One of the soldiers in Fabius's army had a sister in Tarentum who was the lover of the Bruttian commander, Carthalo, who Hannibal had left in charge of the city.

However Plutarch also writes that another story is that it was Fabius's Bruttian mistress who seduced the commander over to the Roman side when she discovered that he was a fellow countryman.

Fabius drew Hannibal away from Tarentum by sending the garrison of Rhegium to plunder the lands of the Bruttians and to take Caulonia.

On the sixth day of the siege it was arranged that the commander would help the Romans gain entry to Tarentum.

Fabius took a cohort to the appointed place while the rest of the army attacked the walls, luring the cities defenders away.