Book· 1862· Historical

Salammbô

by Gustave Flaubert

Salammbô: it draws on 1 recorded source.

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History

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  • Ancient Carthage
  • The Mercenary War

Flaubert set the novel in Carthage during the Mercenary War of 241 to 237 BC, drawing on Polybius and his own journey to Tunisia to reconstruct the city.

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About the work

Salammbô

After the First Punic War, Carthage is unable to fulfil promises made to its army of mercenaries, and finds itself under attack. The fictional title character, a priestess and the daughter of Hamilcar Barca, an aristocratic Carthaginian general, is the object of the obsessive lust of Matho, a leader of the mercenaries. With the help of the scheming freed slave, Spendius, Matho steals the sacred veil of Carthage, the Zaïmph, prompting Salammbô to enter the mercenaries' camp in an attempt to steal it back.

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