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Cum satis sciret per easdem angustias quibus intraverat Falernum
agrum rediturum, Calliculam montem et Casilinum occupat modicis
praesidiis,
Livy, 22.15.4
Feeling certain that Hannibal would leave the Falernian district, by the
same passes through which he had entered it, he posted a fair-sized
garrison on Mount Callicula and another in Casilinum,
Foster, 1949, 251.
Hannibal seems hemmed in. As Livy‟s narrative unfolds, it becomes apparent that the
incident is adapted to depict Hannibal‟s Punic adroitness at extricating himself from a
seemingly impossible situation:
Itaque cum per Casilinum evadere non posset petendique montes et
iugum Calliculae superandum esset, necubi Romanus inclusum
vallibus agmen adgrederetur, ludibrium oculorum specie terribile ad
frustrandum hostem commentus, principio noctis furtim succedere ad
montes statuit.
Livy, 22.16.5-6
Accordingly, since he could not get out by way of Casilinum, but must
take to the mountains and cross the ridge of Callicula, fearing lest the
Romans should assail his troops as they were marching through the
gorges, he resolved to approach the mountains under cover of darkness
in the forepart of the night, after first contriving a terrifying exhibition,
to cheat the enemy‟s eyes.
Foster, 1949, 255.
Silius Italicus provides a reasonably accurate description of the Falernian plain as a
space bounded by inhospitable marshes, mountains, and the Volturnus River, albeit with
poetic embellishment about the strength of these natural barriers (Pun. 7.276-8, cf. Hist.
3.91.8). As in Polybius‟ Histories, the epic Hannibal enters the area intending to
provoke the Romans to battle, and there is no mistake over Latin pronunciation for the
names of towns in the Punica. On the other hand, Silius‟ allusion to Hannibal‟s
intention to stage a spectacle more closely echoes the angry remark by Livy‟s Minucius
than Polybius‟ text because Silius describes Fabius (and his army) sitting like spectators
watching Hannibal devastate the territory in a fruitless attempt to provoke battle:
Cassarum sedet irarum spectator et alti
celsus colle iugi domat exultantia corda
infractasque minas dilato Marte fatigat
sollers cunctandi Fabius.
132
Pun. 7.123-6