Malicious Women and Vindictive Gods

Wickedness in Greek myth wasn't merely the purview of men. Plenty of evil women show up throughout myth and legend and are punished by the gods for plenty of similar sins; wickedness, greed, pride and stupidity.

Jason and the Golden Fleece

Perhaps the most famous of evil women was the "witch" Medea. Meeting and aiding Jason on his quest to acquire the golden fleece of Colchis, her actions speak for the malicious streak running through her. Marrying Jason upon obtaining the fleece, they were chased from Colchis. To escape Medea killed her half-brother and threw his limbs overboard one by one, knowing her father would stop to collect them.

Equally, upon returning to Jason's home town of Iolcus she tricked the kings daughter into killing him making way for Jason to take the thron, by telling her that she could restore his youth by boiling him in a cauldron. Medea was a malicious women, who was eternally on the run, from the last people that she had outraged.

What follows are tales of some equally evil woman and there end.

Phaedra

Phaedra was the hero Theseus's second wife. Jealous of his son by his first wife, Hippolytus, she lied and told her husband that Hippolytus has attacked her. Disgusted by this, Theseus asked the god Poseidon to punish his evil son.

While driving his chariot along the sea shore, Poseidon used a giant wave to spook Hippolytus' horses, resulting in a terrific crash and the death of the driver. Ashamed of what had happened, Phaedra not intending Hippolytus to die told Theseus the truth and then hung herself to avoid her husband's anger.

The Daughters of Danaus

Poseidon had two grandsons, Danaus and Aegyptus. Danaus had fifty daughters while Aegyptus had fifty sons. After their father dies the two brothers quarrelled over their inheritence, until finally to keep the peace Aegyptus suggested this his sons marry Danaus' daughters.

An oracle warned Danaus that his brother intended to kill him and his daughters. Running away they were trapped in a Argos and besieged into consenting to the marriages. The marriages duly took place, but Danaus gave each of his daughters one huge sharp hair-pin and told them to kill their husbands. All but one carried out their wicked crime.

The daughters survived, but upon their deaths they went to Tartarus where they were made to carry water back and forth in leaking jars, so their task would never end.

Scylla

The city of Megara was underattack from King Minos of Crete. King Nisus' daughter Scylla, watched King Minos from the safety of her city walls and fell in love with him. King Nisus' had a magic lock of hair, which as long as it was in his possession his city was safe.

Scylla stole this magic lock of hair and escaping the city gave it to King Minos. With the lock of hair in his possession, King Minos won war and killed Nisus, but being so disgusted with how Scylla had betrayed her own father, sailed for home without her. Throwing herself into the sea she swam after him, but her fathers ghost fell on her from the sky as an eagle and she drowned.

Malicious women invariably end up being wicked to gain the approval of a loved one or at the behest of a man. What there is no denying is that in the world of ancient Greek myth and legend, woman are just as capable of being evil as men.


Thanks for Reading
James

Wicked Men and Vengeful Gods

Greek myths are abound with wicked men, doing wicked things and being punished for their wicked ways. Invariably in their tales these men incur the wrath of the gods and are doomed to a punishment that while cruel, has some sort of ironic twist to it.

Dionysus fromBritish Museum

Everyone knows of the tale of King Midas who upon winning a favour from Dionysus for looking after Silenus, one of his companions, wished that everything he touched would turn to gold. However no longer able to drink or eat as "everything he touched turned to gold" it was only after he embraced his daughter and she turned into a gold statue that he pleaded for the wish to be removed. While not necessarily wicked, the tale of Midas is a cautionary one on being careful what you wish for. 

However, here are three tales of wicked men, who were punished for their actions in three unique ways. 

Tantalus

Tantalus was a friend of Zeus and dined with the gods, however he abused the honour by stealing ambrosia and nectar, the food of the gods, and giving it to his friends on earth. He then pushed the gods further by testing their all knowing nature. 

Tantalus killed his own son, Pelops, and served him for dinner. It was forbidden for gods to eat human flesh, however they knew at once it was human flesh on their plates and for his crimes, Tantalus was sent to Tartarus by Zeus.

His punishment was fitting to his crime. Tantalus was forced to stand in a pool of water with fruit hanging just out of reach. If he tried to slake his thirst the water of the pool lowered and if he tried to reach for the fruit, the branch would lift the fruit away from him.

As such he was doomed to stand there, eternally tormented by hunger and thirst. 

Sisyphus

Sisyphus by Titian

Sisyphus was a particularly wicked man. Seducing his niece, he stole his brothers throne and betrayed Zeus's secrets. For his crime Zeus ordered Hades to take Sisyphus to Tartarus. Sisyphus slyly asked Hades to show him how the chains worked. Sisyphus quickly bound Hades in his own chains and took him prisoner. 

This created all sorts of problems as none of the dead could move to the underworld without Hades as a guide. Ares swiftly rescued Hades and Sisyphus was taken to Tartarus. There he was made to roll a boulder up a steep hill, upon reaching the top the boulder would roll back to the bottom. 

As such he was doomed to an endless task.

Ixion

Ixion was a murderer, having killed his future father-in-law. Zeus in a moment of generosity was prepared to forgive him, but instead of being grateful for a second chance, Ixion planned to carry off Hera, Zeus's wife. 

Zeus was not prepared to believe that one man could be so wicked and so made a cloud double of his wife. To his dismay Ixion stole this cloud double woman proving how wicked he really was. 

As punishment Zeus ordered Hermes to tie Ixion to a wheel of fire and sent him spinning around the sky. 

As such he was doomed to endless torment of pain for having angered the gods. 

These tales are of course tales told to teach a morale, no matter how clever you think you are, you will always get your comeuppance in the end. It's the gods will. 

If you have a favourite Greek myth of a wicked man being punished for his crimes why not tell it to us in the comments below. 

Thanks for Reading

James

Qualis Artifex Pereo - Nero The Last Emperor

A warm Mediterranean wind blows through the hills around Rome, bringing with it the smell of warmed earth from the days sun and the faintest sound of hooves through the encroaching night. Glittering in the dark, lamp light shines off the blade of a dagger held high, ready to be thrust downwards and so snuff out the light of Rome's "brightest star", Nero Claudius Ceasar Augustus Germanicus. The last of the Julio-Claudian Emperors.

The events that led to the suicide of the last member of the great Julio-Claudian dynasty are no less dramatic then the Emperor himself perhaps could of wished for. AD 68 saw Nero facing rebellion against his rule from the province of Gallia Lugdunensis, in response to his tax policies.

"This Vindex called together the Gauls, who had suffered much by the numerous forced levies of money and were still suffering at Nero's hands."

Cassius Dio Book 63 Chapter 22

The legions on the Rhine were sent into suppress the rebellion, which has recently gained support from the governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, Galba. The rebellion in Gaul was defeated at the Battle of Vesontio, however the spark had been applied to the powder keg and the German legions declared there own general, Verginius emperor. Verginius declined the offer, but despite momentarily regaining control of the situation, things were starting to slip away from Nero. 

Marble bust of Nero fromThe British Museum

Galba's popularity grew and the leader of the Praetorian Guard declared his loyalty to him. Perhaps learning from the history of his own family, Nero decided it was time to leave Rome. First heading to Ostia to sail for the loyal eastern provinces, Nero abandoned the idea,

"Whereupon he turned over various plans in his mind, whether to go as a suppliant to the Parthians or Galba, or to appear to the people on the rostra, dressed in black and beg as pathetically as he could for pardon for his past offences"

Suetonius Life of Nero Chapter 47

That night Nero slept in the palace. Indecisive he awakened to find the palace abandoned, Nero called for a gladiator to kill him. When no one answered, Nero with some of his freedmen, fled to a villa located in the hills outside Rome. 

At the same time the Senate were debating what course of action to take. Nero was the last member of the great Julio-Claudian dynasty founded over one hundred years ago by the best and greatest, Augustus the first emperor of Rome. There was no one in the Senate who had lived outside of the Julio-Claudian rule and some who questioned what would happen in the event of the fall of Nero. The threat and fear of civil war were ever present in the minds of all Romans. 

A courier arriving to Nero brought the news that he had been declared a public enemy and that it was the Senates intention to execute him. Demanding a grave be dug, Nero murmured his famous line,

"Qualis artifex pereo" or "What an artist the world is losing"

Suetonius Life of Nero Chapter 49

 Losing his nerve Nero asked one of his companions to kill himself to set him the example, however hearing the sound of hooves in the night, Nero steeled himself to face his end. Still unable to commit the act himself, he commanded his secretary, Epaphroditos to kill him. When the horsemen finally reached the villa they found Nero on the cusp of death. Attempting to stem the bleeding Nero's final words came from his lips "Too late. This is fidelity!".

Coin from AD 62 depicting Nero
from the British Museum 

Nero died on the 9th June AD 68 and with him the Julio-Claudian dynasty. The Senate declared him a public enemy after his death to win support from the future Emperor Galba, who was at that time bearing down on Rome. 

It is often said that it was Nero himself who lost the Empire, through his indecision and doubting his own support. It was Nero alone who threw his position away. After suppressing the rebellion in Gaul, the German legions remained loyal, if not completely content and you can only surmise that a less dramatic and more level headed Emperor could of easily equally crushed Galba's rebellion. After all it was only one governor out of the whole empire who had risen in revolt. Nero's resources, wealth and access to legions remained in tact. 

The end of AD 68 saw the fears of the Senate realised, with a return to civil war and what has become to be known as the Year of the 4 Emperors. The passing of Nero marks one of those watershed moments in Roman history, it paved the way for new dynasties and elected men to take the top job on the emperor of Rome. Tacitus says it best

"For the secret of empire was now revealed, that an emperor could be made elsewhere than at Rome"

Tacitus Histories Book 1 Chapter 4

Thanks for Reading

James

A Dinner Date with Scipio Africanus and Hannibal

In 193 BC the Roman general Scipio Africanus, the subduer of Carthage due to his victory at the Battle of Zama, after a period outside of the Roman political spotlight was part of a delegation sent to help settle a dispute that was brewing with Antiochus III of Syria.

Scipio Africanus

Seven years after the Battle of Zama saw Roman power finally destroy Carthage in the second Punic War, Hannibal Barca, the great terror of Rome, went into voluntary exile after the Romans requested his surrender, seeing Carthaginian power growing again under his leadership. Travelling the Mediterranean in 193 BC he ended up at the court of Antiochus III preparing for war with Rome and offered his help in his war.

Livy in his Ab Urbe Condita writes of a legendary meeting between these two great and influential men at the court of Antiochus III and a conversation that followed

"When Africanus asked who, in Hannibal's opinion, was the greatest general, Hannibal named Alexander, the king of the Macedonians because with a small force he has routed armies innumerable and because he has traversed the most distant regions, even to see which transcended human hopes. To the next request, as to whom he would rank second, Hannibal selected Pyrrhus, saying that he had been the first to teach the art of castrametation, besides no one had chosen his ground or placed his troops more discriminatingly; he possessed also the art of winning men over to him, so that the Italian people preferred the lordship of a foreign king to that of the Roman people, so long the master in that land. When he continued, asking whom Hannibal considered third, he named himself without hesitation"

Livy Ab Urbe Condita Book 35 Chapter 14

It's fairly safe to say that Scipio was angling for a compliment of his own military acumen from a man he had beaten in war, and also to have a little dig at Hannibal no doubt. But let us analyse the three men Hannibal chose as the greatest generals.

Ingot showing elephants from the army of Pyrrhus
from the British Museum

Alexander the Great is without doubt one of the greatest generals and kings the world has ever seen. In the space of a decade Alexander conquered the Persian empire destroying great armies with his Macedonian forces, travelled as far as and into the Hindu Kush and it was only a mutiny of his men that saw him turn back. His slowly emerging empire saw a homogenisation of Greek and Persian ideals and it was only his sudden illness and death in 323 BC that saw his plans fail.

Pyrrhus was an enemy of early Rome. King of Epirus, Pyrrhus was persuaded to aid the Italian Tarentines in their struggle against the Romans. In 280 BC he landed in Italy with the intention of aiding the city of Tarentium and no doubt carving out his own little empire on Italian soil too. Pyrrhus won many victories over the armies of Rome, and his placing and positioning of military camps is often sited as the first example of tactical placement, but he lost so many of his own men in the battles he had to withdraw from Italy, causing it to be named a Pyrrhic victory,

" If we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we shall be utterly ruined"

Plutarch Life of Pyrrhus

Finally, Hannibal named himself. The scourge of Rome for many years, Hannibal had crossed the Alps, defeated the Romans in three stunning battles at Trebia, Trasimene and Cannae and came the closest anyone has ever come to destroying Roman power. It was only Rome's complete refusal to surrender and repeated raising of new armies that wore down Hannibal's power in Italy.

Hannibal Barca

There is little to argue with Hannibal in his choices. Alexander the Great was universally recognised throughout the Greek and Roman world as the pinnacle of what it meant to be a general, conqueror and great man, Roman Emperors of the 1st century AD, like Augustus and Gaius Caligula were still trying to link themselves with him.  His choice of Pyrrhus is no doubt due to his developing the tactical art of the placement of military camps and troops, something which Hannibal learnt from himself in his own wars with Rome. Pyrrhus might have eventually lost against Rome, but he laid the ground work for future military tacticians. Hannibal's own achievements in warfare are well known, no more so then his great victory at Cannae and his clever tactics to almost completely wipe out the Roman legions. 

Hannibal's choice of himself for the final slot, led Scipio to break into a laugh and ask,

"What would you say if you had defeated me?"

"Then, beyond doubt" he replied,

"I should place myself both before Alexander and before Pyrrhus and before all other generals"

Livy Ab Urbe Condita Book 35 Chapter 14

Flattery will get you everywhere it seems, as it is reported that Scipio was stirred deeply as "Hannibal had segregated him from all other commanders as one beyond estimation"

Of course if you actually analyse what Hannibal says he is still back-handedly complimenting Scipio. In a nuanced sentence Hannibal recognises the fact that Scipio is the man that defeated him and Carthage, but still doesn't fully accept it outright as ranking as great as his own achievements. 

Opposing generals meeting to trade witty barbs is rare, especially when it is two generals of Scipio's and Hannibal's stature. In a war that spanned the Mediterranean and saw Carthage within reach of destroying Roman power before their own eventual demise, it is nice to think that at the end of it, Hannibal with his little witticism won the final blow in the long bloody Second Punic War for his city, Carthage.

Thanks for Reading

James

Sparta - A City by Numbers

The Ancient world is filled with Empires, powerful men, virtuous women, terrifying omens and blood stained battlefields; but few peoples or cities has captured the imagination like the martial city of Ancient Greece, Sparta.

With its overpowering hoplite warriors, rigid lifestyle and legendary agoge school, this martial civilisation in the southern Peloponnesian peninsular rose to be one the great powers of Ancient Greece and inspired fascination not only in its own day but throughout history.

As always it is impossible to narrow a civilisation so intricate and involved as Sparta's into ten bullet points, however here is a Sparta by numbers.

1- Lycurgus, the legendary "founder" of Sparta, established the laws and systems of government that are seen in the structure of classical Sparta in the 8th and 7th century BC.
2 - Sparta was ruled by two Kings. Each from a family descended from Heracles himself. These two kings were equal in authority so that they could not work against each other.
3- Sparta's military power was built upon the backs of the enslaved people, Helots, from  neighbouring Messenia. Herodotus writes that at the battle of Plataea

"...ordered five thousand Spartans to march before dawn.

Seven helots were appointed to attend each of them"

Herodotus Book 9.10.1

The number of helots was always a fear of the Spartans and they rose in rebellion several times against their subjugation, but their enslavement was what allowed Spartan men to focus on military training as opposed to farming.

Jacques-Louis David's Leonis at Thermopylae

4 - Sparta's most famous battle took place in 480 BC at Thermopylae. For three days Sparta and allied forces of Greece held the small pass against the supreme might of the Persian empire under Xerxes.
5 - Herodotus in Book 8 Chapter 24 tells us that King Leonidas, his bodyguard of three hundred Spartans and some of their allies killed up to 20,000 Persian invaders.
6 - Sparta and Athens were engaged in a war for supremacy over mainland Greece between 431 - 404 BC.

"Thucydides, an Athenian, wrote the history of the war between the Peloponnesians and the Athenians, beginning at the moment it broke out, and believing that it would be a great war, and more worthy of relation than any that preceded it"

Thucydides The Peloponnesian War Book 1 Chapter 1

The result of the war was the fall of Athenian supremacy in Greece and the rise of Spartan.

Degas' Young Spartans Exercising in the National Gallery

7 - Spartans entered the agoge for their military training at the age of seven. If they survived the experience, no dramatics intended it was a dangerous and deadly experience, at the age of twenty they joined the army. 

"They were the only men in the world with whom war brought a respite in the training for war"

Plutarch Life of Plutarch Chapter 22

8 - Spartan girls were not only educated at a young age in dance, gymnastics and sports, but were also not married until they were in their late teens or 20's.

9 - Spartan power in Greece was finally broken by the Thebans at the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC where the Thebans using revolutionary hoplite tactics against the Spartan line

"so confounded that there was a flight and slaughter of the Spartans

such as had never before been seen"

Plutarch Life of Pelopidas Chapter 23

10 - After Greece's subjugation by Rome in 146 BC, Sparta, along with the other Poleis of Greece became a tourist destination for Roman aristocracy, looking to marvel in Sparta's martial heritage.

These ten facts barely touch the surface of Sparta, let alone scrape it, but they are none the less, ten facts about the city state of Sparta.


Thanks for Reading
James

Fighting Hannibal: A First Hand Account - The Battle of Cannae

You have survived the madness of Trebia and the annihilation that occurred at Lake Trasimene, and now you find yourself in the middle of the line here at Cannae. One man among the largest assembly of Roman power in known history. Infantry, cavalry and light arms spread across two heavily fortified camps (1). Now this Hannibal and his Carthaginian rabble will feel the anger of Rome.

The last few days have seen minor skirmishes back and forth with the Carthaginians over the important supply depot at Cannae (2). The combining of the two Roman armies into this one unstoppable beast has found you in a bizarre situation. Alternates days sees one of the two consuls in command, Lucius Aemilus Paullus and Gaius Tarentius Varro.

Yesterday when Paullus was in charge he refused to fight when Hannibal lined up for battle. A cautious man. You sat in the camp and watched as Carthaginians harried your armies water carriers (3). So, today under the command of Varro, you are formed up in line, licking parched lips and staring across the plain at the Carthaginian army.

Standing firm you feel strong. The Roman line has been drawn up extra deep. You were at Trebia, you were part of the line that punched through the Carthaginian forces, making a mockery of their strength. This Hannibal and his men only ever win when they are being tricky and using hidden troops, but this open field won't allow that. Now they are faced head on by pure Roman power and the fools have lined up with a river at their backs (4). They will be pushed in to the waters and they will die. How can they win?

Facing you in the centre of the line are Iberians and Gauls. This "great general" Hannibal has erred. He has put his Carthaginians on his flanks, leaving these weak men for the Roman legions to grind to nothing. The sun hanging low in the sky shines into your eyes, but you are not worried. Gods you could use a drink though. The bugle sounds and this immense army of Rome moves forwards. You hear the cavalry engaging but your focus is on the Gauls and Iberians in front of you (5).

Smashing into the opposing force, they visibly shrink back in front of you and the eagles of Rome (6). Today victory will be yours. Trebia and Trasimene will be repaid upon the swords of the legions. As you move forwards the Gauls and Iberians fall back under the command of Hannibal. Behind you Romans troops push in behind you, forcing the Gauls and Iberians further back. You catch a glimpse of the Carthaginian forces on the wings almost level with the back line of your troops. Unengaged, but if you push through the men in front of you the opposing army will fall into disarray.

Too late you realise the error. With your cavalry driven off, the battle hardened Carthaginian forces turn inwards on the semi-circle the Roman forces have created by pushing back the Iberian and Gaulish troops. To finish the victory the Carthaginian cavalry crash into the back of your Roman troops (7).

Encircled and cut off, men start to fall around you. You survived the madness of Trebia and the chaos of Lake Trasimene but you see the end in sight. Jupiter be damned. A sword slices your left arm and you drop your shield. A spear hits you in the leg and you stumble with the pain. Who can ever beat this man Hannibal? Truly he is the greatest general alive (8).

A sword pushes through your ribs and you fall to the dust. Your long campaign, finally over.

1. Livy writes that their are so many different authorities on the "number and nature of the forces" that it is difficult to say what force the Romans actually presented. However he does say "according to these writers, there were 87,200 men in the Roman camp when the battle of Cannae was fought" Ab Urbe Condita Book 22 Chapter 36.
2. "He seized on the citadel of a town called Cannae, in which the Romans had collected the corn and other supplies from the country" Polybius Book 3 Chapter 107
3. Polybius writes that in an attempt to draw the Romans into a battle he sent out the Numidian cavalry to try and force the issue. 

The Death of Aemilius Paulus" by John Trumbull

4. The Carthaginian forces are put at ten thousand cavalry and their infantry at no more than forty thousand by both Polybius and Livy. The Roman army vastly outnumbered the forces Hannibal fielded.
5. The Carthaginian cavalry were far superior to the Roman cavalry and quickly drove it off removing its protective cover from the flanks of the legions.
6. "The Romans, however, following up the Celts and pressing on to the centre and that part of the enemy's line which was giving way, progressed so far that they now had the heavy-armed Africans on both of their flanks" Polybius Book 3 Chapter 115. 

Battle of Cannae 

7. With the Carthaginian cavalry sealing off the final route of escape for the Roman troops, the legions again found themselves tricked by Hannibal and defeated. 
8. The Battle of Cannae was the worst defeat that a Roman army ever suffered "and now almost the whole of Italy, were in the possession of Hanibal" Livy Book 22 Chapter 54. Rome was left with a only a few remaining armies. In the course of three battles Hannibal had defeated Rome again and again and again. When offered the chance of a peace treaty under moderate terms Rome rejected the offer, raised new legions and took the fight back to Carthage and an eventual win. But there is no denying that Hannibal is one the of the greatest generals to have ever lived.


Thanks for Reading
James

Fighting Hannibal: A First Hand Account - The Battle of Lake Trasimene

You were part of the legion that fought their way out of the calamity that was the Battle of Trebia and made it to the safety of Piacenza. Now you find yourself in the newly raised army for fighting the foreign invader, the Carthaginian Hannibal. This clever, clever man. Stealing a march, Hannibal has somehow cut the army off from Rome itself, he is attempting to subvert the cities allies and he lays waste to the very soil of Italy herself (1).

Having spent several days camped at Arretium watching the smoke rise from the hills of Italy, your General Gaius Flaminius, unable to take any more and with Rome demanding a victory, has marched against Hannibal (2). So, instead of sending out a cavalry screen to push the Carthaginians off the tilled fields and waiting for reinforcements, once again you find yourself on the road to battle.

In the vanguard of the legionary forces you have seen the fires of the Carthaginian camp far away and have pushed hard all night to catch up with the enemy beyond Lake Trasimene (3). But as you pass the northern edge of the lake a small skirmish force breaks cover in front of you. You and the other members of the vanguard draw your swords and charge on this weakly defended enemy, leaving the rest of the column behind.

Your head snaps up, just over the sound of swords clashing on shields and the screams of men, comes the faint bellow of a horn blowing on the wind. Looking back you see that all of the Roman forces have cleared the pass and are now on the open plain by the lake.

Suddenly howling down from the hills come Carthaginian cavalry and infantry, cutting off the pass to prevent escape and surrounding your brothers on three sides. Standing in the vanguard all you can do is watch as the Roman column, unable to draw up in battle lines, is slowly destroyed. You stand transfixed as far to the west the enemy cavalry pushes Romans backwards into the lake (4), while vile Gauls slowly grind down the centre of the column.

Realising that the day is lost, you and the rest of the vanguard push through the skirmish line. Damn this man Hannibal and his tricks. Damn these incompetent patrician generals. Standing on a wooded hill you watch as the Roman army is systematically wiped out from an enemy surrounding them on three sides and a lake to their backs. In less than four hours you see half of the army either killed or drowned in the lake (5).

Heading into the hills and back towards Rome you wonder what can stop this man now. Rome lays open to him. Hannibal, a man who has now destroyed two armies of Rome with clever and simple strategy. Jupiter Be Praised but how do you stop a man such as this? (6)

1. Part of Hannibal's strategy to lure the Roman forces into battle was to ravage the land of Italy itself "they began to lay waste the country, and the smoke rising from all quarters told its tale of destruction" Polybius Book 3 Chapter 82
2. Livy tells us that Flaminius' advisor's put forward a plan of restraint, waiting for reinforcements and the use of cavalry to drive the Carthaginains off the land, but "enraged at these suggestions he dashed out of the council and ordered the trumpets to give the signal for march and battle" Ab Urbe Condita Book 22 Chapter 3.

Battle of Lake Trasimene

3. Both Polybius and Livy write of the Carthaginian tactics. Hannibal choose the location of the battle very carefully. Having set up a false camp far in the distance to give the Romans a false sense of their position, similar to his previous use of concealed troops at the Battle of Trebia, Hannibal arranged his troops along the edge of the plain. His cavalry was hidden so they could sweep down and block off the entrance through which the Romans would enter the plain. Then he put his heavy infantry and skirmishers in a place where they could fall upon the Roman column when the signal was given, pinning them against the lake.

4. "They were forced into the lake in a mass, some of them quite lost their wits and trying to swim in their armour were drowned" Polybius Book 3 Chapter 84.

Flaminius at Lake Trasimene by Joseph-Noel Sylvestre

5. Livy records in his Ab Urbe Condita Book 22 Chapter 7, that 15,000 Romans were killed in the battle compared to 2,500 Carthaginians, another curshing defeat for the martial Romans.
6. "The general who is his opponent's master in strategy and reasoning may often capture his whole army" Polybius Book 3 Chapter 81.


Thanks for Reading
James