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It's my history pod. It is my intention to give a full account of the first war between Rome and Carthage,

which was fought for the possession of Sicily.

This is because it would be hard to think of a conflict

which went on for longer, demanded more effort from both sides, or was prosecuted with a more brutal

vigor, nor one which featured more battles or more

sudden changes of fortune. The two cities which fought it was still at this time possessed

of customs and institutions that were yet to fall into

decadence. Both were dependent chiefly on their own efforts rather than on good

luck for their successes and both were equally matched in terms of their resources

which is why we can arrive at a more accurate assessment of the respective

qualities and attributes of the two combatants in this particular war than we can by studying any comparable conflict.

So that was the Greek writer Polybius talking about one of the titanic clashes not just in ancient history but Tom in all history it is

the first Punic war between Rome and Carthage it is I guess the Carthage Indians would have called it the first Roman war. So that's a perspective that perhaps we could try and keep in mind. But yes, it is the great superpower clash in antiquity and the two sides are perfectly matched because Carthage is

the whale Rome is the elephant Carthage's wealth is in trade Rome's in her resources manpower. Carthage has been a great power for centuries.

Rome is essentially an upstart. So that I think is what Polybius is talking about when he says that

this is so interesting you can gauge the respective strengths of the two cities.

And so we're in the third century BC just for those people who haven't listened to previous episodes.

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