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„debellata procul, quaecumque vocantur Hiberis,‟
ingenti Tyrius numerosa per agmina ductor
voce sonat; non Pyrenen Rhodanumve ferocem
iussa aspernatos Rutulam fumasse Saguntum,
raptum per Celtas iter,
84
Pun. 4.59-63
Then Hannibal‟s voice rose in a great shout over his mighty host: „We
have subdued all that distant land that bears the name of Spain; the
Pyrenees and the proud Rhône have obeyed our bidding; Rutulian
Saguntum has gone up in smoke; we forced a passage through Gaul,‟
Duff, 1996, 173.
On arrival in the Po Valley, Hannibal cheered his men with the disingenuous remark
that the rest of the route was over level ground and Rome was at their mercy (Pun. 4.40-
4).
Polybius‟ presentation shows that many Romans, including Scipio, who expected
Hannibal‟s journey over the Alps to have been exhausting, not toughening, were caught
by surprise; Scipio was defeated and wounded in battle at the Ticinus River. Polybius
condenses time, which has the effect of increasing the sense of shock and surprise at
Rome when he says that news of Hannibal‟s arrival in Italy seemed to come almost as
soon as the rumours over the crisis at Saguntum had quietened down. He adds that the
sense of shock at Rome was made worse by stories that (unspecified) Italian towns in
the Po Valley were already under siege. These rumours, when coupled with Hannibal‟s
victory at the river Ticinus, present Hannibal defying all expectations, in a strong
contrast to Polybius‟ earlier description of Hannibal‟s significant losses of men and
animals in the Alps as well as the poor condition of the survivors. The Roman Senate
responds by recalling the other consul, Tiberius 220 Sempronius, from Lilybaeum and
requesting him to travel north at all speed to assist his colleague, Scipio (Hist. 3.61.5-8).
There is an interesting correlation between the recording of rumours about besieged
Italian towns on Hannibal‟s arrival in the Polybian tradition and rumours in the Punica.
Silius Italicus personifies Rumour at the start of Punica 4 advancing through Italy with
news of Hannibal‟s arrival, adding stories and exaggerating Hannibal‟s achievements,
spreading panic among the populace (Pun. 4.1-38; cf. Hist. 3.61.6). Livy, perhaps
unexpectedly, given the frequency with which he usually turns his narrative to Rome,
makes no mention of the reaction at Rome either to news of Hannibal‟s arrival in Italy
220 Spaltenstein, 1986, 307 notes the consul was Tiberius Sempronius Longus; Silius Italicus calls him
„Gracchus,‟ a branch of the family with a more illustrious name; Polybius names him „Tiberius‟ and Livy
as „Sempronius.‟ When referring to this figure in the Punica, I will use the name Gracchus.