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plethora of voices in the Carthaginian army 375 to the Trojans whose allies came from
many areas:
νὐδ᾽ ἴα γῆξπο,
ἄιιε δ᾽ ἄιισλ γιῶζζα, πνιύθιεηνη δ᾽ ἔζαλ ἄλδξεο,
θαζάπεξ ἀξηίσο ἐμεξηζκεζάκελ.
Mixed was the murmur, and confused the sound,
Their names all various.
πνιινὶ γὰξ θαηὰ ἄζηπ κέγα Πξηάκνπ ἐπίθνπξνη,
ἄιιε δ᾽ ἄιισλ γιῶζζα πνιπζπεξέσλ ἀλζξώπσλ.
175
Hist. 15.12.9
Paton, 2000, 493.
Iliad, 2.803-4
It is an interesting choice of analogy on the part of Polybius, and perhaps indicates that
Roman claims of descent from the Trojans were not yet entrenched. In historical terms it
is a disingenuous comparison in the context of Zama not only because Hannibal had a
particularly good record of managing an army of mixed ethnicities but also because the
Roman side also comprised a multiplicity of peoples not least of which were their new
Numidian allies. Nonetheless, Polybius supports his analogy by representing Hannibal
ordering his officers to address their own contingents in the army while he addressed his
own men (Hist. 15.11.4-6).
Polybius then compares Hannibal to Agamemnon through a quotation from the Iliad
for the manner in which Hannibal forced the reluctant Carthaginians 376 to keep fighting
by placing them in the middle of his forces: 377
ὄθξα θαὶ νὐθ ἐζέισλ ηηο ἀλαγθαίῃ πνιεκίδνη.
That e‟en the unwilling might be forced to fight.
Hist. 15.16.3
Paton, 2000, 501.
375
Goldsworthy, 2000, 305 notes the theme was as old as the Iliad and often repeated in narratives of
Greek victories over the Persians.
376
Walbank, 1967, 464, notes that the sense is changed by Livy, 30.35.7, who describes the mercenaries
as the unstable element and placed in the centre.
377
Frontinus says Hannibal placed his Italians in the rear because he distrusted their loyalty for dragging
them from Italy against their will (Strat. 2.3.16). The logic seems odd, those least to be trusted are
unlikely to be at the rear of the battleline where they can attack from behind (cf. Cannae).