SteveM wrote: 28 Oct 2017, 13:56
"There lies the Fate of Carthage!"
TRUMP XIII - CATONE
Hannibal, upon seeing his brother's severed head, cried: "There lies the fate of Carthage" -- his prophetic words were fulfilled many years later, when Carthage was utterly destroyed, largely at the instigation of Cato the Elder, who according to Plutarch was said to end his speeches, regardless of their subject matter, with the words: "Carthage must be destroyed!"*
*Plutarch: 'The annihilation of Carthage . . . was primarily due to the advice and counsel of Cato'
Re; Catone as Cato the Elder.
Gaius Claudius Nero (c. 247 BC – c. 189 BC) may have some relevance. He is the one who kept the head of the Carthaginian general Hasdrubal, Hannibal's brother, and had it thrown into the camp of Hannibal, who is said to have then declared "There lies the fate Carthage!" A sign of utter defeat, which soon saw the end of the second Punic wars and Hannibal's leaving Italy.
The defeat of Hasdrubal at the Battle of the Metaurus, at which Nerone was one of the heroic commanders, was the turning point in the second Punic war.
Nerone's victory was put into verse by Horatio:
Quid debeas, o Roma, Neronibus,
Testis Metaurum flumen et Hasdrubal
This taunt of Nerone's was in contrast to Hannibal's own treatment of Roman consuls and commanders, captured or killed, who Hannibal is said to have treated with great respect and dignity.
If the consul Nerone had not defeated Hasdrubal, then it might have been that Emperor Nero would have ever reigned at all, as Lord Byron wrote of Nerone [the Consul and commander in the Battle of Metaurus] :
"The consul Nero, who made the unequalled march, which deceived Hannibal, and defeated Hasdrubal, thereby accomplishing an achievement almost unrivalled in military annals. The first intelligence of his return to Hannibal, was the sight of Hasdrubal's head thrown into his camp. When Hannibal saw this, he exclaimed with a sigh, that "Rome would now be the mistress of the world." To this victory of Nero's it might be owing that his imperial namesake reigned at all. But the infamy of the one has eclipsed the glory of the other. When the name of Nero is heard, who thinks of the consul? But such are human things."
— Byron.
Hamilcar Barca was the leading Carthaginian commander during the First Punic War, who was defeated by our Catulus [of the wounded thigh]. His sons were Mago, Hasdrubal and Hannibal, who were generals in the following Punic wars.
Hamilcar is said to have had a great deal of hatred for Rome, one which was only worsened by the harsh terms of peace following the Carthaginian defeat in the First Punic war. And he went to pains to instil similar hatred in his sons.
The child over the flames in this image is difficult to decipher; but one of the things it reminds me of, though it is probably a bit of a stretch, is that Hannibal as a very young child was taken to the temple by his Father Hamilcar and held over the sacrificial flames, and made to swear to his Father and the Gods never to make a friend of Rome.
Perhaps this is a reminder of that oath, which led eventually to the utter destruction of Carthage. It was completely destroyed, burnt to the grounds, and the Queen of Carthage threw herself and her two children into the fire.
Nerone as taunting Hannibal in defeat : "This is where your oath against Rome shall lead."
In Summary:
Many of our Roman figures appear to be connected to the Gallic and Punic Wars.
Catone and Nerone were both at the Battle of Metaurus, at which Hannibal's brother Hasdrubal was slain and beheaded.
Hasdrubal and Hannibal's hatred of Rome had been instilled in them since childhood. It is said their father held Hannibal over a fire as a young child and made him swear he would never make a friend of Rome.
Nerone had the decapitated head of Hasdrubal thrown into Hannibal's camp. Upon seeing it Hannibal is said, in the blow of mourning, to recognize the destiny of Carthage:
"Hannibal... agnoscere se fortunam Carthaginis..."
[Livy 27:51]
Catone was one of the leading figures in the faction calling for a Third Punic War, ending his speeches, whatever the subject, with "Carthage must be destroyed." It was during his consulship with L. Valerius Flaccus {195 B.C.}, that the Senate ordered Hannibal to be brought to Rome, because rumours were circulating among the Romans that he was stirring up war.
Cato as such, may be seen as the instrument of the fate which Hannibal recognized in the head of his slain brother.
The child over the flames is emblematic of the Carthaginian enmity against Rome, which led to their ultimate destruction by Rome, epitomized by Nerone and Catone.
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