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What unique strategy did the famed military leader Hannibal (247-181 BCE) use in naval battles against the forces of King Eumenes II of Pergamon in 184 BCE?

Answer: He ordered that large pots should be filled with venomous snakes, and then thrown on board Eumenes’ ships. Eumenes’ men first thought Hannibal had resorted to throwing empty crockery, but were soon forced to desperately avoid the writhing snakes.

Source: The Oxford Handbook of Animals in Classical Thought and Life by Gordon Lindsay Campbell

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1908 – King Carlos I of Portugal and his heir, Prince Luis Filipe are assassinated by Republican sympathizers in Lisbon.

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A short, sharp hit of history in video format. Acclaimed Irish playwright and novelist Oscar Wilde was the toast of London society in the 1890s until things came decidedly unstuck through an association with a young British aristocrat, Lord Alfred Douglas, known as ‘Bosie’.

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“In Russia a man is a called reactionary if he objects to having his property stolen and his wife and children murdered.”

Winston Churchill (1874-1965), British statesman

Source: The Wicket Wit of Winston Churchill by Dominique Enright

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HistoryWow’s Featured Historical Figure of Note

Marcus Porcius Cato (234-149BCE)

Roman statesman, soldier and writer of virtue, simplicity and wisdom. He condemned the luxury of his time and was nicknamed “the censor”. He became Consul in 195BCE, took part in the defeat of Hannibal at Zama, held command in Sardinia and Spain, and in 191 BCE assisted the Greeks in overthrowing Antiochus III at Thermopolyae.

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