Cannae Cannae Cannae (now Canne della Battaglia) is an ancient village of the Apulia region of south east Italy. It is a "frazione" (civil parish) of the "comune" (municipality) of Barletta, a former bishopric and presently a Latin Catholic titular see. It is situated near the river Aufidus (the modern Ofanto), on a hill on the right (i.e., south) bank, southwest from its mouth, and 9 km southwest from Barletta. It is primarily known for the Battle of Cannae, in which the numerically superior Roman army suffered a disastrous defeat by Hannibal in 216 BC (see Punic Wars). There is a
Hercules in ancient Rome mythic Italic shepherd called "Recaranus" or "Garanus", famous for his strength. This hero dedicated the Ara Maxima which became associated with the earliest Roman cult of Hercules. Hercules in ancient Rome In ancient Roman religion and myth, Hercules was venerated as a divinized hero and incorporated into the legends of Rome's founding. The Romans adapted Greek myths and the iconography of Heracles into their own literature and art, but the hero developed distinctly Roman characteristics. Some Greek sources as early as the 6th and 5th century BC gave Heracles Roman connections during his famous labors. Dionysius of Halicarnassus places Hercules