Pyrrhus

Source

• Born: 319 B.C.
• Birthplace: Epirus, Greece
• Died: 272 B.C.
• Best Known As: King of hellenistic Epirus whose gave up a lot to win

Pyrrhus inherited the throne of Epirus in Northern Greece around 306 B.C., and as a young man proved himself on the battlefield again and again. Pyrrhus apparently had great strategic skills, but he also had the reputation of not knowing when to stop. In 281 he went to Italy and defeated the Romans at Heraclea and Asculum, but suffered bitterly heavy losses. The devastation led to his famous statement, "One more such victory and I am lost" -- hence the term "Pyrrhic victory" for any victory so costly as to be ruinous.

For more information on Pyrrhus, visit Britannica.com.

Pyrrhus . 1. (319–272 BC), 1. king of Epirus in Greece from 307, second cousin of Alexander the Great. Pyrrhus was ousted from his throne in 302, but with the help of Ptolemy I of Egypt was restored in 297. He hoped to revive the empire of Alexander the Great and was at one time (286), after a successful war against Demetrius Poliorcetēs, the most powerful ruler in the European part of it, having secured Thessaly and a portion of Macedonia. But he was soon driven back to Epirus (283) by Lysimachus (one of the diadochoi, Alexander's ‘successors’). He then turned to the West and accepted the invitation of the Greek city of Tarentum in Italy to lead the Italian Greeks of Magna Graecia against Rome. He won battles in 280 and 279 with a large army and twenty elephants but was unable to establish himself in Italy. The expression ‘Pyrrhic victory’ to describe a victory gained at too great a cost alludes to an exclamation attributed to him after the battle of Asculum in 279 where he routed the Romans but lost the flower of his army: ‘One more such victory and we are undone.’ Pyrrhus then transferred his forces to Sicily, and by 277 had almost succeeded in expelling the Carthaginians from that island. He broke off the war there and returned to Italy. After an indecisive battle against the Romans at Beneventum (275), he withdrew to Epirus. Once again in 274 he attempted to conquer Macedonia, with some success, but was diverted to an attack on Sparta (272). He was killed in the same year in an attempt to seize Argos. A brilliant tactician, Pyrrhus was quick to take advantage of an opportunity but made no lasting gains. See also FABRICIUS.

2. Alternative name of the Greek hero Neoptolemus.

Contents 1 Modern use 2 Other uses 3 See also

Pyrrhus or Pyrrhos Πύῤῥος or Pyrros Πύρρος may refer to the following figures from Greek history and mythology:

• Pyrrhus or Neoptolemus, son of Achilles
• Pyrrhus of Epirus (318–272 BC), famous king, to whom the term Pyrrhic victory alludes
• Pyrrhus II of Epirus, late 3rd century BC, brother of Ptolemy
• Pyrrhus, son of Pantaleon, Elean king
• Pyrrho (360–270 BC), philosopher
• Pyrrhus of Thessalonica, fortificator of the city's walls (last epigraphical evidence of the name) (ca. 620–630 AD)
• Pyrrhus, architect who built the treasury of Epidamnians in Olympia, Greece, along with his sons Lacrates and Hermon
• Pyrrhus of Athens, 5th century BC sculptor mentioned by Pliny and an epigraphy in Acropolis
• Pyrrhus of Erythrae or Lesbos, poet mentioned by Theocritus

Modern use

• Pyrros Dimas (b. 1971), modern weightlifter

Other uses

• Pyrrhus of Therme (late 6th/early 5th c. BC) earliest epigraphical evidence
• Agathobulus FL Pyrrhus, a freedman whose name occurs in an inscription found at Pesaro

See also

• Pyrrhias, disambiguation page
• Pirro, disambiguation page

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)