Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 3.djvu/626

Rh 614 PYRRHUS. short time before made a treaty with the Romans. Pyrrhus was foolish enough to reject this offer, which would have afforded him immense advan- tages for the prosecution of the war with Home ; and at the instigation of the Sicilian Greeks he refused to come to any terms with the Cartha- ginians unless they would evacuate Sicily alto- gether. Shortly after Pyrrhus received a severe pepulse in an attempt which he made upon the im- pregnable town of Lilybaeum. The prestige of success was now gone. The Greeks, who had in- vited him to the island, were desirous to see him depart, and began to form cabals and plots against him. This led to retaliation on the part of Pyrrhus, and to acts which were deemed both cruel and tyrannical by the Greeks. He was involved in plots and insurrections of all kinds, and soon became as anxious to abandon the island as he had been before to leave Italy. Accordingly, when his Italian allies again begged him to come to their assistance, he readily complied with their request. Pyrrhus returned to Italy in the autumn of B. c. 276. He was attacked by a Carthaginian fleet on his passage, and lost seventy of his ships of war, which he had obtained in Sicily ; and when he landed, he had to fight his way through the Mamertines, who had crossed over from Sicily to dispute his passage. He defeated them after a sharp struggle, and eventually reached Tarentum in safety. His troops were now almost the same in number as when he first landed in Italy, but very different in quality. His faithful Epeirots had for the most part fallen, and his present soldiers consisted chiefly of mercenaries, whom he had levied in Italy, and on whose fidelity he could only rely so long as he led them to victory, and supplied them with pay and plunder. Pyrrhus did not remain inactive at Tarentum, but forthwith com- menced operations, although the season seems to have been far advanced. He recovered Locri, which had revolted to the Romans ; and as he here found himself in great difficulties for want of money to pay his troops, and could obtain none from his allies, he was induced at the advice of some Epicureans to take possession of the treasures of the temple of Proserpine in that town. The ships in which the money was to be embarked to be carried to Tarentum, were driven back by a storm to Locri. This circumstance deeply affected the mind of Pyrrhus ; he ordered the treasures to be restored to the temple, and put to death the unfortunate men who had advised him to commit the sacrilegious act ; and from this time he became haunted by the idea, as he himself related in his memoirs, that the wrath of Proserpine was pur- suing him and dragging him down to ruin. (Dionys. xix. 9, 10 ; Appian, Samn. xii.) The following year, B. c. 274, closed the career of Pyrrhus in Italy. The consuls^ were Curius Dentatus and Servilius Merenda ; 'of whom the former marched into Samnium and the latter into Lucania. Pyrrhus advanced against Curius, who was encamped in the neighbourhood of Beneven- tum, and resolved to attack him before he was joined by his colleague. As Curius, however, did not wish to risk a battle with his own army alone, Pyrrhus planned an attack upon his camp by night. But he miscalculated the time and the distance ; the torches burnt out, the men missed their way, and it was already broad day-light when he reached the heighta above the Roman PYRRHUS. camp. Still their arrival was quite unexpected ; but as a battle was now inevitable, Curius led out his men. The troops of Pyrrhus, exhausted by fatigue, were easily put to the rout ; two elephants were killed and eight more taken. Encouraged by this success, Curius no longer hesitated to meet the king in the open plain. One wing of the Romans was victorious. The other was driven back by the phalanx and the elephants to their camp, but their retreat was covered by a shower of mis- siles from the ramparts of the camp, which so an- noyed the elephants that they turned round and trod down all before them. The Romans now returned to the charge, and easily drove back the enemy which had been thus thrown into disorder. The rout was complete, and Pyrrhus arrived at Tarentum with only a few horsemen. It was now impossible to continue the war any longer without a fresh supply of troops, and he therefore applied to the kings of Macedonia and Syria for assistance ; but as they turned a deaf ear to his request, he had no alternative but to quit Italy. He crossed over to Greece towards the end of the year, leaving Milo with a garrison at Tarentum, as if he still clung to the idea of returning to Italy at some future time. Pyrrhus arrived in Epeirus at the end of b. o. 274, after an absence of six years. He brought back with him only 8000 foot and 500 horse, and had not money to maintain even these without undertaking new wars. Accordingly, at the be- ginning of the following year, b. c. 273, he invaded Macedonia, of which Antigonus Gonatas, the son of Demetrius, was at that time king. His army had been reinforced by a body of Gallic mercenaries, and his only object at first seems to have been plunder. But his success far exceeded his expectations. He obtained possession of several towns without re- sistance ; and when at length Antigonus advanced to meet him, the Macedonian monarch was deserted by his own troops, who welcomed Pyrrhus as their king. Pyrrhus thus became king of Macedonia a second time, but had scarcely obtained possession of the kingdom before his restless spirit drove him into new enterprises. Cleonymus had many years before been excluded from the Spartan throne ; and he had recently received a new insult from the family which was reigning in his place. Acrotatus, the son of the Spartan king Areus, had seduced Chelidonis, the young wife of Cleonymus, and the latter, now burning for revenge, repaired to the court of Pyr- rhus, and persuaded him to make war upon Sparta. This invitation was readily complied with : and Pyrrhus accordingly marched into Laconia in the following year, B. c. 272, with an army of 25,000 foot, 2000 horse, and 24 elephants. Such a force seemed irresistible ; no preparations had been made for defence, and king Areus himself was absent in Crete. As soon as Pyrrhus arrived, Cleonymus urged him to attack the city forthwith. But as the day was far spent, Pyrrhus resolved to defer the attack till next day, fearing that his soldiers would pillage the city, if it were taken in the night. But during the night the Spartans were not idle. All the inhabitants, old and young, men and wo- men, laboured incessantly in digging a deep ditch opposite the enemy's camp, and at the end of each ditch formed a strong barricade of waggons. The next day Pyrrhus advanced to the assault, but was repulsed by the Spartans, who fought under their youthful leader Acrotatus in a manner worthy of their ancient courage. The assault was again re-