A comparison of the accounts in Polybius and Livy of the actual warfare during the Second
Punic War up until Cannae presents serious discrepancies. It will be shown in this paper that
the accounts are not compatible and that Polybius is to be preferred, while some major
elements of the account by Livy must be rejected. These elements, stressing the successes
of Roman warfare and of the strategy of Fabius Maximus Cunctator in particular, have never
been criticized structurally and play a major role in modern accounts of the war. It is hoped …