Plutarch's Lives: Fabius

Fabius is an unusual ancient hero. He led Rome's defense against Hannibal in the years when the Carthaginians ravaged Italy. And yet, as a politician and general he counseled the Romans to forbear from meeting Hannibal in open battle, a policy that often left him on the outs with his peers and the voters. And yet his persistance, and the persistance of the Roman people, would lead them to victory over a general who was their superior in every way. But, as Napoleon, Robert E. Lee, and Rommell could tell Hannibal, victory in battle does not mean victory in war.

Fabius was descended from a family of Roman nobles who claimed to be descended from Hercules (smirk). As a child, Fabius was notable for his quiet temperment. In fact, he was so quiet that many thought him to be stupid. When he went out into the world, however, the Romans quickly discovered that his quietude was due to his even temper and stoic spirit Fabius quickly earned a reputation as a deliberate thinker, and wise head. He also earned the reputation of a warrior, both in his training regimen, and on the battlefield. He made his reputation by driving an invading army - the Ligurians - out of Italy and into the shadows of the Alps from which they never returned. This was, however, his one unambiguous battlefield victory.

Hannibal invaded Italy soon after, and quickly won a great victory at the Trebia River. While Hannibal ravaged Tuscany and threatened Rome, the city was thrown into an uproar. The people asked Fabius, who was already advanced in years, to strategize the best manner to repel the invaders. Fabius' chosen strategem, which he would follow throughout the years that Hannibal was in Italy, was not what many had hoped for. Fabius had quickly discerned Hannibal's tactical skills, and realized that the Romans could not hope to defeat the Carthaginians in open battle. Instead, Fabius proposed to shadow the Carthaginian army, conduct a low-level campaign, and wear them down gradually. While Hannibal had the advantage of arms and generalship, the Romans would always have the advantage of fighting on the home soil while Hannibal was hundreds of miles from any sort of relief. Many Romans, however, failed to embrace this strategy, as they preferred to try to defeat Hannibal in a single battle, rather than let him march around Italy.

Flaminius was the first Roman to fail to heed Fabius' strategy. Flaminius led army to meet Hannibal, and was immediately beaten at the battle of Lake Thrasymene, one of the most dramatic battles in history with a Roman army pushed into the lake and slaughtered, while an earthquake raged around the armies. After this defeat, Fabius was temporarily vindicated and named dictator for the duration.

Fabius took his army out into the field and began shadowing Hannibal. Hannibal's men, and indeed many of Fabius, thought he was little more than a coward trying to avoid a fight. Hannibal quickly realized what fabius was up to, and determined to draw Fabius into battle. The armies engaged in a large-scale cat and mouse game that finally found Hannibal trapped in a canyon with his army and 2000 head of cattle. To escape Hannibal waited until nightfall and then ordered his men to tie bundles of sticks to the cattles heads and light them on fire. The cattle were led out of the ravine. The Romans, thinking Hannibal was coming out to meet them, stood in the path of the approaching herd. But, when the burning wood reached the top of the cattle's heads, a stampede began which through the Romans into confusion and allowed Hannibal to escape.

The Romans, already suspicious of Fabius, were not impressed with this outcome (it didn't help that Hannibal didn't destroy Fabius' farm when he burned part of Tuscany). The voices in Rome who demanded quick action against Hannibal were again ascendent, and Fabius was stipped of his disctatorship in favor of a hothead named Minucius. Minucius and Fabius each led divisions in search of Hannibal. While Miucius heedlessly sought a battle with Hannibal, Fabius kept his army in abeyance, and kept an eye on Minucius. Inevitably, Minucius was drawn into a trap and his army in danger of complete destruction. fabius, however, rode to the rescue and drove the Cartahginians from the field. Plutarch quotes at length a speech he gave to Fabius in which he apologized to the old man for insulting him and promised to follow Fabius' strategy of attrition, rather than confrontation.

This still did not convince the Romans of the utility of Fabius' strategy. Varro was the next to promise a quick victory against Hannibal. Instead, he led a huge Roman army into what was probably Rome's greatest defeat at the battle of Canae. Plutarch and others have written that 50,000 Romans died that day, an incredible figure for an age when fighting was done mostly at close quarters. This would be the last encouter the Romans would have against Hannibal's army. Once again, the Romans turned to Fabius who patiently counseled that the Romans should defeat Hannibal through attrition rather than destruction.

Hannibal lingered in Italy for several more years, foraging and marching, but never able to enter Rome. Finally, the Romans took the battle to Carthage, sending an army commanded by Scipio to attack the Carthaginian homeland. He quickly won a series of battles and fought his way to the gates of Carthage itself. Hannibal was recalled to lead the defense, and was finally deafeated. Not surprisingly, Fabius had opposed Scipio's original plan to invade Carthage, as this was a turning away from the successful war of attrition. However, after Scipio began winning and Hannibal was recalled, Fabius became even more adamant that Rome continued to be in grave danger and that Hannibal might come back at any time. By this time, Fabius was a very old man, and many of the Romans thought he was finally losing his faculties. As it happened, Fabius died soon after Hannibal's final defeat.

Plutarch paired Fabius with Pericles, and the contrast is illuminating in its way. Pericles is one of the brightest lights of the ancient world, a man who led his city-state to its greatest glory. And yet, his leadership quickly left his city bankrupted by vast public works projects and ravaged by war. For centuries after, Athenians would boast of their power and cultural cache, and yet - but for the brief decades of Pericles' rule - these boasts were empty ones. By contrast, Fabius lacks the heroic cast of Pericles. His strategy off avoiding fights is not likely to end up in the curriculum at West Point. Yet, in the end, it was Fabius who accomplished his one overarching goal: saving Rome. In doing so, he also helped put Rome on its path to greatness and near-global hegemony. While he lacked Pericles' glamour, his fellow Romans could turn to one another and say, "despite everything, he kept us safe." It is the eternal question of effective leadership: the visionary versus the hedgehog. As between Periclean Athens and Fabian Rome, the heart says choose Athens, but the head says stick with Rome.