did not seek a major conflict with each other. This made me wonder that if two sides did not seek conflict they both probably did not imagine there would be a total of three Punic Wars. Also, because the first Punic War did last twenty years, you would certainly think there should have been some meeting of the minds. The readings also mentioned that each side did not know how to withdraw. This amazes me that all this energy was put forth to fight for twenty years, and in that time the two sides could not negotiate a peace, that would have saved many lives. I think other issues surfaced from the length of the first war, including, the effect on the next generation of Carthage. Specifically, Hannibal who learned from his father hatred of Rome and eventually invades Italy in the Second Punic War, and of course this conflict lasts a significant time. In all, three wars are waged over a long period that ended countless lives. I don't know if all wars can be avoided, but it does beg the question if the Punic wars could have been avoided.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I agree that the Punic War just seemed to naturally start. There was no declaration of war or attacks on one another where one side was blind sided like you see today. With the duration of the war, this must have completely drained the participating town's citizens. To think that it may not have happened as it did if Hannibal hadn't followed his father's hatred.
The interesting thing about your post, Billy, is that it reminded me of WWI and WWII. You would think that after so much destruction and devastation that no one would be ready or willing to return to war in their lifetimes. But they did, and the devastation was only bigger than before. I suppose, once you have fought once and for so long, there is almost a numbness about returning to something for such little reward - or so it seems from our retrospective look back.
Post a Comment