Dealing with a time span of seven centuries, Livy did not use primary sources but relied on the work of previous historians. For the crossing of the Alps, he made extensive use of the Greek writer Polybius (c.200

1
Dealing with a time span of seven centuries, Livy
did not use primary sources but relied on the
work of previous historians. For the crossing of
the Alps, he made extensive use of the Greek
writer Polybius (c.200 118 B.C.) or of a lost,
earlier Greek account that Polybius himself, who
had also interviewed men who had been with
Hannibal, had drawn upon. Polybius and Livys
accounts can be read side by side in English
translation on the livius.org site.
2
Livy occasionally failed to understand the
original Greek fully. This illustration (from Two
Centuries of Roman Prose, pg. 208) shows how Livy
misinterpreted Polybiuss account of a landslip
that delayed Hannibals descent.
3
Livy, but not Polybius, describes how the
Carthaginians split a rock that was blocking
their path by heating it and pouring on vinegar,
which may have been mixed with water for soldiers
to drink and was probably carried in amphorae
like these. Some scholars have doubted the story
but the acidity of vinegar means it can help
fracture certain types of rocks, as explained in
an article by archaeologist Pat Hunt.
4
Livy never became as much a public celebrity as
did Virgil but his ambitious historical project
was well known and one man is said to have
traveled all the way to Italy from Cadiz in Spain
just to see him, and, having done that,
immediately returned home. Livy has remained a
popular author for reading in schools and
universities and the best-known stories from
Romes early history are usually retold in the
form he gave them.