Hannibal

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Hannibal is mentioned by Dante in the Divina Commedia in two distinct passages, both dedicated to the memory of the Second Punic War. In Canto XXXI of the Inferno, within the speech that Virgil addresses to the giant Antaeus in the valley of the Bagrada, his defeat is indicated as the event that made that place glorious: "quand' Anibàl co' suoi diede le spalle", an expression alluding to the Carthaginian rout inflicted by Scipio at Zama in 202 B.C. In Canto VI of the Paradiso, within the speech of Justinian that retraces the Roman victories, it is recalled that other Roman commanders "di retro ad Anibale passaro", that is, continuing the work of conquest to surpass the Carthaginian exploits. Dante's mention of him is therefore historical and public, devoid of any reference to his moral placement in the otherworldly journey.