Pyrrhus of Epirus
Pyrrhus | |
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Argos, Peloponnese , Greece | |
Spouse | |
Issue |
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Aeacidae | |
Father | Aeacides |
Mother | Phthia |
Religion | Hellenism |
Military career | |
Battles/wars |
Pyrrhus (
Pyrrhus became king of Epirus in 306 BC at the age of 13, but was dethroned by Cassander four years later. He saw action during the Wars of the Diadochi and regained his throne in 297 BC with the support of Ptolemy I Soter. During what came to be known as the Pyrrhic War, Pyrrhus fought Rome at the behest of Tarentum, scoring costly victories at Heraclea and Asculum. He proceeded to take over Sicily from Carthage but was soon driven out, and lost all his gains in Italy after the Battle of Beneventum in 275 BC.
Pyrrhus seized the Macedonian throne from Antigonus II Gonatas in 274 BC and invaded the Peloponnese in 272 BC. The Epirote assault on Sparta was thwarted, however, and Pyrrhus was killed during a street battle at Argos.
Etymology
The Latinized Pyrrhus derives from the Greek Pyrrhos (
Early life
In c. 319 BC, Pyrrhus was born to prince Aeacides of Epirus,[13] and Phthia, a Thessalian noblewoman, the daughter of the Thessalian general Menon. Aeacides was a cousin of Olympias, making Pyrrhus a second cousin to Alexander the Great. He had two sisters: Deidamia and Troias. In 319/318 BC, Arrybas, Aeacides' father and the regent of Epirus, died leaving Epirus to the joint kings Aeacides and Neoptolemus.
Aeacides supported Olympias in her fight against
By 313 BC, Cassander was distracted by his war against
First reign
In 307 BC, Glaukias invaded Epirus and put Pyrrhus on the throne. Pyrrhus was only eleven years old, so his guardians ruled in his stead until he came of age.[16] When he was seventeen he travelled to the court of Glaukias in Illyria to attend the wedding of one of Glaukias' sons. While he was in Illyria the Molossians rose in rebellion, drove out Pyrrhus' supporters, and returned Neoptolemus to the throne. This time Glaukias was unable to help him.[17]
Exile
Pyrrhus travelled to the Peloponnese and served his brother-in-law Demetrius Poliorcetes who had married his sister Deidamia, and who was campaigning against Cassander in southern Greece.
The Battle of Ipsus
In 302 BC, Demetrius took his army to Asia Minor to support his father Antigonus Monophthalmus. Pyrrhus impressed Antigonus for he is reputed to have said that Pyrrhus would become the greatest general of his time, if he lived long enough.[18]
Antigonus had grown too powerful and the other successors, Seleucus, Lysimachus, Ptolemy and Cassander, had united against him. Lysimachus and Seleucus, reinforced by two of Cassander's armies, had concentrated their forces in Asia Minor and marched on Antigonus. Both armies met at Ipsus in Phrygia. The Battle of Ipsus was the largest and most important battle of the Wars of the Successors. Pyrrhus probably fought with Demetrius on the right wing, a place of honour, and made a brilliant display of valour among the combatants. Despite these brave efforts, Antigonus lost both the battle and his life. Demetrius, victorious on his wing, managed to escape with 9,000 men, and Pyrrhus continued to serve his brother-in-law as he started rebuilding Antigonus' empire.[19]
Ptolemy
In 298 BC, Pyrrhus was taken hostage to
Second reign
Pyrrhus returned to Epirus at the head of an army, but not willing to fight a civil war he agreed to rule Epirus together with Neoptolemus. Soon both kings started to plot against one another. Pyrrhus was informed of a plot against his life and decided to strike first. He invited his fellow king to a dinner and had him murdered. The act does not appear to have been unpopular as Epirus' nobility seem to have been devoted to him.[21]
In 295 BC, Pyrrhus transferred the capital of his kingdom to
While he was back in Epirus, Pyrrhus suffered another setback. His second wife,
Pyrrhus had the bulk of the army of Epirus with him, probably 20,000–25,000 men, while Pantauchus commanded but a detachment of Demetrius' army consisting of around 11,000 men. The fighting was heavy, and according to the sources Pantauchus and Pyrrhus sought out one another. Pantauchus challenged Pyrrhus to individual combat, and Pyrrhus accepted. After hurling spears at each other they fought it out with swords. Pyrrhus was wounded, but in return wounded his opponent twice, in the thigh and in the neck. Pantauchus' bodyguards had to carry him away. Emboldened by their king's victory, the Epirotes resumed their attack and broke Pantauchus' army, and took 5,000 prisoners. The army then honoured Pyrrhus by bestowing the surname of 'Eagle' upon him. Demetrius, upon hearing of Pyrrhus's victory, marched back to Macedon. Pyrrhus released his prisoners and marched back to Epirus.[24]
In 289 BC, Pyrrhus, learning that Demetrius was dangerously ill, invaded Macedonia. His original intention was merely to raid and pillage, but with Demetrius unable to lead his forces he met almost no opposition. Pyrrhus penetrated as far as the old Macedonian capital of Aegae before Demetrius was well enough to take the field. Since Demetrius commanded a superior force, Pyrrhus had no choice but to retreat.[25]
Demetrius, just as restless as Pyrrhus, planned to invade Asia and reclaim his father's old domains. He first made peace with Pyrrhus granting him his holdings in Macedonia while holding on to Corcyra and Leucas, then he started to raise a vast army and a huge fleet.[26] Faced with this threat, the other Diadochi Lysimachus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus allied against him. The three kings sent embassies to Pyrrhus trying to win him over to their side or at least get him to remain neutral. If the allies won and Pyrrhus remained neutral he would gain nothing. If on the other hand Demetrius would be victorious he could overwhelm Pyrrhus at any time in the future. Pyrrhus's personal enmity against Demetrius might have played an additional role in his decision to join the allies.[27]
In 288 BC, the allied kings began their campaigns against Demetrius. Ptolemy sailed against Demetrius's Greek allies with a large fleet. Lysimachus invaded upper Macedonia from Thrace. Pyrrhus waited until Demetrius had marched against Lysimachus and then invaded southern Macedonia. Demetrius must have thought that Pyrrhus would not renege on his treaty, because western and southern Macedonia fell without opposition. Meanwhile, Demetrius had won a victory over Lysimachus near Amphipolis. When the Macedonian army heard that their homeland was being overrun by Pyrrhus, they turned on Demetrius. They were fed up with his autocratic rule and grandiose plans and refused to advance any further. Demetrius then led his army against Pyrrhus, probably hoping that his Macedonians would be more willing to fight a foreign invader rather than Lysimachus, a veteran of Alexander. Unfortunately for Demetrius, his troops were so fed up with him that they deserted to Pyrrhus and he had to flee. Lysimachus was soon joined by Pyrrhus and they decided to share rulership over Macedonia.[28]
Demetrius gathered a new army in Greece and besieged Athens, which had rebelled against the puppet government he had installed. The Athenians called on Pyrrhus for assistance and he marched against Demetrius once more. This caused Demetrius to raise the siege. The Athenians thanked Pyrrhus by erecting a bust to him and allowing him into the city for the celebrations. However, they did not allow his army to enter the city, probably fearing Pyrrhus would install a garrison and make himself overlord of Athens. Pyrrhus made the most of the situation and advised the Athenians never to let a king enter their city again.[29]
Pyrrhus and Demetrius made peace once more but, like all previous agreements, it did not last. When Demetrius, in 286 BC, invaded Asia in order to attack Lysimachus's Asian domains, Lysimachus requested that Pyrrhus invade Thessaly and from there attack Demetrius' garrisons in Greece. Pyrrhus agreed, probably in order to keep his fractious Macedonian troops busy and less likely to rebel and also to gain an easy victory over the weakened Antigonids.
In 285 BC, Demetrius was defeated by Seleucus. This freed the hands of Lysimachus who decided to get rid of his co-ruler in Macedonia. He first isolated Pyrrhus from his traditional ally the Ptolemies, by marrying
Struggle with Rome
The Greek city of
Pyrrhus entered Italy with an army consisting of 20,000 infantry, 3,000 cavalry, 2,000 archers, 500 slingers, and 20 war elephants in a bid to subdue the Romans.[6] The elephants had been loaned to him by Ptolemy II Philadelphus, who had also promised 9,000 soldiers and a further 50 elephants to defend Epirus while Pyrrhus and his army were away.
Due to his superior cavalry, his elephants and his deadly
When Pyrrhus invaded
Ruler of Sicily
In 278 BC, Pyrrhus received two offers simultaneously. The Greek cities in
In 278 BC, soon after disembarking his army in Sicily, he lifted the Carthaginian Siege of Syracuse. Pyrrhus was proclaimed king of Sicily. He was already making plans for his son Helenus, a grandson of Agathocles of Syracuse through his mother, to inherit the kingdom of Sicily and his other son Alexander to be given Italy. In 277 BC, Pyrrhus captured Eryx, the strongest Carthaginian fortress in Sicily. This prompted the rest of the Carthaginian-controlled cities to defect to Pyrrhus.
In 276 BC, Pyrrhus negotiated with the Carthaginians. Although they were inclined to come to terms with Pyrrhus, supply him money and send him ships once friendly relations were established, he demanded that Carthage abandon all of Sicily and make the Libyan Sea a boundary between themselves and the Greeks. The Greek cities of Sicily opposed making peace with Carthage because the Carthaginians still controlled the powerful fortress of
These actions were deeply unpopular and soon Sicilian opinion became inflamed against him. Pyrrhus had so alienated the Sicilian Greeks that they were willing to make common cause with the Carthaginians. The Carthaginians took heart from this and sent another army against him. This army was promptly defeated. In spite of this victory, Sicily continued to grow increasingly hostile to Pyrrhus, who began to consider abandoning Sicily. At this point, Samnite and Tarentine envoys reached Pyrrhus and informed him that of all the Greek cities in Italy, only Tarentum had not been conquered by Rome. Pyrrhus made his decision and departed from Sicily. As his ship left the island, he turned and, foreshadowing the Punic Wars, said to his companions: "What a wrestling ground we are leaving, my friends, for the Carthaginians and the Romans."[41][42] While his army was being transported by ship to mainland Italy, Pyrrhus' navy was destroyed by the Carthaginians at the Battle of the Strait of Messina, with 98 warships sunk or disabled out of 110.
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Coin of Pyrrhus minted at Syracuse, 278 BC. Obverse: Veiled head of Phtia with oak wreath, caption ΦΘΙΑΣ (of Phtia). Reverse: Thunderbolt, ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΠΥΡΡΟΥ (of King Pyrrhus).
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Pyrrhos, King of Epeiros, 297–272 BC. Head of Zeus in wreath of oak / Demeter seated, holding long sceptre and her veil; caption ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΠΥΡΡΟΥ (of king Pyrrhus).
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Coin of Pyrrhus, Kingdom of Epirus Head of Kore left, wreathed with grain, long torch behind / Athena Alkis advancing left, brandishing spear in right hand & holding shield on left arm, star before face, thunderbolt in left field, E in right field; inscription BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΠYΡΡOY (of King Pyrrhus).
Retreat from Italy
While Pyrrhus had been campaigning against the Carthaginians, the Romans had rebuilt their army by calling up thousands of fresh
As a result the attack was repulsed, with Pyrrhus losing half of his elephants.[45] The next day the Romans took the initiative of the attack. Their initial attack, thanks to the cunning of Pyrrhus and the strong resistance of the Epirotes, failed. However a second wave frightened the elephants – possibly with flaming arrows – causing them to rush against the Epirotes. The latter left the battlefield in disorder, and Pyrrhus had no choice but to withdraw from the battle.
After this inconclusive battle, Pyrrhus decided to end his campaign in Italy and return to Epirus which resulted in the loss of essentially all the gains he had made in Italy. Only the city of Tarentum remained under the dominion of the Epirotes.[46]
Last wars and death
His western campaign had taken a heavy toll on his army as well as his treasury. Despite (or perhaps because of) this, Pyrrhus went to war yet again.[47] The realm of his rival king Antigonus Gonatas of Macedon was the most obvious target. Pyrrhus raised an army from his Epirote garrisons, Gallic mercenaries and the troops he had brought back from Italy and marched east into Macedon. He won an easy victory at the Battle of the Aous and took most of Macedon.[48]
Antigonus managed to hold on to a number of coastal cities.[49] He then waited for an opportunity to reclaim his kingdom while Pyrrhus was already looking for another war to fight. Furthermore, Pyrrhus made himself very unpopular in Macedon by allowing his Gauls to plunder the tombs of the Macedonian kings at Aegae.[50]
In 272 BC, Cleonymus, a Spartan of royal blood who was hated among fellow Spartans, asked Pyrrhus to attack Sparta and place him in power. Pyrrhus agreed to the plan, intending to win control of the Peloponnese for himself, but unexpected strong resistance thwarted his assault on Sparta. On the retreat he lost his firstborn son Ptolemy, who had been in command of the rearguard.
Pyrrhus had little time to mourn, as he was immediately offered an opportunity to intervene in a civic dispute in Argos. Since Antigonus Gonatas was approaching too, he hastened to enter the city with his army by stealth, only to find the place crowded with hostile troops. During the confused Battle of Argos in the narrow city streets, Pyrrhus was trapped. While he was fighting an Argive soldier, the soldier's old mother, who was watching from a rooftop, threw a tile which knocked him from his horse and broke part of his spine, paralyzing him. Whether he was alive or not after the blow is unknown, but his death was assured when a Macedonian soldier named Zopyrus, though frightened by the look on the face of the unconscious king, hesitantly and ineptly beheaded his motionless body. This story is later recounted by Plutarch in his Life of Pyrrhus.[51]
Antigonus had him cremated with all honours and sent his surviving son Helenus back to Epirus. That same year, upon hearing the news of Pyrrhus's death, the Tarentinians surrendered to Rome.
Legacy
In his Life of Pyrrhus, Plutarch records that Hannibal ranked him as the greatest commander the world had ever seen,[4] though in the Life of Titus Quinctius Flamininus, Plutarch writes that Hannibal placed him second after Alexander the Great. This latter account is also given by Appian.[52] While he was a mercurial and often restless leader, and not always a wise king, he was considered one of the greatest military commanders of his time.
Pyrrhus was known for his benevolence. As a general, Pyrrhus's greatest political weaknesses were his failures to maintain focus and to maintain a strong treasury at home (many of his soldiers were costly mercenaries).
The concept of a monarch having a touch that could heal all wounds may have originated with Pyrrhus. As Pliny the Elder states, Pyrrhus' great toe on his right foot cured diseases of the spleen by merely touching the patient. His toe could also not be burned so when his body was cremated, his toe was put in a coffer, and kept at an unknown temple.[53]
Pyrrhus lends his name to the term "Pyrrhic victory", which stems from a statement he is alleged to have made following the Battle of Asculum. In response to congratulations for winning a costly victory over the Romans, he is reported to have said: "If we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we shall be utterly ruined".[39] The term Pyrrhic Victory has therefore come to signify a victory that was won at such cost that it loses all worth.
Pyrrhus and his campaign in Italy provided the Greek world with an opportunity to check the advance of Rome further into the Mediterranean. The failure to fully exploit this opportunity while Rome was still only an Italian regional power had immense consequences. The conquest of
Pyrrhus wrote memoirs and several books on the art of war. These have since been lost, although, according to Plutarch, Hannibal was influenced by them,[4] and they received praise from Cicero.[55]
Pyrrhus was married five times: his first wife Antigone bore him a daughter called
References
Citations
- ^ ISBN 978-1-5267-1015-4.
- ^ Hackens 1992, p. 239; Grant 2010, p. 17; Anglin & Hamblin 1993, p. 121; Richard 2003, p. 139; Sekunda, Northwood & Hook 1995, p. 6; Daly 2003, p. 4; Greene 2008, p. 98; Kishlansky, Geary & O'Brien 2005, p. 113; Saylor 2007, p. 332.
- ^ Hammond 1967, pp. 340–345; Hammond has argued convincingly that the Epirotes were a Greek-speaking people.
- ^ a b c d Plutarch. Parallel Lives, "Pyrrhus".
- ^ a b Encyclopædia Britannica ("Epirus") 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f Encyclopædia Britannica ("Pyrrhus") 2013.
- ^ Borza 1992, p. 62.
- ^ Jones 1999, p. 45; Chamoux 2003, p. 62; American Numismatic Society 1960, p. 196.
- ^ Malalas, Chronography, § 8.208
- ^ Milton, John and W. Bell. 1890. Milton's L'allegro, Il Penseroso, Arcades, Lycidas, Sonnets Etc. London and New York: Macmillan and Co, p. 168; Smith, William. 1860. A New Classical Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography, Mythology and Geography. New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, p. 729; Tytler, Alexander Fraser. 1823. Elements of General History. Concord, NH: Isaac Hill, p. 102.
- ^ a b O'Hara 2017, p. 106.
- ^ Beekes 2010, s.v. πυρρός.
- ^ At Pyrrhus' birth in 319 BC, Aeacides was only a prince and his father, Arrybas, ruled Epirus as a regent to the underaged King Neoptolemus.
- ^ Wilkes 1992, p. 124.
- ^ a b Champion 2009, p. 12.
- ^ Justin, Epitome, 17.3.
- ^ Champion 2009, p. 14; Glaukias' kingdom was being attacked by pirates.
- ^ Champion 2009, p. 15.
- ^ Champion 2009, pp. 14–17.
- ^ Champion 2009, p. 18.
- ^ Plutarch. Life of Pyrrhus, 5.
- ^ Champion 2009, p. 32; Demetrius commanded the full might of the Macedonian army which at that particular time was much larger than the army of Epirus.
- ^ Champion 2009, p. 32.
- ^ Champion 2009, pp. 33–34.
- ^ Champion 2009, p. 34.
- ^ Reputedly raising 110,000 soldiers and 500 ships.
- ^ Champion 2009, pp. 34–35.
- ^ Champion 2009, pp. 35–36.
- ^ a b Champion 2009, p. 37.
- ^ Plutarch. Pyrrhus, 12; Plutarch. Demetrius, 41.
- ^ In 301 BC, at the Battle of Ipsus, Lysimachus had fielded 40,000 troops. Since then he had acquired half of Macedonia and western Asia Minor. With these combined assets his army could have numbered over 70,000 troops. Pyrrhus commanded 40,000 troops at best.
- ^ Champion 2009, pp. 37–39; Greenwalt 2010, p. 298: "From 288 until 284, Pyrrhus and Lysimachus shared the rule of Macedonia until the latter drove the former back to Epirus (Plut., Pyrrhus 7–12)."; Pausanius. Guide to Greece, 1.7.
- ^ Hackens 1992, pp. 20-21: "When, however, a Roman fleet sailed into the Tarentine Gulf (perhaps in order to place a garrison in Thurii) and thereby violated the terms of a treaty probably made at the time of Cleonymus, Tarentum responded swiftly … "
- ^ a b "Pyrrhus". Encarta. Microsoft Corporation. 2008.
- Marcus Junianus Justinus, Epitome of Trogus, 17.2
- ^ "History of Liberty: The Ancient Romans" (1853), p. 6.
- ^ Plutarch. Parallel Lives: Pyrrhus, 17.4.
- ^ Champion 2009, pp. 75–76.
- ^ a b Plutarch. Parallel Lives: Pyrrhus, 21.9.
- ^ Garouphalias 1979, pp. 97–108.
- ^ Garouphalias 1979, pp. 109–112.
- ^ Plutarch. Parallel Lives: Pyrrhus, 23.6.
- ^ Plutarch. Life of Pyrrhus, §25
- Roman Antiquities, 20.10
- ^ Dionysius of Halicarnassus. Roman Antiquities, 20.12
- ^ Plutarch. Life of Pyrrhus, §26
- ^ The easiest way for a king to raise funds was to invade his neighbours.
- ^ Champion 2009, pp. 125–128; Plutarch. Life of Pyrrhus, 26.
- ^ He had inherited a powerful navy from his father, Demetrius.
- ^ Champion 2009, p. 128.
- ^ "Plutarch • Life of Pyrrhus".
- ^ Appian. History of the Syrian Wars, §10 and §11.
- ^ Pliny, Naturalis Historia, 2.111
- ^ Pausanias, 7.16
- ^ Tinsley 2006, p. 211.
- ^ a b Bennett 2010.
Sources
- American Numismatic Society (1960). Numismatic Literature, Issues 50-57. American Numismatic Society.
- Anglin, Jay Pascal; Hamblin, William James (1993). HarperCollins College Outline World History to 1648. New York, NY: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-467123-2.
- Bennett, Chris (2010). "Antigone (Egyptian Royal Genealogy - The Ptolemaic Dynasty)". Tyndale House.
- Borza, Eugene N. (1992). In the Shadow of Olympus: The Emergence of Macedon (Revised ed.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-00880-9.
- Champion, Jeff (2009). Pyrrhus of Epirus. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Books Limited. ISBN 978-1-84468-282-9.
- Chamoux, François (2003). Hellenistic Civilization. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 0-631-22242-1.
- Daly, Gregory (2003). Cannae: The Experience of Battle in the Second Punic War. New York, NY and London, UK: Routledge (Taylor & Francis). ISBN 0-203-98750-0.
- Encyclopædia Britannica ("Epirus") (2013). "Epirus". Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
- Encyclopædia Britannica ("Pyrrhus") (2013). "Pyrrhus". Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
- Garouphalias, Petros (1979). Pyrrhus: King of Epirus. London, UK: Stacey International. ISBN 0-905743-13-X.
- Grant, R. G. (2010). Commanders: History's Greatest Military Leaders. New York, NY: DK Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7566-7341-3.
- Greene, Robert (2008). The 33 Strategies of War. London, UK: Penguin Books Limited. ISBN 978-0-14-311278-5.
- Greenwalt, William S. (2010). "Macedonia, Illyria, and Epirus". In Roisman, Joseph; Worthington, Ian (eds.). A Companion to Ancient Macedonia. Oxford, Chichester, & Malden: Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 279–305. ISBN 978-1-4051-7936-2.
- Hackens, Tony, ed. (1992). The Age of Pyrrhus: Papers Delivered at the International Conference, Brown University, 8–10 April, 1988 (Archaeologia Transatlantica XI). Providence, RI: Center for Old World Archaeology and Art, Brown University.
- Hammond, Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière (1967). Epirus: The Geography, the Ancient Remains, the History and the Topography of Epirus and Adjacent Areas. Oxford: The Clarendon Press.
- Jones, Christopher Prestige (1999). Kinship Diplomacy in the Ancient World. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-50527-1.
- Kishlansky, Mark A.; Geary, Patrick; O'Brien, Patricia (2005). Civilization in the West (Volume 1, Parts 1-12). London, UK: Pearson Longman. ISBN 0-321-23621-1.
- O'Hara, J. J. (2017). True Names: Vergil and the Alexandrian Tradition of Etymological Wordplay. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0472036875.
- Pausanias, Description of Greece, Book 7 7
- Richard, Carl J. (2003). Twelve Greeks and Romans who Changed the World. Oxford, UK: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Incorporated. ISBN 0-7425-2791-3.
- Saylor, Steven (2007). Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-32831-3.
- Sekunda, Nick; Northwood, Simon; Hook, Richard (1995). Early Roman Armies. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532-513-6.
- Tinsley, Barbara Sher (2006). Reconstructing Western Civilization: Irreverent Essays on Antiquity. Selingsgrove, PA: Susquehanna University Press. ISBN 1-57591-095-0.
- Winkes, John (1995) [1992]. The Illyrians. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers Limited. ISBN 0-631-19807-5.
- Wilkes, Rolf (1992). "The Pyrrhus Portrait". In Hackens, Tony (ed.). The Age of Pyrrhus, Proceedings of an International Conference held at Brown University April 8–10, 1988 (Archaeologia Transatlantica XI). Providence, RI: Center for Old World Archaeology and Art, Brown University. pp. 175–188.
Further reading
- Abbott, Jacob (1901). Makers of History: Pyrrhus. New York and London: Harper & Brothers Publishers.
- Cowan, Ross (2009). Roman Conquests: Italy. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Books Limited. pp. 103–147. ISBN 978-1-84-415937-6.
- Cowan, Ross (2007). For the Glory of Rome: A History of Warriors and Warfare. London: Greenhill Books. pp. 15–77. ISBN 978-1-85-367733-5.
- Franke, P. R. (1989). "CHAPTER 10 PYRRHUS". In Astin, A. E.; Walbank, F. W.; Frederiksen, M. W.; Ogilvie, R. M.; Drummond, A. (eds.). The Cambridge Ancient History: The Rise of Rome to 220 BC. Vol. VII, Part 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 456–485. ISBN 0-521-23446-8.
- Leveque, Pierre (1957). Pyrrhos. Paris: E. de Boccard.
External links
- Pyrrhus of Epirus on Livius.org
- Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911. .