War elephants
animal · 3 works · 3 mentions · 6 anchored passages
elephants · Lucanian oxen · serpent-handed
in the texts
De Rerum Natura
War elephants, called 'Lucanian oxen', trained by the Punic people and fitted with turrets to terrify enemies, but liable to panic and turn destructively on their own troops.
The serpent-handed, with turrets on their bulks-
Those curst Lucanian oxen, hideous,
Flee those Lucanian oxen, by the steel
Marcellus
Hannibal's war elephants, driven against the Roman ranks in battle, causing confusion until repelled and largely killed.
and since the men fought with equal success, Hannibal ordered his elephants to be stationed in the van, and to be driven against the ranks of the Romans.
The horsemen made a brilliant charge and cut the Carthaginians down as far as to their camp, and the greatest slaughter among them was caused by their killed and wounded elephants.
and on the Roman side three thousand were killed, and almost all were wounded.
Pyrrhus
War elephants loaded aboard Pyrrhus's fleet as part of his invasion force bound for Italy.
next, after numerous cavalry-transports, decked vessels, and passage-boats of every sort had been brought over from Tarentum, he put on board of them twenty elephants and three thousand horse, twenty thousand foot, two thousand archers, and five hundred slingers.