#ducarius

Ducarius Beheads Flaminius at the Battle of Lake Trasimene by Joseph-Noël Sylvestre 1882

"Hannibal's third thunderbolt was launched at Lake Trasimene, where Flaminius commanded the Romans. Here Carthaginian craft devised a new stratagem; for their cavalry, under the cover of a mist from the lake and the undergrowth of the marshes, suddenly attacked the rear of our fighters. Nor can we blame the Gods; for swarms of bees settling on our standards and the reluctance of the eagles to advance, and a violent earthquake which ensued upon the beginning of the engagement — unless, indeed, it was the rush of horses and men and the unusually violent clash of arms which caused this trembling of the earth — had warned its rash commander of the impending disaster." -Lucius Annaeus Florus, Epitome 1.22.13–14