Societe d’Etudes Latines de Bruxelles

Was Scipio Africanus at Cannae?

Author(s): R. T. Ridley
Source: Latomus, T. 34, Fasc. 1 (JANVIER-MARS 1975), pp. 161-165
Published by: Societe d’Etudes Latines de Bruxelles
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 Was Scipio Africanus at Cannae ?

At theend of his accountof thebattleof Cannae,Livytellshowsomesur-

vivorsmadetheirwayfromthesmallerto thelarger Romancampandfinally some
fourthousandinfantry and twohundred cavalryescapedfromthelargercampto
Canusium(22.50-52). Nowmention is madeoffourmilitary tribunes : Q. Fabius
Maximus(cos. 213), of thefirstlegion,L. PubliciusBibulcusand P. Cornelius
Scipioofthesecond,andAp. ClaudiusPulcher (cos. 212) ofthethird. No mention
has beenmadeofanyof thesein theforegoing battle.Bycommonconsent, com-
mand,obviouslyin theabsenceof moreseniormen,is vestedin Claudiusand
Scipio.Whiledeliberatingwhattodo, theyaretoldbyP. FuriusPhilusofa plotled
by L. CaeciliusMetellus,to abandonItalyand escapeto somekingdom. On this
newsbeingbrought to thetribunes,whiletheotherswantedto deliberate, Scipio,
fatalisduxhuiuscebellidemandsaction.Witha fewothersunderarms,he rushes
to Metellus'lodging,wherehe findshimplotting. Drawinghis swordovertheir
heads,he forcesall presentto takea terrible
oathbyJupiter forthedestruction of
themselves and theirfamiliesiftheydesertthecauseof Romeor allowanyother
citizento do so. Aftertakingthe oath,theyare all arrestedby Scipio.
Nownothing moreis knownof Philus,buthisfather wascos. 223 and praetor
thisyearand assembled thesenateat Rometo tryandorganisesomeresistance to
theexpected attackon thecity(22.55). Metellus (!) was perhapsson of thecos.
251 and 247. His plansnowdid notprevent hiselectionas quaestor214, buthe
wasdemoted bythecensorsAtiliusRegulusand FuriusPhilus(24.18). His career
continued to progress;as tribuneof theplebs213 he attempted to impeachthe
censors,butall ninecolleaguesopposedhim(24.43). That,apparently, wastheend
of him.The mentionof 'some kingdom'as theobjectof thedeserters' flightis
The reference
significant. is apparentlyto Macedón,forPhilip'sfamouspactwith
Hannibalfollowed Cannae.Thiselement lookssimplylikean attempt tostrengthen
accusationsof treasonagainstMetellusand the others.
As forScipio,he certainly heldtheofficeofmilitary tribune,although theyear,
naturally,is not specified
(2).

(1) RE, n° 73.

(2) CIL I, 1. p. 280 (p. 2012): (P: Cornelius
P. f) ScipioAfricanus
cos.biscensor
aediliscurulistrib.mil.

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162 R. T. RIDLEY

ValeriusMaximus5.6.7 givesmuchthesamestory, although lacking details.No

locationis given,it is simply whenRome,after thedisaster at Cannae,expected to
be thevictor'snextvictim. OnlyScipiois mentioned as thehero,whodespitehis
youth,aloneforcesall to taketheoathnotto leaveItaly; no deitiesarementioned.
The storyillustrates his enormous pietas.
SiliusItalicusnextincluded thestoryin hisepic( 10.418f).The conspirators led
by Metellus, planned to crossthe sea. Again, Scipioalone, snatching up his sword,
burstsin on theconspirators. Livy'sdoublepromise reappears : notto leaveRome
(Lauiniaregna)or allowothersto do so, butthesanctioning deitieshaveexpanded
to Jupiter, Juno,Minerva(the Capitolinetriad)and the gods of Italy.
The storydoesnotexistin Appian'sHannibalicWar(26). He notesmerely that
Varrocollectedthe remainsof his armyand leftthemunderthecommandof
Scipio,one ofthetribunes whilehe wenton to Rome.To thecontrary, Varrowas
to handoverthe armyto the praetorM. ClaudiusMarcellus(L.22.57).
Dio's earlyhistory is fragmentary, but theepisodenaturally suitedthecom-
pilation De Virtutibus et Vitiiswhich extractedit from him (frag.57.28-9). No
locationis given,butScipiohearsof a planby'some Romans'to abandonItaly.
Swordin handhe springsintotheroomwheretheconspirators are plotting and
4
forcesthemto swearto actandspeakappropriately' ! The conspirators thenwrote
to theconsulthattheyweresafe.Scipioproceededto Canusium,organised that
sent
city, garrisons to the cities and a
nearby repulsed cavalry attack on theformer.
Obviously, Scipio'spartis growing anddetailsaredisappearing, butmuchis likely
dueto theexcerptor rather thanDio. The summariser ofDio, Zonaras,(9.2) states
simplythatScipiowas servingin thearmyand had fledto Canusium.The con-
spiracyhas again disappeared (as in Appian)and Scipio is thecommander at
Canusium,organising everything.
The authorof thefourth century De VirisIllustribus
treatise givesScipiocredit
forchecking by his auctoritas some nobilíssimos iuuenes who wanted to abandon
and
Italy, leading the survivors (of Cannae) safelythrough the midst of theenemy
to thecampat Canusium.Now thisis surelya confusion withanothermilitary
tribune P. Sempronius Tuditanus wholedsixhundred menfromthesmaller to the
largercamp, and apparently an even larger body from there to Canusium
(L.22.50).
Finally,a knownfollower of Livy,Orosius(4.16.6) has an interesting version.
The senateat the instigation of CaeciliusMetellus,was considering abandoning
Italy,butthemilitary tribune ScipiowithdrawnswordforcedMetellusto swearto
defendthe homeland.
Thereseem to be two mainthreadsin theaccountsof Scipio'sactivities as
military tribunein 216 : theromantic storyofthethwarting ofMetellus' conspiracy
(all sourcessaveAppianandZonaras)andhistaking overat Canusium(Livy,Ap-
pian,Dio, Zonaras).In thecase of thelatter, Livy'ssimplestatement growsuntil
Scipiousurpsthepartofthepraetor Marcellus (Appian)andothermilitary tribunes

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 ?
AT CANNAE
WASSCIPIO AFRICANUS 163

such as Tuditanus(Vir. ill.). Dio and his summariser Zonarascertainly credit

Scipio with although
greatactivity, the cos. Varroarrived veryshortly (L.22.54.6).
Perhapsit is unfairto examinea storysuchas theconspiracy too closely,but
somepointsmightbe made.OnlyLivylocatesit simplyat Canusium.OnlyLivy
associatesotherswithScipioin thescotching of theplot.OnlyLivy,Siliusand
Orosiusknowof Metellus ; fortheotherstheplotters arejust'some Romans'or
'somenobleyouths'.It is obviousthatScipiowouldhavemadethemswearnotto
leaveItaly; anycompetent sourcecouldhaveworked thatout.Thustheadditional
clause, not to allow othersto leave in Livy and Silius,is significant.Again,only
Livy and Siliusbother about thedeities by whom theoathwastaken.It looksas if
Siliuswas following Livy hereforthe mostpart.
Butwhatis mostsignificant ofall is thelackofanyadmission thatScipiofought
at Cannae,wasactually one oftheRomansinthatgreatdisaster andoneofthefew
survivors. In Livyhe suddenlyappearsat Canusium.Zonaras,who as a sum-
mariser is notparticularlytrustworthy admitshe wasserving in thearmy, whichis
to
virtually saysimply he was military tribune,but also that he fledto Canusium.
The implications are recorded without furthercomment byMunzer(3): 'Unter
dennachderSchlacht beiCannaenachCanusiumgefluchteten Romern befand sich
auchderjugendliche P. R.
Kriegstribun Scipio'. Haywood (4) does likewise: 'we
knowthathe was at the battlesof theTicinus(L.21.46.9-10) and of Cannae
(22.53.2)...'.
It is interestingthata manprimarily inScipioas a military
interested figuretried
to go a littledeeper.B. LiddellHart(5) wrote:
'Thereis no recordof Scipio'ssharein thebattle,butfromLivy'saccount
it seemsclearthathe was amongthetenthousand survivors
whoescapedto
thegreater RomancampacrosstheriverAufidus, andfurther,oneoftheun-
dauntedfourthousand who,rather thansurrenderwiththeirfellows,quitted
thecampafternightfall,and eludingtheCarthaginian horse,madetheirway
to Canusium.'
Finally,we mayturnto themanwho has written moreaboutAfricanus
than
H.
others, In
Scullard. 1929 he wrote (6)
simply :
'Scipionextappearsin thesceneafterthebattleofCannae.A fewthousand
survivorshadreachedCanusium, wheretheyounger menformed a conspiracy
At a councilScipio,flourishing
to leaveItalyaltogether. a nakedsword,took
command and sworeneverto desertRome,andthusforcedtheothersto take
thesame oath.This storyis probablya late invention,otherwise Polybius
wouldhardlyhave omittedit.'
(3) RE, 4.1463.
(4) , 1933,p. 47.
Studiesin ScipioAfricanus
(5) ScipioAfricanus,a greater , 1926,p. 12.
thanNapoleon
(6) ScipioAfricanusin theSecondPunicWar , p. 38.

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164 R. T. RIDLEY

Notethestrictadherence to thetermsof Livy: Scipioappearsafterthebattle.

The problemof Polybius'silenceis a reference to thefamousanalysisin 10.2f,
ratherthan3.106f.
Morethantwenty yearslaterScullarddiscussedthisepisodeagain,butthistime
froma different ofMetellusin 214 and 213 is difficult
angle(7). The affair because
theCaeciliihad connections withthe Furii(one of thecensors)and theCor-
nelii(8). Amongthecomments hereScullardsays: 'the Corneliicouldretortby
showing itwastheyoungP. Scipiowhohadprevented thedesertionafter
Cannae'.
Finally,in a recentmonograph, Scullardhas written(9) :
'Scipionextappearson thescenein thedarkdaysafterCannae.... He was
one of fourmilitary who,withsomefourthousandsurvivors,
tribunes had
reachedCanusiumwherethesupreme command wasassignedto himandhis
colleagueAppiusClaudiusPulcher. Whenhe learnedthatmanyoftheyoung
noblesweresayingthatRomewasdoomedandsomewereplanning to escape
overseas,he wentwitha fewfollowers to a meeting
of thefainthearts
where,
flourishinga nakedsword,he sworeneverto desertRomeand forcedthe
othersto takethisoath.Withdisciplinerestored
andhopekindled, Scipioand
Claudiusreported to theconsulVarrowho,theylearned,had survived the
battleand reachedVenusia.Since Polybiusdoes not honourhis heroby
recording thisstory,theepisodeis sometimes butperhapswithout
rejected,
good reason,sincePolybius'accountof thisperiodis notcompletelypreser-
ved,whilethestory findssupportintheevidence ofa coinofCanusiumwhich
almostcertainly depictsScipio.'
The coin,fromtheBritish Museum,is bronzeand showstheheadof a young
Romanon theobverseand a gallopinghorseman on thereverse,withtheins-
criptionKANUS(10). Now the identification
of thishead withScipiowas madein
1956bySirEdwardRobinson(u). He connected itwithcoinsfromNewCarthage,
captured by Scipioin 209, wherethePunicissuessoon becameRomanin style:
theheadof Hannibalbecamethatof Scipioperhaps.The Canusiumcoinon the
basisof styleis agreedto be latethirdcenturyin date.The problemis theiden-
tification
ofthehead.It certainlyfitswellwiththeotherportraits
ofScipioadduced
by Scullard. But again thisevidence relatesto Scipio after
the battle.

(7) RomanPolitics, 220-150 , 1951,p. 60.

(8) CaeciliusMetellus(cos.206),perhaps a brotheroftheauthoroftheplot,wasoneof
Scipio'smostloyalsupporters (ibid.,pp. 69, 77, 82, 122).
, 1970,pp.29-30.I do notquotefrom
(9) ScipioAfricanus thesethreeworksofProf.
Scullardtopointoutanycontradictions, sinceonewouldonlyexpect, andhopefor,recon-
siderationofproblems oversucha longperiod oftime. Theyarecitedfora fuller of
range
evidenceand interpretation.
(10) Ibid.,Pis.4 and17 (not16).Forthefollowing noteson thiscoinI amhighly
in-
debted to Dr. J. Kentof theBritish Museum.
(11) Essaysin RomanCoinage presentedto HaroldMattingly, pp. 42-3.

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 ?
AT CANNAE
WASSCIPIO AFRICANUS 165

Thereis nothingextraordinary aboutScipio'sbeingmilitary tribunein 216,

although he was rather young (12).The consul who perished at Cannae, Aemilius
Paulus,was hisfather-in-law (13).Whatof theactionshe is credited with?It does
notseemthatMetel lus' plotcan be dismisseddespite,say,recollections of 390
(L.5.50f),sinceit is centralto his career.ButScipio'sdramatic storming with
in,
drawnswordand theextraction of theoath,does seemsuspicious. The gods in-
vokedareJupiter andperhapsthewholeCapitoline triad.One cannothelprecalling
themanyconnections Scipiohad withthistemple:his visits(L.26.19), coinsof
C.100ВС (I4), and evenhis statuein thecella(Val. Max. 8.15.1) perhapsplaced
therebySullain 83 (15).AndwhatofPolybius'silence?His discussion ofScipioin
book 10 is directedto demonstrating thatfarfrombeingdivinely favoured and
lucky,his successes were due to careful The
planning. impetuous overawing the
of
conspiratorsdid not fit this purpose (1б).
Butmoreimportantly, if,as seemslikely, Scipioactually fought at Cannae,then
hereindeedis a hitherto neglected, albeitnegative,element in theScipioniclegend:
thestudiousavoidanceofanydirectstatement byany of oursources to thiseffect.
The dramatic contrast ofScipio'spresence at Rome'sgreatest humiliation at Han-
nibal'shandswithhis ultimate turning of thetables at Zama would, seem to have
beenappealing : Livyjusthintsat it(fatalisduxhuiuscebelli).Norwasthetheme
ofbeingpresent to learnfromthegreatCarthaginian inactiontakenup.Theshame
of thatdefeatwas too overwhelming. Scipio's part in it - apparently un-
distinguished- has been expunged from history.

of Melbourne.
University R. T. Ridley

(12) Hewas26 years oldwhenhecrossed theEbroin209(P.10.6.10), so bom236/5,

so onlyabout19 here.
'Althoughitmayhavebeentheletter ofthelawthattribunesshould haveatleast
fiveyearsprevious (e.g.P.6.19)'various
service' examplessuggestthatnotin-
frequently
they wereyoung menofaristocratic birth.Forinstance,P. Cornelius
Scipiowastwenty whenmilitary tribunein216 ВС,andTitusFlamininus, who
wasconsul attheearly ageofthirtyin198" ВС wastribunein210ВС,andso can
onlyhavebeeneighteen' (Plut.Flam.,1) Parker,Roman , (2nd.ed.),pp.
Legions
17-18.
(13) Thedateof his marriage to Aemiliais uncertain.
(14) Issuedbythemoneyer Cn. CorneliusBlasio,andshowing a helmeted malehead
(Scipio,or Blasio?)obverse, and theCapitoline triad,reverse
(Sydenham, Republican
Coinage, n. 561).
(15) Cf. mostrecently F. Walbank,TheScipionic Legendin PCPS, 13.1967,54f.
(16) It mightalso be notedthatin hisaccount ofScipio'snextoffice,theaedileship,
Polybios makesthreemajorerrors (Walbank,Commentary , 2.199f).

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