The heroes and legends of the Iliad and the Odyssey inspired many great individuals throughout
the ancient world, and these people played a great role in influencing history. Pyrrhus
of Epirus was no exception. His adventures and conquests around Greece, Italy and Sicily
during the early Hellenistic age gained him a reputation for martial prowess which was
unmatched in history, and his benevolence to his people and soldiers ensured that he
would be remembered fondly by his adversaries and friends alike, while his rashness would
make him a lesson for others. Welcome to our four-part series on Pyrrhus, King of the Epirots.
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In the aftermath of Alexander the Great’s death in 323 BC, his empire fragmented and
was fought over by his generals. His mother Olympias, whose grandson now sat on the throne
of Macedon, was threatened by the son of Antipater; Cassander. Olympias, being a Molossian herself,
allied herself with King Aeacides of Epirus and marched with him to reconquer Macedon.
However by 317 BC, she had lost popular support due to her ruthlessness and Cassander now
decided to take advantage. He pushed north and invaded Macedon from Greece,
gaining victory and having Olympias killed. In this triumph, a part of the Epirot army
had rebelled against Aeacides and ousted him, declaring Neoptolemus II as king instead.
Many of the deposed king’s allies and family were killed, but his son, the three-year-old
Prince Pyrrhus, was spirited away towards Megara on the eastern border of Epirus.
His family had sympathizers in the town, but he was not safe from Cassander. Because of
this, the prince’s guardians fled north into Illyria, where they took refuge in the
court of Glaucias, King of the Illyrians, who pitied the young Prince and took him in.
He also possibly did this for several practical reasons, either because he decided a claimant
to the Epirot throne was more valuable to him than Cassander’s possibly empty promises,
or because his wife was also a Molossian, and convinced him to spare her kin. Not long
after, Cassander invaded Illyria and defeated Pyrrhus’ guardian in battle. He pledged
to do no harm to the allies of Cassander in the region, but retained Pyrrhus at his court.
In southern Greece, the forces of Antigonus I and Cassander were battling, which weakened
the Macedonian king’s control. The deposed Aeacides decided to take advantage of this
weakness, and marched back into Epirus where he quickly gathered a large army. Cassander
sent his brother Philip to deal with him, who quickly won two battles against and killed
the Epirot king. Pyrrhus’ father was dead and the usurper
Neoptolemus was back on the throne. After another round of fighting in Epirus and a
peace between the Diadochi, Glaucias invaded Epirus in 307 BC, drove out Neoptolemus and
installed the 11-year-old Pyrrhus as king, whose kingdom was now essentially a client
of the Illyrians. Six years later, Pyrrhus travelled north to
attend the wedding of Glaucias’ son, but the Molossians once again revolted and overthrew
Pyrrhus. Disgusted at his dependence on the Illyrians, they once again summoned Neoptolemus
placed him on the throne. This time, Glaucias could not help Pyrrhus, and he instead withdrew
to southern Greece and the court of Demetrius Poliorcetes, son of Antigonus I, who had married
Pyrrhus’ sister Deidameia. He then travelled with his new companion to Asia, where they
rendezvoused with Antigonus. Under these two kings, Pyrrhus’ learned much in terms of
generalship and siege warfare. Antigonus supposedly acknowledged his talents, stating that Pyrrhus
would be the greatest general of his time, if he lived long enough. This assertion would
soon be tested for the first time. In 301 BC, the 80,000 strong forces of Lysimachus
and Seleucus faced off against the 80,000 strong army of Antigonus and Demetrius at
the decisive Battle of Ipsus. At the age of 18, this was Pyrrhus’ first experience of
a major battle and he would prove to be a competent fighter. As a young aristocrat,
he likely fought in the cavalry alongside his brother-in-law Demetrius on the right
flank. Sources do not give many details, but they say that though he was still a youth,
he routed the enemy in front of him and was courageous in the melee. Nevertheless, the
Antigonids lost the battle and Pyrrhus managed to escape with Demetrius to Greece. Pyrrhus
was then tasked with commanding the remaining Antigonid allies in Greece while his superior
travelled to Thrace in order to make war with Lysimachus.
In 298 Demetrius made peace with Ptolemy I, who had solidified his position as the ruler
of Egypt. As a part of the peace terms, Pyrrhus was sent to Egypt as a hostage, which was
more of a position as an honoured guest than a prisoner in the ancient world. The new arrival
impressed the court in Alexandria with his strength and prowess, both in hunting and
during military exercises. His years in exile both with the Illyrians
and Demetrius seem to have made him skillful at ingratiating himself with those he resided
with. After a few months, Pyrrhus was permitted to marry Ptolemy’s stepdaughter Antigone,
tying him closer with the court in Egypt. In 297 Cassander died, and the Egyptian ruler
provided Pyrrhus with soldiers and money so that he might reclaim his Kingdom. He came
to terms with Neoptolemus and both decided to share royal power. Predictably, both kings
immediately began plotting. After a conspiracy by Neoptolemus was uncovered, Pyrrhus invited
him to dinner and assassinated his co-ruler, becoming the undisputed king of Epirus for
decades to come. Like the other Hellenistic rulers, Pyrrhus
would soon attempt to expand his kingdom at the expense of his neighbors, and he would
use the Epirote army to do this. Thucydides [thu’sididees] describes the typical fifth
century army of Epirus as a tribal levy; disorganised, brave when things were going their way, but
quick to dishearten and flee at any setback. However, it is clear that Epirus was influenced
by the reforms in the Macedonian army to its east. Their infantry fought in the close order
Sarissa Phalanx and the cavalry fought with lances, similar to Alexander’s companions.
At the start of his reign, it is probable that this new modern army of Pyrrhus had a
total of 20,000 to 25,000 troops, and was a match for almost any of his contemporaries.
In the tumultuous struggle for the throne after the death of the former king, Pyrrhus
was drawn into a civil war between Cassander’s sons: the eldest Antipater and the youngest
Alexander. Their mother Thessalonice favoured Alexander and split the kingdom between them.
However, Antipater was not satisfied with this and killed their mother, seizing the
whole of the country in 294 BC. In return for Stymphea and Parauaea in Macedon,
and Ambracia [am’braysha], Acarnania and Amphilochia in Greece, Pyrrhus agreed to help
Alexander. After securing these new territories with garrisons, he conquered the rest of Macedonia
and handed it over to Alexander. Lysimachus, who had been petitioned by Antipater to help,
advised the two kings to come to terms, and so they did, while Pyrrhus withdrew back to
Epirus. This was not the end of it. Demetrius, who
had been campaigning against the Spartans, now marched north and eventually murdered
Alexander after a feast. Then he assembled the Macedonian army and proclaimed that he
was the rightful claimant to the throne, and that Cassander and his sons were the murderers
of Alexander the Great’s family, whereas his own house had followed Alexander’s legacy
and attempted to keep it alive. This won the Macedonians over, and they acclaimed him the
new king. By the end of 294 BC, Demetrius controlled
a powerful empire, consisting of the entirety of Greece with the exceptions of Sparta, Messenia
and Pyrrhus’ kingdom, with which he now shared a border with. The former master and
apprentice would be rivals for years to come. Meanwhile, Pyrrhus’ wife Antigone died in
childbirth, and he embarked on a series of political marriages which gained him the island
of Corcyra [hard c both times]. The Greek cities revolted against the Macedonian
king twice in 293 BC. Encouraged by this, Pyrrhus invaded the western part of his neighbor’s
kingdom with around 30,000 troops and exacted tribute from a few cities. Responding almost
immediately, Demetrius marched against Pyrrhus with a vastly superior army, and so he retreated
into Epirus before the Macedonians could bring them to battle.
Before leaving to besiege Thebes, Demetrius left a 11,000-strong garrison under his best
general - Pantauchus. While he was back in Epirus, Pyrrhus’ wife Lanassa the daughter
of Agathocles of Syracuse, deserted him and offered herself and Corcyra to Demetrius,
stating that she could no longer bear sharing her with home Pyrrhus’ other “barbarian”
wives. Without any navy to oppose his former comrade, Pyrrhus sat back and allowed Demetrius
to take both Corcyra and Leucas. This was just a prelude to his future plans.
Being just as restless and ambitious at Pyrrhus, Demetrius now attacked Epirus’ Aetolian
allies in 289, neutralising them and leaving Pantauchus to occupy them before marching
into Epirus. He marched north through the mountain passes to invade Ambracia, while
Pyrrhus, hearing of the invasion, quickly assembled a force to oppose Demetrius and
marched south down the coastal road. However, as the two armies were now on different roads,
they passed one another by. While the unopposed invader now plundered
the Epirote countryside, Pyrrhus encountered the 10,000 strong Macedonian force of Pantauchus
which had been left to garrison Aetolia. The army of Epirus likely numbered around 20,000
soldiers and heavily outnumbered their enemy. It is probable that, due the veteran nature
of the soldiers, Pantauchus’ reputation as Demetrius’ most competent commander and
the mountainous terrain of Aetolia, the battle was evenly matched despite Pyrrhus’ numerical
advantage. The Macedonians held firm despite the heavy fighting.
During this melee the two commanders sought one another out, and Pantauchus challenged
the Epirote King to individual combat. Pyrrhus, not being one to yield to anyone in daring
and prowess, accepted this challenge. After first throwing their spears at one another,
the two combatants dueled with swords. Pyrrhus was wounded first, but then quickly gave Pantauchus
two wounds in return, one on the thigh and then the deciding wound to the neck. Demetrius’
general was then carried away by his bodyguards, and being inspired by their commander’s
victory, the Epirote phalanx cut their enemy to pieces, killed many in the pursuit and
captured 5,000 prisoners, whom Pyrrhus promptly released.
This was Pyrrhus’ first victory as a commander and he had conducted himself in a brilliant
manner, both in his generalship of the army and his personal courage in the duel. His
army, jubilant with victory, now gave him the title ‘Eagle’ - a moniker which would
remain with Pyrrhus throughout his life and future conquests. The Epirote king, in an
act of humility to his soldiers, stated ‘Through you I am an eagle, for how should I not be
when I have your arms to sustain me?’. In addition, the defeated Macedonians now had
a high opinion of Pyrrhus and his skill in arms, a fact that would play a part in the
wars to come. Our series on Pyrrhus is just starting and
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