Department of Ancient History - Madrid Complutense University
What do you find most compelling about Hannibal?
His military and political genius.
What do you think of Wood Brothers aim to ride Hannibal's route on bicycles from Cartagena to Carthage?
It really is an innovative project that looks very interesting and could help to bring history closer to people.
A number of amateur and professional historians have retraced Hannibal's route, can you imagine doing it yourself on a bicycle?
If I was younger, I would love to try it.
Would Polybius have approved of this type of investigation, ie retracing the scene of the action?
Polybius himself was a witness to a lot of the events that he related and the scenes where they occurred. I think he'd feel quite at home with the Wood Brothers approach.
What is an example of an important question or mystery about Hannibal or the Carthaginians that is still unanswered?
Without doubt the explanation behind why he didn't go on to attack Rome.
Is there a piece of our historical record missing? I mean, is it fair to say that the Phoenicians and the Carthaginians are a bit of a mystery to us?
Yes. We lack all their literary, historical and scientific records.
