1. Ingratitude as Reward
By 205 BC, Hannibal was isolated in southern Italy, cutoff from supplies and reinforcements. Dismissing him, Scipio boldly took the war directly against Carthage by invading North Africa in 204 BC. The Carthaginians recalled Hannibal from Italy to take command of their armies at home, setting the stage for a climactic showdown between Rome’s and Carthage’s greatest generals. It came at the Battle of Zama in 202 BC, in which Scipio won a complete victory that ended the war. Scipio returned to a hero’s welcome. However, while lionized by the general public, Scipio was hated by fellow patricians who persecuted him with trumped up charges of treason, bribery, and general corruption in order to sully his reputation. The ingratitude left him disillusioned and bitter, and led to his withdrawal from public life and retirement to his estates in Campania, where he remained until his death in 183 BC.
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Where Did We Find This Stuff? Some Sources and Further Reading
Beard, Mary – SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome (2015)
Cornell, Tim – The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome From the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (2012)
Goldsworthy, Adrian – In the Name of Rome: The Men Who Won the Roman Empire (2016)
History Collection – ‘Magic Eyeliner’, and Other Fascinating Ancient Beliefs and Facts
Livy – History of Rome, Book 1
Livy – History of Rome, Book 2
