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Polybius · The Histories §15.11.1-15.11.13

Hannibal's Disposition of Troops and Address to His Army

Passage 819 of 1311 · Greek

Summary

Following Scipio's speech, Hannibal organizes his battle lines with elephants, mercenaries, native Africans, and his Italian veterans. He instructs his officers to inspire their troops, while personally exhorting his own seasoned veterans by recalling their past glorious victories over the Romans.

§15.11.1ὁ μὲν οὖν Πόπλιος τοιαύτην ἐποιήσατο τὴν παραίνεσιν.
Publius, then, made an exhortation of this kind.
ὁ δʼ Ἀννίβας τὰ μὲν θηρία πρὸ πάσης τῆς δυνάμεως, ὄντα πλείω τῶν ὀγδοήκοντα, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τοὺς μισθοφόρους ἐπέστησε, περὶ μυρίους ὄντας καὶ δισχιλίους τὸν ἀριθμόν.
But Hannibal placed his elephants, which were more than eighty in number, in front of his whole army, and after them the mercenaries, who were about twelve thousand in number.
οὗτοι δʼ ἦσαν Λιγυστῖνοι, Κελτοί, Βαλιαρεῖς, Μαυρούσιοι. §15.11.2τούτων δὲ κατόπιν παρενέβαλε τοὺς ἐγχωρίους Λίβυας καὶ Καρχηδονίους, ἐπὶ δὲ πᾶσι τοὺς ἐξ Ἰταλίας ἥκοντας μεθʼ αὑτοῦ, πλεῖον ἢ στάδιον ἀποστήσας τῶν προτεταγμένων. §15.11.3τὰ δὲ κέρατα διὰ τῶν ἱππέων ἠσφαλίσατο, θεὶς ἐπὶ μὲν τὸ λαιὸν τοὺς συμμάχους Νομάδας, ἐπὶ δὲ τὸ δεξιὸν τοὺς τῶν Καρχηδονίων ἱππεῖς. §15.11.4παρήγγειλε δὲ τοὺς ἰδίους στρατιώτας ἕκαστον παρακαλεῖν, ἀναφέροντας τὴν ἐλπίδα τῆς νίκης ἐφʼ ἑαυτὸν καὶ τὰς μεθʼ αὑτοῦ παραγεγενημένας δυνάμεις· §15.11.5τοῖς δὲ Καρχηδονίοις ἐκέλευσε τοὺς ἡγουμένους τὰ συμβησόμενα περὶ τέκνων καὶ γυναικῶν ἐξαριθμεῖσθαι καὶ τιθέναι πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν, ἐὰν ἄλλως πως ἐκβῇ τὰ τῆς μάχης.
These were Ligurians, Celts, Balearians, and Maurusians. Behind these he drew up the native Libyans and Carthaginians, and behind them all those who had come with him from Italy, keeping them at a distance of more than a stade from those drawn up in front. He secured the wings with the cavalry, placing the allied Numidians on the left, and the Carthaginian cavalry on the right. He ordered each of the officers to encourage their own soldiers, directing their hope of victory to himself and the forces that had come with him. He commanded the leaders of the Carthaginians to enumerate to them what would happen to their children and wives if the outcome of the battle should be otherwise, and to keep this before their eyes.
οὗτοι μὲν οὖν οὕτως ἐποίουν τὸ παραγγελθέν. §15.11.6Ἀννίβας δὲ τοὺς μεθʼ αὑτοῦ παραγεγονότας ἐπιπορευόμενος ἠξίου καὶ παρεκάλει διὰ πλειόνων μνησθῆναι μὲν τῆς πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἑπτακαιδεκαέτους συνηθείας, μνησθῆναι δὲ τοῦ πλήθους τῶν προγεγονότων αὐτοῖς πρὸς Ῥωμαίους ἀγώνων· §15.11.7ἐν οἷς ἀηττήτους γεγονότας οὐδʼ ἐλπίδα τοῦ νικᾶν οὐδέποτʼ ἔφη Ῥωμαίοις αὐτοὺς ἀπολελοιπέναι. §15.11.8τὸ δὲ μέγιστον, ἠξίου λαμβάνειν πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν χωρὶς τῶν κατὰ μέρος κινδύνων καὶ τῶν ἀναριθμήτων προτερημάτων τήν τε περὶ τὸν Τρεβίαν ποταμὸν μάχην πρὸς τὸν πατέρα τοῦ νῦν ἡγουμένου Ῥωμαίων, ὁμοίως τὴν ἐν Τυρρηνίᾳ πρὸς Φλαμίνιον μάχην, ἔτι δὲ τὴν περὶ Κάννας γενομένην πρὸς Αἰμίλιον, §15.11.9ἃς οὔτε κατὰ πλῆθος τῶν ἀνδρῶν οὔτε κατὰ τὰς ἀρετὰς ἀξίας εἶναι συγκρίσεως πρὸς τὸν νῦν ἐπιφερόμενον κίνδυνον. §15.11.10καὶ ταῦτα λέγων ἀναβλέπειν αὐτοὺς ἐκέλευε καὶ τὴν τῶν ὑπεναντίων κατοπτεύειν τάξιν· οὐ γὰρ οἷον ἐλάττους, ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ πολλοστὸν μέρος εἶναι τῶν τότε πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἀγωνισαμένων, ταῖς γε μὴν ἀρεταῖς οὐδὲ σύγκρισιν ἔχειν. §15.11.11ἐκείνους μὲν γὰρ ἀηττήτους ὄντας ἐξ ἀκεραίου διηγωνίσθαι πρὸς σφᾶς, τούτων δὲ τοὺς μὲν ἐκγόνους εἶναι, τοὺς δὲ λείψανα τῶν ἡττημένων ἐν Ἰταλίᾳ καὶ πεφευγότων αὐτὸν πλεονάκις. §15.11.12διόπερ [ᾤετο] δεῖν μὴ καταλῦσαι μήτε τὴν σφῶν αὐτῶν μήτε τὴν τοῦ προεστῶτος δόξαν καὶ προσηγορίαν, ἀλλʼ ἀγωνισαμένους εὐψύχως βεβαιῶσαι τὴν διαδεδομένην περὶ αὐτῶν φήμην, ὡς ὄντων ἀηττήτων. §15.11.13ταῦτα μὲν οὖν καὶ τοιαῦτα παρεκάλεσαν ἀμφό
These, then, did as they were ordered. But Hannibal, going along the lines of those who had come with him, urged and exhorted them at greater length to remember their seventeen years of mutual companionship, and to remember the multitude of struggles they had previously engaged in against the Romans; in which, he said, they had remained undefeated and had never left even a hope of victory to the Romans. And most of all, he urged them to keep before their eyes, apart from the individual dangers and the countless victories, the battle near the river Trebia against the father of the present Roman leader, likewise the battle in Tuscany against Flaminius, and also that which took place at Cannae against Aemilius; which, he said, were not worthy of comparison, either in the number of men or in bravery, with the danger now impending. And while saying this, he ordered them to look up and scan the ranks of the enemy; for they were not only fewer, but not even a small fraction of those who had fought against them then, and in bravery they did not even bear comparison. For those former enemies, being undefeated, had fought against them with their strength unimpaired, whereas of these, some were their descendants, and others the remnants of those who had been defeated in Italy and had fled from him many times. Therefore, [he thought] they must not destroy either their own reputation and name or that of their leader, but, fighting courageously, they must confirm the widespread report concerning them, that they were undefeated. In these and such-like terms did both generals encourage

Notes

  1. 15.11.2τῶν προτεταγμένων — Genitive plural participle, functioning substantively. It refers to the troops drawn up in front of the third line (the veterans from Italy), meaning the first line of mercenaries and the second line of Libyans and Carthaginians, from whom the third line was kept at a distance of more than a stade.
  2. 15.11.4παρήγγειλε δὲ τοὺς ἰδίους στρατιώτας ἕκαστον παρακαλεῖν, ἀναφέροντας... — The pronoun ἕκαστον is the subject accusative of the infinitive παρακαλεῖν, referring to each of the individual officers, while τοὺς ἰδίους στρατιώτας is the direct object of the infinitive. The plural accusative participle ἀναφέροντας agrees in sense with the logically plural subject implied by the distributive singular ἕκαστον.
  3. 15.11.8πρὸς τὸν πατέρα τοῦ νῦν ἡγουμένου Ῥωμαίων — The present leader of the Romans refers to Publius Cornelius Scipio (later Africanus), who is commanding the Roman army at Zama. His father is Publius Cornelius Scipio, the consul of 218 BC who fought against Hannibal at the river Trebia in the early stage of the Second Punic War.
  4. 15.11.11ἐξ ἀκεραίου — A prepositional phrase meaning 'from an unimpaired state' or 'with full, fresh strength.' It emphasizes the contrast between the formidable Roman forces that had previously fought in Italy and the current army, which Hannibal describes as mere descendants or remnants of those already defeated.
  5. 15.11.13ἀμφό — An incomplete word at the very end of the manuscript tradition for this section. Based on the context and the root meaning 'both,' it is universally understood as an unfinished form of ἀμφότεροι ('both of them,' referring to Scipio and Hannibal).

Cite this passage

Polybius, The Histories §15.11.1-15.11.13. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:15.11.1-15.11.13

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