Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 2.djvu/348

Rh 884 HANNIBAL. Zoiiar. viii. 21.) During all this period the Ro- mans sent no assistance to their allies : they had, indeed, as soon as they heard of the siege, dis- patched ambassadors to Hannibal, but he referred them for an answer to the government at home, and they could obtain no satisfaction from the Cai thaginians, in whose councils the war party had now a decided predominance. A second embassy was sent after the fall of Saguntum to demand the surrender of Hannibal in atonement for the breach of the treaty ; but this was met by an open decla- ration of war, and thus began the long and ar- duous struggle called the Second Punic War. Of this it has been justly remarked, that it was not so much a contest between the powers of two great nations, — between Carthage and Rome, — as be- tween the individual genius of Hannibal on the one hand, and the combined energies of the Roman people on the other. The position of Hannibal was indeed very peculiar : his command in Spain, and the powerful army there, which was entirely at his own disposal, rendered him in great measure independent of the government at Carthage, and the latter seemed disposed to take advantage of this circumstance to devolve all responsibility upon him. When he sent to Carthage for instructions as to how he should act in regard to Saguntum, he could obtain no other reply than that he should do as he thought best (Appian, Hisp. 10) ; and though the government afterwards avowed and sup- ported his proceedings in that instance, they did little themselves to prepare for the impending con- test. All was left to Hannibal, who, after the conquest of Saguntum, had returned once more to New Carthage for the winter, and was there ac- tively engaged in preparations for transporting the scene of war in tlie ensuing campaign from Spain into Italy. At the same time, he did not neglect to provide for the defence of Spain and Africa during his .absence : in the former country he placed his brother Hasdrubal with a considerable army, great part of which was composed of Africans, while he sent over a large body of Spanish troops to con- tribute to the defence of Africa and even of Car- thage itself. (Polyb. iii. 33.) During the winter he allowed many of the Spaniards in his own army to return to their homes, that they might re- join their standards with fresh spirits for the ap- proaching campaign : he himself is said to have repaired to Gades, and there to have olfered up in the temple of Melkarth, the tutelary deity of Tyre and of Carthage, a solemn sacrifice for the success of his expedition. (Liv. xxi. 21.) All his preparations being now completed, Han- nibal quitted his winter- quarters at New Carthage in the spring of 218, and crossed the Iberus with an army of 90,000 foot and 12,000 horse. (Polyb. iii. 35). The tribes between that river and the Pyrenees offered at first a vigorous resistance ; and though they were quickly subdued, Hannibal thought it necessary to leave behind him a force of 1 1,000 men, under Hanno, to maintain this newly acquired province. His forces were farther thinned during the passage of the Pyrenees by desertion, which obliged him to send home a large body of his Spanish troops. With a greatly diminished army, but one on which he could securely rely, he now con- tinued his march from the foot of the Pyrenees to the Rhone without meeting with any opposition, the Gaulish tribes through which he passed being favourably disposed to him, or having been pruvi- HANNIBAL. ously gained over by his emissaries. The Rom^n consul, P. Scipio, had already arrived in the neigh- bourhood of Massilia, when he heard that Hannibal had reached the Rhone, but was too late to dispute the passage of that river : the barbarians on the left bank in vain endeavoured to prevent the Car- thaginian army from crossing ; and Hannibal, hav- ing effected his passage with but little loss, continued his march up the left bank of the Rhone as far jis its confluence with the Isere. Here he interposed in a dispute between two rival chiefs of the Allo- broges, and by lending his aid to establish one of them firmly on the throne, secured the co-operation of an elhcient ally, who greatly facilitated his farther progress. But at the very commencement of the actual passage of the Alps he was met by hostile barbarians, who at first threatened altogether to prevent his advance ; and it was not without heavy loss that he was able to surmount this diifi- cult pass. For some time after this his advance was comparatively unimpeded ; but a sudden and treacherous attack from the Gaulish mountaineers at the moment when his troops were struggling through a narrow and dangerous defile, went near to annihilate his whole army. Surmounting all these dangers, he at length reached the summit of the pass, and thenceforth suffered but little from hostile attacks ; but the natural difficulties of tlie road, enhanced by the lateness of the season (the beginning of October, at which time the snows have already commenced in the high Alps), caused him almost as much detention and difficulty as the opposition of the barbarians on the other side of the mountains. So heavy were his losses from these combined causes, that when he at length emerged from the valley of Aosta into the plains of the Po, and encamped in the friendly country of the Insubrians, he had with him no more than 20,000 foot and 6000 horse. Such were the forces, as Polybius remarks (ii. 24), with which he de- scended into Italy, to attempt the overthrow of a power that a few years before was able to muster a disposable force of above 700,000 fighting men. (Polyb. iii. 35, 40—56 ; Liv. xxi. 21—37.) The march of Hannibal across the Alps is one of the most remarkable events in ancient history, and, as such, was early disfigured by exaggerations and misconceptions. The above narrative is taken wholly from that of Polybius, which is certainly by far the most trustworthy that has descended to us; but that author has nowhere clearly stated by which of the passes across the Alps Plannibal effected his march ; and this qjiestion has given rise to much controversy both in ancient and mo- dern times. Into this discussion our limits will not allow us to enter, but the following may be briefly stated as the general results : — 1. That after a careful examination of the text of Polybius, and comparison of the diflrerent localities, his narrative will be found on the whole to agree best with the supposition that Hannibal crossed the Graian Alps, or Little St. Bernard, though it cannot be denied that there are some difficulties attending this line, especially in regard to the descent into Italy. 2. That Caelius Antipater certainly represented him as taking this route (Liv. xxi. 38) ; and as he is known to have followed the Greek history of Silenus, who is said to have accompanied Hannibal in many of his campaigns, his authority is of the greatest weight. 3. That Livy and Strabo, ou the contrary, both suppose him to have crossed the