Εμφανίζονται 21 τίτλοι με αναζήτηση: Βιογραφίες για το τοπωνύμιο: "ΗΠΕΙΡΟΣ Αρχαία χώρα ΕΛΛΑΔΑ".
Γιος του Αρύββα, πατέρας του Πύρρου
Aeacides (Aiakides), the son of Arymbas, king of Epirus, succeeded to the throne on the death of his cousin Alexander, who was slain in Italy (Liv. viii. 24). Aeacides married Phthia, the daughter of Menon of Pharsalus, by whom he had the celebrated Pyrrhus and two daughters, Deidameia and Troias. In B. C. 317 he assisted Polysperchon in restoring Olympias and the young Alexander, who was then only five years old, to Macedonia. In the following year he marched to the assistance of Olympias, who was hard pressed by Cassander; but the Epirots disliked the service, rose against Aeacides, and drove him from the kingdom. Pyrrhus, who was then only two years old, was with difficulty saved from destruction by some faithful servants. But becoming tired of the Macedonian rule, the Epirots recalled Aeacides in B. C. 313; Cassander immediately sent an army against him under Philip, who conquered him the same year in two battles, in the last of which he was killed (Paus. i. 11; Diod. xix. 11, 36, 74; Plut. Pyrrh. i. 2).
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Sep 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Alcetas (Alketas), king of Epirus, was the son of Tharypus. For some reason or other, which we are not informed of, he was expelled from his kingdom, and took refuge with the elder Dionysius, tyrant of Syracuse, by whom he was reinstated. After his restoration we find him the ally of the Athenians, and of Jason, the Tagus of Thessaly. In B. C. 373, he appeared at Athens with Jason, for the purpose of defending Timotheus, who, through their influence, was acquitted. On his death the kingdom, which till then had been governed by one king, was divided between his two sons, Neoptolemus and Arybbas or Arymbas. Diodorus (xix. 88) calls him Arybils. (Paus. i. 11.3; Dem. Timoth. pp. 1187, 1190 ; Diod. xv. 13. 36)
Alcetas II., king of EPIRUS, was the son of Arymbas, and grandson of Alcctas I. On account of his ungovernable temper, he was banished by his father, who appointed his younger son, Aeacides, to succeed him. On the death of Aeacides, who was killed in a battle fought with Cassander B. C. 313, the Epirots recalled Alcetas. Cassander sent an army against hint under the command of Lyciscus, but soon after entered into an alliance with him (B. C. 312). The Epirots, incensed at the outrages of Alcetas, rose against him and put him to death, together with his two sons; on which Pyrrhus, the son of Aeacides, was placed upon the throne by his protector Glaucias, king of the Illyrians, B. C. 307. (Paus. i. 11.5; Diod. xix. 88, 89 ; Plut Pyrrh. 3)
Alexander (Alexandros) I., king of Epirus, was the son of Neoptolemus and brother
of Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great. He came at an early age to the
court of Philip of Macedonia, and after the Grecian fashion became the object
of his attachment. Philip in requital made him king of Epirus, after dethroning
his cousin Aeacides. When Olympias was repudiated by her husband, she went to
her brother, and endeavoured to induce him to make war on Philip. Philip, however,
declined the contest, and formed a second alliance with him by giving him his
daughter Cleopatra in marriage (B. C. 336). At the wedding Philip was assassinated
by Pausanias. In B. C. 332, Alexander, at the request of the Tarentines, crossed
over into Italy, to aid them against the Lucanians and Bruttii. After a victory
over the Samnites and Lucanians near Paestum he made a treaty with the Romans.
Success still followed his arms. He took Heraclea and Consentia from the Lucanians,
and Terina and Sipontum from the Bruttii. But in B. C. 326, through the treachery
of some Lucanian exiles, he was compelled to engage under unfavourable circumstances
near Pandosia, on the banks of the Acheron, and fell by the hand of one of the
exiles, as he was crossing the river; thus accomplishing the prophecy of the oracle
of Dodona, which had bidden him beware of Pandosia and the Acheron. He left a
son, Neoptolemus, and a daughter, Cadmea (Justin, viii. 6, ix. 6, 7, xii. 2, xvii.
3, xviii. 1, xxiii. 1 ; Liv. viii. 3, 17, 24; Diod. xvi. 72).
The son of the celebrated Pyrrhus. To avenge the death of his father, who had been slain at Argos, fighting against Antigonus, he seized upon Macedonia, of which the latter was king. He was soon, however, driven out, not only from Macedonia, but also from his own dominions, by Demetrius, son of Antigonus. Taking refuge, on this, among the Acarnanians, he succeeded, by their aid, in regaining the throne of Epirus.
This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Nov 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Alexander II. king of Epirus, was the son of Pyrrhus and Lanassa, the daughter of the Sicilian tyrant Agathocles. He succeeded his father in B. C. 272, and continued the war which his father had begun with Antigonus Gonatas, whom he succeeded in driving from the kingdom of Macedon. He was, however, dispossessed of both Macedon and Epirus by Demetrius, the son of Antigonus; upon which he took refuge amongst the Acarnanians. By their assistance and that of his own subjects, who entertained a great attachment for him, he recovered Epirus. It appears that he was in alliance with the Aetolians. He married his sister Olympias, by whom he had two sons, Pyrrhus and Ptolemaeus, and a daughter, Phthia. On the death of Alexander, Olympias assumed the regency on behalf of her sons, and married Phthia to Demetrius. There are extant silver and copper coins of this king. The former bear a youthful head covered with the skin of an elephant's head, as appears in the one figured below. The reverse represents Pallas holding a spear in one hand and a shield in the other, and before her stands an eagle on a thunderbolt. ((Justin, xvii. 1, xxvi. 2, 3, xxviii. 1; Polyb. ii. 45, ix. 34; Plut. Pyrrh. 9.)
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Oct 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Κόρη του βασιλιά των Μολοσσών της Ηπείρου, έβδομη σύζυγος του Βασιλιά Φιλίππου Β΄ της Μακεδονίας, μητέρα του Μεγάλου Αλεξάνδρου.
Daughter of Neoptolemus, king of Epirus,
wife of Philip II of Macedon,
and mother of Alexander the Great.
Her father claimed descent from Pyrrhus, son of Achilles. It is said
that Philip fell in love with her in Samothrace,
where they were both being initiated into the mysteries. The marriage took place
in 359 B.C., shortly after Philip's accession, and Alexander was born in 356.
The fickleness of Philip and the jealous temper of Olympias led to a growing estrangement,
which became complete when Philip married a new wife, Cleopatra, in 337. Alexander,
who sided with his mother, withdrew, along with her, into Epirus,
whence they both returned in the following year, after the assassination of Philip,
which Olympias is said to have countenanced.
During the absence of Alexander, with whom she regularly corresponded
on public as well as domestic affairs, she had great influence, and by her arrogance
and ambition caused such trouble to the regent Antipater that on Alexander's death
(323) she found it prudent to withdraw into Epirus.
Here she remained until 317, when, allying herself with Polyperchon, by whom her
old enemy had been succeeded in 319, she took the field with an Epirote army;
the opposing troops at once declared in her favour, and for a short period Olympias
was mistress of Macedonia.
Cassander, Antipater's son, hastened from Peloponnesus,
and, after an obstinate siege, compelled the surrender of Pydna,
where she had taken refuge. One of the terms of the capitulation had been that
her life should be spared; but in spite of this she was brought to trial for the
numerous and cruel executions of which she had been guilty during her short lease
of power. Condemned without a hearing, she was put to death (316) by the friends
of those whom she had slain, and Cassander is said to have denied her remains
the rites of burial.
This text is cited July 2003 from the Malaspina Great Books URL below, which contains image.
375 - 316
Epirote princess, married to the Macedonian king Philip II, and
mother of Alexander the Great.
The girl who was later to be called Olympias was the daughter of Neoptolemus,
the king of the Molossians, one of the greatest tribes in Epirus.
They lived in the neighborhood of modern Ioannina
in Greece. During Neoptolemus'
reign, the tribe became more sedentary; urbanization started and we hear about
scribes and other administrative officials. In 358, the Molossians became the
allies of the Macedonian king Philip II (359-336); the alliance was strengthened
by a diplomatic marriage. In 357, Olympias became Philip's wife.
Next year, a chariot that Philip had sent to the Olympic games, was
victorious. Therefore, the queen received the name Olympias. In the same summer,
she gave birth to her first child: Alexander. According to the Greek author Plutarch
of Chaeronea (46-c.122),
these events took place on the same day.
In Antiquity, people believed that the birth of a great man was accompanied
by portents. They are mentioned by Plutarch:
The night before the consummation of their marriage, Olympias dreamed
that a thunderbolt fell upon her body, which kindled a great fire, whose divided
flames dispersed themselves all about, and then were extinguished. And Philip,
some time after he was married, dreamt that he sealed up his wife's body with
a seal, whose impression, as be fancied, was the figure of a lion (Plutarch, Alexander
2).
Philip and Olympias also had a daughter Cleopatra, who was to play
an important role in the years after the death of Alexander. The birth of the
crown prince and a princess that could be used in international affairs must have
enhanced Olympias' position, but political influence can not be proven. It is
true, Philip appointed Olympias' brother Alexander -not to be confused with her
more famous son- as king of Molossis (350), but this does not mean that Olympias
was behind the arrangement. After all, the Molossian throne was rightfully Alexander's.
In August 338, Philip defeated the Greeks; next year, he reorganized
the conquered territories in the Corinthian league. At the same time, he married
to a woman named Cleopatra, a relative of a Macedonian aristocrat named Attalus.
This caused great tensions between the king, Olympias and the crown prince.
Olympias went into voluntary exile, staying at the Molossian court
of her brother Alexander. Her son Alexander and his friends (e.g., Ptolemy and
Nearchus) were briefly expelled, but returned soon after. Olympias was further
isolated when Philip married Olympias' own daughter Cleopatra to Alexander of
Molossis (336): she could no longer count on her brother's support.
However, Philip was killed during the wedding in October 336. Many
suspected Olympias and her son Alexander. The fact that (after her return to Macedonia)
she ordered Philip's wife Cleopatra and her child to be murdered, did not improve
her reputation. However, her son was now king, and her position was safe.
During Alexander's campaigns, she kept in touch with him. Our sources
mention their correspondence. She probably confirmed the claim, made by her son
during his visit to Egypt, that Alexander was the son not of Philip, but of the
god Zeus Ammon. It is even possible that she made this claim before Philip's death
(and, consequently, before Alexander's visit to Egypt):
the events of 337-336 offered ample opportunity. Although the relations
with Alexander were cordial, he kept her far away from politics. Macedonia was
ruled by Antipater, one of Philip's most reliable commanders and diplomats and
the man who had helped Alexander become king. It seems that he and Olympias were
not on speaking terms, and the queen-mother must have been glad that she could
go back to Molossis in 330: her brother had died during a campaign in southern
Italy, and she served as regent for her cousin Aeacidas.
On June 11, 323, Alexander died in Babylon,
and the age of the successors or Diadochi began. His wife Roxane was pregnant
of a son, who was born a few months later and was called Alexander. He and Alexander's
brother Philip Arridaeus, who was mentally unfit to rule, were subject to the
regency of Perdiccas, Alexander's vizier. He tried to strengthen his position
by a marriage with Antipater's daughter Nicaea. However, Olympias offered him
the hand of her daughter Cleopatra, a full sister of Alexander the Great (and
the former wife of Alexander of Molossis). Perdiccas accepted this marriage, Antipater
felt insulted, and the result was a civil war in which Antipater was victorious.
He was the new regent of the royal family. However, he died almost immediately
(319).
His successor as regent was an old general named Polyperchon. However,
Antipater's son Cassander, who had taken Philip Arridaeus captive, forced him
out of Macedonia. Polyperchon had to flee to Epirus, taking Roxane and the baby
Alexander with him. Until then, Olympias had refused to support any side in the
conflict, but now she realized that if Cassander were to rule, the crown would
definitely be lost to her grandson. So, she took the army of Aeacidas, joined
the remains of Polyperchon's army and invaded Macedonia (317).
At the border, she captured Philip Arridaeus, who was executed immediately
(October). Many supporters of Cassander were massacred as well. However, Cassander
was approaching and besieged Olympias in Pydna,
a harbor town at the foot of the holy mountain Olympus.
Although both Polyperchon and Aeacidas tried to relieve her, she was forced to
surrender. Cassander promised to save her life, but had her executed (316). Roxane
and the baby Alexander were killed in secret.
The succession of Philip and the last two years of Olympias' life
were full of bloodshed, and many authors -both ancient and modern- have considered
her a cruel woman. This is exaggerated. She was trying to stay alive and see to
the succession of her son and grandson. Of the many Macedonian leaders who took
part in the civil wars after the death of Alexander the Great, she was one of
the few who were not fighting for their own power, but for the legitimate dynasty.
Jona Lendering, ed.
This text is cited July 2003 from the Livius Ancient History Website URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks.
Πατέρας του Αλκέτα, θεωρείται ο εκπολιτιστής της Ηπείρου.
Son of Alcetas (Perseus Encyclopedia)
Lives, by Plutarch
318 - 272
Εξάδελφος του Μεγάλου Αλεξάνδρου, άνδρας μεγάλης μόρφωσης και ονομαστής γενναιότητας με στρατιωτική κατάρτιση, κατέστησε το κράτος της Ηπείρου σε μεγάλη δύναμη για 35 χρόνια με τις νικηφόρες εκστρατείες του στη Ν. Ιταλία.
Pyrrhus (Purros Ι). A king of Epirus, son of Aeacides and Phthia, born
B.C. 318. His ancestors claimed descent from Pyrrhus, the son of Achilles, who
was said to have settled in Epirus after the Trojan War, and to have become the
founder of the race of Molossian kings. On the deposition of his father by the
Epirots, Pyrrhus, who was then a child only two years old, was saved from destruction
by the faithful adherents of the king, who carried him to Glaucias, the king of
the Taulantians, an Illyrian people. Glaucias took the child under his care and
brought him up with his own children. He not only refused to surrender Pyrrhus
to Cassander, but about ten years afterwards he marched into Epirus at the head
of an army, and placed Pyrrhus on the throne, leaving him, however, under the
care of guardians, as he was then only twelve years of age. In the course of four
or five years, however, Cassander, who had gained his supremacy in Greece, prevailed
upon the Epirots to expel their young king. Pyrrhus, who was then only seventeen
years of age, joined Demetrius, who had married his sister Deidamia, accompanied
him to Asia, and was present at the battle of Ipsus (301), in which he gained
great renown for his valour. Antigonus fell in the battle, and Demetrius became
a fugitive; but Pyrrhus did not desert his brother-in-law in his misfortunes,
and shortly afterwards went for him as a hostage into Egypt. Here he was fortunate
enough to win the favour of Berenice, the wife of Ptolemy, and received in marriage
Antigone, her daughter by her first husband. Ptolemy now supplied him with a fleet
and forces, with which he returned to Epirus. Neoptolemus, who had reigned from
the time that Pyrrhus had been driven from the kingdom, agreed to share the sovereignty
with Pyrrhus. But such an arrangement could not last long, and Pyrrhus anticipated
his own destruction by putting his rival to death. This appears to have happened
in 295, in which year Pyrrhus is said to have begun to reign.
He was now twenty-three years old, and he soon became one of
the most popular princes of his time. His daring courage made him a favourite
with his troops, and his affability and generosity secured the love of his people.
He seems at an early age to have taken Alexander as his model, and to have been
fired with the ambition of imitating his exploits and treading in his footsteps.
His eyes were first directed to the conquest of Macedonia. By assisting Alexander,
the son of Cassander, against his brother Antipater, he obtained possession of
the whole of the Macedonian dominions on the western side of Greece. But the Macedonian
throne itself fell into the hands of Demetrius, greatly to the disappointment
of Pyrrhus. The two former friends now became the most deadly enemies, and open
war broke out between them in 291. After the war had been carried on with great
vigour and various vicissitudes for four years, Pyrrhus joined the coalition formed
in 287 by Seleucus, Ptolemy, and Lysimachus against Demetrius. Lysimachus and
Pyrrhus invaded Macedonia; Demetrius was deserted by his troops and obliged to
fly in disguise, and the kingdom was divided between Lysimachus and Pyrrhus. But
the latter did not long retain his portion; the Macedonians preferred the rule
of their old general Lysimachus, and Pyrrhus was accordingly driven out of the
country after a reign of seven months (286).
For the next few years Pyrrhus reigned quietly in Epirus without
embarking in any new enterprise. But a life of inactivity was insupportable to
him, and accordingly he readily accepted the invitation of the Tarentines to assist
them in their war against the Romans. He crossed over to Italy early in 280, in
the thirty-eighth year of his age. He took with him 20,000 foot, 3000 horse, 2000
archers, 500 slingers, and either fifty or twenty elephants, having previously
sent Milo, one of his generals, with a detachment of 3000 men. As soon as he arrived
at Tarentum he began to make vigourous preparations for carrying on the war; and
as the giddy and licentious inhabitants of Tarentum complained of the severity
of his discipline, he forthwith treated them as their master rather than as their
ally, shut up the theatre and all other public places, and compelled their young
men to serve in his ranks. In the first campaign (280) the Roman consul M. Valerius
Laevinus was defeated by Pyrrhus near Heraclea, on the bank of the river Siris.
The battle was long and bravely contested, and it was not till Pyrrhus brought
forward his elephants, which bore down everything before them, that the Romans
took to flight. The loss of Pyrrhus, though inferior to that of the Romans, was
still very considerable. A large proportion of his officers and best troops had
fallen, and he said, as he viewed the field of battle, "Another such victory,
and I must return to Epirus alone." He therefore availed himself of his success
to send his minister Cineas to Rome with proposals of peace, while he himself
marched slowly towards the city. His proposals, however, were rejected by the
Senate. He accordingly continued his march, ravaging the Roman territory as he
went along. He advanced within twenty-four miles of Rome; but as he found it impossible
to compel the Romans to accept the peace, he retraced his steps and withdrew into
winter-quarters at Tarentum. As soon as the armies were quartered for the winter,
the Romans sent an embassy to Pyrrhus to endeavour to obtain the ransom of the
Roman prisoners. The ambassadors were received by Pyrrhus in the most distinguished
manner, and his interviews with C. Fabricius, who was at the head of the embassy,
form one of the most celebrated stories in Roman history.
In the second campaign (279) Pyrrhus gained another victory
near Asculum over the Romans, who were commanded by the consuls P. Decius Mus
and P. Sulpicius Saverrio. The battle, however, was followed by no decisive results,
and the brunt of it had again fallen, as in the previous year, almost exclusively
on the Greek troops of the king. He was therefore unwilling to hazard his surviving
Greeks by another campaign with the Romans, and accordingly he lent a ready ear
to the invitations of the Greeks in Sicily, who begged him to come to their assistance
against the Carthaginians. The Romans were likewise anxious to get rid of so formidable
an opponent, that they might complete the subjugation of Southern Italy without
further interruption. When both parties had the same wishes, it was not difficult
to find a fair pretext for bringing the war to a conclusion. This was afforded
at the beginning of the following year (278) by one of the servants of Pyrrhus
deserting to the Romans and proposing to the consuls to poison his master. The
consuls Fabricius and Aemilius sent back the deserter to the king, stating that
they abhorred a victory gained by treason. Thereupon Pyrrhus, to show his gratitude,
sent Cineas to Rome with all the Roman prisoners without ransom and without conditions;
and the Romans granted him a truce, though not a formal peace, as he had not consented
to evacuate Italy.
Pyrrhus now crossed over into Sicily, where he remained upwards
of two years, from the middle of 278 to the latter end of 276. At first he met
with brilliant success, defeated the Carthaginians and took Eryx; but having failed
in an attempt upon Lilybaeum, he lost his popularity with the Greeks, who began
to form cabals and plots against him. This led to retaliation on the part of Pyrrhus,
and to acts which were deemed both cruel and tyrannical by the Greeks. His position
in Sicily at length became so uncomfortable and dangerous that he soon became
anxious to abandon the island. Accordingly, when his Italian allies again begged
him to come to their assistance, he gladly complied with their request. Pyrrhus
returned to Italy in the autumn of 276. In the following year (275) the war was
brought to a close. Pyrrhus was defeated with great loss near Beneventum by the
Roman consul Curius Dentatus, and was obliged to leave Italy. He brought back
with him to Epirus only 8000 foot and 500 horse, and had not money to maintain
even these without undertaking new wars. Accordingly, in 273, he invaded Macedonia,
of which Antigonus Gonatas, the son of Demetrius, was then king. His only object
at first seems to have been plunder, but his success far exceeded his expectations.
Antigonus was deserted by his own troops, and Pyrrhus thus became king of Macedonia
a second time. But scarcely had he obtained possession of the kingdom before his
restless spirit drove him into new enterprises. On the invitation of Cleonymus
he turned his arms against Sparta, but was repulsed in an attack upon this city.
From Sparta he marched towards Argos in order to support Aristeas, one of the
leading citizens at Argos, against his rival Aristippus, whose cause was espoused
by Antigonus. In the nighttime Aristeas admitted Pyrrhus into the city, but the
alarm having been given, the citadel and all the strong places were seized by
the Argives of the opposite faction. On the dawn of day Pyrrhus saw that it would
be necessary for him to retreat; and as he was fighting his way out of the city,
an Argive woman hurled down from the housetop a ponderous tile, which struck Pyrrhus
on the back of his neck. He fell from his horse stunned with the blow, and being
recognized by some of the soldiers of Antigonus, was quickly despatched.
His head was cut off and carried to Antigonus, who turned away
from the sight, and ordered the body to be interred with becoming honours. Pyrrhus
perished in B.C. 272, in the forty-sixth year of his age and in the twenty-third
of his reign.
He was the greatest warrior and one of the best princes of
his time. With his daring courage, his military skill, and his kingly bearing,
he might have become the most powerful monarch of his day if he had steadily pursued
the immediate object before him. But he never rested satisfied with any acquisition,
and was ever grasping at some fresh object: hence Antigonus compared him to a
gambler, who made many good throws with the dice, but was unable to make the proper
use of the game. Pyrrhus was regarded in subsequent times as one of the greatest
generals that had ever lived. Hannibal said that of all generals Pyrrhus was the
first, Scipio the second, and himself the third; or, according to another version
of the story, Alexander was the first, Pyrrhus the second, and himself the third.
Pyrrhus wrote a work on the art of war, which was read in the time of Cicero;
and his commentaries are quoted both by Dionysius and Plutarch. Pyrrhus married
four wives: (a) Antigone, the daughter of Berenice; (b) a daughter of Audoleon,
king of the Paeonians; (c) Bircenna, a daughter of Bardylis, king of the Illyrians;
(d) Lanassa, a daughter of Agathocles of Syracuse. His children were: (a) Ptolemy,
born 295; killed in battle, 272; (b) Alexander, who succeeded his father as king
of Epirus; (c) Helenus; (d) Nereis, who married Gelon of Syracuse; (e) Olympias,
who married her own brother Alexander; (f) Deidamia or Laodamia. See the Life
by Plutarch.
This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Nov 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Pyrrhus was king of the Hellenistic kingdom of Epirus.
In 281 BC Tarentum
in southern Italy asked his
assisstance against Rome.
Pyrrhus crossed to Italy
with 25,000 men and 20 elephants. He tried to create a kdm of Sicily
and lower Italy, but his
many victories against Rome
were so costly that he had to withdraw from Italy.
His remark “Another such victory and I shall be ruined” gave name
to the term “Pyrrhic victory” for a victory obtained at to great a
cost.
Pyrrhus returned to Epirus, invaded Macedonia
and made an unsuccessful attack on Sparta
where he was killed.
This text is cited July 2003 from the Hyperhistory Online URL below.
King of Epirus and cousin of Alexander the Great, known for his many
battles. Married to Agathocles' daughter Lanassa.
When the Greek colony Tarentum
asked Pyrrhus for help against the Romans, the king gladly accepted. According
to legend, he asked the philosopher Cineas for advice. The philosopher asked the
king what he would do after conquering Italy,
and got the answer “Then I will take Carthage”. Cineas asked what
then, and got the reply “then we will take Macedonia,
Egypt and Asia”. “Then
what”, Cineas asked, “then we will celebrate and enjoy the pleasures
of life”, replied the king. The philosopher then said “why can't we
do that immediately without challenging our destiny?”
At Heraclea Pyrrhus
defeated the Romans with 25000men and 20 elephants in 280BC. The decisive factor
for his victory was the elephants, an animal the Romans had never seen before.
The horses ran away, terrified, and the Roman soldiers lost their courage. A year
later Pyrrhus again defeated the Romans at the battle of Asculum.
The victories cost him so much, though, that the expression Pyrrhic
victory has become an expression for a bitter victory. After this he went to help
the Sicilian Greeks against the Carthaginians, now allies with the Romans, but
became unpopular with them because of his despotic attitude. In 275 BC he was
defeated by the Romans at the battle of Beneventum, and returned to Greece
with only one-third of his original force. Pyrrhus was also involved with battles
in Greece, and extended his
kingdom into parts of Macedonia
and Thessaly.
Lysimachus, king of Thrace
and consequently of Macedonia,
later drove Pyrrhus out of his new lands. Pyrrhus again managed to conquer part
of Macedonia in his defeating
of the Macedonian king Antigonus II Gonatas in 276 BC. He was defeated by the
Spartan army the year after, and fled to Argos
where he was killed in a streetfight.
His tactics and use of elephants were later to influence Hannibal.
This text is cited Sept 2003 from the In2Greece URL below.
Deidameia. Daughter of Aeacides, king of Epeirus, and sister of Pyrrhus. While yet a girl she was betrothed by her father to Alexander, the son of Roxana, and having accompanied that prince and Olympias into Macedonia, was besieged in Pydna together with them. (Plut. Pyrrh. 4; Diod. xix. 35; Justin, xiv. 6.) After the death of Alexander and Roxana, she was married to Demetrius Poliorcetes, at the time when the latter was endeavouring to establish his power in Greece, and thus became a bond of union between him and Pyrrhus. (Plut. Demetr. 25, Pyrrh. 4.) When DIemetrius proceeded to Asia to support his father against the confederate kings, lie left Deidameia at Athens; but after his defeat at Ipsus, the Athenians sent her away to Megara, though still treating her with regal honours. She soon after repaired to Cilicia to join Demetrius, who had just given his daughter Stratonice in marriage to Seleucus, but had not been there long when she fell ill and died, B. C. 300. (Plut. Demetr. 30, 32.) She left one son by Demetrius, named Alexander, who is said by Plutarch to have spent his life in Egypt, probably in an honourable captivity. (Plut Demetr. 53.)
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Oct 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Helenus, (Helenos), son of Pyrrhus, king of Epeirus, by Lanassa, daughter of Agathocles. He was very young when he accompanied his father on his expedition to Italy, B. C. 280; but Pyrrhus is said to have conceived the project, when elated with his first successes in Sicily, of establishing Helenus there as king of the island, to which as grandson of Agathocles he appeared to have a sort of hereditary claim. (Just. xviii, 1, xxiii. 3.) But the tide of fortune soon turned; and when Pyrrhus saw himself compelled to abandon both Sicily and Italy, he left Helenus at Tarentum, together with Milo, to command the garrison of that city, the place in Italy of which he still retained possession. It was not long before he recalled them both from thence, in consequence of the unexpected views that had opened to his ambition in Macedonia and Greece. Helenus accompanied his father on his expedition into the Peloponnese (B. C. 272), and after the fatal night attack on Argos, in which Pyrrhus himself perished, he fell into the hands of Antigonus Gonatas, who however behaved towards him in the most magnanimous manner, treated him with the utmost distinction, and sent him back in safety to Epeirus, bearing with him the remains of his father. (Just. xxv. 3, 5; Plut. Pyrrhs. 33, 34.) After this we hear no more of him.
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Nov 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Alexarchus (Alexarchos), a Greek historian, who wrote a work on the history of Italy (Italika), of which Plutarch (Parallel. 7) quotes the third book. Servius (ad Aen. iii. 334) mentions an opinion of his respecting the origin of the names Epeirus and Campania, which unquestionably belonged to his work on Italy. The writer of this name, whom Plutarch mentions in another passage (De, Is. et Os.), is probably a different person.
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