The film weaves actual historical events into the film set around the fall of Carthage in 146 B.C.: General Scipio (Nicolas Charles) and Polybius (Harwood Gordon) were both present at the fall of Carthage; Scipio did indeed weep as he watched Carthage burn (documented by Polybius himself); and Scipio actually did commission Polybius to sail down the west African coast after the war for reasons still unknown, which is made into a key plot point in the film.
