Chapter 8
Hannibal tries to revive his military career · Life of Hannibal · A-level Latin · OCR H443/03
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SubjectObjectVerbGenitiveDativeAblativeConjunctionAdverb
Latin
English
at Hannibal anno tertio postquam domo profugerat, L. Cornelio Q. Minucio consulibus,
In the third year after fleeing his home, in the consulship of Lucius Cornelius and Quintus Minucius,
cum quinque navibus Africam accessit in finibus Cyrenaeorum si forte Carthaginienses ad
Hannibal reached Africa with five ships, in the territory of Cyrene, to see whether he might draw the Carthaginians into
bellum Antiochi spe fiduciaque inducere posset, cui iam persuaserat ut cum exercitibus in
Antiochus's war by holding out the promise of his support — Antiochus he had already persuaded to invade
Italiam proficisceretur. huc Magonem fratrem excivit.
Italy with his forces. He summoned his brother Mago to join him there.
id ubi Poeni rescierunt, Magonem eadem, qua fratrem, absentem affecerunt poena. illi
As soon as the Carthaginians learned of this, they punished Mago in his absence exactly as they had punished Hannibal.
desperatis rebus cum solvissent naves ac vela ventis dedissent, Hannibal ad Antiochum
Their situation now hopeless, the two brothers set sail, and Hannibal reached
pervenit. de Magonis interitu duplex memoria prodita est. namque alii naufragio, alii a
Antiochus. Two different accounts survive of Mago's death: some record that he died in a shipwreck, others that he was killed
servulis ipsius interfectum eum scriptum reliquerunt.
by his own slaves.
Antiochus autem, si tam in gerendo bello consiliis eius parere voluisset, quam in suscipiendo
As for Antiochus, if he had been as willing to follow Hannibal's advice in fighting the war as he had been in undertaking it,
instituerat, propius Tiberi quam in Thermopylis de summa imperii dimicasset. quem etsi
he would have fought for supreme power nearer the Tiber than at Thermopylae. Yet even when
multa stulte conari videbat, tamen nulla deseruit in re.
he could see the king pursuing many foolish schemes, Hannibal never once abandoned him.
praefuit paucis navibus, quas ex Syria iussus erat in Asiam ducere, hisque adversus
He commanded a few ships, which he had been ordered to bring from Syria to Asia, and with these he fought
Rhodiorum classem in Pamphylio mari conflixit. quo cum multitudine adversariorum sui
the fleet of Rhodes in the Pamphylian Sea. In that battle, though his side was beaten by the greater numbers of the enemy,
superarentur, ipse, quo cornu rem gessit, fuit superior.
on the wing where he himself fought, he came out on top.
Style notes this section · 17Word order · 2Repetition and structure · 7Sound and metre · 1Word choice · 4Grammar · 3
at HannibalEmphatic position
but Hannibal
At marks a turn in the story: Carthage has condemned him, but Hannibal is back at the front of the sentence and still active.
cum quinque navibusVivid detail
with five ships
The tiny force shows how far Hannibal has fallen, yet his aim is still to drag Carthage into a war with Rome.
spe fiduciaquePairing
by hope and confidence
Two near-synonyms show the method Hannibal now relies on: persuasion, not armies.
iam persuaseratPluperfect
he had already persuaded
The pluperfect shows that Hannibal has already won Antiochus over, which stresses his influence over kings.
cum exercitibus in Italiam proficiscereturEmphatic position
to set out for Italy with his armies
Italy comes near the end of the clause: Hannibal's goal has not changed since the Alps.
Magonem eadem, qua fratrem, absentem affecerunt poenaParallelism
they inflicted on Mago, in his absence, the same punishment as on his brother
Carthage treats the brothers exactly alike, which shows how completely the city has turned against the Barca family.
absentemWord choice
in his absence
Mago is condemned without being heard, which makes Carthage's justice look hasty and unfair.
desperatis rebusAblative absolute
their situation being hopeless
Two words sum up the brothers' position before they sail away.
vela ventis dedissentAlliteration
had given their sails to the winds
The repeated v sound adds weight to a poetic phrase which suggests the brothers abandoning themselves to fortune.
alii naufragio, alii a servulis ipsiusContrast
some by shipwreck, others by his own slaves
Nepos sets out both versions side by side and does not choose, like a careful researcher.
servulisDiminutive
by his own slaves
The diminutive is contemptuous: a famous commander dies at the hands of mere slaves, a humiliating end.
si … voluisset … dimicassetConditional
if he had been willing … he would have fought
A past unreal condition imagines what might have been, as in chapter 1. If Antiochus had taken Hannibal's advice, the war would have been fought in Italy.
tam in gerendo bello … quam in suscipiendoParallelism
as much in waging the war as in undertaking it
The matching gerunds contrast the king who took Hannibal's advice to start the war with the king who ignored it while fighting.
propius Tiberi quam in ThermopylisAntithesis
nearer the Tiber than at Thermopylae
Rome's own river is set against a pass in distant Greece, which shows how close Rome came to real danger.
multa stulte conari … nulla deseruit in reAntithesis
trying many things foolishly … deserted him in nothing
Many foolish schemes are set against not a single desertion, which contrasts the foolish king with his loyal adviser.
paucis navibusEmphasis
a few ships
Hannibal is given only a small command, which suggests that Antiochus undervalued him.
ipse … fuit superiorEcho
he himself came out on top
Ipse stresses Hannibal's personal success in a lost battle, and superior echoes chapter 1, where he always came away the victor.
Notes on the text 4
CyrenaeorumCyrene
of the Cyrenaeans
Cyrene was a Greek city in Libya, east of Carthaginian territory, a safe place from which to contact Carthage.
de Magonis interituMago's death
about Mago's death
Neither of Nepos's versions matches Livy, who says Mago died in 203 BC of a wound on the way home from Italy.
ThermopylisThermopylae
at Thermopylae
The narrow pass in central Greece where Antiochus was defeated by the Romans under Manius Acilius Glabrio in 191 BC, after which he withdrew to Asia.
Rhodiorum classem in Pamphylio mariThe battle off Pamphylia
the Rhodian fleet in the Pamphylian Sea
The battle of the Eurymedon, off Side in southern Asia Minor, in 190 BC. Rhodes, an ally of Rome, defeated the king's fleet, though the wing Hannibal commanded held its own.
Questions to think about · 3
- How does Nepos show Hannibal's loyalty to Antiochus despite the king's mistakes?
- "propius Tiberi quam in Thermopylis": how does Nepos use geography to make his point about what might have been?
- Nepos reports two versions of Mago's death and does not choose between them. What does this suggest about him as a biographer?
Hannibal and Antiochus background
Antiochus III welcomed Hannibal in 195 BC. According to Livy, Hannibal urged him to carry the war to Italy, with Carthage brought in on his side, rather than fight Rome in Greece. Antiochus chose Greece: he landed there in 192 BC, was beaten by the Romans at Thermopylae in 191, and withdrew to Asia.
In 190 BC Hannibal commanded part of the king's fleet and was defeated by the Rhodians off Side in Pamphylia (the battle of the Eurymedon). Later that year, or early in 189, the Romans under Lucius Scipio crushed Antiochus' army at Magnesia. By the peace of Apamea (188 BC) Antiochus gave up his lands in Asia Minor and was required to hand Hannibal over to Rome.
Vocabulary in this section · 118 wordsVocabulary tester
at (conj.) but, yet
Hannibal, -alis (m.) Hannibal, Carthaginian general
annus, -i (m.) year
tertius, -a, -um third
postquam (conj.) after
domus, -us (f.) home, house
profugio, profugere, profugi flee, run away
L. = Lucius, -i (m.) Lucius (first name)
Cornelius, -i (m.) Cornelius, L. Cornelius Merula, consul in 193 BC
Q. = Quintus, -i (m.) Quintus (first name)
Minucius, -i (m.) Minucius, Q. Minucius Thermus, consul in 193 BC
consul, -is (m.) consul
cum (prep. + abl.) with
quinque (indecl.) five
navis, -is (f.) ship
Africa, -ae (f.) Africa
accedo, accedere, accessi, accessum approach, reach
in (prep. + abl.) in, on
finis, -is (m.) boundary; (pl.) territory
Cyrenaei, -orum (m. pl.) the people of Cyrene
si (conj.) if; (here) to see whether
forte (adv.) by chance, perhaps
Carthaginiensis, -e Carthaginian; (m. pl. as noun) the Carthaginians
ad (prep. + acc.) to, towards; into
bellum, -i (n.) war
Antiochus, -i (m.) Antiochus III, king of Syria
spes, spei (f.) hope
fiducia, -ae (f.) confidence, trust + -que (conj.) and
induco, inducere, induxi, inductum lead on, draw into, induce
possum, posse, potui be able, can
qui, quae, quod who, which
iam (adv.) already, now
persuadeo, persuadere, persuasi, persuasum (+ dat.) persuade
ut (conj.) that, to (+ subjunctive)
exercitus, -us (m.) army
in (prep. + acc.) into, against
Italia, -ae (f.) Italy
proficiscor, proficisci, profectus sum set out, march
huc (adv.) here, to this place
Mago, -onis (m.) Mago, Hannibal's brother
frater, fratris (m.) brother
excio, excire, excivi, excitum call out, summon
is, ea, id this, that; he, she, it
ubi (conj.) when, as soon as
Poenus, -i (m.) a Carthaginian
rescisco, resciscere, rescivi, rescitum find out, learn
idem, eadem, idem the same
absens, -entis absent
afficio, afficere, affeci, affectum affect; (+ abl.) afflict with, punish with
poena, -ae (f.) penalty, punishment
ille, illa, illud that; he, she, it
despero, desperare, desperavi, desperatum despair of, give up hope of
res, rei (f.) thing, matter; (pl.) situation, affairs
cum (conj.) when, after
solvo, solvere, solvi, solutum loosen, release; (naves) set sail
ac (conj.) and
velum, -i (n.) sail
ventus, -i (m.) wind
do, dare, dedi, datum give
pervenio, pervenire, perveni, perventum arrive, reach
de (prep. + abl.) about, concerning
interitus, -us (m.) death, destruction
duplex, -icis double, twofold
memoria, -ae (f.) memory; record, account
prodo, prodere, prodidi, proditum hand down, record
sum, esse, fui be
namque (conj.) for
alius, alia, aliud other; alii ... alii some ... others
naufragium, -i (n.) shipwreck
a (prep. + abl.) by
servulus, -i (m.) (little) slave, young slave
ipse, ipsa, ipsum himself, herself, itself
interficio, interficere, interfeci, interfectum kill
scribo, scribere, scripsi, scriptum write
relinquo, relinquere, reliqui, relictum leave, leave behind
autem (conj.) however, moreover
tam (adv.) so, as
gero, gerere, gessi, gestum carry on, wage
consilium, -i (n.) plan, advice
pareo, parere, parui (+ dat.) obey, follow
volo, velle, volui want, be willing
quam (adv.) than, as
suscipio, suscipere, suscepi, susceptum undertake, take up
instituo, instituere, institui, institutum begin, set about
propius (adv.) nearer
Tiberis, -is (m.) the Tiber, the river of Rome
Thermopylae, -arum (f. pl.) Thermopylae, the pass in Greece where Antiochus was defeated in 191 BC
summa, -ae (f.) the whole, the highest place; summa imperii supreme power
imperium, -i (n.) power, command, empire
dimico, dimicare, dimicavi, dimicatum fight, struggle
etsi (conj.) although, even if
multus, -a, -um much, many; (n. pl.) many things
stulte (adv.) foolishly
conor, conari, conatus sum try, attempt
video, videre, vidi, visum see
tamen (adv.) however, yet
nullus, -a, -um no, none
desero, deserere, deserui, desertum desert, abandon
praesum, praeesse, praefui (+ dat.) be in charge of, command
pauci, -ae, -a few
ex (prep. + abl.) out of, from
Syria, -ae (f.) Syria
iubeo, iubere, iussi, iussum order
Asia, -ae (f.) Asia (the Roman province in western Asia Minor)
duco, ducere, duxi, ductum lead, bring
hic, haec, hoc this; (pl.) these + -que (conj.) and
adversus (prep. + acc.) against
Rhodii, -orum (m. pl.) the Rhodians
classis, -is (f.) fleet
Pamphylius, -a, -um Pamphylian, of Pamphylia (southern Asia Minor)
mare, -is (n.) sea
confligo, confligere, conflixi, conflictum clash, fight
multitudo, -inis (f.) large number, multitude
adversarius, -i (m.) opponent, enemy
sui, -orum (m. pl.) his men, his side
supero, superare, superavi, superatum overcome, defeat
cornu, -us (n.) horn; wing (of an army or fleet)
superior, -ius higher; victorious, superior