An outline, era by era

Pyrrhic War; Rome against Pyrrhus of Epirus (280 – 275 BCE)

Classical Antiquity · ~500 BCE – ~500 CE

The Pyrrhic War (280 to 275 BCE) was fought in southern Italy and Sicily between the Roman Republic and Pyrrhus, king of Epirus in northwest Greece. Pyrrhus came to help the Greek city of Tarentum (modern Taranto), which was in conflict with Rome. He brought a trained Hellenistic army with war elephants, and he won hard-fought battles at Heraclea and Asculum, though at heavy cost. He then crossed to Sicily to fight Carthage, returned to Italy, and was beaten at Beneventum in 275 BCE.

The war matters because it was Rome's first clash with a Greek army of the Hellenistic type. Pyrrhus left Italy, Tarentum fell to Rome, and by about 265 BCE Rome controlled nearly the whole peninsula south of the Po valley. Rome's new rule over the Greek cities of the south drew it into the wider Mediterranean, and it soon came into conflict with Carthage in the First Punic War. The phrase 'Pyrrhic victory', for a win that costs too much, comes from this war.

Things happened, and the rest is history

  1. Rome's conquest of central Italy and the quarrel with Tarentum

    Event

    What happened

    By about 290 BCE Rome has defeated the Samnites after decades of war and controls much of central Italy through alliances and colonies. In 282 BCE Roman ships enter the Gulf of Tarentum, in what Tarentines regard as a breach of an older agreement, and the Tarentines attack them. Rome's envoys are insulted, and war follows. Tarentum, outmatched on land, asks Pyrrhus of Epirus for help.

    The rest is history

    The quarrel brought Rome into direct conflict with the Greek cities of southern Italy for the first time on this scale. Historians debate how far Rome was seeking expansion and how far it was drawn in by requests from allied Greek cities such as Thurii. What is clear is that Rome's growing reach in Italy made a clash with Tarentum likely. Tarentum's appeal to Pyrrhus turned a local dispute into a war with a major Hellenistic power, and the Epirote army landed in Italy in 280 BCE.

    Sources

    1. BookCornell, T. J. The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 BC). London: Routledge, 1995.Covers Rome's expansion in Italy and the Tarentine quarrel.
    2. PrimaryPlutarch. Life of Pyrrhus. Greek biography, c. 100 CE. Loeb Classical Library, Lives, vol. 9.Main narrative source for Pyrrhus's invitation and campaigns.
    3. BookLévêque, Pierre. Pyrrhos. Paris: De Boccard, 1957.Standard scholarly biography of Pyrrhus, in French.

  2. Heraclea and Asculum

    Event

    What happened

    In 280 BCE Pyrrhus defeats a Roman army under the consul Publius Valerius Laevinus at Heraclea in southern Italy, helped by his elephants, which the Romans have not faced before. In 279 BCE he wins again at Asculum in Apulia, but with heavy losses. Rome does not accept peace terms, and Pyrrhus is unable to replace his casualties as easily as Rome can.

    The rest is history

    The two battles showed that Rome could lose a fight and still keep its alliance network and manpower. Ancient writers say Pyrrhus remarked that another such victory would ruin him, but this saying is reported only by later authors, so its wording is uncertain. Pyrrhus's costly wins gave rise to the term 'Pyrrhic victory'. Unable to force Rome to a settlement, he looked elsewhere for gains and in 278 BCE crossed to Sicily.

    Sources

    1. PrimaryPlutarch. Life of Pyrrhus. Greek biography, c. 100 CE. Loeb Classical Library, Lives, vol. 9.Chapters on Heraclea and Asculum.
    2. BookLazenby, J. F. and others, eds. The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume 7, Part 2: The Rise of Rome to 220 B.C. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989.Chapter on Pyrrhus and Rome.
    3. BookChampion, Jeff. Pyrrhus of Epirus. Barnsley: Pen and Sword, 2009.

  3. Pyrrhus in Sicily and the return to Italy

    Event

    What happened

    In 278 BCE Pyrrhus accepts an appeal from Greek cities in Sicily threatened by Carthage and crosses the strait. He wins several successes and drives Carthage back to its stronghold at Lilybaeum, but fails to take it. Sicilian Greek support fades, and in 276 BCE he returns to Italy, where his position has weakened.

    The rest is history

    The Sicilian campaign left Pyrrhus unable to make lasting gains and cost him support among the Greeks. It also drew Carthage and Rome onto the same side for a time, since the two had already made an agreement against him. Ancient sources report that he is said to have left Sicily with regret at leaving it to Carthage and Rome. His return to Italy set up the final battle at Beneventum, and within a generation Rome and Carthage would be at war with each other over Sicily.

    Sources

    1. PrimaryPlutarch. Life of Pyrrhus. Greek biography, c. 100 CE. Loeb Classical Library, Lives, vol. 9.Account of the Sicilian expedition.
    2. BookLancel, Serge. Carthage: A History. Oxford: Blackwell, 1995.Carthaginian side of the Sicilian campaign.

  4. Beneventum and the fall of Tarentum

    Event

    What happened

    In 275 BCE Pyrrhus is defeated by the consul Manius Curius Dentatus near Beneventum, in Samnite territory. He withdraws to Epirus, leaving a garrison at Tarentum. He dies in 272 BCE in street fighting at Argos in Greece, and Tarentum surrenders to Rome that same year.

    The rest is history

    With Pyrrhus gone, the Greek cities of the south had no protector left. Tarentum fell in 272 BCE, and in the following years Rome subdued the remaining Samnite, Lucanian and Bruttian resistance and took the southern Italian ports. By about 265 BCE Rome was the dominant power in the Italian peninsula. This brought it into contact with Sicily and Carthage, and the First Punic War began in 264 BCE.

    Sources

    1. PrimaryPlutarch. Life of Pyrrhus. Greek biography, c. 100 CE. Loeb Classical Library, Lives, vol. 9.Beneventum and Pyrrhus's death at Argos.
    2. BookCornell, T. J. The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 BC). London: Routledge, 1995.

  5. The wise Fabricius and the doctor who offered poison

    Folk tale

    The legend

    The Roman envoy Gaius Fabricius visits Pyrrhus to negotiate for prisoners. Pyrrhus tries to bribe him with gold, and then tries to frighten him by hiding an elephant behind a curtain, but Fabricius is not moved. Later Pyrrhus's physician offers to poison the king for the Romans, and Fabricius warns Pyrrhus instead. Pyrrhus is said to have praised Rome's honour and sent the prisoners home.

    The rest is history

    Fabricius was a real Roman statesman, consul in 282 and 278 BCE, and he is known to have taken part in diplomacy with Pyrrhus. But the anecdotes come from writers such as Plutarch, Dionysius of Halicarnassus and Cicero, centuries after the events. Romans told them to show the old virtues of incorruptible leaders. The details of the bribe, the elephant and the poisoner cannot be checked. Plutarch's Life of Pyrrhus, written around 100 CE, is the fullest surviving version.

    Sources

    1. PrimaryPlutarch. Life of Pyrrhus. Greek biography, c. 100 CE. Loeb Classical Library, Lives, vol. 9.Fabricius and the elephant, and the poisoner.
    2. PrimaryCicero. De Officiis. Latin treatise, 44 BCE. Loeb Classical Library.Mentions Fabricius's refusal of Pyrrhus's offers.

  6. The Pyrrhic victory

    Popular belief

    The legend

    After winning at Asculum, Pyrrhus is said to have looked over the battlefield and said, 'One more such victory and we are lost.' Today the phrase 'Pyrrhic victory' is used for any win that costs the winner nearly everything.

    The rest is history

    The saying is not in any source written at the time. It appears in Plutarch and in other later writers, with different wording, so it may be a later summary of the battle's cost rather than a quotation. The idea, though, rests on the real situation. Pyrrhus fought far from home, with a limited pool of soldiers, against an enemy whose alliance system could replace its losses. English use of 'Pyrrhic victory' is recorded from the 19th century.

    Sources

    1. PrimaryPlutarch. Life of Pyrrhus. Greek biography, c. 100 CE. Loeb Classical Library, Lives, vol. 9.Source of the saying, in the account of Asculum.
    2. BookChampion, Jeff. Pyrrhus of Epirus. Barnsley: Pen and Sword, 2009.

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