Hannibal
A Hellenistic Life
1st Edition
Published on 24. February 2015
320 pages
978-0-300-21015-6 (ISBN)
Description
The life of the great Carthaginian general who marched into Rome during the Second Punic War is reexamined in this revealing and scholarly biography.
Once of the greatest military minds of the Ancient World, Hannibal Barca lived a life of daring and survival, massive battles, and ultimate defeat. A citizen of Carthage and military commander in Punic Spain, he famously marched his war elephants and huge army over the Alps into Rome's own heartland to fight the Second Punic War. Yet the Romans were the ultimate victors. They eventually captured and destroyed Carthage, and thus it was they who wrote the legend of Hannibal: a brilliant and worthy enemy whose defeat represented military glory for Rome.
In this groundbreaking biography, Eve MacDonald employs archaeological findings and documentary sources to expand the memory of Hannibal beyond his military career. Considering him in the context of his time and the Carthaginian culture that shaped him, MacDonald offers a complex portrait of a man from a prominent family who was both a military hero and a statesman. MacDonald also analyzes Hannibal's legend over the millennia, exploring how statuary, Jacobean tragedy, opera, nineteenth-century fiction, and other depictions illuminate the character of one of the most fascinating figures in all of history.
Once of the greatest military minds of the Ancient World, Hannibal Barca lived a life of daring and survival, massive battles, and ultimate defeat. A citizen of Carthage and military commander in Punic Spain, he famously marched his war elephants and huge army over the Alps into Rome's own heartland to fight the Second Punic War. Yet the Romans were the ultimate victors. They eventually captured and destroyed Carthage, and thus it was they who wrote the legend of Hannibal: a brilliant and worthy enemy whose defeat represented military glory for Rome.
In this groundbreaking biography, Eve MacDonald employs archaeological findings and documentary sources to expand the memory of Hannibal beyond his military career. Considering him in the context of his time and the Carthaginian culture that shaped him, MacDonald offers a complex portrait of a man from a prominent family who was both a military hero and a statesman. MacDonald also analyzes Hannibal's legend over the millennia, exploring how statuary, Jacobean tragedy, opera, nineteenth-century fiction, and other depictions illuminate the character of one of the most fascinating figures in all of history.
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Language
English
Place of publication
New Haven
United States
Illustrations
16pp. b/w illus.
File size
2,24 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-300-21015-6 (9780300210156)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Person
An archaeologist, lecturer, and travel guide, Eve MacDonald is currently lecturer in ancient history at Cardiff University. She lives in London.
Content
- Cover page
- Halftitle page
- Title page
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- illustrations
- Maps
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction no ordinary Enemy
- Chapter 1 HANNIBAL AND CARTHAGE
- Chapter 2 THE GREAT MAN IN THE HELLENISTIC WORLD FROM ALEXANDER TO HAMILCAR
- Chapter3 HIS FATHER'S SON
- Chapter 4 BARCID IBERIA FROM GADES TO SAGUNTUM
- Chapter 5 LEGEND HANNIBAL INTO ITALY
- Chapter 6 HANNIBAL THE CONQUEROR FROM THE TREBIA TO TRASIMENO
- Chapter 7 THE APOGEE CANNAE AND THE WAR IN ITALY
- Chapter 8 AFTER CANNAE
- Chapter 9 HANNIBAL'S DILEMMA, 212-209
- Chapter 10 OVER THE ALPS, AGAIN
- Chapter 11 HANNIBAL RETURNS
- Chapter 12 HANNIBAL INTO EXILE
- Epilogue Hannibal's Afterlife
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
