Thanks for even more great recommendations. Stories from Canaan is now on my reading list — and Carthage Must Be Destroyed was already on it.

Actually, funny story: a few weekends ago, my friends and I threw a late Republic-themed dinner party here in Florence. I mean, I had my whole living room set up like a triclinium, I cooked Parthian chicken, we had Roman music on the sound system— the whole works.

Anyway, we somehow got onto the topic of Cato the Elder’s speeches in the run-up to the Third Punic War, when he’d end every single one of his speeches in the Roman senate — on any topic — with, “Oh, by the way, Carthage must be destroyed! I’m out!” (I’m paraphrasing, obviously.) One time he even “accidentally” dropped a ripe fig on the Senate floor, and was like, “Oops! But wow, that fig is so ripe — and it came from a place just three days’ sail away that must be destroyed hint hint!”

So that became our catchphrase of the evening — whenever somebody’d ask, “Do you want more wine?” we’d respond, “Must Carthage be destroyed?!” (as in, like, “Is the Pope Catholic?”). And periodically we’d just interject it into the conversation: “So guys, what do you think should be done with Carthage…?”

Also, I know you’re a big Phoenician fan, but there may or may not have been disparaging remarks made about how the Carthaginians sacrifice their own children by throwing them in ovens. It’s all a bit of a blur.