EN
The author of the article attempts to confront reports concerning the history of Hannibal found in classical literature with selected painterly representations created in later times, i.e. between the late Middle Ages/early Renaissance and he end of the 20th century. This extensive issue, making up a part of a board range of problems classified as the reception of antiquity, requires making references to specific motifs from Hannibal’s history. The author of the text focuses on an analysis of six motifs: an oath sworn by Hannibal upon the Carthaginian gods in his childhood, the dramatic march across the Alps, the exposed motif of an elephant, the personal drama of the Carthaginian commander who finds the severed head of his younger brother, Hasdrubal, the dramatic battle of Zama and finally, the scene of Hannibal’s suicide. As a result of the analyses, the author concludes that painting was inspired by antiquity in a non-obvious manner, as it looked for moral examples based on faithfulness to a given word and religious oath. In those cases, Hannibal’s determination and indomitableness provided the chief inspiration.