Pyrrhus

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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.

Pyrrhus (pĭr'əs), c.318-272 B.C., Molossian king of Epirus. He fought at Ipsus in Asia Minor in the service of Demetrius Poliorcetes (later Demetrius I) of Macedon, and by the aid of Ptolemy I he became (297 B.C.) joint king of Epirus with Neoptolemus. He removed (295) Neoptolemus from the throne, but before his kingdom was consolidated he went to war with Demetrius (291-286); Pyrrhus obtained half of Macedonia and Thessaly but was driven back (c.286) by Lysimachus. He then went to S Italy with a large force to aid the Tarentines and defeated (280) the Romans at Heraclea. In the same year Pyrrhus' peace proposals were rejected by the Romans. In 279 he again defeated the Romans at Asculum in Apulia. His heavy losses caused him to declare, "one more such victory and I am lost," thus the origin of the term "Pyrrhic victory." At Beneventum (now Benevento) he was barely defeated (275) by the Romans. He again attempted to conquer Macedonia, defeating (273) Antigonus II. Turning his attention suddenly to the Peloponnesus, he failed to take Sparta by siege. He then fled to Argos, where he was killed by a mob in the street. He accomplished nothing beyond bringing Epirus to ruin.

(pĭr'əs) , 319-272 B.C.

King of Epirus (306-302 and 297-272) who defeated the Romans at Heraclea (280) and Asculum (279) despite his own staggering losses.

See words rhyming with "Pyrrhus."

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