Bibliography
| Title: Hannibal at New Carthage: Polybius 3.15 and the Power of Irrationality Secondary Title: Classical Philology Volume: 84, No. 1 Pages: 1-15 Type: Journal Article Year: 1989 Abstract: "By causes [aitiai] I mean the things that shape in advance our judgements and decisions, that is to say our notions of things, our states of mind... and everything through which we reach decisisons" (Polybius 3.6.7). The concept of aitia is subtle, obscure, or both. In causes of war, aitiai can mean a psychological state or an event that leads to a psychological state. Good statesmen are ruled by reason, not emotion. Thus Hannibal is a bad statesman, accoring to P.; his irrationality and anger (states brought on by the 'rape' of Sardinia) at New Carthage are P.'s causes for the Second Punic War. This episode is one of many examples made to illustrate to future statesmen the benefit of making decisions based on reason, not emotion. Keywords: Hannibal; Polybius; aitia; New Carthage; Second Punic War; Sardinia |