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These differences arise in part from an author‟s intended depiction of Hannibal.
There is also an interesting tendency over time for authors to be increasingly direct in
attributing the defence of Rome to divine intervention and in addition, to bring the
Hannibal figure closer and closer to physical contact with the city. Admittedly these
gradual exaggerations may very well be the result of survival in the record but that is by
no means certain. In addition, Silius Italicus paradoxically provides one of the more
pragmatic answers for the „defence of Rome‟ while aligning Rome with ancient Troy.
The texts commonly explain Hannibal‟s non-appearance outside Rome before 211 as
due either to his state of mind or to the intervention of natural forces in preference to
other, more pragmatic, explanations. It will also be shown that where Polybius and
Silius Italicus present Hannibal contemplating or discussing marching on Rome prior to
211 from time to time, it is Livy who develops the notion into a major theme in books
21-5 as part of a build-up toward his centrepiece of Rome resisting Hannibal‟s attack in
211. Livy‟s treatment of this theme is summarised in the first subsection before the
more general comparisons because it offers an explanation for certain differences
between his representation and those of others.
Given the Gauls‟ invasion of Rome in 390, some authors connect Hannibal‟s
interactions with the Gauls after leaving Spain to the notion of marching on Rome. It is
arguably a connection that depends to a large extent on an author‟s overall
representation of Hannibal, for example, whether or not Hannibal acts alone.
The final section of this chapter explores representations of post-Sullan Roman
generals as Hannibalic. It would appear that for over a century following the Second
Punic War, Roman armies returned to Italy from Spain and elsewhere without any
suggestion that the generals heading these armies were considered a possible threat to
the city or compared to Hannibal. Everything changed in 88 when the disaffected Sulla
showed what could be achieved by marching an army against Rome. Connections
between Sulla and Hannibal are extremely limited 196 but comparison to Hannibal is
shown to be a problem for Sulla‟s protégé, Pompey, and for others thereafter, including
Antonius and Julius Caesar.
196 As noted in Chapter 2, Statius, Silv. 4.6.86 connects them through a statuette of Hercules.
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