264–146 BC
Hannibal & the Punic Wars
Rome and Carthage, a great trading city in North Africa, fought three wars between 264 and 146 BC. The Carthaginian general Hannibal led an army with war elephants over the Alps and crushed the Romans at Cannae, but Rome never gave up. In the end Scipio beat Hannibal and Rome destroyed Carthage, becoming master of the Mediterranean.
Why artists painted it
Hannibal's elephants crossing the Alps is one of history's most dramatic scenes. Artists like Turner used it to show how small people look against nature and fate.
Snow Storm: Hannibal and his Army Crossing the Alps · J. M. W. Turner, 1812
Snow Storm: Hannibal and his Army Crossing the Alps
J. M. W. Turner · 1812
🕰️ Painted about 1,960 years later
Turner paints Hannibal's army swallowed by a swirling Alpine blizzard, his way of showing how small people are against nature.
The Victorious Hannibal Seeing Italy from the Alps for the First Time
Francisco Goya · 1770
🕰️ Painted about 1,920 years later
Goya's early painting shows Hannibal gazing down on Italy after leading elephants and soldiers over the Alps.
Dido building Carthage
J. M. W. Turner · 1815
🕰️ Painted about 1,960 years later
Turner imagines Carthage, Rome's great rival, rising as a shining harbor city under its legendary queen Dido.
The Oath of Hannibal
Benjamin West · 1770
🕰️ Painted about 1,920 years later
The boy Hannibal swears at an altar to hate Rome forever, with his father Hamilcar watching.
The Death of Paulus Aemilius at the Battle of Cannae
John Trumbull · 1773
🕰️ Painted about 1,920 years later
At the Battle of Cannae in 216 BC, Hannibal's army surrounded and crushed a larger Roman army, one of the greatest defeats in Roman history.
The Continence of Scipio
Nicolas-Guy Brenet · 1788
🕰️ Painted about 1,930 years later
The Roman general Scipio Africanus returns a captured young bride to her fiancé instead of keeping her as a prize, a famous story about self-control.
The Continence of Scipio
Nicolas Poussin · 1640
🕰️ Painted about 1,790 years later
The same story of fairness in war: Scipio hands a captive woman back to her fiancé.
The Clemency of Scipio
Giovanni Bellini · 1506
🕰️ Painted about 1,650 years later
Giovanni Bellini painted this long, stone-colored picture around 1506 to look like an ancient Roman carved frieze, telling a story of Scipio's mercy.
Hannibal's Crossing of the Alps
Heinrich Leutemann · 1866
🕰️ Painted about 2,010 years later
Hannibal's elephants and soldiers struggle over a steep snowy pass in the Alps in 218 BC on their way to attack Rome.
The Battle of Zama
Master of the Battle of Anghiari · 1470
🕰️ Painted about 1,620 years later
A long Renaissance chest-panel shows the Battle of Zama in 202 BC, where Scipio finally beat Hannibal and ended the Second Punic War.
The Battle of Zama
Cornelis Cort · 1567
🕰️ Painted about 1,710 years later
A crowded engraving of the Battle of Zama, where Scipio defeated Hannibal in 202 BC.