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78-644: According to the legend recorded by Greek historians, the etymology of their name (Iolaes) is to be traced back to Iolaus , the hero who led the Thespiades , sons of Heracles and the daughters of Thespius (king of the Boeotian city-state of Thespiae ) in Sardinia, where he founded a colony. Another myth tell that the old inhabitants of Ilium, better known as Troy , after the fall of the city established themselves in this part of Sardinia (where they mixed with

156-682: A chance to regroup. The majority of Romans were eager to see a quick conclusion to the war. It was feared that, if Hannibal continued plundering Italy unopposed, Rome's allies might defect to the Carthaginian side for self-preservation. Therefore, when Fabius came to the end of his term, the Senate did not renew his dictatorial powers and command was given to consuls Gnaeus Servilius Geminus and Marcus Atilius Regulus . In 216 BC, when elections resumed, Gaius Terentius Varro and Lucius Aemilius Paullus were elected as consuls, placed in command of

234-530: A crested helmet made of animal sinews. Most Gallic foot warriors likely had no protection other than large shields, and the typical Gallic weapon was a long slashing sword. The Numidian cavalry were very lightly equipped, lacking saddles and bridles for their horses, and wearing no armor but carrying small shields, javelins and possibly a knife or a longer blade. In contrast, the heavier Iberian peninsular cavalry carried round shields, swords, javelins and thrusting spears. The similarly heavy Gallic cavalry added

312-516: A deeper formation than usual, while Hannibal used the double envelopment tactic and surrounded his enemy, trapping the majority of the Roman army, who were then slaughtered. The loss of life on the Roman side meant it was one of the most lethal single days of fighting in history; Adrian Goldsworthy equates the death toll at Cannae to "the massed slaughter of the British Army on the first day of

390-597: A general reading suggests he meant the whole panoply of arms and armor, and even tactical organization. Apart from his description of the battle itself, when later discussing the subject of the Roman legion versus the Greek phalanx , Polybius says that "...against Hannibal, the defeats they suffered had nothing to do with weapons or formations" because "Hannibal himself... discarded the equipment with which he had started out [and] armed his troops with Roman weapons". Gregory Daly

468-599: A larger Roman and Italian army under the consuls Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Gaius Terentius Varro . It is regarded as one of the greatest tactical feats in military history and one of the worst defeats in Roman history, and it cemented Hannibal's reputation as one of antiquity's greatest tacticians. Having recovered from their losses at Trebia (218 BC) and Lake Trasimene (217 BC), the Romans decided to engage Hannibal at Cannae , with approximately 86,000 Roman and allied socii troops . They massed their heavy infantry in

546-448: A newly raised army of unprecedented size and directed to engage Hannibal. Polybius wrote: The Senate determined to bring eight legions into the field, which had never been done at Rome before, each legion consisting of five thousand men besides allies. ...Most of their wars are decided by one consul and two legions, with their quota of allies; and they rarely employ all four at one time and on one service. But on this occasion, so great

624-439: A position on the opposite side, 2 km (1.2 mi) away from the main camp. The purpose of this second camp was to cover the foraging parties from the main camp and harass those of the enemy. The two armies stayed in their respective locations for two days. During the second day (August 1) Hannibal, aware that Varro would be in command the following day, left his camp and offered battle, but Paullus refused. When his request

702-411: A single afternoon on the field of Cannae, even if the battle did degenerate into a massacre in its final stages?". Livy recorded Hannibal's losses at "about 8,000 of his bravest men." Polybius reports 5,700 dead: 4,000 Gauls, 1,500 Hispanics and Africans, and 200 cavalry. Never when the city was in safety was there so great a panic and confusion within the walls of Rome. I shall therefore shrink from

780-542: A straight line, he took the central companies of Hispanics and Celts and advanced with them, keeping the rest of them in contact with these companies, but gradually falling off, so as to produce a crescent-shaped formation, the line of the flanking companies growing thinner as it was prolonged, his object being to employ the Africans as a reserve force and to begin the action with the Hispanics and Celts." Polybius described

858-461: A wedge that drove deeper and deeper into the Carthaginian semicircle, driving itself into an alley formed by the African infantry on the wings. At this decisive point, Hannibal ordered his African infantry to turn inwards and advance against the Roman flanks, creating an encirclement in one of the earliest known examples of a pincer movement . When the Carthaginian cavalry attacked the Romans in

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936-469: Is inclined to the view that Libyan infantry would have copied the Iberian use of the sword during their fighting there and so were armed similarly to the Romans. Peter Connolly has argued that they were armed as a pike phalanx . This has been disputed by Head, because Plutarch states they carried spears shorter than the Roman triarii and by Daly because they could not have carried an unwieldy pike at

1014-529: The hastati , ready to push forward at first contact to ensure the Romans presented a unified front. As Polybius wrote, "the maniples were nearer each other, or the intervals were decreased... and the maniples showed more depth than front". Even though they outnumbered the Carthaginians, this depth-oriented deployment meant that the Roman lines had a front of roughly equal size to their numerically inferior opponents. The typical style of Roman warfare

1092-741: The IAU 's NameExoWorlds project. [REDACTED] Media related to Iolaus at Wikimedia Commons Battle of Cannae The Battle of Cannae ( / ˈ k æ n i , - eɪ , - aɪ / ; Latin: [ˈkanːae̯] ) was a key engagement of the Second Punic War between the Roman Republic and Carthage , fought on 2 August 216 BC near the ancient village of Cannae in Apulia , southeast Italy . The Carthaginians and their allies, led by Hannibal , surrounded and practically annihilated

1170-584: The Iberian root *ili- , meaning settlement. In the nuragic period their territory extended from the plain of Campidano (called in antiquity Iolean plain ) to the Tirso river in north where began the territory of the Balares . They were probably divided into 40 tribes, each ruled by a king or chieftain. These rulers lived in the complex nuraghi , called "polilobates", such as Su Nuraxi of Barumini . In what

1248-582: The Sibylline Books , dispatching a delegation led by Quintus Fabius Pictor to consult the Delphic oracle in Greece, and burying four people alive as a sacrifice to their gods. To raise two new legions , the authorities lowered the draft age and enlisted criminals, debtors and even slaves. Despite the extreme loss of men and equipment, and a second massive defeat later that same year at Silva Litana ,

1326-563: The Carthaginian army was the personal tie each group had with Hannibal. Rome's forces used typical Roman equipment including pila (heavy javelins) and hastae (thrusting spears) as weapons as well as traditional bronze helmets, bodyshields and body armor. In contrast, the Carthaginian army used a variety of equipment. The Iberians fought with falcatas , while Celtiberians and Lusitanians used straight gladii , as well as javelins and various types of spears . For defense, warriors from Hispania carried large oval shields and often wore

1404-501: The Carthaginian ranks. Appian and Livy say Hannibal sent a small contingent of 500–600 mercenaries to pretend to desert to the Roman side. Those men, Celtiberians according to Appian and Numidians according to Livy, handed their weapons to the Romans as a sign of good will while retaining hidden short swords in their clothes. Once the battle started, following Hannibal's plans, the mercenaries attacked, stealing weapons and shields from their victims and causing chaos and confusion in

1482-595: The Carthaginians were at the height of their sea power, they overcame all in Sardinia except the Ilians (Ilienses) and Corsicans, who were kept from slavery by the strength of the mountains. After the end of the First Punic War in 238 BC the Romans occupied the main strongholds of the Punic Sardinia, but the people of the interior opposed even to the new invaders. In 227 BC, Corsica and Sardinia became

1560-501: The Carthaginians. Another 2,000 Roman fugitives were rounded up at the unfortified village of Cannae by Carthaginian cavalry commanded by Carthalo, 7,000 fell prisoner in the smaller Roman camp and 5,800 in the larger. Although Livy does not cite his source by name, it is likely to have been Quintus Fabius Pictor , a Roman historian who fought in and wrote about the Second Punic War. It is Pictor whom Livy names when reporting

1638-601: The Hispanic and Celtic horsemen facing the Romans dismounting due to the lack of space to fight on horseback, and called the struggle "barbaric" in the sense of its utter brutality. When the Carthaginian cavalry got the upper hand, they cut down their Roman opponents without giving quarter. On the other flank the Numidians engaged in a way that merely kept the Roman allied cavalry occupied. Hasdrubal kept his victorious Hispanic and Gallic cavalry under control and did not chase

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1716-523: The Iolaes), hence the name of Ilienses. Pomponius Mela considered the Ilienses as the oldest people of the island. A fourth component part of the population was the army of Iolaus, consisting of Thespians and men from Attica, which put in at Sardinia and founded Olbia [...] Be this as it may, there are still today places in Sardinia called Iolaia, and Iolaus is worshipped by the inhabitants.[...] When Troy

1794-407: The Roman camp. However, the veracity of this part is disputed. Ancient historians rarely provide the precise dates for the events they describe. For example, Livy provides no explicit dates for any of the battles of the Second Punic War. Macrobius , citing the Roman annalist Quintus Claudius Quadrigarius , states the battle was fought ante diem iiii nones Sextilis , or 2 August. The months of

1872-466: The Romans appointed Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus as dictator to deal with the threat. Fabius used attrition warfare against Hannibal, cutting off his supply lines and avoiding pitched battles . These tactics proved unpopular with the Romans who, as they recovered from the shock of Hannibal's victories, began to question the wisdom of the Fabian strategy , which had given the Carthaginian army

1950-430: The Romans approached Cannae, some of Hannibal's light infantry and cavalry ambushed them. Varro repelled the attack and continued slowly on his way to Cannae. This victory, though essentially a mere skirmish with no lasting strategic value, greatly bolstered the confidence of the Roman army, perhaps leading to overconfidence on Varro's part. Paullus was opposed to the engagement as it was taking shape. Unlike Varro, he

2028-621: The Romans refused to surrender to Hannibal. His offer to ransom survivors was brusquely refused. The Romans fought for 14 more years until they achieved victory at the Battle of Zama . Shortly after the start of the Second Punic War, Hannibal crossed into Italy by traversing the Pyrenees and the Alps during the summer and early autumn of 218 BC. He quickly won major victories over the Romans at Trebia and at Lake Trasimene . After these losses,

2106-870: The Senate". Later Roman and Greco-Roman historians largely follow Livy's figures. Appian gave 50,000 killed and "a great many" taken prisoner. Plutarch agreed, "50,000 Romans fell in that battle... 4,000 were taken alive in the field and 10,000 in the camps of both consuls". Quintilian : "60,000 men were slain by Hannibal at Cannae". Eutropius : "20 officers of consular and praetorian rank, 30 senators, and 300 others of noble descent, were taken or slain, as well as 40,000-foot-soldiers, and 3,500 horse". Some modern historians, while rejecting Polybius's figure as flawed, are willing to accept Livy's figure. Other historians have come up with far lower estimates. In 1891, Cantalupi proposed Roman losses of 10,500 to 16,000. Samuels in 1990 also regarded Livy's figure as far too high, on

2184-536: The Somme offensive in 1916". Only about 15,000 Romans, most of whom were from the garrisons of the camps and had not taken part in the battle, escaped death. Following the defeat, Capua and several other Italian city-states defected from the Roman Republic to Carthage. As news of this defeat reached Rome, the city was gripped in panic. Authorities resorted to extraordinary measures, which included consulting

2262-432: The attacking Roman forces. By doing so, he had turned the strength of the Roman infantry into a weakness. While the front ranks were gradually advancing, the bulk of the Roman troops began to lose their cohesion, as troops from the reserve lines advanced into the growing gaps. Soon they were compacted together so closely that they had little space to wield their weapons. In pressing so far forward in their desire to destroy

2340-492: The battle of Decimomannu by Titus Manlius Torquatus and so Carthage lost the island definitively. In Roman times the Ilienses and the Balares of the interior continued to resist, but in 177 BC they were heavily defeated by the consul Tiberius Gracchus who killed or enslaved about 80,000 Sardinians. However still in imperial time they were not completely subjugated by Rome and continued to live relatively independently in

2418-410: The battle, and much of the blame for the defeat has been laid on his shoulders. His low origins seem to be exaggerated in the sources, and Varro may have been made a scapegoat by the aristocratic establishment. He lacked the powerful descendants that Paullus had, descendants who were willing and able to protect his reputation—most notably his grandson Scipio Aemilianus , the patron of Polybius, one of

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2496-709: The bloodletting. Only 14,000 Roman troops managed to escape, including Scipio Africanus , who managed to escape the encirclement with 500 men, most of whom had cut their way through to the nearby town of Canusium . Polybius writes that of the Roman and allied infantry, 70,000 were killed, 10,000 captured, and "perhaps" 3,000 survived. He also reports that of the 6,000 Roman and allied cavalry, only 370 survived. Livy wrote, "Forty-five thousand and five hundred foot, two thousand seven hundred horse, there being an equal number of citizens and allies, are said to have been slain." He also reports that 3,000 Roman and allied infantry and 1,500 Roman and allied cavalry were taken prisoner by

2574-422: The casualties at the Battle of Trebia . In addition to the consul Paullus, Livy recorded that among the dead were 2 quaestors , 29 of the 48 military tribunes , some of consular rank, including the consul of the previous year, Gnaeus Servilius Geminus , and the former Magister equitum , Marcus Minucius Rufus , and 80 "senators or men who had held offices which would have given them the right to be elected to

2652-411: The center of the field. The wind from the east blew dust in the Romans' faces and obscured their vision. While the wind was not a major factor, the dust that both armies created would have been potentially debilitating to sight. Although it made seeing difficult, troops would still have been able to see others in the vicinity. The dust was not the only psychological factor involved in battle. Because of

2730-533: The central region called Barbagia . Source: Iolaus In Greek mythology , Iolaus ( / aɪ oʊ ˈ l eɪ ə s / ; Ancient Greek : Ἰόλαος Iólāos ) was a Theban divine hero. He was famed for being Heracles ' charioteer and squire, and for helping with some of his Labors , as well as for being one of the Argonauts . Iolaus was the son of Iphicles and Automedusa , daughter of King Alcathous of Megara . He married Megara, and through her became

2808-520: The controlled retreat that ultimately made possible Hannibal's pincer movement. Meanwhile, infantry from Punic Africa was on the wings at the very edge of his infantry line. This infantry would remain cohesive and attack the Roman flanks. Hasdrubal led the Hispanic and Gallic cavalry on the left (south near the river Aufidus) of the Carthaginian army. By placing the flank of his army on the Aufidus, Hannibal prevented this flank from being overlapped by

2886-488: The day of battle) and 8,000 of several tribes of Hispania , including Iberians , Celtiberians and Lusitanians . Hannibal's cavalry also came from diverse backgrounds. He commanded 4,000 Numidian , 2,000 Iberian peninsular, 4,000 Gallic and 450 Libyan- Phoenician cavalry. Hannibal had an auxiliary skirmisher contingent consisting of 1,000–2,000 Balearic slingers and 6,000 mixed-nationality javelinmen, possibly including Lusitanians among them. The uniting factor for

2964-542: The eight books of the Commentaries Aristotle , that "the places where they were deposited and preserved corpses of the nine heroes that Heracles got from the Thespians and who came to Sardinia with the colony of Iolaus, became the famous oracles." Solinus says: "The Iolians , so named by him (Iolaus), added a temple to his tomb, because he had freed Sardinia from many ills". The Theban gymnasium

3042-511: The enemy to win a tactical victory. Hannibal had deployed his forces based on the particular fighting qualities of each unit, taking into consideration both their strengths and weaknesses. This aspect of Hannibal's leadership was highlighted in the use of a Spanish unit, the Balearic slingers, whom he placed behind the infantry to hurl their ranged missiles into the masses of Roman troops. He placed his Iberians , Celtiberians and Gauls in

3120-592: The evidence led P.S. Derow to identify the equivalent Julian date as 1 July 216 BC. Other authorities have suggested other Julian dates. Figures for troops involved in ancient battles are often unreliable, and Cannae is no exception. They should be treated with caution, especially those for the Carthaginian side. The Carthaginian army was a combination of warriors from numerous regions, and may have numbered between 40,000 and 50,000. Their infantry comprised an estimated 8,000 Libyans , 5,500 Gaetulian , 16,000 Gauls , mainly Boii and Insubres (8,000 were left at camp

3198-409: The fact that it commanded the surrounding district". The consuls, resolving to confront Hannibal, marched southward in search of him. After two days' march, they found him on the left bank of the river Aufidus , and encamped 8 km (5 miles) away. Varro, in command on the first day, is presented by contemporary sources as a man of reckless nature and hubris , who was determined to defeat Hannibal. As

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3276-484: The father of Leipephilene . Through this daughter, Iolaus was considered to have fathered the mythic and historic line of the kings of Corinth , ending with Telestes . Iolaus often acted as Heracles' charioteer and companion. Plutarch , describing the Theban Sacred Band in his life of Pelopidas , said "It is a tradition likewise that Iolaus, who assisted Hercules in his labours and fought at his side,

3354-406: The flanks at the crucial moment, and encircle the overextended Romans. The Romans were in front of the hill leading to Cannae and hemmed in on their right flank by the river Aufidus, so that their left flank was the only viable means of retreat. In addition, the Carthaginian forces had maneuvered so that the Romans would face east. Not only would the morning sun shine low into the Romans' eyes, but

3432-440: The four-horned saddle , with the wealthier ones being clad in mail, a Gallic invention. Skirmishers acting as light infantry carried either slings or javelins. The Balearic slingers , who were famous for their accuracy, carried short, medium and long slings used to cast stones or bullets. They may have carried a small shield or simple leather pelt on their arms, but this is uncertain. Hannibal himself, like many Roman officers on

3510-495: The grounds that the cavalry would have been inadequate to prevent the Roman infantry escaping to the rear. He doubts that Hannibal even wanted a high death toll, as much of the army consisted of Italians whom Hannibal hoped to win as allies. Micheal Clodfelter also doubts the casualties of the Romans, citing the scarcity and unreliability of ancient sources, with him expressing that "are we really supposed to believe that Hannibal’s 50,000 Carthaginians slaughtered 48,000–70,000 Romans on

3588-462: The island, giving rise to the Iolei people. Iolaus and the Thespians were buried in Sardinia. Aristotle said that Sardinia had practiced the rite of incubation , which is the liberation ritual of the people who were affected by nightmares and obsessions. These rituals included that the persons suffering from nightmares should sleep next to the tombs of heroes. Simplicius of Cilicia adds, in

3666-456: The main sources of this history. In the spring of 216 BC Hannibal took the initiative and seized the large supply depot at Cannae, in the Apulian plain, placing himself between the Romans and their crucial source of supply. As Polybius noted, the capture of Cannae "caused great commotion in the Roman army; for it was not only the loss of the place and the stores in it that distressed them, but

3744-482: The middle, alternating the ethnic composition between Hispanics and Gauls across the front line, with himself at the front and center alongside his brother Mago . Roman sources claim their placement was chosen for being the most expendable and unreliable troops, but modern reflections believe those forces were actually selected for their battle-hardening to carry the weight of the Punic side, as they would be tasked with

3822-456: The more numerous Romans. Hasdrubal was given 6,000–7,000 cavalry, and Hanno had 3,000–4,000 Numidians on the right. Hannibal intended that his cavalry, comprising mainly medium Hispanic cavalry and Numidian light horse, and positioned on the flanks, would defeat the weaker Roman cavalry and swing around to attack the Roman infantry from the rear as it pressed upon Hannibal's weakened center. His veteran African troops would then press in from

3900-443: The morning cold, had roused, as they were rising up, covered with blood, from the midst of the heaps of slain, were overpowered by the enemy. Some were found with their heads plunged into the earth, which they had excavated; having thus, as it appeared, made pits for themselves, and having suffocated themselves." Victor Davis Hanson claims that nearly six hundred legionaries were slaughtered each minute until darkness brought an end to

3978-407: The morning of the battle, as the forces drew up, a Carthaginian officer named Gisgo reportedly remarked to Hannibal that the size of the Roman army was astonishing. "There is one thing, Gisgo, yet more astonishing", Hannibal coolly replied, "which you take no notice of." He then explained, "In all those great numbers before us, there is not one man called Gisgo", provoking laughter that spread through

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4056-609: The myth, they were most likely a tribal group indigenous to the island. According to the archaeologist Giovanni Ugas, the Ilienses were the most important population of Nuragic Sardinia and were connected with the Sherden , one of the Sea Peoples widely cited in Ancient Egyptian sources. This hypothesis has been, however, opposed by other archaeologists and historians. Eduardo Blasco Ferrer correlates their name with

4134-536: The opposing side, might have been wearing a bronze musculata and carrying a falcata as his personal sidearm. The equipment of the Libyan line infantry has been much debated. Duncan Head has argued in favor of short stabbing spears. Polybius states that the Libyans fought with equipment taken from previously defeated Romans. It is unclear whether he meant only shields and armor or offensive weapons as well, though

4212-419: The pre-Julian Roman calendar are known not to correspond to its namesake Julian day . For example, Livy records a lunar eclipse in 168 BC as occurring on 4 September, when astronomical calculations show it happened on Julian day 21 June of that year. This discrepancy arose from the failure of the pontifices to properly perform intercalations , either by accident or for political advantage. A review of

4290-423: The ranks of their heavy infantry. As the Roman heavy infantry attacked, Hannibal stood with his men in the weak center and held them together in a controlled retreat. The crescent of Hispanic and Gallic troops buckled inwards as they gradually withdrew step by step. Knowing the superiority of the Roman infantry, Hannibal had instructed his infantry to withdraw deliberately, creating an even tighter envelopement around

4368-572: The rear and the African flanking echelons assailed them on their right and left, the advance of the Roman infantry was brought to an abrupt halt. The Romans were henceforth enclosed in a pocket with no means of escape. The Carthaginians created a wall and began to systematically massacre them. Polybius wrote: "as their outer ranks were continually cut down, and the survivors forced to pull back and huddle together, they were finally all killed where they stood." As Livy described, "So many thousands of Romans were dying... Some, whom their wounds, pinched by

4446-440: The retreating Roman right wing. Instead, he led them to the other side of the field to attack the socii cavalry still fighting the Numidians. Assailed from both sides, the allied cavalry broke before Hasdrubal could charge into contact and the Numidians pursued them off the field. While the Carthaginian cavalry were in the process of defeating the Roman horsemen, the masses of infantry on both sides advanced towards each other in

4524-431: The retreating and seemingly collapsing line of Hispanic and Gallic troops, the Romans had ignored (possibly due to the dust) the African troops that stood uncommitted on the projecting ends of this now-reversed crescent. This also gave the Carthaginian cavalry time to drive the Roman cavalry off on both flanks and attack the Roman center in the rear. The Roman infantry, now stripped of protection on both its flanks, formed

4602-404: The same assignment. However, the Senate feared a real threat, and deployed not just four legions to the field but all eight, including allies. Ordinarily, each of the two consuls would command his own portion of the army, but since the two armies were combined into one, Roman law required them to alternate their command on a daily basis. The traditional account puts Varro in command on the day of

4680-419: The same number of foot soldiers but 900 cavalry per legion—more than triple the legion numbers. Eight legions—some 40,000 Roman soldiers and an estimated 2,400 cavalry—formed the core of this massive new army. Livy quotes one source stating the Romans added only 10,000 men to their usual army. The two consuls were each assigned two of the four legions to command, unusually employing all four legions at once on

4758-562: The same time as a heavy Roman-style shield. The conventional deployment for armies of the time was placement of infantry in the center, with the cavalry in two flanking wings. The Romans followed this convention fairly closely, but chose extra depth rather than breadth for the infantry in hopes of breaking quickly through the center of Hannibal's line . Varro knew how the Roman infantry had managed to penetrate Hannibal's center at Trebia , and he planned to recreate this on an even greater scale. The principes were stationed immediately behind

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4836-566: The second Roman province (the first was Sicily). The outbreak of the Second Punic War and the victories of Hannibal in the Italian Peninsula provoked new stirrings of rebellion in Sardinia where, after the Roman defeat at the Battle of Cannae , the Sardinian-Punic landowner and military Hampsicora , helped by the Carthaginians and by Ilienses, organized a new uprising. In 215 BC the rebels were defeated and massacred in

4914-513: The sight of her reminded him of his murder of their three children. They had a daughter, Leipephilene . He was one of the Heraclidae . In Sophocles' Philoctetes , Philoctetes was given Heracles' bow and arrow as reward for lighting the funeral pyre. According to Diodorus Siculus , Iolaus was sent by Heracles to Sardinia , together with nine of the sons that he had with the fifty daughters of Thespius (the Thespiades ), to colonize

4992-523: The somewhat distant battle location, both sides were forced to fight on little sleep. Another Roman disadvantage was thirst caused by Hannibal's attack on the Roman encampment during the previous day. Furthermore, the massive number of troops would have led to an overwhelming amount of background noise. All of these psychological factors made battle especially difficult for the infantrymen. The light infantry on both sides engaged in indecisive skirmishing, inflicting few casualties and quickly withdrawing through

5070-403: The southeasterly winds would blow sand and dust into their faces as they approached the battlefield. Hannibal's deployment of his army, based on his perception of the terrain and understanding of the capabilities of his troops, proved decisive. As the armies advanced on one another, Hannibal gradually extended the center of his line, as Polybius described: "After thus drawing up his whole army in

5148-483: The task, and not attempt to relate what in describing I must make less than the reality. The consul and his army having been lost at the Trasimenus the year before, it was not one wound upon another which was announced, but a multiplied disaster, the loss of two consular armies, together with the two consuls: and that now there was neither any Roman camp, nor general nor soldiery: that Apulia and Samnium, and now almost

5226-450: The weak Carthaginian center as deployed in a crescent, curving out toward the Romans in the middle with the African troops on their flanks in echelon formation . It is believed that the purpose of this formation was to break the forward momentum of the Roman infantry, and delay its advance before other developments allowed Hannibal to deploy his African infantry most effectively. While the majority of historians feel that Hannibal's action

5304-433: The whole of Italy, were in the possession of Hannibal. No other nation surely would not have been overwhelmed by such an accumulation of misfortune. For a brief period, the Romans were in complete disarray. Their best armies in the peninsula had been destroyed, the few remnants severely demoralized, and the only remaining consul (Varro) completely discredited. As the story goes, Rome declared a national day of mourning as there

5382-653: Was beloved of him; and Aristotle observes that, even in his time, lovers plighted their faith at Iolaus's tomb." Iolaus provided essential help to Heracles in his battle against the Hydra , his second labor . Seeing that Heracles was being overwhelmed by the multi-headed monster (the Lernaean Hydra), who grew two heads in place of each one cut off, Iolaus helped by cauterizing each neck as Heracles beheaded it. Heracles gave his wife, Megara , age thirty three, to Iolaus, then only sixteen years old – ostensibly because

5460-401: Was deliberate, some have called this account fanciful, and claim that the actions of the day represent either the natural curvature that occurs when a broad front of infantry marches forward, or the bending back of the Carthaginian center from the shock action of meeting the heavily massed Roman center. The battle began with a fierce cavalry engagement on the flanks. Polybius described many of

5538-558: Was named after Iolaus and the Iolaia or Iolaea ( Greek : Ιολάεια ), an athletic festival consisting of gymnastic and equestrian events, was held yearly in Thebes in his honor. The victors at the Iolaea were crowned with garlands of myrtle . A genus of Lycaenid butterfly has been named after him . An exoplanet around star HAT-P-42 (now named Lerna ) is named after him as part of

5616-531: Was once their territory, very important are the findings of Mycenaean artifacts, confirming the wealth of exchanges between these two ancient populations. Of particular interest are also the Oxhide ingot , which perhaps came from Cyprus and was discovered in various locations, including the Cagliari area, in the province of Ogliastra and other central areas. Between 1300 and 1200 BC in central-southern Sardinia

5694-460: Was produced a kind of gray pottery also called "gray Sardinian"; remains of this type of pottery have been found in Kommos, Crete , and at Cannatello near Agrigento , Sicily . As witnessed by the ancient sources ( Diodorus Siculus , Bibliotheca historica and Pausanias , Description of Greece ) since the sixth century BC this population opposed fiercely to the domination of Carthage . When

5772-416: Was prudent and cautious, and he believed it was foolish to fight on open ground, despite the Romans' numerical strength. This was especially true since Hannibal held the advantage in cavalry, in both quality and quantity. Despite these misgivings, Paullus thought it unwise to withdraw the army after the initial success, and camped two-thirds of the army east of the river Aufidus, sending the remainder to fortify

5850-403: Was rejected, Hannibal, recognizing the importance of water from the Aufidus to the Roman troops, sent his cavalry to the smaller Roman camp to harass water-bearing soldiers that were found outside the camp fortifications. According to Polybius, Hannibal's cavalry boldly rode up to the edge of the Roman encampment, causing havoc and thoroughly disrupting the supply of water to the Roman camp. On

5928-555: Was taken, among those Trojans who fled were those who escaped with Aeneas. A part of them, carried from their course by winds, reached Sardinia and intermarried with the Greeks already settled there (Iolaes). But the non-Greek element (Balares ?) were prevented from coming to blows with the Greeks and Trojans, for the two enemies were evenly matched in all warlike equipment, while the river Thorsus (Tirso), flowing between their territories, made both equally afraid to cross it. . Despite

6006-402: Was the alarm and terror of what would happen, they resolved to bring not only four but eight legions into the field. Rome typically employed four legions each year, each consisting of 4,000 foot soldiers and 200 cavalry. Per contemporary Roman sources, for the first time ever the Senate introduced eight legions, each consisting of 5,000 foot soldiers and 300 cavalry, with allied troops numbering

6084-458: Was to continuously push with the infantry in the center and attempt to overpower the enemy line. Despite what these tactics might suggest, the center was not commanded by either of the two consuls, but by Geminus Servilius. The consuls commanded the two wings, Terentius Varro the left and Aemilius Paullus the right. Hannibal understood that the Romans fought their battles like this, and he took his outnumbered army and strategically placed them around

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