The Roman Hannibal: Remembering The Enemy In Si... May 2026

Stocks argues that Silius’s Hannibal is not just a foreign villain, but a "Romanized" figure who paradoxically exemplifies (Roman-ness).

The poem often enters Hannibal's perspective, showing him as a man striving to build an eternal legacy.

Silius’s portrayal is seen as the final evolution of centuries of Roman engagement with Hannibal in literature. The roman Hannibal: remembering the enemy in Si...

A central "interesting paper" (or more precisely, a seminal book often discussed in academic circles) on this exact topic is by Claire Stocks (2014).

A particularly compelling moment identified in the book is Hannibal's final speech (17.605–15), where he seemingly acknowledges the Roman literary tradition that has constructed his identity. Availability and Further Reading Stocks argues that Silius’s Hannibal is not just

For those looking to read the epic itself, a modern English translation of all 17 books by Antony Augoustakis and Neil W. Bernstein is available at Routledge . Remembering the Enemy in Silius Italicus' 'Punica'

Other researchers, such as those published in the Journal of Ancient History and Social Sciences , highlight how Hannibal evokes the "tragic tyrants" of Seneca through his destructive emotions, such as ira (anger) and furor (fury). A central "interesting paper" (or more precisely, a

This work is part of a modern scholarly "revival" of Silius Italicus, whose 17-book epic Punica is the longest surviving Latin poem. Core Argument: Hannibal as an Icon of Romanitas