Book 6
1
The tale which in Grecian history is told of Olympias, wife of king Philip and mother of Alexander, is also recorded of the mother of that Publius Scipio who was the first to be called Africanus. For both Gaius Oppius Fr. 2, Peter2. and Julius Hyginus, Fr. 4, Peter2; p. 37, Bunte. as well as others who have written of the life and deeds of Africanus, declare that his mother was for a long time thought to be barren, and that Publius Scipio, her husband, had also given up hope of offspring; that afterwards, in her own room and bed, when she was lying alone in the absence of her husband and had fallen asleep, of a sudden a huge serpent was seen lying by her side; and that when those who had seen it were frightened and cried out, the snake glided away and could not be found. It is said that Publius Scipio himself consulted soothsayers about the occurrence; that they, after offering sacrifice, declared that he would have children, and not many days after that serpent had been seen in her bed, the woman began to experience the indications and sensation of conception. A similar story is told of Augustus (Suet. Aug. xciv. 4) as well as of Alexander the Great (§ 1 and Livy, xxvi. 19. 7). Afterwards, in the tenth month, she gave birth to that Publius Scipio who conquered Hannibal and the Carthaginians in Africa in the second Punic war. At Zama, 202 B.C. But it was far more because of his exploits than because of that prodigy that he too As well as Alexander and Augustus; see note 1. was believed to be a man of godlike excellence.
