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Livy places the heavy snowfall shortly before Hannibal‟s speech and this, coupled
with the bitter cold, is the prompt for him to encourage his men (Livy, 21.35.6). The
despondency of the soldiers in Livy‟s text is transformed to sheer terror in the Punica,
with the soldiers more afraid of the natural environment than their human enemies (Pun.
3.503). The epic Hannibal was not afraid but instead of encouraging words or pointing
out scenic views of the Po Valley (they were in a blizzard and they had not yet reached
the summit) his concern is to drive his men through the appalling weather. He shames
them in direct speech, for allowing themselves to be beaten by forces of nature, before
they have met their true enemy in battle (Pun. 3.506-511). And these words worked. His
men were encouraged (Pun. 3.504-5).
Hannibal‟s troubles are by no means over once the summit of the pass is reached; the
three authors maintain tension with descriptions of the descent into Italy as particularly
steep and even more perilous than the ascent; the men have to rebuild or widen sections
of the pathway made impassable by landslides and avalanches (Hist. 3.54.5-8; Livy,
21.35-6; Pun. 3.515-39; 630-46). Polybius noted that some people recorded the poor
condition of the elephants on arrival in Italy and that Hannibal sustained substantial
losses of both men and horses (Hist. 3.56.1-5). The „surprise‟ ending of this arduous
journey is that, despite considerable hardship and losses, Hannibal‟s army defeats the
Romans in battle, and not just once. Hence the journey is initially presented in each text
as potentially „weakening and debilitating‟ whereas in fact it was „toughening,‟ awe-
inspiring and a remarkable show of strength.
There is a popular 189 belief that the Romans were taken by surprise when Hannibal
and his army appeared in the Po Valley. Walbank is sceptical about Polybius‟
presentation of mutual amazement between Hannibal and Scipio as they learned of each
others‟ arrival in the Po valley: Hannibal‟s arrival may have surprised Scipio but
Hannibal would have had more cause for amazement if he had not encountered Romans
on arrival in Italy. 190
When Hannibal set off into the Alps, Polybius says that Scipio was surprised at the
route Hannibal had taken (Hist. 3.49.1), but Scipio‟s response to Hannibal‟s departure
shows that he expected Hannibal to arrive on the Italian side of the Alps. After leaving
the Carthaginian camp near the Rhône, Scipio returns to the coast and divides his
189 Prevas, 1998, 5; Proctor, 1971, 63; Lancel, 1998, 82; De Beer, 1955, 77; Spencer, 2002, 158;
Goldsworthy, 2004, 166.
190 Walbank, III, 395-6.
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