Unplanned Wars: The Origins of the First and Second Punic Wars

344 Pages·1997·9.644 MB·English

by  B. Dexter Hoyos

Β. D. Hoyos
Unplanned Wars
w
DE
G
Untersuchungen zur
antiken Literatur und Geschichte
Herausgegeben von
Winfried Bühler, Peter Herrmann und Otto Zwierlein
Band 50
Walter de Gruyter · Berlin · New York
1998
Unplanned Wars
The Origins of the First and
Second Punic Wars
by
B. D. Hoyos
Walter de Gruyter · Berlin · New York
1998
® Printed on acid-free paper which falls within the guidelines of the
ANSI to ensure permanence and durability.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hoyos, Β. D. (Β. Dexter), 1994-
Unplanned wars : the origins of the First and Second Punic Wars /
von B. D. Hoyos.
p. cm. — (Untersuchungen zur antiken Literatur und
Geschichte ; Bd. 50)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 3-11-015564-8
1. Punic War, 1st, 264-241 B. C. - Causes. 2. Punic War, 2nd,
218-201 B. C. - Causes. I. Title. II. Series.
DG243.2.H69 1998
937'.04-dc21 97-39785
CIP
Die Deutsche Bibliothek — Cataloging in Publication Data
Hoyos, Β. Dexter:
Unplanned wars : the origins of the first and second Punic wars /
von B. D. Hoyos. - Berlin ; New York : de Gruyter, 1997
(Untersuchungen zur antiken Literatur und Geschichte ; Bd. 50)
ISBN 3-11-015564-8
© Copyright 1997 by Walter de Gruyter & Co., D-10785 Berlin
All rights reserved, including those of translation into foreign languages. No part of this book
may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permis-
sion in writing from the publisher.
Printed in Germany
Printing: W Hildebrand, Berlin
Binding: Lüderitz & Bauer, Berlin
Jannae Camillaeque
carissimis meis

Preface
The question of why the First and Second Punic Wars occurred il-
lustrates, perhaps more starkly than any other in ancient history,
the interdependence of historical and historiographical analyses.
Documentary evidence — inscriptions, coins, papyri — is sparse,
the literary sources variegated and often excerpted, or fragmentary.
Literary and historiographical assumptions, even generalisations,
thus often colour judgements both of particular issues and of gen-
eral ones.
This work seeks to explain the origins of both wars as objec-
tively as possible; and necessarily also to assess the quality of the
ancient sources on the topic. Modern studies are numerous and
full of contrasts, while tending to concentrate on the origins of one
or the other war, or dealing relatively briefly with both. A third
aim therefore is to survey, succinctly but comprehensively, modern
scholarship in this field.
It is a very pleasant task to acknowledge the help and encour-
agement that I have received over this work. The University of
Sydney and the Australian Academy of the Humanities in Canberra
have made its publication possible through generous funding
grants. The interest and support over many years of my colleagues
in Classics, Archaeology and Ancient History, and of the Faculty of
Arts at Sydney, has been invaluable. I owe a particular debt to my
colleague Terry Roberts, who voluntarily compiled the Index of
Passages Cited. A good part of my research was carried out on pe-
riodic visits to the Haverfield Library of Ancient History in the
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, whose unfailing helpfulness to
scholarly visitors is greatly appreciated. In turn, the prompt and
friendly guidance of my publishers, W. de Gruyter & Co., in the
preparation of the formatted text has been invaluable.
Finally but very importantly, I would like to acknowledge the
understanding and support of my wife Jann and daughter Camilla
throughout my long and often unsociable labours on this study.
To them it is now dedicated.
Sydney: August 1997 B.D.H.

Contents
Abbreviations xiii
Maps XV
Prologue 1
I. Before 264 5
1. The Romans and the Carthaginians 5
2. Two treaties, and one fake 7
3. Pyrrhus' war 11
II. Preparations for War? 17
1. Post-Pyrrhic consolidations 17
2. Plans for a war? 19
3. The Romans and Sicily 28
III. The Mamertine Appeal 33
1. Difficulties with dates 33
2. The ungrateful Mamertines 40
IV. Debating the Appeal 47
1. The Mamertines' deditio 47
2. The Romans' debates 51
3. The Roman war-aims in 264 53
4. Course of the debates 57
5. Time-span of the debates 64
V. The Punic-Syracusan Alliance 67
1. Messana vacated 67
2. Alliance of old foes 73
VI. An Unwanted War 82
1. Appius at the straits: discrepant sources 82
2. Appius' offer of talks 86
3. The sea-fight and aftermath 88
4. Crossing to Messana 91
5. Appius in battle 93
χ Contents
VII. Escalation 100
1. Αρ. Claudius against Syracuse 100
2. Valerius and Otacilius against Syracuse 104
3. Valerius in the west 108
VIII. From Enmity to Goodwill 116
1. Wartime talks 116
2. The peace of Lutatius 118
3. A season of goodwill 123
4. Family politics in the 230s and 220s? 127
IX. The Rape of Sardinia 132
1. How it was done 132
2. Why it was done 140
X. Imaginary Confrontations in the 230s 144
1. Fictional clashes 144
2. Envoys to Hamilcar? 147
XI. Hasdrubal's Accord 150
1. The Barcid ascendancy 150
2. The accord with Hasdrubal: date 154
3. The accord: arguments about content 158
4. The aim of the accord: competing views 166
XII. Saguntum 174
1. Friendship or alliance? 175
2. The Saguntine connexion: date 178
3. Saguntines in crisis 184
4. The Saguntines' neighbours 187
5. Saguntines request arbitration 191
6. The Romans arbitrate 193
XIII. Hannibal and the Ambassadors 196
1. The embassy of 220: aims 196
2. Disputed datings 202
3. The Roman démarche 204
4. The ambassadors at Carthage 212
XIV. Saguntum Besieged 219
1. The Saguntines on their own 219
2. The Romans in debate 226