Tarentum had taken up the position as protector of the Greek cities of Italy against the barbarians of Bruttium and Lucania. But they relied upon foreign mercenaries and leaders to provide their support. In a progression, they invited Archidamus of Sparta (338 BC), Alexander of Epirus (334 BC), Cleonymus of Sparta (303 BC), and Agathokles of Syracuse (298 BC), each had their own agenda and provided at best temporary relief. Now, in 282 BC, Thourioi was threaten by the Luncanians again and this time appealed to Rome for aid. Shortly after the relief of Thourioi, a small Roman fleet anchored itself in the bay at Tarentum. Although this small force represented no threat to their fortified harbor, they attacked the Romans and sunk four ships. Then the Tarentines marched on Thourioi and forced the Roman garrison to withdraw. War was at hand. The Tarentines, fearful of a full conflict with Rome, sent to Pyrrhos asking for his aid. Rome sent a delegation to Tarentum and peace seemed a possibility until Cineas, the emissary from Pyrrhos arrived.

     Pyrrhos was at this time an accomplished field tactician (Hannibal called him his master) and perhaps he could have withstood the fledgling Romans if he had the strategic skills and patience to plan and complete a campaign. No one could fault his courage and leadership skills on the battlefield, by this time all were legendary. But his tenacity and patience, that was another matter. Pyrrhos loved the fight, he dreamed of establishing a kingdom in the fashion of Alexander, but never seemed able to exploit his military successes to become long term political gains.

AR Octobol of Pyrrhos at Syracuse. Head of Kore / Athena. Lot 54

     Pyrrhos was raised in the court of Glaucias, king of the Illyrians. At the age of twelve, Glaucias helped him regain his birthright and become King of Epirus in 307, only to lose it when he left Epirus to attend a wedding in 302 BC. Pyrrhos fought along side Demetrios Poliorketes (King of Macedon) at the Battle of Ipsus (301 BC). After Demetrios' defeat, he was turned over to Ptolemy I (King of Egypt) as a hostage. He soon impressed Ptolemy, married his stepdaughter, and in 297 BC led a continent of Egyptian troops to retake his throne at Epirus. He begin his rule with his kinsman Neoptolemus at his side, but soon had his co-ruler assassinated.

     Following the death of Kassander (who took the title of King of Macedom in 305 having murdered the young Alexander IV son of Alexander the Great) later in 297 BC, Kassander's younger son, also named Alexander, appealed to Demetrios and Pyrrhos for aid against his brother, Antipater (named after his famous grandfather) who had just murdered his mother and was after him as well. Pyrrhos responded quickly defeating Antipater and gained a foothold in Macedonia as his reward. Demetrios finally answered the call (he had been waging a successful naval battle against Ptolemy near Cyprus) traveling to Macedon in 294. However, he proved to be of little help and soon murdered Alexander and proclaimed himself king.

     For a short while the two aspirant empire builders lived side by side, but in 291 Demetrios decided to rid himself of his former brother in arms. Pyrrhos met the larger portion of Demetrios' army led by the general Pantauchus. The two generals met in personal combat before their troops. Pyrrhos parlayed that personal victory into his army's crushing defeat of the famous Macedonian phalanx, killing many and taking 5000 prisoners. This battle was the beginning of the legend of Pyrrhos as invincible and heroic (likened to Alexander the Great).

Left: AR Tetradrachm of Demetrios Poliorketes featuring Poseidon. Lot 83

Right: AR Tetradrachm of Lysimachos with head of Alexander. Lot 71

     After a short lived invasion of Macedonia during Demetrios' illness, easily overturned once he regained his health, the two kings once again made a peace pact. Once that was in place, Demetrios began to turn his attention to a grander plan to invade Asia Minor anmd regain the lands of his father. To counter this, Ptolemy tried to incite a revolt in Greece while Lysimachos invaded Macedonia from the north in the spring of 288.

     Demetrios turned to fight Lysimachos, just then Pyrrhos invaded Macedon by surprise. Demetrios fearing the loyalty of his troops if he faced Lysimachos (who was more a Macedonian than he) turned back to fight Pyrrhos. By that time, Pyrrhos had conquered Verroia and the word of his valor and courage (amplified by members of his army disguised as townspeople) undermined the morale of Demetrios' army which deserted him. Demetrios sneaked away and Pyrrhos made himself master of the camp without striking a blow. Lysimachos claimed half the kingdom to be his reward for opening the northern front, Pyrrhos was concerned about the loyalty of the Macedonian troops (who had changed sides once already) and agreed to the partition.

     After thwarting Demetrios' plans in Athens, The two again made peace and promised to respect each others borders. Demetrios left his son Antigonos Gonatas to govern his position in Greece, while Demetrios began his invasion of Asia Minor. Although he intended to attack Lysimachos, the later's army turned him to the east and he began an assault on Cilicia in the Seleukid Kingdom and finally opened a way into Syria itself. When it started to appear that Demetrios might be on the verge of conquering his third kingdom, he became ill and many of his troops abandoned him, in 285 he surrendered to Seleukis I.

     Meanwhile, Pyrrhos was missing the thrill of battle, like his legendary ancestor, Achilles, he could not endure peace "Šbut heartsick he brooded, pining at home for the war-cry, the noise of battle" [Illiad]. So he went back on his word with Demetrios again and took Thessaly. But, Lysimachos, freed of the threat of Demetrios, lost no time in marching on Pyrrhos. Pyrrhos' Macedonian troops were suborned by Lysimachos. Pyrrhos fled with his loyal troops back to Epirus and thereby lost Macedon in the same way has he won it: without swinging a blow!

     In 281 BC, Pyrrhos received a summons for help from the people of Tarentum who, as I discussed earlier, were on the verge of war with Rome. Many, including his trusted emissary Cineas, tried to convince him to reject their offer. Plutarch records the logic of his argument: "Pyrrhos", he said, "everybody tells me that the Romans are good soldiersŠ Now if the gods allow us to defeat them, how shall we use our victory?" "The answer is obvious", Pyrrhos told him, "If we can conquer the Romans, there is no other Greek or barbarian city that is the match for us. We shall straightforward become the masters of the whole of Italy". Cineas went on: "Then, sire, after we have conquered Italy, what shall we do next?" "After Italy, Sicily, of course"Š "No doubt what you say is true", Cineas answered, "but is our campaign to end with the capture of Sicily?" Š Pyrrhos told him, "We can make it a springboard for much greater enterprises. How could we resist making an attempt upon Libya and Carthage, once we came within reach of them". Š "But after all these countries are in our power, what shall we do then?" Pyrrhos smiled and replied, "Why then we shall relax and drink". Now having brought Pyrrhos to this point, Cineas had only to ask, "What prevents us from relaxing and drinking and entertaining each other now. We have the means to do that all around us. So the very prizes that we propose to win with all this bloodshed and toil and danger and all the suffering inflicted on other people and ourselves, we could enjoy without taking another step!" But Pyrrhos was struck with wanderlust and he chose war.

     Pyrrhos gathered an Army of 25,000 men, including 3000 horse and 20 elephants and in the spring of 280 BC he began his passage. He lost some of his troops to a storm and began to conscript and vigorously train the Tarentines who became restive.

     News arrived to Pyrrhos that Laevinus, the Roman consul, was leading a large army towards the city. Although Pyrrhos had allied troops on the way, he decided to face the Romans immediately. Approaching the city of Heraclea, he discovered that the Romans were camped across the Siris river. He spied their camp and expressed "These may be barbarians, but there is nothing barbarous about their discipline: however we shall see in action what it is worth." Pyrrhos was not anxious to start the battle, he preferred to wait for his Italian allies to assemble, but Laevinus was aware of the value of quick action and forced battle.

     "For the first time the Roman legions met the solid Macedonian phalanx, and every legionary armed with a sword had to face five spear points."1 The armies were fairly evenly matched at 25,000 per side. The Romans formed in a thin line with cavalry wings, their wide formation threatened to encircle the Greeks. The Macedonian phalanx formed Pyrrhos' center with wings of cavalry and elephant, and a reserve of cavalry. He planned to disrupt the Roman cavalry with the elephants and encircle the infantry with his cavalry. The battle unfolded as Pyrrhos predicted. When it was over, the Romans had been driven off the field with casualties of 7000 men, but it was the 4000 men lost by Pyrrhos that would be harder to replace. This victory made a strong impression on the Greeks of Italy and Kroton and Lokri swore allegiance to his cause.

     Pyrrhos quickly marched on Rome, but soon found the Roman alliance was not easily undone and stopped his march 40 miles from Rome. As was his nature, he soon tired of this conflict and had not the patience to see it through. He sent Cineas to negotiate a peace with Rome, the Romans although deeply divided could not come to terms. Pyrrhos released his prisoners to the Roman envoy who stated that if peace could not be reached the prisoners would be returned.

     Meanwhile, Rome raised an army of 40,000 men. Pyrrhos marched along the Adriatic coast and the two armies met in April 279 BC near Asculum in a wooded area not well suited to the compact formation of the phalanx, nor offering the mobility necessary for cavalry and elephants. The first day of the battle proven inconclusive. On the following day, Pyrrhos shifted the battle to an open plain and employed his troops effectively. Although defeated, the Romans managed to hold their camp and their 6000 dead were less significant that Pyrrhos' 3500. When Pyrrhos was congratulated for the victory he replied, "One more victory like that over the Romans will destroy us completely." All the while Carthage was negotiating with Rome to keep the war going with Pyrrhos offering support and money hoping to keep Pyrrhos occupied in other matters, but they failed in that attempt.

     Pyrrhos tired of this conflict. In 279/8 BC, the Romans offered better terms for peace. Pyrrhos also received an offer to come to Sicily and rule Akragas, Syracuse, and Leontini as King in exchange for removing the Carthaginians from Sicily. Sicily represented a new challenge and a excuse to cut his Italian affair short, so he accepted both offers. He sent Cineas to open discussions with the cities. Meanwhile he garrisoned Tarentum.

     He arrived in Sicily in early 278 and the cities welcomed him as their king. Plutarch reckoned he had a force of 30,000 infantry but now only 2,500 cavalry and about 200 ships (the Roman literary sources estimate the number at 10,000 total). Whatever the number, the battle for the main part of Sicily was quick and he easily routed Carthage from most of Sicily save the citadel at Mt. Eryx. Pyrrhos took the fortification at Eryx by storm in the only significant miltary action. Only Lilybeaum remained, but it resisted any direct assault and required a significant naval force. The Greeks shamed Pyrrhos into finishing what he begun, but when the cost of the operation became known they had second thoughts. The forces of Kroton left Pyrrhos, and Syracuse threatened the same until he murdered their tyrant, Thoenon. By now the Carthanginians received reinforcements and met Pyrrhos in a field battle. Although he won, the cities of Sicily began to rebel under his demanding rule.

     In the spring of 275 he abanded Sicily and crossed to Italy returning to Tarentum. There he gathered what forces he could and boldly advanced on Rome. He learned the two Roman consuls were separated and he planned a quick night march to engage the weaker portion of the Roman army by surprise at first light. A good plan, but he lost his way and by the time he arrived near Beneventum it was well after daybreak. The Romans were able to deploy their troops and repulse Pyrrhos attack with great difficulty. Pyrrhos, realizing that the other portion of the Roman army was close at hand, retreated to Tarentum. The defeat of Pyrrhos brought much prestige to Romans. In 272 BC, Rome besieged and took Tarentum. In the following years, Rome consolidated its federation until it included all of Italy and continued its unstoppable quest to dominate the Mediterranean.

     Pyrrhos returned to Epirus in the autumn of 275 with less than a third of the force he started with six years ago. The next year with the help of the Gauls, he defeated the current ruler of Macedon, Antigonos Gonatas. Before he could consolidate his victories, Pyrrhos took off to restore Cleonymus in Sparta. He ultimately won a very costly and prolonged victory which cost him one of his sons. Soon after he died in a pointless battle in Argos when his troops clogged the city unable to fight effectively.

     Plutarch summed up Pyrrhos career: "For warlike experience, daring, and personal valor, he had no equal among the kings of his time; but what he won through feats of arms he lost by indulging vain hopes, and through his obsessive desire to seize what lay beyond his grasp, he constantly failed to secure what lay within it".

1 The Cambridge Ancient History, Vol 5, 1954 p. 645

60