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.
21 He ordered a treasury official to appear Livy 33 46 1–7.
22 “We should be satisfied with having defeated him” Ibid., 33 47 5.
23 Scipio laughed and asked App Syr 10.
24 Scipio seems to have been in Carthage See Lancel, p. 195; Holleaux, pp. 75– 98.
25 His only remaining option was suicide Plut Flam 20 4–6 (including Hannibal’s last words).
26 he took poison Aconite was the deadliest known toxin in the ancient world, and usually takes an hour to begin to take effect, although a large dose can be fatal almost immediately. The symptoms are unpleasant. It might not have been easy to obtain a large dose, and to be certain of its effect. Suicide by slave was the surer choice.
27 “like a bird who is too old to fly” Plut Flam 21 1.
The sections of Polybius that cover this period have been lost, and Livy is the main source. Plautus and Terence evoke daily life in Rome.
1 a workshop of corruptions Livy 39 10 6–7.
2 There were more obscenities Ibid., 39 13 10–12.
3 An inscription has survived CIL i2 2, 581.
4 “no slur or disgrace” Livy 39 19 5.
5 “would jeer at their habits and customs” Ibid., 40 5 7.
6 “method of infecting people’s minds” and “Greek of humble origin” Ibid., 39 8 3–6.
7 moved by madness Cat 63 6–10. Catullus wrote in the first century, but he echoes what was believed and practised in the third.
8 Whenever a magistrate Plut Marc 5 1–2.
9 The image consists of a mask Polyb 6 53–54.
10 Rome was more than a space For a fuller account of urban living see Stambaugh, passim.
11 a tour of the Forum Plaut Curc 461ff.
12 “From virtue down to trash” This description of the Roman Forum is drawn from Plautus’s Curculio, pp. 462–86. In theory, both Plautus and Terence (see below) set their plays in Greek towns, but their urban descriptions are evidently Roman.
13 there was room, at a squeeze, Dyson, p. 49.
14 Most thoroughfares in the city were unpaved The paving of streets began in 174.
