Hannibal and his army crossed the Alps in 218 BCE in 16 days, which is still considered an amazing feat, taking into account that it was late in the year and in uncharted territory as far as Hannibal was concerned; that the army of course did not consist only of the foot soldiers and the cavalry (none of whom had ever been exposed to the kind of weather they experienced), but also of the supply trains with their pack animals, the usual camp followers; and last but not least the elephants, most of whom did not survive the ordeal. However, according to Livy,
The elephants proved both a blessing and a curse: for though getting them along the narrow and precipitous tracks caused serious delay, they were none the less a protection to the troops, as the natives, never having seen such creatures before, were afraid to come near them.
The image is of a Roman marble bust of Hannibal, found at Capua.
As so often, good information can be found on livius.org, with Hannibal's route across the Alps and a separate page, showing the Polybius and Livius text translations side by side.
There has been much speculation about the actual route. The curent status of the research is best presented by the Stanford Alpine Archaeology Project 1994-2006.
A book that has been recommended to me is Hannibal Crosses the Alps: The Invasion of Italy and the Second Punic War by John Prevas. N.S. Gill of Ancient/Classical History at About.com has reviewed the book.
In our current read, Pride of Carthage, A Novel of Hannibal, the story receives a comparatively brief treatment, as just one episode in the life of Hannibal Barca, but in my opinion it is imaginatively done, mostly shown through the eyes of secondary characters, such as Mago, and Imco Vaca, the young soldier.
The crossing has been commemorated in the arts, as might be expected. Due to copyright issues, I can't post the actual images, but here are the related pages:
- A miniature, Hannibal and his elephants crossing the Alps. Faits des Romains, Italy (Naples), circa 1340. Click on the image to enlarge it.
- Snow Storm: Hannibal and his Army Crossing the Alps by Turner, at the Tate Gallery. Click on the image to enlarge it.
- A cartoon, "This is ridiculous, we've walked miles, let's get a cab". More elephant cartoons can be viewed.
Poor Hannibal can't even escape the marketeers: Got elephants? Lessons from an iconic leader to guide your next marketing battle.
