5 “The same wickedness” Cic Rep 3 14 24.
6 killed its aged king, Priam Readers will recall the Player’s speech in Hamlet act 2, scene 2, which describes the deed.
7 Alexander called to him in a dream Plut Pyr 11 2.
8 his appearance “conveyed terror” Ibid., 3 4–5.
9 sufferers from depression Ibid., 3 4–5.
10 the king wore a bone or ivory denture An alternative suggestion (see Champion, p. 19) is that Pyrrhus had fused teeth, but these usually come only in pairs and not as a complete row of teeth.
11 naturally brilliant Dio 9 40 3–4.
12 ate his heart away Hom Il 1 491f.
13 The city was “leafy” Hor Epist 1 16 11.
14 “mild winters” Hor Car 2 6 17–18.
15 To me the bonniest square miles Ibid., 13–16. Hymettus is a mountain range in Attica famous for its bees. Venafrum is a plain in central Italy crossed by the river Volturnus, where olive trees flourished.
16 army of more than thirty thousand men Strabo 6 3 4.
17 Later, because of their prosperity Ibid.
18 offered their services as neutral mediators Livy 9 14 1.
19 Postumius was invited The episode that follows was recorded in Dio 9 39 3–10 and Dio of H 19 5 and 6.
20 “This time they did not laugh” App Samn 7 3.
21 a famous anecdote of Plutarch’s Plut Pyr 14 2–7.
22 Archaeologists have discovered some of the tablets This paragraph is indebted to E. S. Roberts, “The Oracle Inscriptions Discovered at Dodona,” Journal of Hellenic Studies, vol. 1, 1880.
23 “Lord Zeus, Dodonean, Pelasgian Zeus” Hom Il 16 233ff.
24 During the great war Paus 8 11 12. According to Peter Levi, “Sicily” is probably one of the small hills above Syngrou Street, on the way to the Piraeus.
25 “construe the advice according to his wishes” Dio 9 40 6.
26 Those issued under Pyrrhus’s aegis See CAH 7 pt. 2, pp. 4636.
27 By this time the elephants were boxed up Arr 5 17.
28 Pyrrhus jumped up Plut Pyr 15 3–4.
29 “the mass of people were incapable” Ibid., 16 2.
30 “they fought out their country’s battles” Ibid., 16 2.
31 King Pyrrhus to Laevinus, Greeting Dio of H 19 9–10. Whether Dio is quoting from the original correspondence or making it up, the sense of the exchange is historical.
32 “The discipline of these barbarians” Plut Pyr 16 5.
33 Granicus The accounts are contradictory. The best hypothesis has Alexander send his army to cross the river Granicus uncontested downstream at night, surprising the Persians in the morning. See Green, Alexander of Macedon, Appendix.
34 “Another victory like this” Plut Pyr 219.
35 “King Pyrrhus and the Epirotes” CAH 7 pt. 2, pp. 468–69.
36 “He is like a player with dice” Plut Pyr 26 2. The speaker was Antigonus Gonatas, the king of Macedonia.
37 “After being cut to pieces” Zon (Dio) 8 4.
38 “I commend you, Pyrrhus” Ibid.
39 “His words have won me” Plut Pyr 14 2.
40 Cineas brought with him Ibid.
41 fashionable women’s dress Zon (Dio) 8 4.
42 The terms he proposed App Samn 10 1.
43 “Up to this time, I have regarded” Plut Pyr 19 1.
44 “council of many kings” Ibid., 19 5.
45 “ready speaker” Cic Brut 14 55.
46 archaeologists unearthed a stone box For this paragraph, see CAH 7 pt. 2 pp.471–72.
47 He had lost a great part of the forces Plut Pyr 21 10.
48 Whichever party may need help Polyb 3 25 3–5.
49 Punic Carthaginian. Latinization of phoinix, the Greek word for Carthaginian.
50 Wheeling round he pushed through Plut Pyr 24 3.
51 “Many roads to death” Ibid., 31 2.
52 with their purple costumes Plut Pyr 8 1. For “the poise of his neck,” see Plut Alex 4 1.
53 “My friends, what a wrestling ring” Plut Pyr 23 6.
11. All at Sea
Livy is still absent. Polybius, most accurate of ancient writers of Roman history, arrives in force. Cassius Dio, Diodorus, and Appian assist. An inscription describes Hanno’s travels. The Bible throws light on Punic religion.
1 the fleet sailed out The account of Hanno’s journey is given in full in Warmington, pp. 7 4–6. (Müller, K. [1965]: Geographi graeci minores. 1 1–14). The inscription, on which Hanno’s dispatch was recorded and which has now disappeared, was translated from Punic into Greek. Scholars have disagreed about its authenticity, but the story it tells is internally consistent and fits the geography. Since the dispatch was made public, it is reasonable to assume that some details were altered or omitted to deceive any potential rivals, especially in the earlier parts.
2 western limits of the known world Pind 4 69.
3 They unload their goods Her 4 196.
4 lack of water and blazingly hot weather Arr Ind 43 11–13.
5 Thirty-five days had elapsed Ibid.
6 an Egyptian Pharaoh with a penchant Her 4 42
7 quoted by a fourth-century A.D. Latin author Avienus in his geographical poem, Ora Maritima (“Sea Coasts”), pp. 114–29, 380–89, 404–15.
8 “I will stop the music of your songs” Ezek 26:13–14.
9 “transformed from Tyrians into Africans” Dio Chrys 25 7.
10 “If you have bought land” Col Re Rust 1 1 10.
11 often cited by Greek and Latin authors Especially Col Re Rust.
12 “getting bees from the carcass” Ibid. 9.14.6.
13 By comparison, Rome’s walls See Dyson, p. 18.
14 Beyond [the wall], the city rose in tiers Flaubert, p. 44.
15 On the island was built App Pun 96.
16 [They] are a hard and gloomy people Plut Mor 7990.
17 “so that no one could sacrifice his son” 2 Kings 23:10 (Good News Bible).
18 “They have built altars for Baal” Jer 19:5.
19 In their anxiety to make amends Dio Sic 20 14 4–6.
20 parents saved their own infants Plut Mor 171 C-D.
21 “It was to the lady Tanit” CIS i 5507.