eul_wid: ktq-aa
DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20335421 PDFMarkdown

Historical Fragments on Hannibal by Silenus of Caleacte

The Historical Fragments on Hannibal by Silenus of Caleacte is a lost Hellenistic history, composed in Greek prose in the late third or early second century BCE. Known only through quotations in later Roman authors, it provided a contemporary, eyewitness account of the Second Punic War from the perspective of Hannibal's camp. Cicero praised its clear and pleasing style, noting it was a key source for the Roman historian Coelius Antipater. The surviving fragments cover pivotal episodes including Hannibal's crossing of the Alps, details of specific battles and military strategies, and various divine omens and prophetic dreams, such as one in which Hannibal is guided by a youth sent by Jupiter. The work also contained ethnographic and geographic descriptions of the regions encountered during the campaigns. No independent manuscript tradition exists; the text survives in approximately eleven fragments preserved primarily by Cicero and the epitomizer Lucius Ampelius, collected in modern editions. As a primary source from the Carthaginian perspective, Silenus's history was crucial for later historians like Coelius Antipater, Livy, and Polybius, and its fragments remain invaluable for the modern historical reconstruction of Hannibal's campaigns.

Στράβων κρήνην ἐν τῷ Ἡρακλείῳ τῷ ἐν Γαδείροις εἶναι, βαθμῶν ὀλίγων κατάβασιν ἔχουσαν εἰς τὸ ὕδωρ, πότιμον δὲ εἶναι· ἣν ταῖς παλιρροίαις τῆς θαλάσσης ἀντιπαθεῖν, κατὰ μὲν τὰς πλήμας ἐκλείπουσαν, κατὰ δὲ τὰς ἀμπώτεις πληρουμένην. Ἀρτεμίδωρος δὲ ἀντειπὼν τούτῳ, καὶ ἅμα παρʼ αὑτοῦ τινα θεὶς αἰτίαν, μνησθεὶς δὲ καὶ τῆς Σιλανοῦ δόξης τοῦ συγγραφέως, οὔ μοι δοκεῖ μνήμης ἄξια εἰπεῖν, ὡς ἂν ἰδιώτης περὶ ταῦτα, καὶ αὐτὸς καὶ Σιλανός.

ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑΙ.

Λαέρτιος Διογένης : Φησὶ δὲ Σειληνὸς ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ τῶν Ἱστοριῶν, ἐπὶ ἄρχοντος Λυσ … μύλου λίθον ἐξ οὐρανοῦ πεσεῖν· τὸν δὲ Ἀναξαγόραν εἰπεῖν, ὡς ὅλος ὁ οὐρανὸς ἐκ λίθων συγκέοιτο· τῇ σφοδρᾷ δὲ περιδινήσει συνεστάναι, καὶ ἀνεθέντα κατενεχθήσεσθαι.

ΣΙΚΕΛΙΚΑ.

Στέφανος ὁ Βυζάντιος : Παλικὴ, πόλις Σικελίας. Θεόφιλος δʼ ἐν ἑνδεκάτῳ Περιηγήσεως Σικελίας Παλικίνην κρήνην φησὶν εἶναι. Πλησίον δὲ αὐτῆς ἱερὸν Παλικῶν, οἵ εἰσι δαίμονές τινες, οὓς Αἰσχύλος ἐν Αἰτνείαις γενεαλογεῖ Διὸς καὶ Θαλείας τῆς Ἡφαίστου, Σειληνὸς δὲ ἐν δευτέρῳ, Αἴτνης τῆς Ὠκεανοῦ καὶ Ἡφαίστου, κληθῆναι δὲ αὐτοὺς Παλικοὺς διὰ τὸ ἀποθανόντας πάλιν εἰς ἀνθρώπους ἱκέσθαι.

Ἀθήναιος : Σειληνὸς δʼ ὁ Καλλατιανὸς ἐν τρίτῳ Σικελικῶν περὶ Συρακούσας φησὶ κῆπον εἶναι πολυτελῶς κατεσκευασμένον, ὃν καλεῖσθαι Μῦθον, ἐν ᾧ χρηματίζειν Ἱέρωνα τὸν βασιλέα.

Φώτιος : Σαρδόνιος γέλως ... Σειληνὸς δὲ ἐν δʹ τῶν Περὶ Συρακόσσας, λάχανον εἶναι παρὰ Σαρδωνίοις ἡδὺ, σελίνῳ ἐμφερές· οὗ τοὺς γευσαμένους τάς τε σιαγόνας καὶ τὰς σάρκας αὑτῶν ἀποδάκνειν.