22 “an excellent form of government” Arist Pol 2 8.
23 “Carthage would not have maintained an empire” Cic Rep 1 frag 3.
24 They followed up this action Polyb 1 7 3–4.
25 “pity for those at risk” Dio Sic 23 1 4.
26 “they would prove the most vexatious” Polyb 1 10 6.
27 “for want of judgment and courage” Ibid., 1 11 5.
28 “The truth is otherwise” Dio fragment 11 43.
29 Two men rowed with each of the top two oars Possible alternative arrangements were five men rowing with one oar or three men to an upper and two to a lower oar.
30 It was not a question Dio fragment 1 20 12.
31 A Punic quinquereme Some have questioned this story, arguing that Rome could have borrowed the naval skills of the Tarentines. But it would seem that they did not have quinqueremes (if they had, surely they would have lent them to Rome with their other ships). Carthaginian ships were recognized as being the best afloat.
32 [The trainers] placed the men Dio fragment 1 21 2. 227 perhaps by stoning Oros 4 4 8.
33 They locked him in a dark and deep dungeon Aul Gell 7 4 3. The historian was Quintus Aelius Tubero, either father or son. Polybius does not mention the story of the return to Rome, which surely he would have done if it had taken place, and so it has been discredited. As for Regulus’s torture, this may have been confected to justify his widow’s alleged torture of two Carthaginian POWs. See CAH 7, pt. 2, p. 556.
34 “Let them drink” Suet Tib 2 2 2.
35 “If only my brother were alive” Suet Tib 2 4.
36 “It is perfectly proper to assist” App Sic (Constantine Porphyrogenitus, The Embassies: 1).
37 In the end the contest was left drawn Polyb 1 58 5–6.
38 “Even though my country submits” Corn Nep Ham 1 5.
39 “the longest, the most continuous” Polyb 1 63 4.
12. “Hannibal at the Gates!”
Polybius is the main and most reliable source, with Livy telling much the same story, but his is more highly colored. Cautious use is made of Dio, Diodorus Siculus, and Appian.
1 “I was nine years old” Polyb 3 11 5–7. In the original, this passage appears in indirect speech.
2 “Hannibal ad portas” Cic Fin 4 9 22.
3 became besotted with an attractive young aristocrat Corn Nep Ham 3 2.
4 charges of maladministration App Han 2 2.
5 “inflicted on him all kinds of torture” Polyb 1 88 6.
6 A child tore his ear Flaubert, pp. 245–46.
7 “It is impossible to discover” Polyb 3 2 8 1.
8 Later on after the conclusion Dio Sic 25 8.
9 labor force of forty thousand slaves See Miles, pp. 219–20.
10 an embassy to Hamilcar Dio 12 48.
11 “fast asleep” Polyb 2 13 7.
12 Reckless in courting danger Livy 21 4 5–8.
13 notorious among his fellow citizens Polyb 9 26 11.
14 “We will not overlook this breach” Ibid., 3 15 7.
15 driven by starvation to cannibalism Aug Civ 3 20.
16 When the women watched the slaughter App Span 12.
17 The senior member of the delegation Polyb 3 33 2–4.
18 Twenty years had passed It is an oddity of history that the Second Punic War began after the same interval as that between the First and Second World Wars of the twentieth century and that, like the Germans, the Carthaginians felt that they had not been truly defeated, had been forced to pay excessive reparations, and had unfairly forfeited sovereign territory.
19 ninety thousand infantry and twelve thousand cavalry All the numbers in this paragraph come from the usually numerically conservative Polybius (Polybius 3 35).
20 A legendary personality This section is indebted to Miles, pp. 241–55.
21 He saw a vast monstrous wild beast Cic Div 1 24 49.
22 He issued silver shekels CAH 8, p. 39.
23 It was necessary to cut through rock Livy 21 37.
24 “a kindlier region” Ibid.
25 Scipio had put his son in command Polyb 10 3 4–5.
26 A spring sacred to Hercules Livy 21 62 9 and 22 1 10.
27 This was a correct judgment Flaminius’s contemporaries were unkind to him, and classical historians perhaps exaggerated his failings. There is no good reason, though, for rejecting the charge of impatience. It explains his actions.
28 The Consul’s death was the beginning Livy 21 6.
29 “Magna pugna victi sumus” Ibid., 22 7.
30 because of his gentle and solemn personality Plut Fab 1 3.
31 he had read a lot “for a Roman” Cic Sen 12.
32 “because he had not despaired of the Republic” Livy 22 61 14.
13. The Bird Without a Tail
Livy and Polybius follow the Second Punic War to its close. The latter is especially useful on Rome’s military organization.
1 Unus homo nobis cunctando Cic Off 1, 24, 84.
2 He threw a spear over the wall Plin Nat Hist 34 32.
3 he looked down on the city Plut Mar 19 1.
4 he looted so many paintings Ibid., 21 5.
5 “The Tarentines can keep their gods” Livy 27 16 8.
6 the Senate was unable to make up its mind Ibid., 26 18 3.
7 “If the People want to make me aedile” Ibid., 25 2 6.
8 Polybius was a friend of the Scipios Polyb 10 2 5.
9 “I am happy to be spoken of as kingly” Ibid., 10 40 6.
10 Hasdrubal’s army was already drawn up Livy 27 47.
11 When fortune had deprived him Polyb 11 2 9–10.
12 “Now, at last, I see plainly the fate” Livy 27 51 12.
13 “it had an enclosure surrounded by dense woodland” Ibid., 24 3. The discussion of the Temple of Juno was informed by Jaeger.
14 If we can believe Cicero Cic Div 1 24 48.
15 pro-Carthaginian original source From Hannibal’s personal historian, Silenus, via Coelius Antipater.
16 some Italian soldiers in the Punic army refused Livy 30 20 6.
17 You must pardon me Polyb 15 19 5–7.
18 the Republic’s military dispositions Ibid., 6 19–42.
19 “When we consider this people’s almost obsessive concern” Ibid., 6 39 11.
20 a huge number of olive trees Aur Vic Caes 37 3. A late source, but consistent with the nature of Carthage’s economic renaissance.