Pyrrhus was king of the Greek tribe of Molossians in Epirus by hereditary right, but for most of his life he struggled with rival claimants in a collateral line. He was related to Olympias, mother of *Alexander the Great, and attempted to equal or rival Alexander as a world conqueror.
At the age of seventeen, while temporarily out of power in Epirus, he joined with *Demetrius I Poliorcetes and was with him at the Battle of Ipsus in 301 and was later placed in command of various Greek holdings by him.
He later transferred his allegiance to *Ptolemy I. When *Cassander died in 297, Pyrrhus was called to aid one of his sons against his brother, as was Demetrius. Demetrius murdered the young man and proclaimed himself king of Macedonia, a position that Pyrrhus also coveted.
In 286 he joined with Lysimachus and Ptolemy to drive Demetrius from Macedonia and agreed to share rule of Macedonia with Lysimachus. He was, however, driven out by Lysimachus in 283 after the death of Demetrius in Asia. While frequently in conflict with Antigonus II Gonatas, son of Demetrius, Pyrrhus was looking for new opportunities and found one in a request for aid from the city of Tarentum in south Italy, which had entered a war with Rome.
Pyrrhus is most famous for his war against the Romans (282-274), in which he won several battles but at great cost in casualties, which he could not easily replace.
On being congratulated by his staff for another victory, he is said to have remarked, “One more such victory and I am finished”—hence the term “Pyrrhic victory.”
He removed most of his forces to Sicily to respond to requests for help, and to seek further conquests, but was ultimately unsuccessful. He returned to Italy briefly and finally withdrew to Epirus in 274.
He acquired another army, mostly Gauls as mercenaries, and invaded Macedonia and temporarily drove Antigonus II Gonatas to the seacoast. But while plundering the countryside, his Gauls desecrated royal tombs at Aegae (modern Verghina) and enraged the local population. It was an opportune time for Pyrrhus to seek yet another opportunity for conquest, this time against Sparta, ostensibly aiding an exiled king. Sparta defended itself vigorously, and aid from Macedonia at the last minute caused Pyrrhus to withdraw. In the meantime, a faction in the city of Argos sought his aid; the other faction sought help from Antigonus.
During fierce fighting in the city, Pyrrhus was hit on the head by a roof tile thrown by an old woman who observed her son in danger from Pyrrhus. While he was stunned, a Macedonian soldier recognized him and attempted (sloppily) to cut off his head; the severed head was presented to Antigonus.
Pyrrhus’ soldiers admired him for his boldness and considerable combat skills, while rivals universally considered him one of the best generals who ever lived.
Demetrius came with an army and installed himself as King of Macedonia.5 Demetrius and Pyrrus now clashed because their kingdoms were adjacent. Both men were infected with that innate disease of leaders: the urge to expand their authority. Now that Pyrrhus' sister (Demetrius' wife) was dead, there was nothing to prevent a war.
Demetrius invaded Epirus, and Pyrrhus marched out to meet him, but the two armies missed each other. Instead of Demetrius, Pyrrhus encountered the army that Demetrius had left behind in Macedonia under the command of Pantauchus. The combat was sharp, especially where the two leaders were. Pantauchus, who was the best fighter Demetrius had, challenged Pyrrhus to meet him man-to-man, and Pyrrhus accepted. The two armies paused to watch the duel. Both of them were strong and skilled martial artists. First, Pyrrhus and Pantauchus used their spears, and then they came to close range and drew their swords. Pyrrhus took one wound, but he returned two for it: one in the thigh and one in the neck of Pantauchus. Pyrrhus could not kill him because Pantauchus' friends rescued him when he fell, but the men of Epirus, exulting in the victory of their king, tore apart the Macedonian phalanx, killed many as they ran away, and took 5,000 prisoners.
The older Macedonians who had seen Pyrrhus in combat remarked that he looked and fought just like Alexander. Instead of being enraged by their defeat, they admired this young warrior king. Other kings might counterfeit Alexander's majesty with their guards and their royal insignia, but only Pyrrhus could match Alexander's valor. After the battle with Pantauchus, Pyrrhus returned home with a great reputation. The people of Epirus hailed him as "The Eagle." To this, Pyrrhus replied: "It is because of you that I am an eagle, because your arms are my wings."
Demetrius was sick, so Pyrrhus went into Macedonia and nearly took the whole kingdom when large numbers of the Macedonians deserted to him. Pyrrhus decided not to risk a showdown with Demetrius but to make a treaty instead. Demetrius was also willing to make peace because he did not want to be tied down with a struggle against Pyrrhus when he could be out winning rich cities from other kings.
Demetrius collected an army of 100,000 men and a navy of 500 ships. It was clear from the magnitude of his preparations that he intended to conquer a large territory. The kings around him knew very well what Demetrius was up to, so they contrived to keep him occupied close to home. Letters and ambassadors went from these kings to Pyrrhus, advising him that Demetrius, once he had developed a strong and practiced army, would be coming back to finish him off, so he should take advantage of the fact that Demetrius was now busy in the north.
But what may have been even more persuasive to Pyrrhus was the fact that Demetrius had taken one of Pyrrhus' wives, Lanassa, and along with her the island of Corcyra. After Antigone died, Pyrrhus had married several more times to enlarge his power. For her dowry, Lanassa brought the island of Corcyra. She had become jealous of the attention that Pyrrhus paid to his other wives, so she went to Corcyra and invited Demetrius to come and get her. Demetrius also installed a garrison to take control of the island -- an important part of Pyrrhus' kingdom. So while Demetrius was busy defending his northern border, Pyrrhus invaded Macedonia from the south.
In a dream, Pyrrhus saw Alexander sick in bed. Alexander promised to help with his name, even though his body was too sick to fight. This vision encouraged Pyrrhus, so he and his men moved on and took Beroea, an important city in the south of Macedonia. The army of Demetrius was seething with mutiny because of Demetrius' luxurious living, neglect of justice, and imperious manner. Demetrius decided that it would be better to take these discontented soldiers away from the north, where they might desert to other Macedonian commanders, and go with them to the south to fight Pyrrhus, who was to them a foreigner.
Many men came from Beroea to Demetrius' army, praising Pyrrhus as an invincible warrior, who was kind to his prisoners. Pyrrhus also sent some agents, who pretended to be Macedonians. These spies spread the suggestion that now the time had come to be liberated from the harsh rule of Demetrius by joining Pyrrhus, who was a gracious friend of soldiers. Before long, the whole Macedonian army wanted a look at Pyrrhus. One day, Pyrrhus came riding near them, but no one recognized him until he put his helmet on, which had a high crest and goat's horns. The Macedonians cheered and left their ranks to unite their fortune to that of Pyrrhus. As his army crumbled in mutiny, Demetrius put on a disguise and sneaked off to safety. 6 And so, without fighting, Pyrrhus became King of Macedonia [286 B.C.].
Lysimachus, who had harassed Demetrius in the north, proposed that Macedonia be divided between himself and Pyrrhus. Pyrrhus consented because he was not sure of the loyalty of his new Macedonian subjects. For the present, this partition prevented more war, but it was not so much a peaceful settlement as a reason for future quarrels. When two such ambitious men are neighbors -- both being the slaves of vast desires that not even oceans or mountains can limit -- they are always naturally at war. They use the words "peace" and "war" as they have need of them, and not as justice would indicate. They are really better men when they openly fight, instead of giving the names of "friendship" and "justice" to what is no more than the lack of opportunity to injure.
Pyrrhus made a peace treaty with Demetrius, who went off to conquer in Syria. But as soon as Demetrius was gone, Pyrrhus induced Demetrius' Thessalian subjects to revolt. Pyrrhus also besieged some of Demetrius' cities. He had found that it was easier to keep the loyalty of the Macedonians when he kept them busy with war, and Pyrrhus had a nature that was uncomfortable at rest.
After Demetrius had been defeated in Syria, Lysimachus launched a surprise attack on Pyrrhus and seized his supplies, causing a great scarcity of provisions in Pyrrhus' army. Then, by bribes, rumors and appeals to Macedonian chauvinism, he persuaded the leaders of the Macedonians to renounce their allegiance to Pyrrhus (who was not a Macedonian) and come over to him. So Pyrrhus was compelled to return to Epirus [283 B.C.], and he had nothing to do there but rule his own kingdom in peace.
