Cornelius Scipio

Bust of Scipio Africanus the Elder fromPushkin

Museum, Moscow.
Consul of the Roman Republic
In office
205202 BC, [?] BC
Preceded by Quintus Caecilius Metellus and
Lucius Veturius Philo
Succeeded by Marcus Cornelius Cethegus and
Publius Sempronius Tuditanus
Personal details
Born 236 BC
Rome, Roman Republic
Died 183 BC (aged 53)
Liternum
Spouse(s) Aemilia Paulla
Children Publius Cornelius Scipio, Lucius
Cornelius Scipio, Cornelia, Cornelia
Scipionis Africana
Military service
Nickname(s) TheRoman Hannibal
Allegiance Roman Republic
Rank General
Battles/wars Second Punic War
Battleof Ticinus
Battleof theTrebia
Battleof Cannae
Battleof Cartagena
Battleof Baecula
Battleof Ilipa
Battleof Utica
Battleof theGreat Plains
Battleof Zama
Roman-Syrian War
Battleof Magnesia
FromWikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (236183 BC), also known as Scipio the African, Scipio
Africanus-Major, Scipio Africanus the Elder, and Scipio the Great
[1]
was a general in the Second
Punic War and statesman of the Roman Republic. He was best known for defeating Hannibal at the final
battle of the Second Punic War at Zama, a feat that earned himthe agnomen Africanus, the nickname
"the Roman Hannibal", as well as recognition as one of the finest commanders in military history. An
earlier great display of his tactical abilities had come already at the Battle of Ilipa.
Contents
1 Biography
1.1 Early years
1.2 Early military service
1.3 Campaign in Hispania
1.4 African Campaign
1.4.1 War with Hannibal, the Battle of Zama
1.5 Return to Rome
1.6 Retirement
2 Marriage and issue
3 Resting place of Scipio Africanus
4 Lost sources
5 Roman opinions of Scipio
6 Scipio's promiscuity as related by Roman historians
7 Scipio's legacy
7.1 Military
7.2 Political
7.3 Classical literature
7.4 Medieval literature
7.5 Renaissance literature and art
7.6 Music
7.7 Film
8 See also
9 Notes
10 References
10.1 Primary sources
10.2 Secondary sources
11 External links
Biography
Early years
Publius Cornelius Scipio was born by Caesarian section
[2]
into the Scipio branch of the Cornelia gens.
The birth year is calculated froma series of statements made by multiple ancient historians of how old he
was when certain events in his life occurred. The statements all seemto agree or be reconcilable: if he
was 17 when he led a charge to his father's rescue at the Battle of Ticinus (218 BC), and 24 when he
volunteered to take over the army in Hispania when no one else would (211 BC), after the defeat and
death there of his uncle and father, the two consuls, and 27 when he led a victorious campaign against
the city of New Carthage on the coast of Hispania (209 BC), then he must have been born in 236/5,
usually stated as 236 BC.
[3]
The year was 517 fromthe foundation of Rome.
The Cornelii were one of six major patrician families - along with the Manlii, the Fabii, the Aemilii, the Claudii, and the Valerii - with a record of successful
public service in the highest offices extending back at least to the early Roman Republic. Several ancestors were consuls successively, and his great-
grandfather, Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus, had been patrician censor in 280 BC. At the time Scipio Africanus lived, the Scipiones were probably the
most prominent branch of the Cornelii, at least in the hindsight of the historians, who have only glowing reports of his family and career. Contemporarily,
though, the Lentuli were probably just as prominent (given the number of that family to participate in the Second Punic War, and the Pontifex Maximus
being, until 213 BC, Lucius Cornelius Lentulus Caudinus). However, regardless of this, Africanus is unquestionably one of the leading characters of Roman
history.
Scipio was the eldest son of Publius Cornelius Scipio, praetor and consul by his wife Pomponia, whose plebeian family were of equestrian (knight) status.
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Nicholas Poussin's painting of the Continence of Scipio,
depicting his return of acaptured young woman to her fianc,
having refused to accept her fromhis troops as a prize of war.
His younger brother, Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus, and a friend since boyhood, Gaius Laelius, served with himin the military, both of whomthe
historian, Polybius, was able to question concerning the life and character of the great man after his death.
[4]
Early military service
At an early age, Scipio joined the Roman struggle against Carthage in the Second Punic War. At some point, he is said to have promised his father to
continue the struggle against Carthage all his life, showing similar dedication to that of his enemy, Hannibal. The young Scipio survived the disastrous
battles at Ticinus, Trebia, and Cannae. According to Polybius, he saved his father's life when he was 18, by "charging the encircling force alone with
reckless daring" at the Battle of Ticinus.
[5]
Scipio's would-be father-in-law Lucius Aemilius Paullus was killed in 216 BC at the Battle of Cannae. Despite
these defeats at the hands of the Carthaginians, Scipio remained focused on securing Roman victory. Scipio was never again to see a Roman force
defeated, for once given command at the age of 25 he never lost a battle.
[5][6]
According to legend, after the disastrous Battle of Cannae, and on hearing that Lucius Caecilius Metellus and other politicians were at the point of
surrendering Rome to Hannibal and the Carthaginians, Scipio and his supporters stormed into the meeting, and at sword-point he forced all present to swear
that they would continue in faithful service to Rome.
[7]
Fortunately, the Roman Senate was of like mind and refused to entertain thoughts of peace, despite
the great losses Rome had taken in the war: approximately one-fifth of the men of military age had died within a few years of Hannibal's invasion.
He is also thought to have consulted with or at least informed his mother before deciding to run for aedile or quaestor.
[8]
A quaestor is the most junior
magistrate in the cursus honorumor "path of honor". Former quaestors could then stand for election to one of the aedile positions which for Scipio, a
patrician, would have been that of curule aedile. Scipio offered himself as a candidate for the quaestorship in the year 213 BC, apparently to assist his less
popular cousin Marcus Cornelius Cethegus, who was also standing for election. The Tribunes of the Plebs (elected representatives fromthe Plebeian
Assembly) objected to his candidacy, saying that he could not be allowed to stand because he had not yet reached the legal age (in the 3rd century BCE
quaestors had to be at least 25 years old). Scipio, already known for his bravery and patriotism, was elected unanimously and the Tribunes abandoned their
opposition.
Campaign in Hispania
In 211 BC, both Scipio's father, Publius Scipio, and uncle, Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus,
were killed in battle against Hannibal's brother, Hasdrubal Barca. In the following year, Scipio
offered himself for the command of the new army which the Romans resolved to send to
Hispania. In spite of his youth, his noble demeanour and enthusiastic language had made so
great an impression that he was unanimously elected to be sent there as proconsul. According to
Livy, Scipio was the only man brave enough to ask for this position, and no other candidates
wanted the responsibility, considering it a death sentence.
[9]
In the year of Scipio's arrival (210
BC), all of Hispania south of the Ebro river was under Carthaginian control. Hannibal's brothers
Hasdrubal and Mago, and Hasdrubal Gisco were the generals of the Carthaginian forces in
Hispania, and Rome was aided by the inability of these three figures to act in concert. The
Carthaginians were also preoccupied with revolts in Africa.
Scipio landed at the mouth of the Ebro and was able to surprise and capture Carthago Nova
(New Carthage), the headquarters of the Carthaginian power in Hispania. He obtained a rich
cache of war stores and supplies, and an excellent harbour and base of operations. Scipio's
humanitarian conduct toward prisoners and hostages in Hispania helped in portraying the
Romans as liberators as opposed to conquerors. Livy tells the story of his troops capturing a
beautiful woman, whomthey offered to Scipio as a prize of war. Scipio was astonished by her
beauty, but discovered that the woman was betrothed to a Celtiberian chieftain named Allucius.
He returned the woman to her fianc, along with the money that had been offered by her parents to ransomher. This humanitarian act encouraged local
chieftains to both supply and reinforce Scipio's small army. The woman's fiance, who soon married her, responded by bringing over his tribe to support the
Roman armies.
[10]
In 209 BC, Scipio fought his first set piece battle, driving back Hasdrubal Barca fromhis position at Baecula on the upper Guadalquivir. Scipio feared that
the armies of Mago and Gisco would enter the field and surround his small army. Scipio's objective was, therefore, to quickly eliminate one of the armies to
give himthe luxury of dealing with the other two piecemeal. The battle was decided by a determined Roman infantry charge up the centre of the
Carthaginian position. Roman losses are uncertain but may have been considerable in light of an effort by the infantry to scale an elevation defended by
Carthaginian light infantry. Scipio then orchestrated a frontal attack by the rest of his infantry to draw out the remainder of the Carthaginian forces.
Hasdrubal had not noticed Scipio's hidden reserves of cavalry moving behind enemy lines, and a Roman cavalry charge created a double envelopment on
either flank led by cavalry commander Gaius Laelius and Scipio himself. This broke the back of Hasdrubal's army and routed his forcesan impressive
feat for the young Roman versus the veteran Carthaginian general. Despite a Roman victory, Scipio was unable to hinder the Carthaginian march to Italy.
Much historical criticismhas been levelled at his inability to effectively pursue Hasdrubal, who would eventually cross the Alps only to be defeated by
Gaius Claudius Nero at the Battle of the Metaurus.
One popular theory for Scipio's failure to pursue Hasdrubal is that Scipio merely wanted the glory of securing Hispania, and an extended mountain
campaign would have endangered that. Others cite the Roman soldiers' appetite for plunder as preventing himfromrallying in pursuit. The most probable
explanation froma strategic standpoint is Scipio's unwillingness to risk being trapped between Hasdrubal's army on one side and one or both of Gisgo's and
Mago's armies, both of superior numerical strength. Mere days after Hasdrubal's defeat, Mago and Gisgo were able to converge in front of the Roman
positions, bringing into question what would have happened had Scipio pursued Hasdrubal.
After winning over a number of Hispanian chiefs (namely Indibilis and Mandonius), Scipio achieved a decisive victory in 206 BC over the full Carthaginian
levy at Ilipa (now the city of Alcal del Ro, near Hispalis, now called Seville), which resulted in the evacuation of Hispania by the Punic commanders.
After his rapid success in conquering Hispania, and with the idea of striking a blow at Carthage in Africa, Scipio paid a short visit to the Numidian princes
Syphax and Massinissa. Numidia was of vital importance to Carthage, supplying both mercenaries and allied forces. In addition to supplying the Numidian
cavalry (on which see the Battle of Cannae), Numidia operated as a buffer for vulnerable Carthage. Scipio managed to receive support fromboth Syphax
and Massinissa. Syphax later changed his mind, married the beautiful Carthaginian noblewoman Sophonisba, daughter of Hasdrubal the son of Gisco, and
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In this painting by Tiepolo, Scipio
Africanus is shown releasing the
nephew of the Princeof Nubiaafter he
was captured by Roman soldiers.
[13]
TheWalters Art Museum.
Meeting of Hannibal and Scipio at Zama.
fought alongside his Carthaginian in-laws against Massinissa and Scipio in Africa.
On his return to Hispania, Scipio had to quell a mutiny at Sucro which had broken out among his troops. Hannibal's brother Hasdrubal had meanwhile
marched for Italy, and in 206 BC Scipio himself, having secured the Roman occupation of Hispania by the capture of Gades, gave up his command and
returned to Rome.
African Campaign
In 205 BC, Scipio was unanimously elected to consulship at the age of 31. Scipio intended to go to Africa, but due to the envy of others in the Senate, he
was not given any additional troops beyond the Sicilian garrison. Despite this resistance, Scipio gathered resources fromclients and supporters in Rome and
among the Italian communities; this allowed himto muster a volunteer force of 30 warships and 7000 men.
[11]
The forces stationed in Sicily at this time included a variety of forces. Interestingly, the Romans had for a long time used service in Sicily as a punishment,
with the result that the garrison in Sicily contained survivors frommany of the greatest Roman military fiascos in the war, such as the Battle of Cannae.
Having served with these men at Cannae, Scipio was well aware that their disgrace was through no fault of their own. In addition, the Sicilian garrison also
contained many of the troops who had participated in the Sicilian campaigns of Marcus Claudius Marcellus. Fromthese men, Scipio was able to muster a
highly motivated and very experienced force for his African invasion.
[12]
Scipio turned Sicily into a camp for training his army.
Scipio realized that the Carthaginian forcesespecially the superior Numidian cavalrywould prove decisive against the largely infantry forces of the
Roman legions. In addition, a large portion of Rome's cavalry were allies of questionable loyalty, or noble equites exempting themselves frombeing lowly
foot soldiers. One anecdote tells of how Scipio pressed into service several hundred Sicilian nobles to create a cavalry force. The Sicilians were quite
opposed to this servitude to a foreign occupier (Sicily being under Roman control only since the First Punic War), and protested vigorously. Scipio assented
to their exemption fromservice providing they pay for a horse, equipment, and a replacement rider for the Roman Army. In this way, Scipio created a
trained nucleus of cavalry for his African campaign.
The Roman Senate sent a commission of inquiry to Sicily and found Scipio at the head of a well-equipped and trained fleet and army. Scipio pressed the
Senate for permission to cross into Africa. The conservative branch of the Roman Senate, championed by Fabius Maximus Cunctator, (the Delayer),
opposed the mission. Fabius still feared Hannibal's power, and viewed any mission to Africa as dangerous and wasteful to the war effort. Scipio was also
harmed by some senators' disdain of his "progressive" ideals, non-traditional religious beliefs, and interests in unconventional areas such as Hellenophile
tastes in art, luxuries, and philosophies. All Scipio could obtain was permission to cross over fromSicily to Africa if it appeared to be in the interests of
Rome, but not financial or military support.
With the permission fromthe commissioners, Scipio sailed in 204 BC and landed near Utica. Carthage, meanwhile, had secured the friendship of the
Numidian Syphax, whose advance compelled Scipio to abandon the siege of Utica and dig in on the shore between there and Carthage. In 203 BC, he
destroyed the combined armies of the Carthaginians and Numidians by approaching by stealth and setting fire to their camp, where the combined army
became panicked and fled, when they were mostly killed by Scipio's army. Though not a "battle," both Polybius and Livy estimate that the death toll in this
single attack exceeded 40,000 Carthaginian and Numidian dead, and more captured.
Historians are roughly equal in their praise and condemnation for this act. Polybius said, "of all the brilliant exploits
performed by Scipio this seems to me the most brilliant and more adventurous." On the other hand, one of
Hannibal's principal biographers, Theodore Ayrault Dodge, goes so far to suggest that this attack was out of
cowardice and spares no more than a page upon the event in total, despite the fact that it secured the siege of Utica
and effectively put Syphax out of the war. The irony of Dodge's accusations of Scipio's cowardice is that the attack
showed traces of Hannibal's penchant for ambush.
Scipio quickly dispatched his two lieutenants, Laelius and Masinissa, to pursue Syphax. They ultimately dethroned
Syphax, and ensured Prince Masinissa's coronation as King of the Numidians. Carthage, and especially Hannibal
himself, had long relied upon these superb natural horsemen, who would now fight for Rome against Carthage.
War with Hannibal, the Battle of Zama
Now deserted by her allies and surrounded by a veteran and undefeated Roman army, Carthage began opening
diplomatic channels for negotiation. At the same time, Hannibal Barca and his army were recalled to Carthage, and despite the moderate terms offered to
Carthage by Scipio, Carthage suddenly suspended negotiations and again prepared for war. The army that Hannibal returned with is a subject of much
debate. Advocates for Hannibal often claimthat his army was mostly Italians pressed into service fromsouthern Italy and that most of his elite veterans
(and certainly cavalry) were spent. Scipio's advocates tend to be far more suspicious and believe the number of veteran forces to remain significant.
Hannibal did have a trained pool of soldiers who had fought in Italy, as well as eighty war elephants.
Hannibal could boast a strength of around forty thousand: 36,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry, compared
to Scipio's 29,000 infantry and 6,100 cavalry.
[14]
The two generals met on a plain between Carthage
and Utica on October 19, 202 BC, at the Battle of Zama. Despite mutual admiration, negotiations
floundered due largely to Roman distrust of the Carthaginians as a result of the Carthaginian attack on
Saguntum, the breach of protocols which ended the First Punic War (known as Punic Faith), and a
perceived breach in contemporary military etiquette due to Hannibal's numerous ambushes.
Hannibal arranged his infantry in three phalangial lines designed to overlap the Roman lines. His
strategy, so oft reliant upon subtle stratagems, was simple: a massive forward attack by the war
elephants would create gaps in the Roman lines, which would be exploited by the infantry, supported
by the cavalry.
Rather than arranging his forces in the traditional manipular lines, which put the hastati, principes, and
triarii in succeeding lines parallel to the enemy's line, Scipio instead put the maniples in lines
perpendicular to the enemy, a stratagemdesigned to counter the war elephants. When the Carthaginian elephants charged, they found well laid traps before
the Roman position and were greeted by Roman trumpeters, which drove many back out of confusion and fear. In addition, many elephants were goaded
harmlessly through the loose ranks by the velites and other skirmishers. Roman javelins were used to good effect, and the sharp traps caused further
disorder among the elephants. Many of themwere so distraught that they charged back into their own lines. The Roman infantry was greatly rattled by the
elephants, but Massinissa's Numidian and Laelius' Roman cavalry began to drive the opposing cavalry off the field. Both cavalry commanders pursued their
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routing Carthaginian counterparts, leaving the Carthaginian and Roman infantries to engage one another. The resulting infantry clash was fierce and
bloody, with neither side achieving local superiority. The Roman infantry had driven off the two front lines of the Carthaginian army, and in the respite
took an opportunity to drink water. The Roman army was then drawn up in one long line (as opposed to the traditional three lines) in order to match the
length of Hannibal's line. Scipio's army then marched towards Hannibal's veterans, who had not yet taken part in the battle. The final struggle was bitter and
won only when the allied cavalry rallied and returned to the battle field. Charging the rear of Hannibal's army, they caused what many historians have
called the "Roman Cannae".
Many Roman aristocrats, especially Cato, expected Scipio to raze that city to the ground after his victory. However, Scipio dictated extremely moderate
terms in contrast to an immoderate Roman Senate. While the security of Rome was guaranteed by demands such as the surrender of the fleet, and a lasting
tribute was to be paid, the strictures were sufficiently light for Carthage to regain its full prosperity.
[5]
With Scipio's consent, Hannibal was allowed to
become the civic leader of Carthage, which the Cato family did not forget. In contrast to his moderation towards the Carthaginians, he was cruel towards
Roman and Latin deserters: the Latins were beheaded and the Romans crucified.
Return to Rome
Scipio was welcomed back to Rome in triumph with the agnomen of Africanus. He refused the many further honours which the people would have thrust
upon himsuch as Consul for life and Dictator. In the year 199 BC, Scipio was elected Censor and for some years afterwards he lived quietly and took no
part in politics.
In 193 BC, Scipio was one of the commissioners sent to Africa to settle a dispute between Massinissa and the Carthaginians, which the commission did not
achieve. This may have been because Hannibal, in the service of Antiochus III of Syria, might have come to Carthage to gather support for a new attack on
Italy. In 190 BC, when the Romans declared war against Antiochus III, Publius offered to join his brother Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus if the Senate
entrusted the chief command to him. The two brothers brought the war to a conclusion by a decisive victory at Magnesia in the same year.
Retirement
Scipio's political enemies, led by Marcus Porcius Cato the Elder, gained ground. When the Scipiones returned to Rome, two tribunes prosecuted (187 BC)
Lucius on the grounds of misappropriation of money received fromAntiochus. As Lucius was in the act of producing his account-books, his brother
wrested themfromhis hands, tore themin pieces, and flung themon the floor of the Senate house. Scipio then allegedly asked the courts why they were
concerned about how 3,000 Talents had been spent and apparently unconcerned about how 15,000 Talents were entering the state coffers (the tribute that
Antiochus was paying Rome after his defeat by Lucius). This high-handed act shamed the prosecution, and it appears that the case against Lucius was
dismissed, though Lucius would again be prosecuted, and this time convicted, after the death of Scipio.
Scipio himself was subsequently (185 BC) accused of having been bribed by Antiochus. By reminding the people that it was the anniversary of his victory
at Zama, he caused an outburst of enthusiasmin his favor. The people crowded round himand followed himto the Capitol, where they offered thanks to
the gods and begged themto give Rome more citizens like Scipio Africanus. Despite the popular support that Scipio commanded, there were renewed
attempts to bring himto trial, but these appear to have been deflected by his future son-in-law, Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, the Elder.
[15]
It is
supposedly in gratitude for this act that Scipio betrothed his youngest daughter Cornelia Africana Minor (then aged about 5) to Gracchus, several decades
her senior. (However, no contemporaneous references to this event exist; what is known is that Gracchus did marry Cornelia, aged about 18, in 172 BC.)
Scipio retired to his country seat at Liternumon the coast of Campania. He lived there for the rest of his life, revealing his great magnanimity by attempting
to prevent the ruin of the exiled Hannibal by Rome. He died probably in 183 BC (the actual year and date of his death is unknown) aged about 53. His
death is said to have taken place under suspicious circumstances, and it is possible that he either died of the lingering effects of the fever contracted while
on campaign in 190 BC, or that he took his own life for causes unknown. He is said to have demanded that his body be buried away fromhis ungrateful
city, and the Emperor Augustus is said to have visited his tomb in Liternummore than 150 years later. However, it is not certain that he was actually buried
at Liternum, and no contemporary accounts of his death or funeral exist. It is said that he ordered an inscription on his tomb: "Ingrata patria, ne ossa
quidemhabebis"ungrateful fatherland, you will not even have my bones.
Coincidentally, his great rival Hannibal died in Bithynia in the same year or shortly thereafter, also an exile (albeit far fromhis native city and not by his
own decision), pursued and harassed to the end by Romans such as Titus Quinctius Flamininus.
Marriage and issue
With his wife Aemilia Paulla (also called Aemilia Tertia), daughter of the consul Lucius Aemilius Paullus who fell at Cannae and sister of another consul
Lucius Aemilius Paulus Macedonicus, he had a happy and fruitful marriage. Aemilia Paulla had unusual freedomand wealth for a patrician married
woman, and she was an important role model for many younger Roman women, just as her youngest daughter Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi, would be an
important role model for many Late Republican Roman noblewomen, including allegedly the mother of Julius Caesar.
At his death, Scipio Africanus had two living sons. Both rose to become praetors in 174 BC, but took no further part in public life; both died unmarried,
relatively young. Publius, the elder son and heir, adopted his first cousinAemilius Paullus (b. 185 BC) as Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus (also
known as Scipio Aemilianus Africanus) well before the Battle of Pydna in 168 BC.
Scipio and Aemilia Paulla also had two surviving daughters. The elder, Cornelia, married her second cousin Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum(son
of the consul of 191 BC who was himself son of Scipio's elder paternal uncle Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus). This son-in-law was a distinguished Roman
in his own right. He became consul (abdicating or resigning in 162 BC for religious reasons, then being re-elected in 155 BC), censor in 159 BC, Princeps
Senatus, and died as Pontifex Maximus in 141 BC. Scipio Nasica rose to many of the dignities enjoyed by his late father-in-law, and was noted for his
staunch (if ultimately futile) opposition to Cato the Censor over the fate of Carthage fromabout 157 to 149 BC. They had at least one surviving son (of
whommore below).
The younger daughter was more famous in history; Cornelia Africana, the young wife of the elderly Tiberius Gracchus Major or Tiberius Sempronius
Gracchus, tribune of the plebs, praetor, then consul 177 (then censor and consul again), became the mother of 12 children, the only surviving sons being
the famous Tiberius Gracchus and Gaius Gracchus. All three surviving children of this union were ill-fated; the brothers Gracchi died relatively young,
murdered or forced to commit suicide by more conservative relatives. The eldest child and only surviving daughter, Sempronia, was married to her mother's
first cousin (and her own cousin by adoption) Scipio Aemilianus Africanus. The couple had no children, and Sempronia grew to hate her husband after he
condoned the murder of her brother Tiberius in 132 BC. Scipio's mysterious death in 129 BC, at the age of 56, was blamed by some on his wife, and by
others on his political rivals.
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Scipio's only descendants living through the late Republican period were the descendants of his two daughters, his sons having died without legitimate
surviving issue. His younger daughter's last surviving child Sempronia, wife and then widow of Scipio Aemilianus, was alive as late as 102 BC. Another
descendant was his great-great-granddaughter, Fulvia Flacca Bambula, the only grandchild of Gaius Gracchus, best known as the wealthy third wife of
Roman Triumvir Mark Antony who abandoned her for Cleopatra. Fulvia left several children, of whomat least one, Iullus Antonius, is known to have left
issue surviving into the first century AD.
His other known grandson Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio was far more conservative than his Gracchi cousins. He and his descendants all became
increasingly conservative, in stark contrast to the father and grandfathers. Scipio Africanus's eldest grandson Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio
became consul in 138, murdered his own cousin Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus (163132 BC) in 132. Scipio Nasica Serapio, although Pontifex Maximus
was sent to Asia Minor by the Senate to escape the wrath of the Gracchi supporters, and died mysteriously there in Pergamum, and is believed to have been
poisoned by an agent of the Gracchi.
Serapio's son, the fourth Scipio Nasica, was even more conservative, and rose to be consul in 111 BC. This Scipio Nasica's sons became praetors only
shortly before the Marsic or Social War (starting 91 BC). However, a grandson (adopted into the plebeian-noble Caecilii Metelli) became the Metellus
Scipio who allied himself with Pompey the Great and Cato the Younger, and who opposed Julius Caesar. Metellus Scipio was the last Scipio to distinguish
himself militarily or politically.
None of Scipio's descendants, apart fromScipio Aemilianushis wife's nephew who became his adoptive grandsoncame close to matching his political
career or his military successes.
It is not clear how the consul Publius Cornelius Scipio Salvito (a former husband of Scribonia, second wife of Octavian aka Augustus Caesar, and mother of
his only legitimate child Julia the Elder) was related to Scipio Africanus.
Resting place of Scipio Africanus
Archaeology has not yet determined the resting place of Scipio Africanus. The Tomb of the Scipios has been discovered and is open to the public, but it is
not believed that Scipio Africanus was interred there. The possibility exists that he was returned to Rome and laid to rest there in a still undiscovered crypt.
Livy says in his "History of Rome" that statues of Scipio Africanus, Lucius Scipio and the Roman poet Ennius (a friend of the family) were present at the
Tomb of the Scipios when he visited it.
Lost sources
Scipio is said to have written his memoirs in Greek, but those are lost (perhaps destroyed) along with the history written by his elder son and namesake
(adoptive father of Scipio Aemilianus) and his Life by Plutarch. As a result, contemporary accounts of his life, particularly his childhood and youth, are
virtually non-existent. Even Plutarch's account of Scipio's life, written much later, has been lost. What remains are accounts of his doings in Polybius,
Livy's Histories (which say little about his private life), supplemented with the surviving histories of Appian and Cassius Dio, and the odd anecdote in
Valerius Maximus. Of these, Polybius was the closest to Scipio Africanus in age and in connections, but his narrative may be biased by his friendship with
Scipio's close relatives and that the primary source of his information about Africanus came fromone of his best friends, Gaius Laelius.
Roman opinions of Scipio
Scipio was a man of great intellect and culture who could speak and read Greek, wrote his own memoirs in Greek and became also noted for his
introduction of the clean shaven face fashion among the Romans according to the example of Alexander the Great. This mens fashion lasted until the time
of emperor Hadrian and then was revived again by Constantine the Great.
[16]
He also enjoyed the reputation of being a graceful orator, the secret of his
sway being his deep self-confidence and radiant sense of fairness.
[5]
To his political opponents, he was often harsh and arrogant, but towards others singularly gracious and sympathetic. According to Gellmus, his life was
written by Oppius and Hyginus, and also, it was said, by Plutarch.
His Graecophile lifestyle, and his unconventional way of wearing the Roman toga, raised much opposition among the conservatives of Rome, led by Cato
the Elder who felt that Greek influence was destroying old Roman culture and making the Roman men effeminate. Cato, as a loyalist of Fabius Maximus,
had been sent out as quaestor to Scipio in Sicily circa 204 BC to investigate charges of military indiscipline, corruption, and other offense against Scipio;
none of those charges was found true by the tribunes of the plebs accompanying Cato. (It may or may not be significant that years later, as censor, Cato
degraded Scipio's brother Scipio Asiaticus fromthe Senate. It is certainly true that some Romans of the day viewed Cato as a representative of the old
Romans, and Scipio and his like as Graecophiles.)
[5]
He often visited the temple of Jupiter and made offerings there. There was a belief that he was a special favourite of heaven and actually communicated
with the gods. It is quite possible that he himself honestly shared this belief. However, the strength of this belief is evident, even a generation later when his
adopted grandson, Publius Aemilianus Scipio was elected to the consulship fromthe office of tribune. His rise was spectacular and letters survive from
soldiers under his command in Hispania show that they believed that he possessed the same abilities as his grandfather. The elder Scipio was a spiritual man
as well as a soldier and statesman, and was a priest of Mars. The ability which he is supposed to have been possessed of, is called by the old name, "second
sight", and he is supposed to have had prescient dreams in which he saw the future. Livy describes this belief as it was perceived then, without offering his
opinion as to its veracity. Polybius made a case that Scipio's successes resulted fromgood planning, rational thinking and intelligence, which he said was a
higher sign of the Gods' favour than prophetic dreams. Polybius suggested people had only suggested Scipio had supernatural powers as they had not
appreciated the natural mental gifts which facilitated Scipio's achievements.
[5]
Scipio's promiscuity as related by Roman historians
The Roman historian Valerius Maximus, writing in the first century AD, alleged that Scipio Africanus had a weakness for beautiful women,
[17]
and
knowing this, some of his soldiers presented himwith a beautiful young woman captured in New Carthage. The woman turned out to be the fiance of an
important Iberian chieftain
[18]
and Scipio chose to act as a general and not an ordinary soldier in restoring her, virtue and ransomintact, to her fianc.
[19]
According to Valerius Maximus, Scipio had a dalliance circa 191 BC with one of his own serving girls, which his wife magnanimously overlooked.
[20]
The
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Continence of Scipio, Nicolas-Guy
Brenet
affair, if it lasted fromcirca 191 BC to Scipio's death 183 BC, might have resulted in issue (not mentioned); what is
mentioned is that the girl was freed by Aemilia Paulla after Scipio's death and married to one of his freedmen. This
account is only found in Valerius Maximus (Memorable Deeds and Sayings 6.7.1-3. L) writing in the 1st century
AD, some decades after Livy. If this is correct, clearly Scipio did not hesitate to sleep with his female slaves, like so
many other Roman masters. It should be noted however that Valerius Maximus is hostile to Scipio Africanus in
other matters such as his frequent visits to the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, which Maximus saw as "fake
religion."
[21]
Scipio's legacy
Military
Scipio is considered by many to be one of Rome's greatest generals; he never lost a battle. Skillful alike in strategy and in tactics, he had also the faculty of
inspiring his soldiers with confidence. According to story, Hannibal, who regarded Alexander the Great as the first and Pyrrhus as the second among
military commanders, confessed that had he beaten Scipio he should have put himself before either of themthough this particular story was probably
fabricated by Livy at a later date.
Metellus Scipio, a descendant of Scipio, commanded legions against Julius Caesar in Africa until his defeat at the battle of Thapsus in 49 BC. Popular
superstition was that only a Scipio could win a battle in Africa, so Julius Caesar assigned a distant relative of Metellus to his staff in order to say that he too
had a Scipio fighting for him.
Political
Scipio was the first Roman general to expand Roman territories outside Italy and islands around the Italian mainland. He conquered the Carthaginian
territory of Iberia for Rome, although the two Iberian provinces were not fully pacified for a couple of centuries. His defeat of Hannibal at Zama paved the
way for Carthage's eventual destruction in 146 BC. His interest in a Graecophile lifestyle had tremendous influence on the Roman elite; more than a
century later, even the conservative Cato Uticensis (great-grandson of the elder Cato) espoused Greek philosophy. Scipio did not introduce Greek ideas or
art to the Romans, but his ardent support for the Greek way of life coupled with his own charisma had its inevitable impact. Less beneficially, the Scipios
may have led the way in the inevitable chasmthat grew up between the Roman elite and the Roman masses, in terms of the way the elite was educated and
lived and in the amount of wealth they possessed.
Scipio supported land distribution for his veterans in a tradition harking back to the earliest days of the Republic; yet, his actions were seen as somewhat
radical by conservatives. In being a successful general who demanded lands for his soldiers, Scipio may have led the way for later generals such as Gaius
Marius and Julius Caesar. Unlike Marius or Caesar, he did not seek to use his charisma and reputation to weaken the Republic. The true measure of Scipio's
character in this regard can perhaps been seen by his behaviour shortly after returning in triumph fromAfrica to a grateful Rome. Scipio refused to accept
demands for himto become perpetual consul and dictator. For his self-restraint in putting the good of the republic ahead of his own gain, Scipio was praised
by Livy for showing uncommon greatness of mindan example conspicuously not emulated by Marius, Sulla or Caesar.
[5]
The relatives of Scipio continued to dominate the republic for a couple of generations. This domination came to an end in the tumults between the Gracchi
brothers, who were his grandsons, and their other relatives in the period from133 to 122 BC. The Gracchi brothers championed land redistribution in order
to boost the ranks of potential Roman soldiers, as Roman soldiers needed to own land to be enfranchised for service in the legions and the number of
Roman land owners was withering. They were lynched by their relatives who disapproved of their methods and perhaps had economic reasons to fear the
land redistribution. After the fall of the Gracchi, the house of Caecilius became more prominent, however the Scipii maintained their aristocratic lustre,
providing the consular general who unsuccessfully prevented Sulla's second march on Rome and Metellus Scipio whose daughter was the last wife of
Pompey the Great, and who took over command in the civil war against Julius Caesar after the death of Pompey. The granddaughter of the Gaius Gracchi,
Fulvia, was also unusually prominent for a Roman woman in the affairs of the late republic, marrying Publius Clodius, Gaius Curio and Mark Antony in
turn. At a later date, some Roman emperors claimed descent fromScipio Africanus.
Classical literature
Scipio appears or is mentioned in passing in Cicero's De Republica and De Amicitia, and in Silius Italicus' Punica. Cicero was mentored by prominent
Romans whose ancestors had been associated with Scipio. As a Roman hero, Scipio appeared in Book VI of the Aeneid where he is shown to Aeneas in a
vision in the underworld. Scipio figures prominently in Livy's "Ab urbe condita libri".
Medieval literature
Scipio is mentioned four times in Dante's Divine Comedy: in "Inferno"Canto XXXI, in "Purgatorio"Canto XXIX, and in "Paradiso"Cantos VI and
XXVII.
Renaissance literature and art
Scipio is the hero of Petrarch's Latin epic Africa. 'The Continence [i.e. moderation] of Scipio' was a stock motif in exemplary literature and art,
[22]
as was
the 'Dreamof Scipio', portraying his allegorical choice between Virtue and Luxury.
[23]
The Continence of Scipio, depicting his clemency and sexual
restraint after the fall of Carthago Nova, was an even more popular subject. Versions of the subject were painted by many artists fromthe Renaissance
through to the 19th century, including Andrea Mantegna and Nicholas Poussin. Scipio is also mentioned in Machiavelli's work The Prince (Chapter XVII
"Concerning Cruelty And Clemency, And Whether It Is Better To Be Loved Than Feared"). Milton mentions Scipio in Book 9 of Paradise Lost and in
Book 3 of Paradise Regained. Raphael's painting Vision of a Knight (Raphael) is thought to be a depiction of Scipio.
Music
Publius Cornelius Scipio was the title character of a number of Italian operas composed during the baroque period of music, including settings by George
Frideric Handel, Leonardo Vinci, and Carlo Francesco Pollarolo. The march fromHandel's setting, entitled Scipione, remains the regimental slow march of
the British Grenadier Guards. Scipio is also referenced in the Italian national anthem.
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Film
Shortly before Italy's invasion of Ethiopia, Benito Mussolini commissioned an epic filmdepicting the exploits of Scipio. Scipione l'africano, written by
Carmine Gallone, won the Mussolini Cup for the greatest Italian filmat the 1937 Venice FilmFestival.
In 1971 Luigi Magni scripted and directed the movie Scipione, detto anche l'Africano (Scipio, aka "the African"), starring Marcello Mastroianni, Vittorio
Gassman, Silvana Mangano and Woody Strode, in which the historical events are portrayed in a light and satirical mode, with some intentional references
to the political events of the time in which the movie was made.
JimThalman wrote and starred in the 2006 filmThe Secret Under the Rose about the Second Punic War.
See also
ScipioPaullusGracchus family tree
Notes
^ Plutarch, The Parallel Lives, The Life of Aemilius II.V 1.
^ Pliny. "Book VII Chapter 47 (or 9)". Natural History. 2.
^ Scullard, Howard Hayes (1930). Scipio Africanus in the Second Punic War. Cambridge: University Press. pp. 3738. 3.
^ Polybius. "Book X, Chapter 3". Histories. 4.
^
a

b

c

d

e

f

g
Liddell Hart, Basil (1926, reprint 1992). Scipio Africanus: Greater Than Napoleon. pp. 210, 24, 25 , 200207. ISBN 1-85367-132-0. 5.
^ Nigel Rodgers, Hazel Dodge (2005). Rome: The Greatest Empire. Southwater. p. 40. ISBN 1-84476-150-9. 6.
^ Livy is a little inconsistent with the naming of the tribune in question, identifying himas 'Lucius' during the episode itself, but having a 'Marcus Caecilius
Metellus' tried and punished by the censors of 214BC for the same crime of cowardice.
7.
^ There is some ambiguity about Africanus' election to the aedile's office as Polybius has himelected alongside his brother, while Livy has himelected alongside
his distant cousin Marcus Cethegus. This disagreement can be resolved if either historian is mistaken with regard to whether the office was the quaestorship or the
aedileship, as neither mention Africanus' quaestorship.
8.
^ Livy, Book XXVI, Chapter 18 ...declaring himself a candidate, took his station on an eminence from which he could be seen by all. 9.
^ Livy, Ab urbe condita libri xxvi. 50 10.
^ Livy, Ab urbe condita libri xxviii.45-46. 11.
^ Livy, Ab urbe condita libri xxix.1, xxix.25. 12.
^ "Scipio Africanus Freeing Massiva" (http://art.thewalters.org/detail/19755). The Walters Art Museum. 13.
^ Lazenby, Hannibal's War, pp.220-221 14.
^ Livy, History of Rome, XXXVIII , 53 15.
^ "Barba - NumisWiki, The Collaborative Numismatics Project" (http://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Barba). Forumancientcoins.com.
Retrieved October 19, 2012.
16.
^ Scipio Africanus : Final Act (187184 BCE) (http://www.fenrir.dk/history/index.php?title=Scipio_Africanus_:_Final_Act_(187_-_184_BCE)&oldid=1422)
History of the Hellenistic and Roman World
17.
^ Allucius (Livy, History of Rome XXVI.50), cf. Indibilis (Valerius Maximus, Memorable Deeds and Sayings 4.3.1) 18.
^ Livy, Roman History, XXVI, 50 (extract) (http://ojourdui.ifrance.com/art/art4jun/art0604.html) 19.
^ Womanly virtue. 1st cent. A.D., Valerius Maximus, Memorable Deeds and Sayings 6.7.1-3. L (http://www.stoa.org/diotima/anthology/wlgr/wlgr-
mensopinions53.shtml) Women's Life in Greece & Rome
20.
^ Cicero Encyclopedia of Religion (http://www.bookrags.com/research/cicero-eorl-03/) 21.
^ "Giulio Licinio | The Continence of Scipio | NG643.2 | The National Gallery, London" (http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/cgi-bin/WebObjects.dll
/CollectionPublisher.woa/wa/work?workNumber=ng643.2). Nationalgallery.org.uk. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
22.
^ "Raphael | An Allegory ('Vision of a Knight') | NG213 | The National Gallery, London" (http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/cgi-bin/WebObjects.dll
/CollectionPublisher.woa/wa/work?workNumber=ng213). Nationalgallery.org.uk. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
23.
References
Primary sources
Livy, Ab urbe condita libri xxvi, xxviii, xxix
Orosius, Historiae adversus paganos libri iv
Valerius Maximus, Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri iii, iv, vii, viii
Secondary sources
Theodore Ayrault Dodge, Hannibal, Da Capo Press; Reissue edition, 2004. ISBN 0-306-81362-9
H. H. Scullard, Scipio Africanus: Soldier and Politician, Thames and Hudson, London, 1970. ISBN 0-500-40012-1
H. H. Scullard, Scipio Africanus in the Second Punic War Thirlwall Prize Essay (University Press, Cambridge, 1930)
This article incorporates text froma publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopdia Britannica (11th ed.).
Cambridge University Press.
B.H. Liddell Hart, Scipio Africanus: Greater Than Napoleon, W Blackwood and Sons, London, 1926; Biblio and Tannen, New York, 1976. ISBN
Scipio Africanus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scipio_Africanus
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0-306-80583-9.
External links
Media related to Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Major at Wikimedia Commons
Quotations related to Scipio Africanus at Wikiquote
Works written by or about Scipio Africanus at Wikisource
Akinde, Michael (2006). "Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus" (http://www.akinde.dk/history/index.php?title=Publius_Cornelius_Scipio_Africanus).
Michael Akinde. Retrieved 28 February 2009.
Sloan, John. "Scipio Africanus, Publius Cornelius, (The Elder) (237183 BC), son of Publius Cornelius Scipio" (http://www.xenophon-mil.org/milhist
/rome/scipio.htm). Xenophon Group International. Retrieved 28 February 2009.
Political offices
Preceded by
Quintus Caecilius Metellus and Lucius
Veturius Philo
Consul of the Roman Republic
with Publius Licinius Crassus Dives
205 BC
Succeeded by
Marcus Cornelius Cethegus and Publius
Sempronius Tuditanus
Preceded by
Marcus Porcius Cato and Lucius Valerius
Flaccus
Consul of the Roman Republic
with Tiberius Sempronius Longus
194 BC
Succeeded by
Lucius Cornelius Merula and Aulus
Minucius Thermus
Preceded by
Gaius Claudius Nero
and
Marcus Livius Salinator
Censor of the Roman Republic
with Publius Aelius Paetus
199 BC
Succeeded by
Gaius Cornelius Cethegus
and
Sextus Aelius Paetus Catus
Retrieved from"http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scipio_Africanus&oldid=616396098"
Categories: 236 BC births 183 BC deaths 3rd-century BC Romans 2nd-century BC Romans People fromRome Cornelii Cornelii Scipiones
Roman Republican consuls Roman censors Characters in Book VI of the Aeneid Second Punic War commanders Ancient Roman generals
Roman governors of Hispania
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