{"product_id":"9781781380284","title":"The Roman Hannibal: Remembering the Enemy in Silius Italicus' Punica","description":"\u003cbr\u003eSilius Italicus' \u003cem\u003ePunica\u003c\/em\u003e, the longest surviving epic in Latin literature, has seen a resurgence of interest among scholars in recent years. A celebration of Rome's triumph over Hannibal and Carthage during the second Punic war, Silius' poem presents a plethora of familiar names to its readers: Fabius Maximus, Claudius Marcellus, Scipio Africanus and, of course, Rome's 'ultimate enemy' - Hannibal. \u003cbr\u003eWhere most recent scholarship on the \u003cem\u003ePunica\u003c\/em\u003e has focused its attention of the problematic portrayal of Scipio Africanus as a hero for Rome, this book shifts the focus to Carthage and offers a new reading of Hannibal's place in Silius' epic, and in Rome's literary culture at large. Celebrated and demonised in equal measure, Hannibal became something of an anti-hero for Rome; a man who acquired mythic status, and was condemned by Rome's authors for his supposed greed and cruelty, yet admired for his military acumen. \u003cbr\u003eFor the first time this book provides a comprehensive overview of this multi-faceted Hannibal as he appears in the Punica and suggests that Silius' portrayal of him can be read as the culmination to Rome's centuries-long engagement with the Carthaginian in its literature. Through detailed consideration of internal focalisation, Silius' Hannibal is revealed to be a man striving to create an eternal legacy, becoming the Hannibal whom a Roman, and a modern reader, would recognise. The works of Polybius, Livy, Virgil, and the post Virgilian epicists all have a bit-part in this book, which aims to show that Silius Italicus' Punica is as much an example of how Rome remembered its past, as it is a text striving to join Rome's epic canon.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Liverpool University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47057168269552,"sku":"9781781380284","price":120.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781781380284_p0.jpg?v=1763716572","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781781380284","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}