Pyrrhus of Epirus
Pyrrhus of Epirus won two battles against Rome at a cost that gave the language a phrase. Born around 319 BC into the royal house of Epirus, he was smuggled out as an infant when his father was deposed, restored at twelve, deposed again, and fought at Ipsus at nineteen before being sent to Egypt as a hostage, where he married Ptolemy I's stepdaughter and obtained the backing to retake his kingdom. Hannibal is reported to have rated him the greatest commander who ever lived, or second only to Alexander. In 280 BC the Greek city of Tarentum in southern Italy, in conflict with Rome, asked for help. Pyrrhus crossed with some 25,000 men and twenty war elephants, which the Romans had never seen. He won at Heraclea in 280 BC, the elephants breaking the cavalry, and at Asculum in 279 BC. Plutarch records that when congratulated after the second he replied that another such victory would ruin him — his losses were irreplaceable at that distance from home, while Rome raised new legions from Italy. He then crossed to Sicily at the invitation of the Greek cities there, drove the Carthaginians back to Lilybaeum, and alienated his allies by governing autocratically. He returned to Italy and was fought to a standstill at Beneventum in 275 BC, and went home with about a third of the force he had brought. He invaded Macedon and then the Peloponnese, and was killed at Argos in 272 BC when an old woman threw a roof tile at him from a doorway and stunned him.
- Lived: 319 BCE – 272 BCE
- Nationality: Greek
- Roles: king, military_leader
