Pyrrhus of Epirus

Pyrrhus (318 BC - 272 BC) (Greek Πυρρος - "the color of fire", "red-blonde", Latin Pyrrhus) - the Molossian king from ca. 297, the king of Epirus from 306 - 301 BC and in 297 BC - 272 BC and of Macedon in 288 - 284 and in 273 - 272 BC, one of the strongest opponents of Rome.

Prince of one of the Alexandrian successor states, Pyrrhus was dethroned at the age of 17 when he left his kingdom to attend a wedding. In wars of the diadochi Pyrrhus fought beside his brother-in-law Demetrius I of Macedon in battle of Ipsus (301 BC). Later, he become hostage of Ptolemy I of Egypt in treaty between Ptolemy I and Demetrius. Pyrrhus married Ptolemy's I stepdaughter Antigone and in 297 BC restored his kingdom of Epirus. Next, he went to war against his former ally, Demetrius. By 286 BC he had deposed his former brother-in-law and took control over the Kingdom of Macedonia. Pyrrhus was driven out of Macedonia by Lysimachus, his former ally, in 284 BC.

In 281 the Greek city of Tarentum, in southern Italy, fell out with Rome, and was faced with a Roman attack and certain defeat. Rome had already made itself into a major power, and poised to subdue all the Greek cities in Magna Graecia or Southern Italy. The Tarentines begged Pyrrhus to intervene and save them from Roman conquest.

Pyrrhus was encouraged to aid the Tarentines by an oracle from Delphi. His goals were not, however, selfless. He recognized the possibility of carving out an empire for himself in Italy. He made an alliance with Ptolemy Ceraunus, King of Macedon and his most powerful neighbor, and arrived in Italy in 280 BC.

He entered in Italy with forces of 3,000 cavalry, 2,000 archers, 500 slingers, 20,000 infantry and 19 war elephants in a bid to subdue the Romans.

Due to his superior cavalry and his elephants he defeated in battle of Heraclea the Romans under their consul Publius Valerius Laevinus in 280 BC. Romans lost about 7,000 and Pyrrhus 4,000 soldiers. Though his casulties were high, this battle is not usually considered a "pyrrhic" victory. Several tribes (the Lucanians, Bruttians, and Messapians) and the Greek cities of Croton and Locri joined Pyrrhus. He then offered Romans a peace treaty, which was rejected. Pyrrhus spent winter in Campania.

When Pyrrhus invaded Apulia (279 BC), the two armies met in the Battle of Asculum where Pyrrhus won a very costly victory. The Romans had lost 6,000 men and Pyrrhus 3,500.

In 278, Pyrrhus received two offers simultaneously. The Greek cities in Sicily asked him to come and drive out Carthage (with Rome, one of the two great powers in the Western Mediterranean). At the same time, the Macedonians, whose King Ceraunus had been killed by invading Gauls, asked Pyrrhus to ascend the throne of Macedon. Pyrrhus decided that Sicily offered him a greater opportunity, and transferred his army there.

Pyrrhus was proclaimed king of Sicily. He was already making plans for his son Helenus to inherit the kingdom of Sicily, and his other son Alexander to be given that of Italy. In 277 Pyrrhus captured Eryx, the strongest Carthaginian fortress in Sicily. This prompted the rest of the Carthaginian-controlled cities to defect to Pyrrhus.

In 276, Pyrrhus negotiated with the Carthaginians. Although they were inclined to come to terms with Pyrrhus, supply him money and send him ships once friendly relations were established, he demanded that Carthage abandon all Sicily and make the Libyan Sea a boundary between themselves and the Greeks. Meanwhile, he had begun to display despotic behavior towards the Sicilian Greeks, and soon Sicilian opinion became inflamed against him. Though he defeated the Carthaginians in another battle, he was forced to abandon Sicily and return to Italy.

When he returned, he fought a last inconclusive battle at Beneventum (275 BC) in southern Italy. This time ther was not even a "pyrrhic" victory.

Pyrrhus abandoned the campaign in Italy and returned to Epirus. Though his western campaign had taken a heavy toll on his army as well as his treasury, Pyrrhus yet again went to war. Attacking King Antigonus II Gonatas he won an easy victory and seized the Macedonian throne.

In 272, Cleonymus, a Spartan of royal blood but hated in Sparta, asked Pyrrhus to attack Sparta and place him in power. Pyrrhus agreed to the plan, intending to win control of the Peloponnese for himself, but unexpectedly strong resistance thwarted his assault on Sparta. He was immediately offered an opportunity to intervene in a civic dispute in Argos. Entering the city with his army by stealth, he found himself caught in a confused battle in the narrow city streets. During the confusion, an old woman watching from a rooftop threw a roofing tile which stunned him, allowing an Argosian soldier to kill him (some reports claim he was poisoned by a servant).

While he was a mercurial and often restless leader, and not always a wise king, he was considered one of the greatest military commanders of his times, ranked by Hannibal himself to be the second greatest commander the world had seen after Alexander the Great. Pyrrhus was also known to be very benevolent. As a general, Pyrrhus' greatest political weaknesses were the failure to maintain focus and the failure to maintain a strong treasury at home (many of his soldiers were costly mercenaries).

His name is famous for the phrase "Pyrrhic victory" which refers to an exchange after the Battle of Asculum. In response to congratulations for winning a costly victory over the Romans, he is reported to have said: "One more such victory and I shall be lost!"

Pyrrhus wrote Memoirs and several books on art of war. These have since been lost although Hannibal was influenced by them and they received prasie from Cicero.

External links

• Plutarch's biography (http://classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/pyrrhus.html)
• A detailed biography of Pyrrhus (http://www.barca.fsnet.co.uk/pyrrhus.htm)

Bibliography

• Pyrrhus,King of Epirus by Petros E. Garoufalias ISBN 090574313X
• "The Pyrrhus Portrait" by Rolf Winkes, in: The Age of Pyrrhus, Proceedings of an International Conference held at Brown University April 8-10, 1988 (Archaeologia Transatlantica XI) Providence 1992, pages 175-188.

Preceded by: Demetrius I	King of Macedon First Reign with Lysimachus	Succeeded by: Lysimachus
Antigonus II	King of Macedon Second Reign	Antigonus II