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compatriots from Spain, these desertions follow Marcellus‟ victory outside Nola
(Plutarch, Marcellus, 11.4; Livy 27.26.1).
Loss of Capua
Hannibal is said to have become so settled in Capua that he considers the town a second
home; the quip is in both the Punica and Florus: altera iam patria atque aequo sub
honore vocatur altera Carthago Capua (Pun. 11.424-5); domus et patria altera
Annibalis (Florus 1.22.42).
Although the town was under Carthaginian control, Hannibal is not located in Capua
with any frequency across the texts. 355 Nonetheless, its control was accepted as
strategically critical and Hannibal‟s loss of Capua in 211 is presented by Livy as being
as much a turning point for Hannibal‟s fortunes as it is for Rome. When Hannibal
eventually decides to cut his losses, leave Capua to its fate, and head south for Rhegium
he loses much more than Capua (Livy 26.12.1-2). In particular, according to Livy, he
lost prestige and trust among other towns in Italy (Livy, 26.38.1).
Livy surmises that Capua fell because Roman persistence in pressing the siege was
not matched by Hannibal‟s persistence in defending the town. The comparison, albeit
unfair to Hannibal, is voiced paradoxically through his officers, Hanno and Bostar, who,
feeling abandoned in Capua, complain that the Roman as an enemy is so much more
steadfast than the Carthaginian as a friend: tanto constantiorem inimicum Romanum
quam amicum Poenum esse (Livy, 26.12.13). When the Romans regained control, the
Capuans were severely punished by Fulvius Flaccus and Livy‟s scenes compare them
unfavourably to Roman virtues; their cowdardice had made them unworthy of Roman
citizenship. 356
Over time, the Roman attitude toward the Capuans gradually softened. The poet,
Horace, for example, presents a more conciliatory approach to the Capuans in Epode 16
where they feature as valiant rivals: aemula nec virtus Capua (Horace, Epode 16.5). As
355 For example, Capua is not presented as his regular winter quarters. Crawford, 2001, c1974:
Carthaginian contact is indicated through numismatics and finds of North African style pottery at Capua.
356 Capuan virtus is not as manly as Roman virtus. The Capuan Vibius Virrius calls on his countrymen to
commit suicide (Livy, 26.13.19) but the Capuan methods do not match his rhetoric; they choose poison
rather than death by the sword (Livy, 26.14.3). Cf. Livy, 22.60.14 and the Senate‟s refusal to ransom
Roman prisoners.
152