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A History of the Pyrrhic War A History of the Pyrrhic War A History of the Pyrrhic War explores the multi-polar nature of a conflict that involved the Romans, peoples of Italy, western Greeks, and Carthaginians during Pyrrhus’ western campaign in the early third century BCE. The war occurred nearly a century before the first historical writings in Rome, resulting in a malleable narrative that emphasized the moral virtues of the Romans, transformed Pyrrhus into a figure that resembled Alexander the Great, disparaged the degeneracy of the Greeks, and demonstrated the mal- icious intent of the Carthaginians. Kent demonstrates the way events were shaped by later Roman generations to transform the complex geopolitical realities of the Pyrrhic War into a one-dimensional duel between themselves and Pyrrhus that anticipated their rise to greatness. This book analyzes the Pyrrhic War through consideration of geopolitical context as well as how later Roman writers remembered the conflict. The focus of the war is taken off Pyrrhus as an individual and shifted towards evaluating the multifaceted interactions of the peoples of Italy and Sicily. A History of the Pyrrhic War is a fundamental resource for academic and learned general readers who have an interest in the interaction of developing imperial powers with their neighbors and how those events shaped the per- ceptions of later generations. It will be of interest not only to students of Roman history, but also to anyone working on historiography in any period. Patrick Alan Kent is an Adjunct Professor at Jackson and Mid-Michigan Colleges in Michigan, USA. His research interests include the development of Roman relations with the peoples of Italy in the fourth and third centuries BCE. Routledge Studies in Ancient History Titles include: Immigrant Women in Athens Gender, Ethnicity, and Citizenship in the Classical City Rebecca Futo Kennedy Truth and History in the Ancient World Pluralising the Past Edited by Lisa Irene Hau and Ian Ruffell Rome and Judaea International Law Relations, 162-100 BCE Linda Zollschan Banishment in the Later Roman Empire, 284-476 CE Daniel Washburn The Popes and the Church of Rome in Late Antiquity John Moorhead The Plight of Rome in the Fifth Century AD Mark Merrony Geopolitics in Late Antiquity The Fate of Superpowers from China to Rome Hyun Jin Kim Image and Reality of Roman Imperial War in the Third Century AD The Impact of War Lukas de Blois Sallust’s Histories and Triumviral Historiography Confronting the End of History Jennifer Gerrish A History of the Pyrrhic War Patrick Alan Kent https://www.routledge.com/classicalstudies/series/RSANHIST. A History of the Pyrrhic War Patrick Alan Kent First published 2020 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2020 Patrick Alan Kent The right of Patrick Alan Kent to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record has been requested for this book ISBN: 978-1-138-54382-9 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-351-00582-1 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Taylor & Francis Books For Alan, Connie, Josh, and April, without whom this would not have been possible. Contents Abbreviations viii Maps ix 1 Remembering the Pyrrhic War 1 2 Conflict and competition before Pyrrhus 22 3 The military campaigns of 280 and 279 BCE 41 4 The diplomatic negotiations of 280 and 279 BCE 62 5 In Sicily 82 6 A war ends 102 Epilogue 123 Bibliography 130 Index 136 Abbreviations CAH Cambridge Ancient History, 2nd ed. DH Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Antiquitates Romanae. FGrH Fragmente der griechischen Historiker. MRR Broughton, T.R.S. The Magistrates of the Roman Republic. New York, 1951. SIG Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum, 3rd ed. Maps Map 1 Italy in the early third century BCE x Maps Map 2 Sicily in the early third century BCE 1 Remembering the Pyrrhic War In the spring of 280 BCE, King Pyrrhus of Epirus surveyed a battlefield near the city of Heraclea in southern Italy. He had come to the peninsula to defend the city of Taras (later known as Tarentum) from attack and now faced Roman infantry pushing across the river that split the field. Resplendent in his armor, Pyrrhus cut a dashing figure. His purple cloak was accented with gold, his helmet unmatched in its workmanship. The king wanted to be seen at the head of his band of cavalry, commanding his men and, when necessary, entering the fray himself. Whenever his men faltered, Pyrrhus appeared at the head of his Companions to reinforce the line and inspire his men to stand strong. Thanks to his spirited efforts, the Epirote army withstood the assault and began to press the Romans back in turn. But Pyrrhus’ conspicuousness had not gone unnoticed on the opposite side of the fight where another man was watching closely. Oblacus Volsinius led his own band of Ferentani cavalry as a Roman ally. As Pyrrhus moved across the battlefield, Oblacus mirrored him, waiting for an opportunity. One of the king’s Companions, Leonnatus, noticed the Italian and warned the king that wherever he went Oblacus “watches you and keeps his eyes fixed on you.”1 Pyrrhus brushed off the caution, confident that the man would not be able to get close. But the pause to speak was all of the opening Oblacus needed; he had been hunting Pyrrhus, looking for a chance to fight him one-on-one. Killing the king of Epirus would bring him unequaled renown and would win the war in one fell blow. Tracking Pyrrhus was not difficult given his armor, but he had also always been in the thickest fighting and unreachable. Now Oblacus leveled his spear and charged. Pyrrhus had been wrong. Followed by his men, Oblacus made it through the king’s bodyguards. Luckily for the king, Leonnatus had heeded his own advice and reacted quickly. He swung his horse around and speared the Italian’s mount as he closed in. Even as he fell, Oblacus managed to kill Pyrrhus’ own horse, sending him to the ground as well. Some of Pyrrhus’ bodyguards snatched up their king and sped away from the threat. Robbed of his chance at glory and now surrounded by the rest of the king’s Companions, Oblacus did not go down easily, fighting defiantly to the end. After being wounded countless times, he finally collapsed. Seeing him fall, Oblacus’ loyal 2 Remembering the Pyrrhic War compatriots fought their way to his body and carried their fallen leader away in a final act of honor. For Pyrrhus, the encounter with Oblacus had shaken him. He felt vulner- able in his visibility. Fearing another attack on his person, the king switched armor with the more utilitarian set of his companion Megacles. Pyrrhus continued to reinforce his lines as needed, but now behind the protection of his men. His caution proved well founded as Megacles was killed by another man from the Roman army named Dexous, who had also been seeking Pyr- rhus. Believing himself triumphant, Dexous carried off Pyrrhus’ armor and cloak as confirmation of his death. The Romans went on the attack, inspired by the supposed death of the enemy leader. Realizing the danger, Pyrrhus cast off the plain helmet he was wearing to show his men that he lived. While the king’sefforts stabilized the situation, his men were still being pressed hard. The battle of Heraclea flowed back and forth, but in the end it was neither Pyrrhus nor those that hunted him that won the day. It was said to be a far more exotic factor. As the Roman attack was again brought to a standstill, they faced an unexpected threat. Pyrrhus had come to Italy with elephants, massive creatures with towers mounted on their backs, which charged into the Roman lines. The legionaries stood for a time, but could not face this unknown terror. Pyrrhus was merely a man, albeit one who could fight and lead with equally deadly skill, but it was the beasts that he unleashed that defeated the Romans. At the end of the day the king of Epirus owned the field of battle after a bloody fight that had nearly cost him his own life, but it had also come at a massive cost as he lost nearly as many men in the fighting as the Romans. The description of the battle of Heraclea is a gloriously heroic tale of combat that grips the reader, who is unsure of what is coming next. The flow of the fighting, with each side seemingly on the cusp of victory at various points, is unpredictable in its twists and turns. It is actually quite typical of the various episodes of the Pyrrhic War, which are full of intrigue, honor, virtue, and betrayal. It is all quite literally fantastic, and it is impossible to accept at face value.
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