48, 414, 528, 636, 725 Cornelius Lentulus, Gnaeus 118, 277–9,
Claudius (translator) 306 296, 528, 611–12, 617
Claudius, Gaius 340 Cornelius Lentulus, Lucius 76, 253
Claudius, Quintus 63, 409–10, 419, Cornelius Lentulus, Lucius
428–36, 461, 463 (another) 253, 309
Claudius Asellus 190–1, 203, 653 Cornelius Lentulus, Lucius (proconsul in
Claudius Asellus, Tiberius (possibly same Spain) 347, 397, 497, 516–17, 528–30,
as above) 434, 460 564, 612, 689, 693
Claudius Asellus, Tiberius (another) 528 Cornelius Lentulus, Publius 205–8,
Claudius Cento, Gaius 103, 253 241, 245, 255, 258, 272, 282–3, 296,
Claudius Marcellus, Marcus xi, xvi, xxi, 310, 319, 373, 562–4, 590, 605–6, 612,
104, 112, 150–91, 205, 209–95, 306–10, 615
336–59, 378–82, 392–401, 408–9, Cornelius Lentulus, Servius 460, 516–17
414–19, 428, 515, 652–3, 655, 657, Cornelius Mammula, Aulus 159–60, 173,
676–7 176
Claudius Marcellus, Marcus (son of Cornelius Merenda, Publius 104
above) 415–19, 425–6, 433, 528, 540 Cornelius Scipio Africanus, Publius xix,
Claudius Nero, Gaius xxv, 213, 253–4, xxi–xxvii, xxx, 46, 122, 334–6, 363–77,
282, 397, 425, 428, 436–7, 440–7, 386–8, 402–11, 431, 448–51, 464–526,
458–61, 505, 560–1, 656, 668, 679, 683, 534–50, 556–8, 562–83, 586–617,
699 623, 647, 660, 664, 668, 672–80,
Claudius Nero, Tiberius 460–1, 528–30, 684–714
559, 592–3, 609–11, 616, 709 Cornelius Scipio Nasica, Publius 531,
Claudius Pulcher, Appius 122–3, 136, 694
162, 171, 181, 184, 196, 201–2, 225–8, Cornelius Scipio, Gnaeus xx, 32, 39,
236, 239, 253–4, 271, 279, 282, 309–10, 60–2, 86–9, 118, 165, 169, 192–3, 242–3,
315–17, 320, 329–30, 412, 662, 666 249, 255, 296, 298–300, 312, 382, 498–9,
Claudius Quadrigarius, Quintus 616, 638, 642–3, 657–8, 663–9, 675, 685
(annalist) xxxi, 649, 664 Cornelius Scipio, Lucius 450–2, 470,
Clodius Licinus 543, 695 546, 608
Clupea 419–20, 554, 697 Cornelius Scipio, Publius (the elder) xx,
Clusium 511 8, 16–18, 26–32, 39–42, 46–8, 52–3, 57,
Cluvia, Faucula 353–4 89, 122–3, 165, 169, 192–3, 241–3,
Coelius Antipater, Lucius 296–8, 312, 638, 642–3, 657–8, 663–8,
(annalist) xxviii, xxxi, 38, 46–7, 101, 675
141, 323, 417, 513, 546, 548–9, 557, Cornelius Sulla, Publius 254, 309, 412
629, 636–40, 659, 667, 679, 691, 696–8, Corsica x, 17, 100, 609, 704
706 Cortona 70
Cominium Ocritum 272 Cosa 78, 392, 609
Compsa 135, 217, 245, 654 Cosconius, Marcus 585
Consentia 170, 463, 562, 586, 699 Cremo (Alpine pass: Little
Corbis (Spanish chieftain) 476 St Bernard) 38, 620, 629, 635
Corcyra 341–3, 399 Cremona xvi, 24, 57, 392, 462
Corinth 343, 422, 456–8 Crete, Cretans 229–30, 455
 index 731
Crito (Boeotian) 182 442–3, 466–7, 519, 569, 584–5, 601–7,
Croton, Crotonians 133, 170, 196–8, 360, 616, 622, 628, 650–3, 666, 684
537, 559, 586, 648, 651, 654, 671, 698 Elis, Eleans 341, 422–4, 456, 529
Culchas (Spanish chieftain) 464, 684–5 Emporia (N. Africa) 546, 555–6, 692,
Cumae 151, 172, 176–80, 188–91, 209, 695–7, 708
261, 279, 312, 411, 587, 609, 691 Emporiae (Spain) 60–1, 335, 503, 627,
638
Damarata (daughter of Hiero) 220, 224 Epanterii Montani 512, 691
Damippus (Spartan) 284 Epicydes 201–2, 221–35, 284–92, 307–8,
Dardania, Dardanians 342, 458 348–9, 362, 389, 655
Dasius (of Brundisium) 48 Epicydes (surnamed Sindon) 291
Dasius (Salapian) 358–9 epidemic 38, 176, 288–9, 390, 412, 513,
decemvirs 63, 67, 76–7, 105, 126, 253, 526–7
256, 268, 340, 386–8, 430, 526, 562, Epipolae (Syracuse) 285–6, 656, 662
638–9 Epirus/Epirot x, xii, 343, 529, 648
Decimius Flavus, Gaius 398 Eretum 323, 340
Decimus, Numerius 93 Eryx 11, 41, 76–7, 170–2, 502, 609, 632,
Delphic Oracle 126, 146, 511, 526–7, 690
647 Etruria, Etruscans xvi, 26, 58, 65, 69,
Demetrias 424, 452–8, 458, 682 73–4, 254, 272, 280–2, 310, 335, 347,
Demetrius (of Pharus) 102, 643 381, 385–9, 409–16, 426–31, 460–1,
Democrates (Tarentine officer) 359, 485, 511, 513, 520–1, 530, 559–63, 585,
400–1 593, 612, 637, 654–5, 660, 669–71,
Derdas (Epirote official) 529 677–81, 691, 698, 707
Digitius, Sextus 372–3, 673–4 Euboea 421, 424, 452–4, 458
Dimallum 528–9 Euripus 454–5
Dinomenes 202, 221, 228–9 Euryalus (Syracusan heights) 286–8
Dionysius (tyrant of Syracuse) 198–200, Eygues (river) 621–4, 629
220, 654, 662
disease, see epidemic Fabius, Lucius 591
Dorimachus (Aetolian) 341 Fabius Buteo, Marcus 161–2, 633, 651,
Drepana xiii, 502, 645, 657, 690 718
Drôme (river) 621–4 Fabius Maximus, Quintus (the
Druentia (Durance; river) 31–2, 622–6 Delayer) xi, xx, xxiv, xxv, xxvi, 18–19,
Ducarius (Insubrian) 72 75–101, 107, 124, 160–1, 170–3,
Dymae 422–4 179–82, 190, 202–5, 209, 215–217,
Dyrrachium 528 243–6, 280, 319, 385–95, 399–402,
408–9, 413–14, 426–7, 433, 500–9,
Ebro (river) xv, xvi, 4–8, 17–24, 30, 44, 538, 560, 592–4, 633, 639–45, 650–5,
53, 60–2, 87–94, 109, 165–8, 241, 301, 668–9, 677, 690–1, 708
332–6, 364–6, 377, 479, 491, 499, 503, Fabius Maximus, Quintus (son of
588, 631–3, 642–3, 651, 658, 664, 672, above) xvii, 122, 160, 205–7, 244–7,
687–8 254, 419, 458, 593, 699
Ebusus (island) 88, 642, 689, 704; Fabius Maximus Rullus (actually
see also Pityusa Rullianus), Quintus 205, 592, 655,
Edesco (Spanish leader) 402, 677–8, 687 708
Egypt 145, 420, 649 Fabius Pictor, Quintus xv, xvii, xxx, 73,
Elatia (Phocis) 455–6, 682–3 126, 146, 640, 645–7, 651–2, 664, 714
elephant(s) xv, xxviii, xxix, 7, 23, 28–9, Faesulae 69
35–7, 47, 55–9, 69, 149, 155, 169, 173, Falerii 67, 246, 638
184–9, 193–4, 234, 242–3, 309, 315–18, Falernum 81, 94
333, 337, 380, 393, 398, 406, 435, Feronia (Grove of) 323, 382–3
732 index
fetial priests 615, 714 Furius Camillus, Marcus 70, 82, 256,
Flaminian Way 78 426, 639, 646–8, 679
Flaminius, Gaius xi, xvi, xxvii, 16, 57, Furius Philus, Publius 104, 122–6, 159,
63–76, 86, 95, 105–8, 112, 114, 160–2, 207, 243–4, 253
385, 638–43, 667 Furius Purpurio, Lucius 380
Flaminius, Gaius (son of above) 150,
371, 374 Gabii 82, 206, 321
Flavus (Lucanian leader) 274–5, 661–2 Gades (Cadiz) ix, x, 22–3, 251, 336, 368,
fleets, Carthaginian xxi, 23, 49–51, 78, 408, 448–52, 464, 469–70, 478, 487–89,
82, 86–8, 94, 125, 165–7, 173, 176, 494–7, 685–9
182–4, 226, 234–6, 267, 287–90, 336–8, Gala, king of the Maesulians 250–1,
360, 386, 399, 403, 421, 452, 457, 471, 550–2, 659, 696
478, 495–7, 504, 519–20, 565, 571–2, Games, Apollinine 268–9, 340, 393, 412,
590–2, 632, 641–2, 663, 703–5 609
fleets, Roman xiii, xvi, xviii, 17, 41, 50–1, Games, Great 76–7, 424–6, 564
60–1, 86–8, 100, 106–7, 125–6, 159–60, Games, Nemean 421–2, 679
174–5, 180–1, 184, 192, 204–8, 217, Games, Olympic 426, 456
225, 235–45, 255, 287–90, 311, 332–5, Games, Plebeian 171, 254, 410, 428,
340, 346, 360–7, 371–3, 383–4, 388–90, 461–2, 562, 593, 610
403, 411, 415, 419–24, 452–6, 461, 471, Games, Roman 171, 254, 386, 410, 428,
488, 502–3, 511–12, 518–23, 530, 542– 461, 528, 562, 593, 610
50, 556–8, 564, 573–4, 585, 593, 606– Gaul (Cisalpine) passim, esp. xv–xvi,
17, 655, 660, 672–3, 690–1, 696, 700–3, xx–xxii, xxxi, 18–24, 149, 163–4,
707, 711 346–7, 408–10, 427, 440, 459–60, 519,
Floronia (Vestal Virgin) 125–6 621, 635–9, 705
Fonteius, Tiberius 297–301, 332 Gauls passim, esp. xxvi, xxxi, 26–44,
Formiae 84, 112 115–16, 126–33, 163, 243, 428–31, 436,
Fortuna 249, 393, 411, 559, 659, 698 442–3, 520–1, 584, 602–3, 623, 634,
Forum Boarium 62, 126, 206, 667 639, 646–8, 655
Forum Subertanum 340, 669 Gelo (son of Hiero) 170, 200, 222–4, 654
Fossa Graeca 512, 691 Genua (Genoa) 32, 512, 520, 563, 691,
Fregellae 320–1, 340, 392, 415, 462, 704
666 Genucius, Lucius 382
Frusino 321, 429, 565 Gereonium 86, 92–3, 101, 109, 113, 645
Fulvius, Gaius (possibly same as Gaius Gisgo (envoy) 175
Fulvius Flaccus) 60 Gisgo (Punic senator) 607–8, 713
Fulvius Centumalus, Gnaeus 244, 254, Great Plains (N. Africa) 570, 710
309–10, 378–9, 387–8 Grumentum (Apulia) 180, 434, 652
Fulvius Flaccus, Gaius 316, 328, 353,
389 Hadria 76, 206, 392
Fulvius Flaccus, Gnaeus 253–4, 280, Hadrumentum (Sousse, Tunisia) 595,
311–14, 347, 387–8, 486 605, 708–12
Fulvius Flaccus, Quintus 79, 160–2, 171, Hamilcar Barca xi–xiv, xix, 3–4, 12, 41,
174–6, 205, 253–7, 270, 279, 282, 241, 438, 444, 631–2, 658
309–10, 314–15, 320–1, 327, 345–7, Hamilcar (son of Gisgo) 51
352–5, 380–1, 384–9, 393–4, 399, Hamilcar (at Locri) 195–6, 522, 524, 534,
408–14, 427–8, 434–6, 503, 510, 532, 653
589–91, 666–7, 671, 706–7 Hamilcar (fleet-commander) 386
Fulvius Gillo, Quintus 588 Hannibal (son of Bomilcar) 193
Fundanius Fundulus, Marcus 254 Hanno (1, the Great) xii, xiv, xv, xxix,
Furius, Marcus 613 4–5, 11–12, 147–9, 586, 614, 631, 705
Furius Bibaculus, Lucius 118 Hanno (2) 23, 60–1
 index 733
Hanno (3, son of Bomilcar) 27–8, 180, Himilco (2, commander at Castulo) 475
186, 190, 195–8, 209–10, 216, 252, 255, Hippacra (Hippo Diarrhytus,
269–73, 436, 634, 696–7 Bizerte) 307, 518–20, 555, 692
Hanno (4) 183 Hippo Regius 518–20, 555, 665;
Hanno (5, officer at Capua) 315, 324–5 see also Hippacra
Hanno (6, general in Sicily) 307–8, 361–2 Hippocrates 201–2, 221, 225–35, 239,
Hanno (7, general in Spain) 448–9, 452 283, 287–92, 307, 348–9, 655, 657
Hanno (8) 478, 487–8 Hirpini (Samnite people) 80, 133–5, 180,
Hanno (9) 550, 557 184–6, 399, 648
Hanno (10) 556–7 Hostilius Cato, Aulus 426–8, 461
Harmonia (daugher of Gelo, tyrant of Hostilius Cato, Gaius 426–8, 446
Syracuse) 222–4 Hostilius Mancinus, Lucius 83
Hasdrubal (1, son-in-law of Hostilius Tubulus, Gaius 386–7, 393,
Hamilcar) xiv-xvi, 4–6, 19, 631 410–13, 433–4, 461, 530
Hasdrubal (2, brother of Hannibal) xv,
xxv-xvi, 22–3, 32, 40, 61–2, 84–9, Iamphorynna 343
165–9, 193, 241, 295–9, 332–3, 336, Idaean Mother (Cybele) 526, 531–2, 693
364, 383–7, 403–8, 427–32, 436–48, Ide 476, 686
628, 633–4, 646, 669, 677–82 Ilergetes (Spanish people) 23, 61, 89,
Hasdrubal (3, son of Gisgo) xiv, xv, 242, 374, 483, 487–93, 516–18, 633–4, 638,
295–6, 301, 336, 407–8, 448–50, 642–3, 664, 686–7
464–72, 504–5, 543–4, 549, 552, 556–8, Iliberri 24
567–71, 590–1, 594, 669, 684, 696, 701 Ilipa, see Silpia
Hasdrubal (4, Calvus ‘the bald’) 176, Iliturgi 193, 242, 332, 472–5, 481, 653,
183–4, 652 658, 663, 668, 686
Hasdrubal (5, Haedus ‘the Kid’) 614–16, Ilium 529, 694
713–14 Illyria, Illyrians xvi, xvii, xxi, 17, 102,
Hasdrubal (6) 115–17, 173 219, 341–2, 423, 643–4, 657, 708
Helvius, Gaius 585 Indibilis (king of the Ilergetes) 89, 297,
Helvius, Marcus 396 374, 402–3, 407, 479–85, 489–95, 504,
Henna 236–9 515–17, 638, 642, 664, 678, 686, 692,
Heraclea (1, S. Italy) 128, 218, 258 704
Heraclea (2, Sicily) 234–5, 290, 308, 657 Ingauni (Ligurian tribe) 512, 520, 585,
Heraclea (3, Greece) 453–7, 682–3 691, 693, 705
Heraclia (daughter of Hiero) 224–5 Insubres, Insubrian Gauls 24, 38, 45, 72,
Heraclitus (‘Scotinus’) 182 102, 583, 620, 705
Herbesus 228–9, 234 Interamna 320, 391, 532
Hercules 63, 633 Intibili 193, 653
Hercules, Pillars of (Gibraltar) 43, 139 Isalca 155, 650
Herdonea 281–3, 378–9, 662, 674 ‘Island’ (passed by Hannibal) 31, 621–2
Herennius, Gaius 25 ‘Island’ (Syracuse), see Nassos
Hexapylon (Syracuse) 218, 231–2, 239,
285, 656, 662 Janiculum 82, 207
Hibera 168, 651 Julius Caesar, Gaius ix, 697
Hiero (king of Syracuse) xiii, 49–51, Julius Caesar, Sextus 409–11, 419
105–6, 125, 160, 170, 181, 198–9, 226, Junius Bubulcus, Gaius 385
286, 292–4, 348–52, 636 Junius Pennus, Marcus 528, 611
Hieronymus (grandson of Hiero) Junius Pera, Marcus 126–7, 149, 172
199–202, 218, 291–2, 349, 654–5 Junius Silanus, Marcus 151, 253–5, 280,
Himera (river) 201, 307 310, 335, 373, 388, 411, 448, 450, 464,
Himilco (1) 86, 147–8, 167–9, 234–9, 467–71, 482, 486, 493
283, 287–9, 650, 657 Junius, Decimus 282
734 index
Juno Lacinia 174–5, 197, 513, 587, 654 Litana (forest in N. Italy) 163
Juno Sospita (Lanuvium) 62–3, 67, 172, Liternum 84, 177
206, 531 Livius Andronicus 429, 680
Livius Macatus, Marcus 217, 263–4, 359,
Lacedaemonians, see Sparta 361, 413–14, 425
Lacetani, -ia 23, 60–2, 479, 482–3, 493, Livius Salinator, Marcus xvi, xxv, xxvii,
633, 638, 686 18, 104, 136, 425–33, 439–46, 458–61,
Lacinium (Cape) xxviii, xxxi, 414, 633, 505, 513, 520–1, 530, 560–2, 589, 633,
646, 654; see also Juno Lacinia 644, 661, 679–83, 694, 699
Lacumazes 551–2 Livius Salinator, Gaius 340, 562, 593,
Laelius, Gaius 366, 371–6, 386–7, 403–6, 612
470–4, 478, 486–92, 515, 519–21, Locri/Locrians xxvi, 133, 170, 184,
545–6, 556, 567, 571–82, 588–91, 195–8, 221, 228, 346, 414–19, 521–6,
602–6, 612, 636, 672–7, 688, 692, 696, 535–42, 648–54, 661, 693–5
703–12 Locris (Greece) 343, 455
Laetorius, Gaius 170, 282, 340, 387–8, Loesius, Seppius 318, 326
528 Longuntica (probably Lucentum,
Laetorius, Lucius 610 Spain) 88, 642
Lanuvium 62–3, 67, 172, 206, 320, 531; Lucania/Lucanians 112–13, 133, 147,
see also Juno Sospita 180, 205, 211, 216–17, 245, 249–55,
Larinum 86, 92, 437, 680 274–80, 324, 379, 387, 399, 414, 427,
Larisa 452–3 434–7, 447, 463, 485, 645, 648, 656,
Latin Festival 64, 267, 639 677, 680
Latin peoples/allies 55, 66, 154, 160–1, Luceria 76, 82, 174, 180, 191, 198,
256, 329–31, 390, 467, 490, 539, 548, 206–10, 217, 244, 254, 392
612, 616, 640, 649–51, 660, 666, 675–6, Lucretius, Lucius 60
688, 695 Lucretius, Marcus 384, 431
Latin Way 79, 124, 320 Lucretius, Spurius 498, 512, 520–1, 530,
Latium 462, 518, 641, 667 563
lectisternium (ritual ceremony) 63, 67–8, Lusitania, Lusitanians 43, 57, 88, 408
76–7, 532 Lutatius, Gaius (land commissioner) 25,
Lemnos xxxiv, 452–3 586
Leontini 202, 218–21, 227–33, 239, 349 Lutatius, Quintus 616
Leptis 592, 708–9 Lutatius Catulus, Gaius xiii, 19, 82, 149,
Lesser Syrtis 555, 697 497–8, 502, 588, 706
Licinius, Gaius 18
Licinius, Marcus 396 Macedonia, Macedonians 175–6, 180–1,
Licinius Crassus Dives, Publius 257, 192, 209, 240–1, 245, 338, 341–2, 346,
384–9, 409–10, 425, 497–8, 503, 388, 411, 421–4, 454, 592, 602, 613–14,
509, 512, 526, 530, 559, 563, 660, 700 670, 695, 708, 711
Licinius Lucullus, Lucius 610 Macella 338
Licinius Pollio, Lucius 419 Machanidas (tyrant of Sparta) 420, 452,
Licinius Varus, Publius 386, 409–12, 456–7
446, 633 Maecilius Croto, Tiberius 171
Liguria, Ligurians 22, 26, 38, 47, 58–60, Maedi (Thracian tribe) 342–3, 453, 670,
102, 431, 442–4, 495, 504, 512–13, 682
520–1, 563, 585, 602, 691, 693, 696, Maesulians (Maesuli, Massyli)
705, 711 (Masinissa’s people) 250, 550–4,
Lilybaeum xiii, 49–51, 100, 125, 159, 574–5, 659, 692
184, 295, 383, 420, 452, 545–7, 617 Maevius, Marcus 585
Lipara Islands 49 Magalus (Boian chieftain) 29
Liris (river) 320, 354, 671 Magius, Decius 141–5, 654
 index 735
Magius Atellanus, Gnaeus 215 Mater Matuta 249, 260, 461, 659
Mago (1, brother of Hannibal) xii, Matienus, Publius 522–5
xxvii, 47, 54–6, 68, 135, 146–9, 173–5, Mauretania, Mauri (Moors) 23, 81, 106,
183, 193, 241–3, 295–9, 306, 336, 140, 166–9, 211, 218, 470, 551, 602–3,
367–76, 407–8, 418–19, 448–9, 464–5, 659, 686, 697
470, 478, 488–90, 495–7, 504, 512, Mazaetullus 550–2
519–21, 530, 559–63, 583–9, 636–7, medix tuticus 178, 215, 318, 674
645–52, 669, 672–3, 678, 685, 689–96, Megara 229–30, 234, 456
704–5, 711 Melita (Malta) 51
Mago (2) 367–71, 373, 376, 673 Meninx (island) 100, 643
Mago (3) 115 Menippus 424, 453
Mago (4, ‘the Samnite’) 273–7, 281, Mens (temple of) 76–8, 172–4
418–19, 661 Mentisa 332, 632, 668
Maharbal xxiii, 14, 45, 73, 81, 115, 120, Messana x, xiii, 49–51, 184, 196, 485,
155, 640–1, 645–6, 650, 703, 719 523–5, 540–1, 657, 687
Mamertines xiii, 485, 600 Messene, Messenians 421, 424, 529
Mamilius Atellus, Gaius 388, 426, 428, Metapontum, Metapontines 133,
431, 592 217–18, 266, 272, 361, 379, 402, 436,
Mamilius Turrinus, Quintus 460–2 447, 648, 661, 680
Mandonius (Spanish chieftain) 89, 374, Metaurus (river) xxvii, xxix, 442, 656,
402–3, 479–93, 504, 517–18, 642, 686, 680–3, 699
689 Metilius, Marcus 94, 282
Manlius Acidinus, Lucius 18, 25–6, 39, Mettius, Statius 215
102, 160, 340, 382, 445, 497, 516–17, Mincius (river) 206
530, 549, 564, 612, 689 Minturnae 429–30
Manlius Torquatus, Aulus 616 Minucius Rufus, Marcus 75, 81–6,
Manlius Torquatus, Titus 129, 132, 161 92–103, 118, 641–3, 668
Manlius Torquatus, Titus (another) 176, Minucius Thermus, Quintus 611, 615
182–3, 203, 257, 338, 351, 393, 424–6, Misenum (cape) 209
565, 594, 610 Moeniacoeptus (Gallic chieftain) 243
Manlius Volso, Lucius 104, 426 Moericus 293–4, 337–8, 349–50
Manlius Volso, Publius 340, 347, 386, Moors, see Mauretania
388 Mopsii (Samnite family) 135, 654
Manus (Capuan slave) 345 Munda 242, 658
Marcius (seer) 267, 661 mural crown 372–3, 673
Marcius, Marcus 386, 428 Murgantia 225, 236–9, 338, 669
Marcius Coriolanus, Gnaeus 687–8 Mutina 25, 410, 705
Marcius Ralla, Marcus 528–30, 564, 609 Muttines 307–8, 338, 361–2, 383, 390,
Marcius Septimus, Lucius 301–2, 306, 675
311, 332, 336, 358, 467, 471, 472, Mylas (river) 228, 231
475–8, 488–9, 493–4, 503–4,
664–5 Nabis (Spartan tyrant) 529
Marrucini 76, 206, 323–4, 437, 511 Naevius Crista, Quintus 240–1
Masaesulians (Masaesuli, Massaesyli) Narnia, Narnians 391, 437, 445, 532, 681
(Syphax’s people) 552, 574, 659 Nassos, Nassus (‘the Island’,
Masinissa (king of Numidia) xxii, xxvii, Syracuse) 218–23, 286, 292–5, 337,
xxx, 250–1, 297, 383–4, 407–8, 465–9, 621–9, 634, 662–3, 670
494–5, 504, 508, 519–21, 545, 550–7, Nassus (Arcania) 342–3
567–83, 588, 596, 602–7, 617, 649, 659, Naupactus 343, 420–3
692, 696–8, 703, 709–13 Navius, Quintus 315–16, 665–6
Massilia 21, 24–6, 335, 621, 638, 669, 691 Neapolis (Naples), Neapolitans 102, 135,
Massiva 407 150, 209, 648, 655, 691
736 index
Neapolis (Syracuse) 287, 656, 663 Ostia 78, 105, 125–6, 181, 280, 393, 411,
Nepete 354, 391, 532, 671 430, 531, 659
New Carthage passim, esp. 6–7, 16, 21–3, Otacilius Crassus, Titus 78, 100, 106–7,
86–8, 365–70, 386–7, 451–2, 470–2, 125, 159–60, 172–4, 184, 203–8, 245,
475–6, 482–3, 489–91, 495–6, 633, 635, 255, 295, 311, 338, 340, 346–7, 386,
672–3, 675, 678, 685–8, 702 655, 669
Nico (Perco) 261–3, 360, 401 ovation 337, 665–6
Ninnii Celeres 142
Nola 150–7, 173, 182–91, 209, 213–17, Paccius (Bruttian) 399
308, 587, 652–3 Pachynum (Cape) 226, 234–6, 289–90,
Norba 392 657
Nova Classis (Spain) 89, 642–3 Paelignians 76, 86, 270–2, 323, 512, 661
Nuceria 151–2, 187, 381, 649 Paestum 105, 359, 392, 691
Numidia, Numidians xix, xxii, xxiv, Panormus 235–6, 515, 657
xxvii, xxx, 23, 29, 45–57, 68, 81–3, 93, Papirius Cursor, Lucius 82, 205, 655
112–21, 135, 140, 149, 166–9, 185, 190, Papirius Maso, Gaius 25
208–11, 218, 249–51, 262–3, 276, Papirius Maso, Gaius (son of Gaius;
297–9, 307–8, 314–25, 338, 359–62, pontiff) 253
379, 383, 389, 404–7, 415–19, 431–6, Papirius Maso, Gaius (son of Lucius;
463–5, 494, 504–8, 521–3, 534, 543–4, pontiff) 253
550–6, 566–84, 602–6, 646, 650–1, 659, Parthini 528, 529
686, 695–703, 709–11 Pedanius, Titus 271–2
Numistro 379–80, 676 Pella 342–3
Nursia 511 Pentri (Samnites) 133, 648
Peparethus 453–4
Obba (Oppa) 570, 701–2 Pergamum 527, 679, 694
Octavius, Gnaeus 498, 513, 530, 559, Perseus (Macedonian general) 342, 670
564, 590, 606, 612, 617 Persius, Gaius 361
Oeniadae 342–3 Perusia 155, 158, 511
Oezalces (brother of Gala) 550–2 Pessinus 526–7, 693
Ogulnius, Marcus 381 Petelia/Petelians 158–9, 169–70, 415,
Olbia 386 651, 654
Olcades (Spanish tribe) 6, 7 Pettius, Herius 186
Old Fields (Lucania) 276 Phalara 420–1
Olympia 342 phalarica 10
omens and supernatural phenomena 46, Phileas (Tarentine) 261
62–7, 70, 76, 105, 112, 125–6, 172, Philemenus (Tarentine) 261–4, 401
206–7, 245, 260–1, 274, 318, 323, 340, Philip V (king of Macedon) xxi, 102,
365, 393, 402, 411–12, 415–16, 429, 174–81, 191–2, 206–9, 240–1, 284,
461–2, 526–7, 530–1, 548, 564–5, 339–46, 356–7, 399, 420–4, 452–8, 519,
591–2, 609, 638–9, 644–5, 659–60, 673, 527–9, 592, 610–13, 644–52, 657,
678, 713 670–2, 682–3, 693, 708
Onussa (Spain) 23, 633, 642 Philip (Epirote official) 529
Opimia (Vestal Virgin) 125–6 Philistio 291
Oppia, Vestia 353–4 Philodemus 286–7
Opus 455–8 Phocaea 335, 669
Orestis 424 Phocis 453–5
Oretani (Spanish tribe) 13–14, 632, 668 Phoenice (Epirus) 529
Oreus 454–8, 683 Phrygia 527
Oricum 240–1, 342 Phthiotis 454, 682
Orongis 450–1, 658, 682 Picenum 62–3, 75, 149, 174, 206–7, 245,
Orsua (gladiator at New Carthage) 476 254, 437–8
 index 737
Pinarius, Lucius 236–9, 657 Ptolemy IV (Philopator; king of
Pinnes (Illyrian king) 102 Egypt) 145, 224, 382, 420, 456, 649,
Pisa 39 656–7, 675
Pityusa 486, 689; see also Ebusus Publicius Bibulus, Gaius 408–9
Placentia (Piacenza) xvi, 24–5, 39, 47, Publicius Bibulus, Lucius 122
56–9, 63, 392, 432, 436, 462, 637, 680 Punic War, First xiii–xiv, xxi, xxii, xxiv,
Plator 454–5 3, 92, 112, 130, 148–9, 463, 497–8, 502,
Pleiades 36, 628, 634–5 509, 547, 631–2, 641, 662–3, 687
Pleminius, Quintus xxvi, 522–5, 534–43, Pupinia (Latium) 321
693–5 Pupius, Gaius 102
Pleuratus (king of Thrace) 341, 421, 453, Puteoli 202, 208–9, 280–2, 332–5,
529 588
Po (river) xvi, 24–6, 32, 36, 39, 43, 47, 52, Pyrenees xv, 23–6, 30, 60–1, 188, 335,
57 367, 406–7, 633, 668, 686, 692
Poetelius, Publius 382 Pyrgi 255–6, 660
poll-tax payers xxvii, 214, 243, 394, 561, Pyrrhus x, xii, xviii, 128–9, 141, 184–5,
699 197, 201, 246, 258, 485, 524, 536, 648,
Polyaenus (Syracusan) 219–20 680, 687, 694
Polyclitus (Syracusan officer) 291 Pyrrias (Aetolian leader) 420
Polycratia (Achaean lady) 422, 679
Polyphantas 424, 453 Quadrigarius, Claudius xxxi, 649, 664
Pomponius, Sextus 51 Quinctilius Varus, Marcus 584
Pomponius Matho, Marcus 74, 103–4, Quinctilius Varus, Publius 562–3, 583–4,
124, 162, 206, 213, 244, 341, 461, 593
511, 528–30, 540–7, 564, 593–4, 695, Quinctius Crispinus, Titus 239, 277–8,
699 288, 386–7, 409–10, 414–19, 424–6,
Pomponius Matho, Marcus 486, 594, 662
(another) 562, 644, 656 Quinctius Flamininus, Kaeso 102
Pomponius Veientanus, Titus 252, 255, Quinctius Flamininus, Lucius 253
662 Quinctius (Flamininus), Titus 530
Pontiae 392 Quinctius, Decimus 359–60
Pontiffs, College of 76, 245, 395, 383, Quinta, Claudia 531, 694
414, 429, 539–40, 565 Quintilian xxiii
Popillius, Publius 382 Quirinus 203, 462, 655, 693
Popillius, Titus 317
Populonium 609 Raecius, Marcus 428
Porcius Cato, Marcus xxxi, 546, 694–5 Reate 261, 323, 340, 511, 565
Porcius Licinus, Lucius 317, 386, Rhegium xxxiv, 170, 195–6, 324–5, 359,
426–31, 440–2, 458–61, 682 363, 394, 485, 521–5, 541, 651–7, 687
Postumius Albinus, Aulus 149 Rhodes, Rhodians 420, 456
Postumius Albinus, Lucius 104, 162–4, Rhône (river) xxviii, 26–32, 38–43, 60,
172, 312, 486 431–2, 620–9, 635, 653, 680
Postumius, Marcus (of Pyrgi) 255–7 Ruscino 24
Postumius Megellus, Lucius 385 Rusucmon (harbour in N. Africa) 573,
Praeneste, Praenestines 67, 79, 154–8, 703
206, 458–9, 638, 650–1
Praetutia, Praetutii 76, 437 Sabatum (Campania) 353–4, 671
Privernum 393 Sabines, Sabine territory 79, 105, 206,
Promontory of Apollo (Africa) 590, 696 511
Promontory of Mercury (Africa) 548, Sacred Spring 76–7
696 Saguntum, Saguntines xvi, xvii, xxiii,
Prusias (king of Bithynia) 421, 456, 529 xxvi, xxviii, xxix, 4–21, 30, 39–44, 81,
738 index
Saguntum, Saguntines (cont.) : 460, 498, 512–13, 562–3, 586, 589–90,
89–91, 156, 243, 336, 498–500, 587–8, 700, 707
600, 631–3, 658, 668–9, 685–90 Servilius Casca, Gaius 255–6
Salaeca (Africa) 556–7, 697–8 Servilius Geminus, Gaius (land
Salapia 217–18, 248, 358–9, 378, 417–18 commissioner) 25, 410, 585–6, 634
Salassi (Alpine people) 38, 628 Servilius Geminus, Gaius (son of
Sallentini 191–2, 218, 252, 399, 410, above) 272, 410, 424, 428, 460–1, 510,
428–9, 433–4, 648, 659, 680 562–3, 585–6, 589, 593, 610, 700,
Saluvi (mountains) 26 707
Samnium, Samnites 80–6, 93–4, 123, Servilius Geminus, Gnaeus 16, 57, 66,
130–9, 147, 184–6, 205, 216–17, 259, 76–8, 100–1, 109–15, 119, 385, 424
269, 323–6, 378–9, 436, 485, 648, Servilius Geminus, Marcus 340, 590–3,
652–5, 660–1, 667, 677, 687 609–12, 707
Sarar (river) 31, 621–2 Setia 320, 391, 531–2
Sardinia, Sardinians x, xi, xv, xvi, 3, 17, Sextilius, Marcus 392
40–4, 53, 66, 94, 100, 123, 159–60, Sextius Sabinus, Marcus 593, 612
171–6, 182–4, 192, 206–7, 245, 255, Sibylline Books 63, 67, 76–7, 105, 126,
280–2, 309–11, 347, 364, 386–8, 268, 526, 638, 647
410–11, 428, 461, 498, 513, 530, 559, Sicily passim, esp. x, xii–xiv, xvii–xviii,
563–5, 585, 590, 597–9, 608–13, 636, xxv, 40–51, 66, 100–7, 123–5, 159, 164,
647, 652, 704, 713 170–4, 181, 192, 198–208, 214–28,
Saticula 139, 150, 392 234–48, 355–64, 383–94, 411–19, 452,
Satricum 353, 461, 671 508–20, 540–7, 564–5, 589–600,
Saturnalia 67–8, 606, 661, 712 608–12, 632, 636, 645–7, 654, 657, 662,
Scantinius, Publius 160 672, 675, 683, 687, 690
Scerdilaedus (king of Illyria) 341, 421–4, sickness, see epidemic
453 Sicyon 422–4
Scopas (Aetolian) 341–3 Sidicinum, Sidicini 112, 126, 139, 320,
Scotussa 453–5, 682–3 667; see also Teanum Sidicinum
Scribonius Libo, Lucius 133, 160, Signia 392
528, 530, 563 Silenus xxviii–xxix, xxxi–xxxii, 373,
Sedetani (Spanish tribe) 479, 489, 516, 627–8, 633, 638, 641, 646, 662–3, 705,
677, 686–8 710
Sempronius Blaesus, Gaius 311–12, Silpia (more correctly Ilipa; Spain) 464,
384–5 684
Sempronius Blaesus, Tiberius 100 Sinuessa 81–4, 172–3, 177, 393, 429–30
Sempronius Gracchus, Tiberius 126, Sopater 221–3, 592, 613
157, 162–4, 170–3, 177–8, 199, 215, Sophoniba xxiii–xxiv, xxvii, xxxii–xxxiii,
244, 255, 274–7, 280, 312–13, 651, 656, 569, 576–80, 649, 695, 703
661–2, 699 Sora 391, 532
Sempronius Longus, Tiberius 8, 16–17, Sosis 218–20, 228–9, 286–7, 337, 349–50
49–65, 79, 86, 114, 180, 386, 616, Sositheus (Magnesian) 182
636–42 Spain passim, esp. xiv–xxii, xxix, xxxi,
Sempronius Longus, Tiberius (son of 3–8, 20–3, 30–2, 60, 86–91, 149,
above) 386 164–73, 192–4, 241–3, 249–51,
Sempronius Tuditanus, Marcus 372–3 293–306, 332–6, 363–72, 382–8, 402,
Sempronius Tuditanus, Publius 119, 407–11, 448–52, 464, 470–518, 538–9,
130–1, 244, 249, 255, 310, 393–4, 428, 549–52, 564–5, 581, 631–43, 653,
528–30, 559, 563, 593 657–8, 663–4, 668–9, 674, 680, 683,
Sena 430, 440, 681 685, 688, 693–4
Sergius, Marcus 522, 525–6 Sparta, Spartans (Lacedaemon,
Servilius Caepio, Gnaeus 253, 385, 424, Lacedaemonians) xxxi–xxxii, 284,
 index 739
341, 420, 452, 456–7, 507, 529, 665, Telesia 80, 217
690–2 Terentius Culleo, Quintus 64, 616–17
Spoletium 75, 392, 641 Terentius Varro, Gaius 95, 103–15,
Statilius, Marius 111–13, 645 123–5, 130, 139, 161–4, 174, 181,
Statorius, Quintus 250, 594, 709 206–7, 245, 255, 412–13, 426–8, 461,
Stellas (Campanian plain) 80, 641 592, 628, 642–50, 665
Sucro (mutiny at) 479–87, 539, 687 Thapsus 551, 697
Suessa (Italian city) 315–16, 320, 391, Themistus 222–5
532 Theodotus 200–1, 218–21
Suessetani (Spanish tribe) 297, 479, 664, Thermopylae 453–5, 682–3
686–7 Thessaly, Thessalians 342, 420–4, 529,
Suessula (Castra Claudiana) 150–4, 682–3
171–3, 182, 190–1, 209, 213, 245–8, Thrace 342–3, 670
254, 261, 282, 652 Thraso 200–1
Sulmo 323–4 Thurii 261, 272–3, 361, 379, 415, 671
Sulpicius Galba, Gaius 309–10, 610 Tiber (river) x, 31, 78, 205, 335, 354, 531,
Sulpicius Galba, Publius 309–10, 338, 609, 659, 667, 670, 679–80
344, 347, 388, 392, 411, 420–4, 452–7, Tibur 78, 79, 617, 720
528, 590, 593, 693, 707 Ticinus (river) 16, 39, 45–8, 57
Sulpicius Galba, Servius 410, 527, 593 Tifata Mountains 178–82, 186, 208, 315
Sutrium 354, 390–1, 532, 671 Torone (actually Thronium) 456, 683
Sybaris 360, 671 Tralles (Illyrian tribe) 423
Syphax (king of the Masaesulii) xxx, Trasimene (Lake) xi, xix, xxiii, xxv, 70–5,
249–51, 382, 470–2, 504, 509, 519, 80, 108, 115, 123, 127, 136, 156,
543–5, 551–8, 566–82, 594–8, 606, 610, 186–92, 204–8, 229, 265, 325, 364, 385,
617, 659, 685–92, 697–703, 709, 714 395, 433, 587, 597–8, 640–7, 662, 703
Syracuse passim, esp. x, xii–xvi, xxi, xxv, Trebellius, Quintus 372–3
xxx, 49, 199–202, 218–39, 283–95, Trebia (river) 16, 48–59, 115, 127, 150,
337–41, 347–52, 515, 522–5, 539–44, 156, 186–9, 364, 432, 652
636, 654–7, 662–3, 670, 690 Trebius, Statius (at Compsa) 135
Tremelius Flaccus, Gnaeus 527, 593, 612
Tagus (river) xiv, xv, 7, 406, 669 Tricastini (Gallic tribe) 31, 621–5
Tannetum 25–6, 585–6, 634, 705 Trigorii (Gallic tribe) 31
Tarentum/Tarentines passim, esp. x, triumph 63, 149–50, 327–8, 336–7,
xxiv, xxv, 11–12, 141, 174, 208–9, 214, 459–60, 490, 497, 577, 580, 617, 669,
217, 252, 261–72, 283, 290, 336, 683, 714
359–61, 387–8, 392–3, 399–402, Turdetani (Spanish people) 7–8, 14, 243,
413–15, 424–37, 461, 530, 632, 648, 468, 499, 631–2, 651, 658, 685, 689
654, 661, 677, 680 Turduli (Spanish people) 499, 631–2,
Tarpeian Rock 217, 261, 656, 661 689
Tarquinii 314, 382, 511, 647 Turitani (less correctly Turdetani,
Tarracina 84, 245, 261, 382, 461, 531 Turduli) 632, 658, 689
Tarraco (Tarragona) 61, 62, 86–9, 332–6, Tusculum xi, 321, 382
363, 369, 376–7, 386, 402, 407, 452, Tutia (river) 323
464–73, 493–5, 503, 634, 638, 642–3, Tycha (Syracuse) 218, 287, 656, 663
673, 685–7 Tynes (Tunis) 572, 580–1, 606, 702
Tartesii (Spanish people) 165–6, 651,
657 Umbria 75, 437, 445, 460, 480–7, 511, 681
Taurini 38–9, 620, 628, 635 Utica (N. Africa) xi, 295, 383, 452, 550,
tax-collectors 252, 255–7, 660 556–8, 565–72, 591, 605–6, 664, 682,
Teanum Sidicinum 126, 162, 172, 329, 692, 696–703, 711
667 Uzentini (Italian people) 133, 648
740 index
Vaccaei (Spanish people) 6–7, 631 Vibellius Taurea, Cerrinus
Valerius Antias (historian) xxix, xxxi, (Campanian) 143, 190–1, 203, 330,
306, 373, 557, 565, 586, 596, 632, 649, 653, 667
674, 691, 698, 705, 709 Vibius (Bruttian noble) 399
Valerius Antias, Lucius 176 Vibius Virrius (Campanian) 140, 326–8,
Valerius Falto, Marcus 527, 531, 592, 648, 654
611–12 Vibo (Italian town) 51
Valerius Flaccus, Gaius 388–9 Victory (Mt.; Spain) 242, 658
Valerius Flaccus, Publius 8, 12, 153, 175, Victumulae 45, 58
181, 240, 319–20, 632 Vicus Insteius (Rome) 206, 655
Valerius Laevinus, Marcus 162, 171–5, Vicus Iugarius (Rome) 249, 430, 659
181, 191, 203, 206–7, 217, 240–1, 245, Vicus Tuscus (Rome) 430
255, 311, 339–40, 347, 381–3, 387–90, Villius Tappulus, Publius 254, 562–4,
411, 425–6, 452, 461, 513, 527, 533, 593, 612
589, 632, 670, 683 Virgil 628, 655
Valerius Messalla, Marcus 383–4, 387, Vismarus (Gallic chieftain) 243
419–20 Vocontii (Gallic tribe) 31, 621–4
Veii 70, 82, 259, 354, 429, 639, 671 Volcae (Gallic tribe) 26, 621, 680
Velia 359 Volciani (Spanish tribe) 20
Velitrae 609 Volsinii 412
Venus of Eryx (temple of) 76–8, 170–2, Volturnus (river) 81–3, 150, 155–7,
560, 609 177–82, 209, 280–2, 315–20, 327, 354,
Venusia 118, 122–3, 128–30, 138, 259, 641, 666
380, 392, 408–10, 414, 434–6, 678 Volturnus (wind) 113–15, 645
Verginius, Lucius 436 Voturia (century) 338–9
Vermina (son of Syphax) 555–6, 606, Vulcan (island) 49–51
610 Vulcan (god) 77, 190, 206, 569
Vesta, Vestal Virgins 77, 125–6, 345–6, Vulceii 399, 677
462, 647, 683
Veturius Philo, Lucius 103, 386, Xanthippus 507, 665, 690
425 Xenophanes 174–5
Veturius Philo, Lucius (son of
above) 353, 386–7, 392, 410, Zacynthus (island) 342
446, 460–3, 497, 510–12, 527, 608, Zama (battle) xxi–xxii, xxix, xxx, 595,
610 601–5, 704–14
Veturius Philo, Tiberius 562 Zoippus (Syracusan) 199–200, 224