8/12/2019 BARNISH, Martianus Capella and Rome in the Late Fifth Century http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/barnish-martianus-capella-and-rome-in-the-late-fifth-century 1/15 Martianus Capella and Rome in the Late Fifth Century Author(s): S. I. B. Barnish Source: Hermes, Vol. 114, No. 1 (1st Qtr., 1986), pp. 98-111 Published by: Franz Steiner Verlag Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4476480 . Accessed: 08/04/2011 05:04 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at . http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=fsv . . Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Franz Steiner Verlag is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Hermes. http://www.jstor.org
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8/12/2019 BARNISH, Martianus Capella and Rome in the Late Fifth Century
Martianus Capella and Rome in the Late Fifth Century
Author(s): S. I. B. BarnishSource: Hermes, Vol. 114, No. 1 (1st Qtr., 1986), pp. 98-111Published by: Franz Steiner VerlagStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4476480 .
Accessed: 08/04/2011 05:04
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless
you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you
may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.
Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at .http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=fsv. .
Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed
page of such transmission.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
Franz Steiner Verlag is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Hermes.
Ich schliel3emit dem Ausblickauf eineinzigartigesDokument patantiker
Textdiaskeuase: ie Rezensiondes erstenBuchsderLaudesDei und der Satis-factio des Dracontius,die Bischof Eugeniusvon Toledo (Mitte des 7. Jh.)
vornahm26. Denn um a n t i k e j.Tstaypaqo' handelt es sich hierbei, wenn auch
vielleichtwenigerder Zeit ihrerEntstehungnach als aufgrund hres auf3eren
und innerenZusammenhangsmit dem antiken Interpolationswesen. rsatz-
fassungen,darunter uch binneninterpolatorischeiedieeben besprochenen,
treten dort gleichreihenweise uf. Von einer antiken Gelehrtenausgabe nd
den FolgenihrerAuflosungkanndabeinatilrlichnichtdie Redesein. Denn
dem spanischenBischof aus der Zeit des Westgotenreichs ar ein Erfolg be-
schiedenwie sonst kaumeinem antikenRedaktor: eineRezension etztesichungehindert urchund blieb bis zumEnde des 18. Jh. die alleinherrschende.
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(1905);dazu jetzt F. SPERANZA,lossiAemili DracontisatisfactiounacumEugenirecensione,Romao. J. (1978). Die Redaktiondes Eugeniusverdientnach der tUchtigenArbeitK. REIN-
MartianusCapellaand Romein the Late FifthCentury 99
Martianus'dateis a matter or speculation, hemorerecentof whichhasbeen
tendingtowardsthe later fifth century3.The terminusantequem is givenbyan edititionproduced n 534, the consulshipof Paulinus,in Rome, by Felix,rhetorof the city, and Deuteriushis pupil, working ad Portam Capenam4.Theearliestwriters o knowof, orto use himall belongafter 480. Inthe560s,Cassiodoruswasawareof hiswork,buthadneverreadhim5.Boethius' Con-solatioPhilosophiae' c. 524)showsparallels,verbal,metrical, tructural, ndthematic6; but the same author's 'De Musica' (c. 500) ignores him7.Ennodius' 'Paraenesis Didascalia' (c. 510) has some resemblances8.TheAfrican scholar, Fulgentius,whose 'Mythologiae'may possibly have been
writtenunderkingHilderic 523- 530) cites him in the 'ExpositioSermonumAntiquorum'9.The terminuspost quem is harder to establish. A possiblereference o the sack of Rome, in 410, is ambiguous 0.It can be argued, exsilentiisthatMartianuswaswriting aterthanthe 'Retractationes', r the 'DeCivitateDei' of Augustine but this seems rather enuous. In this article,Ishall try to show that the narrativedetail, and religious content of the 'DeNuptiis' give some support to the late fifth centurydate, and therebyshedlight on its political and culturalcontext, and the audiencefor whichit waswritten.
Whenthe CapitolineTriad debate on the marriageof Mercury,Minervaadvises augustius quoquefieri Ioviale decretum, cum coetu deorum attestante
depromitur, ipsamque (sc. Philologiam) nupturam deo convenire non posse,
nisi superi senatus consulto mortalis esse desineret12. A divine councilon the
3 Cf. J. A. WILLIS, ed. cit., p.V, n. 1, and:MartianusCapellaunddiemittelalterliche chul-bildung,Das Altertum19, 1973, 165; L. LENAZ, Nota a Mart.Cap. I, Latomus39, 1980,735;D. SHANZER,A Philologicaland PhilosophicalComm.on Martianus.. Book I (unpublishedD. Phil. diss.)Oxford1980,1- 25, summarizedn Beitrage urGeschichte erDeutschenSpra-che undLiteratur 04, 1982, 111(review).
4 On thissubscription, ivenby WILLIS, ed. cit., p. 28, cf. J. PRtAUX, SecUrusMeliorFelix,Instrumenta atrist.11, 1975, 101 121.Justpossibly,Paulinuswas the consulof 498 (cf. DERossi, Inscr.Christ.Urb. Rom.L.L.,p. 475f.), butFelix s also attested n 527.
s Institutiones II.ii.17, iii.20.6 Cf. J. GRUBER, Komm.zu Boethius De Cons. Phil. (Berlin1978),17f.; H. Chadwick,
Boethius,Oxford1981,22,224,232,235,297; HANZER,Op.cit. 11,35f., 42.7 Cf. SHANZER, p. cit. 11f.8 Cf. ibid. 12.9 Expos.45;cf. J. MARTINDALE,Prosopography f the LaterRomanEmpire I, Cambridge
1980,488, on Myth.,praef. ButR. HELM, DerBischofFulgentiusundderMythograph,Rhein.Mus.54, 1899, 117- 26, argues trongly or a date underGunthamund484-96).
admissionor status of a new deity was no literarynovelty. Lucianhad used it
in the 'ConciliumDeorum',and Julian n his 'Caesares'3. More mportantly,
Seneca, n the 'Apocolocyntosis',andApuleius, a fellow African, n the 'Me-
tamorphoses',had given it the form of a meeting of the Roman Senate4.
However, the use which Martianusmakes of the theme is notably updated,
andhas no clear parallel n lateantiquity' . The SenecanSenatehad debated
thequestion n order,and voted on it by division pedibus),under he discreet,
and not always effortless presidencyof Jupiter, in a manner familiar to
readersof Tacitus. In Martianus,Jupiteralone puts a sententia, in a single
speech, censendum, superi; and they immediatelydo so (in suffragiumconcitatur), ombiningvote and opinions n anacclamation,withthe additionthat other distinguishedmortals should be named designati caelites, to
become deorum curialesafter death. With Jove's consent, Philosophiais
commanded o publishthesenatusconsultumon bronzetablets,per urbeset
compita'6.So too, new senators,adlectedby theemperor,probablyhad to be
voted in by the Senateitself 7. So too, in 438, the 'TheodosianCode' was
put for confirmationby a representative f the emperor,and acceptedby
senatorial acclamations. These added riders on its preservation and
distribution,which were in turn accepted by the emperors18. The second
meetingof Martianus'Senate, held the following day, to receivethe bride,does have some debate:first, on whetherproceedings an be shortenedby
admittingany of Philologia's dowryof attendantsunexamined; econd, on
whether the scrutinyof the dowrywhich she herselfbringscan legally be
deferreduntil the day after the marriage.Jupiterrefersthe latterpoint to
Saturn, for an expert juristic opinion19. The late Roman Senate was
sometimesusedasa court,andmightwellbeexpected o assist heemperorby
taries Apocol.ix.2, De Nupt. 1.65,89).Apuleius' oetuscoelestium Met.VI.23) s a contioheld
incaelesti heatro;but Jupiter ddresseshe assembly s Dei conscriptiMusarum lbo.Note Psy-
che, in De Nupt. I.6f.Is Cf. Claudian, De Raptu Pros. III.1 -66. This council has some parallels with the De
Nupt., butis notpresented s senatorial.Cf., also, Sidonius,Carm.vii (Pan. Aviti),17 f., 598 f.16 De Nupt. 1.91 6.
17 Cf. A. H. M. JONES,TheLaterRomanEmpire,Oxford1973,531 ., 541;Cassiodorus,Or-
do GenerisCassiodororum, .7f. (ed. MOMMSEN,MGH,Auct. Ant. XII, p. Vf.), thoughthisindicatesa commendatorypeechby a senator,perhapsas the ruler'srepresentative.18 GestaSenatus,Cod. Theod.(ed. MOMMSEN/MEYER,Berlin 1905), pp. 1 -4.
19 De Nupt. IX.888 - 98.20 Cf. below S. 103, JONES, Op. cit. 331f., 506f., J. B. BURY, History of the Later Roman
Empire , London 1923,21 f.
8/12/2019 BARNISH, Martianus Capella and Rome in the Late Fifth Century
MartianusCapellaand Romein the LateFifthCentury 101
Martianus'narrative, hen, seemsto be generally onsistentwith theprac-tice of the later empire. It may even serve as evidence for the procedurewhen a senatorialmeetingwasheldin theimperialpresence,ourknowledgeofwhich s rather canty. Totalconsistency,however, s too muchto expect.Forinstance,Jupiterpublica et quae senatum contracturus ssumitindumenta.
These garments,though, are impossible for mortals, and are inventedasreligious and cosmological symbols21.Hence, we cannot deduce that theemperorwore a specialdress n the Senate.Again,amonghumans,at least, asenatorial debate on apotheosis was a remote anachronism;and, in thisrespect,the 'De Nuptiis'had no immediate elevance o contemporaryife22.
The authoris moreinterested n the divinethanin the terrestrialworld.Nonetheless, we may be able to find some independent estimonyto the
functions and observancesof the Senate, and thus, with due caution, tonarrow down the date at which he wrote. First, the place of senatorialassembly.In the 'De Nuptiis',unlikethe Curiaof the 'Apocolocyntosis', hisis the palaceof Jupiter23. imilarly, n thetime of JohnLydus,theConstanti-nopolitanSenatemet in the imperialpalace,and not, as once, in a hall of itsown24.Evenunder he Ostrogoths,however, ts Romancounterpart tillmet,as a rule,in theCuriaof Diocletian25.Privatehousesmightalso, perhaps,be
used,as earliern the tTheodosianCode'session;andit is possible hat, whena king,or a lateemperorvisitedthecity, he sometimes onvened heSenate none of hispalaces.But, whenTheodericarrived n 500, heprobablyaddressedit in the Curia26.Moreover,as we shall see, Martianus s far moreconcernedwith the western, hanwith theeastern,capital. All the same, the locationhegives s some slight ndicationof a date in thelate fifth, oreven theearlysixth,century.
The divine Senate of the 'De Nuptiis' seems a particularly arge andcomprehensive ody. It has its seniormembers- the Dei Consentes,whose
namesare one of Jupiter's tate secrets, andthe twelve Enniandeities of theRoman pantheon - but it includes omnis ... populus potestatum. Their
names are announcedby Fama, as herald, and they are seated in order of
21 De Nupt. I.66;cf. S~ANzER, p.cit. 185ff.22 Butnote thatdeademperorswerestill formallydivi. Sidoniuscould evenshowthem as
increasing he divorumnumerum Carm. 11.317f.,cf. 210); while, in Africa and elsewhere,vestigesof theimperialprovincial ultsurvived mongtheChristian entryevenintothe6th.c.(cf. A. CHASTAGNOL/N.UVAL,n: M6langes ffertsAW. Seston,Paris1974,pp. 87- 118).
23
De Nupt.I.63,97,11.208;Apocol.viii.l, ix.l.24 De Magistratibus.9.25 Cf. CILVI.1794,L. TRAUBE,ndex o MGH,Auct.Ant. XII, p. 507, s. v. Libertatis tria
etc.26 AnonymusValesianus 6: he addressed he people ad Palmamnearby,aftervisiting he
Senate.
8/12/2019 BARNISH, Martianus Capella and Rome in the Late Fifth Century
the Corvini is mentioned by Sidonius Apollinaris44.He is the only
representativeof his family45 to be directly associated with the nameCorvinus;but, c. 527, Cassiodorus ould complimenta novus homo enteringthe Senate by comparinghim to the Decii and Corviniof old46. The Senate
was then almost filled with supposedmembers f the former ens47 and, sixty
yearsearlier, heirhead, CaecinaBasilius,hadrivalledGennadius n power4'.
Rhetorica'sGreekand Latin distinctionsare both emphasized.According o
their kinsman, Ennodius, perhaps the first user of the 'De Nuptiis',
Gennadius'son and grandson, Faustus Niger and Avienus,werefamedfor
their learning and eloquence in the two languages49.
All this suggestsnot just a late fifth centurydate, but a context n the cityof Rome, for the 'De Nuptiis'. While a member of the provincialupper-
classes may have been adequatelyinformed on senatorial procedure,we
shouldnotice, again,thattheauthor'suse of it is exceptional.EvenSidonius,
who actually served as prefect of Rome, cannot be compared. Martianus,
moreover,may have been writingat a timewhen few provincialnoblescould
expectto enter the Senate.Most of his earlyreadersalso indicatea Roman
and senatorialaudience50.Howconsistent s thiswith hisAfricanorigins,and
his use by Fulgentius he mythographer?WhenGeiseric ook Carthage,many
of its nobleswere banished o Italy, if they did not, like the grandfather fbishop Fulgentius,choose freedom, as voluntaryemigr6s51.His sons later
returned,and recoveredpartof theirestates roma Vandalmonarch52.n the
earlysixthcentury,at leastone Roman senatorretainedconnections n Afri-
MartianusCapellaand Romein the Late FifthCentury 105
verypossible. We shouldcompareMacrobius,an African,perhapswriting nAfrica, for Romanaristocrats,who had fled from Italyin 41055.
As forthe actualdeities,and thereligiouscontentof the 'De Nuptiis', theyare, at least,consistentwitha Roman-Italian rientation,and with a late fifthcenturydate.But, as evidence orthelatter,they areverydoubtful. TheCapi-toline Triad, the Dei Consentes, the minor Italian deities, marshalledaccording o an Etruscanplanof theheavens56, nd theevident nterestof theauthor in theurgy, and neo-Platonicmysteries57, ould well belong to themilieuof VettiusAgoriusPraetextatus.Weshouldrecall he restoration f the
imagesof the Dei Consentes, n 367/8, and the laterconsultationof Etruscandiviners,duringAlaric'ssiegeof Rome, in 408/0958.The 'Saturnalia'of Ma-crobius,notnecessarily paganwork, showshow these nterestspersistednawesternsenatorialcontext, linkedboth with Africa and Italy, well into thefifth century59.Again, possibleallusions to the Ariancontroversyalso suit
60Italy,and the late fourthcenturyTheselast, however, are no less appropriate o an African, writingafter
the Vandalconquest.Dr. SHANZER,urthermore,hasargued hat the openlytheurgicalelements of the 'De Nuptiis' - Philologia is portrayed,in the
secondbook, asan expert n charmsandarithmology couldnot safely havebeenpublishedafter thecampaigns gainstsorceryof Valentinian ndValens,orat any timebeforethemid fifthcentury,whensuchartsenjoyedsomethingof a revival,associatedwithProclus61.TheemperorValentinian II(425- 55)acquiredat least a posthumousreputationfor magic and astrology62.She,though, wouldplace the 'De Nuptiis' later, in the reignof Anthemius,who,according to Damascius, plotted to restore pagan worship63,and wasdistinguished or his philosophical earning64.One of his leadingsupporterswas MessiusPhoebusSeverus.Damasciusalso tells us that this great noble
SS Cf. T. D. BARNES,Aspectsof theBackground f theCityof God,in:L'AfriqueRomaine,ed. C. WELLES(VanierLectures),Ottawa1982,69 - 85.
56 Cf. S. WEINSTOCK,MartianusCapellaand theCosmicSystemof theEtruscans, .R.S. 34,1944,100-29.
MartianusCapellaandRomein the LateFifthCentury 107
All thesame,such a date canbe nomorethan an attractivepossibility.The'De Nuptiis' certainlyseems to fit best in a late fifth centurycontext, but itmay still have been started twenty years before or after the death of
Anthemius. We should notice how the western Senate flourished under
Odoacerand Theoderic76. am also inclined o doubtSHANZER'Snterpreta-tionof theworkas a pieceof crypto-pagan ropaganda77. heChristianity f
upper-classcircles at this time had room for a wide variety of religious
attitudes.At an earlierdate, thepossibly,but far fromcertainly,paganClau-
churchat Constantinople81.Andromachus,who supportedthe LupercaliaunderOdoacer,probablyalso servedas a papal envoyto Zeno82.Traditionsof sorcery urvived,anditspractice ould provedangerous, venfor senators,as is shownby the casesof BasiliusandPraetextatus,andof Boethius,under
Theoderic83. uttherewill, I suspect,havebeen manywhose interest n pagan
cult, and evenin pagan magic, was either conventionalor academic84. uchinterestmay have been stimulatedby Anthemiusand his circle, and it is tosuch an audiencethat the 'De Nuptiis' may have been addressed.Its early
users were all Christians:Ennodius, Boethius, Fulgentius, very possiblyidenticalwith the saintly bishop of Ruspe, and, following their founder'sre-
commendation, hemonksof Vivarium85. oethiusexploited t in thewritingof the 'Consolatio', while indignantlyrebutting he chargeof sorceryunderwhichhe then lay86.Such men evidentlysaw nothingsinister n the work. If
propaganda, t was rather a failure. We should, once again, comparethe
77 Op. cit. 17- 24; cf. 172f. She does not see Martianus as ))tryingto convert the masses((
(private letter). Note, also, her remarks in Beitrage, p. 112f.
78 De Cons. Stil. II.424 ff.; cf. SHANZER,Op. cit., 203. On Claudian's religion, cf. A. CAME-
RON, Claudian, Oxford 1970, cap. 8, very illuminating. For Stilicho and the Oracles, see Rutilius
Namatianus, De Reditu Suo I1.51 ff.
79 Carm. Min. xxxii.
80 De Gubernatione Dei VIII.2.9- 17; cf. De Nupt. 1.58,168, for luno Caelestis.81 Cf. L. VASSILI, La Cultura di Antemio, Athenaeum 16, 1938, 38-45.82 Gelasius, Ep. 10.7 (Thiel, op. cit., p. 346).83 Cf. Cassiod., Var. IV.22- 3, Gregorius Magnus, Dial. 1.4; Boethius, Cons. Phil. 1, pr.
4,37 -42.
84 Cf. CHASTAGNOL,p. cit. 51.
8S Note Christo adiuvante in Felix's subscription. On Vivarium's probable acquisition of the
'De Nuptiis', see P. COURCELLE,Histoire d'un Brouillon Cassiodorien, R.E.A. 44, 1942, 45.
86 Cons. Phil. loc. cit.
8/12/2019 BARNISH, Martianus Capella and Rome in the Late Fifth Century
Martianus Capella and Rome in the Late Fifth Century 109
Dracontius at times surpasseshis fellow African in the erotic97; whileEnnodiusshowsVenusandCupiddeploring he effectwhichthe cult of frigi-
da .. . virginitas s having on their realm. The victim whom they choose toredress hebalance s referred o asfidei monumentum98. othEnnodiusand
Sidoniusalso show somethingof Martianus'nostalgiafor the old gods9.If the 'De Nuptiis'does indeed reflectsomethingof the religious nterests
of Anthemius' reign, it may also tell us somethingabout its politics. Did
nobles such as Severus,or GennadiusAvienus, hope for anequivalent o that
close and harmonious working relationshipwhich Martianus describes
betweenJupiterandhis Senate?And, if so, werethey disappointed?Severushad evidentlycometo Italywithhighexpectations,buthis earliercriticismof
the emperors uggests he archaicand exactingquasi-republicandealswhich
we can detectin Boethius?. It would be interesting o know what part the
Senateplayed in the marriageof Anthemius'daughterto Ricimer101; lsowhether,as JoNEsconjectured,Anthemiuswas responsible or reducing he
sizeof the westernSenate 02. Inthe Arvandus ase, he threwa heavypoliticalburdenon thatassembly103;ut, unlikesomeotheremperors,he seemsneverto have referredhis legislationto it, for consultation,or confirmation.The
one lawwhichhe is known to have submitted or confirmationwent, instead,to Leo in Constantinople 4. In his geographical ection, Martianushonours
both Rome and Carthage, but gives the eastern capital a bare mention,derivedfrom Solinus, as Byzantium 05.Sidonius' 'Panegyric' may show a
certaindefensivenessn its eulogyof Anthemius'easternorigins 06; while En-nodiusremembered imas a Graeculus,and a Galatusconcitatus107. ome issaid to have beendivided over his civil war with Ricimer108,and the Senate
eventuallybetrayedhim in favour of a candidateof its own stock, Anicius
morality pp. 88ff.), andwouldput smallweighton it, even if genuine.Apartfromthis, as heremarks,>)in De Nuptiis',anti-Christianolemic s not easyto find&p. 101).
97 Cf. RomuleaVI.47ff., VII.Slff., the latteraddressed o the childrenof two Christianpriests.
98 Carm.I.4.19,53 122.
99 Ibid.; Sidon.Ap., Carm.XI, especially 7ff.100Onthese,cf. J. F. MAITHEWS, in: Boethius, ed. M. GIBSON,Oxford 1981, 37f.101 This was celebrated at Rome; cf. Sidon. Ap., Ep. I.5.lOf.102 Op. cit., p. 529. He also suggests Theoderic.103 Cf. Sidon.Ap., Ep. I.7.
104
Nov. Anth.3. Leosimilarly otAnthemius o confirmone of his laws(Nov.Anth.2), butthe phrasing uggests hatthis wasmuch moreof a formality.105 De Nupt. VI. 637,669,657.
106Carm.II.30ff., 437ff. On jealousybetween he capitals,cf. M. A. WES,Das Ende desKaisertumsm Westendes rdmischenReiches,TheHague1967,cap. 1.
Martianus' work, then, fits well into the setting of Roman high society in
the last years of the western empire. It was probably directed at a learned and
aristocratic audience, and it certainly reached that mark. Its readers, I feel,
enjoyed it less because it advocated their religious and political interests than
because it laughed at them, in a gentle and sympathetic way. Those areas of
the book where a serious intention is longest, and most clearly, sustained are
the dry, academic lectures of the seven arts and sciences. It was as a laborious
encyclopaedia, rather than as a piece of topical humour, that the 'De Nuptiis'
was to reach and serve posterity.
Bangor S. I. B. BARNISH
Postscript: must thankDr. DANUTA HANZERor many valuable comments and criticisms on
thispaper.She is not, of course,responsibleor any of its errors.On deification, cf. G. HERZOG-HAUSER,ESupp.IV, 852, on ILS 1277;on the locationof
senatorial meetings, cf. Zosimus V. 29.5 f., John of Antioch, fr. 201.4; on Anthemius and magic,
cf. John of Antioch, fr. 207.
THE BATTLE OF THE BAGRADAS
Hamilcar's actics at the BagradasRiverduringthe MercenaryWar haveseldombeendiscussedand neveradequately xplained . Themercenaries ndLibyans were besieging Utica with some fifteen thousand men and hadanother enthousand omewhere o thesouth,guarding heonlybridgeacrosstheriver2.HamilcarmarchedwestfromCarthageandfordedtheBagradas tits mouth. Then he turned left and marchedup along the rivertoward the
bridge,with the elephants n the van, the cavalryand light infantryin thecenter,and theheavy nfantry n therear.Bothdivisionsof theenemycametomeet him en masse, trapping him in the middle (Andsi&' i'g auvdanov ilxov
&1Xfx0oL, VojtioaVTts ?V g TOU; KapXf8oviou4 s7riX@pFVat ...
ThereuponHamilcarordered his entire force to about-face(&vaotporp&v
7rap1pyy&lXEdai toiS tautoi), commanded he mobile forces to withdraw
1 For a summary of earlier views cf. F. W. WALBANK, A Historical Commentary on Polybius
I, Oxford 1957, 142f.2 Our sole source for this episode is Polyb. 1, 75, 1- 76, 9. Some scholars dispute Polybius'
estimate of the rebel numbers; cf. WALBANK, op. cit. (supra n. 1) 142. Polybius gives Hamilcar's
strength as ten thousand, with seventy elephants. WALBANK, 141, also has a useful discussion of
the possible location of the bridge.
3 The emendation, ?i5 c6voncov, will be discussed later.