It seems that only in military history is it possible to read an academic work that. Doughty provides an essay on sources rather than a conventional bibliography. Abraham lincoln raved that this series of historical biographies. Pyrrhus makers of history library of congress classification. A pyrrhic victory is a victory which is only achieved with heavy losses on ones own side. By 279 bc, pyrrhus had achieved two victories against the romans. His early victories at heraclea and asculum were so hardfought that a pyrrhic victory still. He was one of the strongest opponents of early rome. Pyrrhus was one of the most tireless and famous warriors of the hellenistic age that followed the dispersal of alexander the greats brief empire.
This is where he would state his famed comment of pyrrhic victory. The history of pyrrhus by jacob abbott nook book ebook. The original pyrrhic victory came courtesy of pyrrhus of epirus, a greek king who was undone by his costly battles against the romans. He is soon to be embroiled again in his dealings with the great power, macedonia, and his onetime friend, demetrius. The project gutenberg ebook of pyrrhus, makers of history. Several of his victorious battles caused him unacceptably. Albeit the reader gets treated on some fairly detailed descriptions of battles and battle tactics. Go to sicily, or return to epirus, where he would simultaneously be presented with a golden opportunity to sweep in and finally take the macedonian throne for himself and face an untested enemy in the celts. Pyrrhus was the son of aeacides and a second cousin of alexander the great. The expression pyrrhic victory has a long history that goes back to the third century bc and is related to the king pyrrhus of epirus 319 bc 272 bc. Some of his battles, though successful, cost him heavy losses, from which the term pyrrhic victory was coined. The pyrrhic war 280275 bc was a series of military conflicts involving the greek states epirus, macedonia and the citystates of great greece in southern italy, romans, italic peoples primarily samnites and etruscans, and carthage in the composition of various political alliances. Well the entire region is in an uproar with ptolemy keraunos death and the celts storming into greece. The battles were part of the pyrrhic war between the wellknown general pyrrhus of epirus and the fledgling roman state.
The term pyrrhic victory is named for the ancient ruler of epirus, king pyrrhus, who went down in history for winning a string of major battles against rome and carthage but still losing the war he was fighting. Upon finishing the book i was compelled to investigate this amazing historical character and. Pyrrhus biography birthday, trivia greek royalty who2. His memoirs and books on the art of war were quoted and praised by many ancient. If you will look again at the map of italy, you will see that the apennine mountains run from the northwestern part in a great curve through the peninsula. His early victories at heraclea and asculum were so hardfought that a pyrrhic victory still means one gained at crippling cost. His father lost his throne when pyrrhus was two years old and he took refuge with the illyrians. The phrase pyrrhic victory originates from king pyrrhus of epirus, who in b.
This book is a good general presentation of the military career of pyrrhus of epirus targeted at the general reader as opposed to the historian. Pyrrhus, born 319 bce died 272, argos, argolis, king of hellenistic epirus whose costly military successes against macedonia and rome gave rise to the phrase pyrrhic victory. Pyrrhic victory is a victory or success that comes at the expense of great losses or costs. As was the style at the time he took not only warriors with him but cultivated men to discourse with. The life and legacy of one of the ancient worlds most famous generals. As he was the victor, he remained on the battlefield, and on the next day he walked all over it. After the battle, pyrrhus is recorded to have commented. He is immortalized as the ferocious, daring leader who lost everything he gained in life and everything he loved in death. Pyrrhic victory is solidly founded on primary sources, culled both from archives and the volumes of the french official history. Pyrrhus apparently had great strategic skills, but he also had the reputation of not knowing when to stop. Pyrrhus of epirus download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. One more victory like this, and i shall have to go home without any army. The story of the man behind the phrase pyrrhic victory.
Pyrrhus was a greek general and statesman of the hellenistic era. The pyrrhic war began as a minor conflict between rome and the city continue reading pyrrhic war 280. This is an example of one such book, jeff champions pyrrhus of epirus is a very. This volume, dating from 1854, covers pyrrhus of epirus 318bc272 bc, one of the fiercest enemies of ancient rome, including his wars in macedon and italy and his experience at the battle of asculum, from which we take the term pyrrhic victory. The kingdom of epirus was thus very near to, and in some respects dependent upon, the kingdom of macedon. Pyrrhus of epirus audiobook by charles river editors. The consul publius decius mus was the roman commander, and while his able force was ultimately defeated, they almost managed to break the back of pyrrhus epirot army, which guaranteed the security of the city itself. Page 1 france insists upon the execution of the treaty it is not solely because it is a contract. Pyrrhus makers of history by abbott, jacob and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Gathering both greek and italian allies into a very large army which included war. His memoirs and books on the art of war were quoted and praised by many ancient authors, including cicero upon becoming ruler at the age of 12, pyrrhus allied himself with demetrius, son of antigonus i.
It is mostly wellwritten although it suffers, at times, from some oversweeping and oversimplified statements such as light infantry being generally ineffectual. If we win another such battle against the romans, we. He served as an officer, in the wars of the diadochi, under his brotherinlaw demetrius poliorcetes. Pyrrhus of epirus by jeff champion is infinitely readable, and is the first book i have read by this particular author. In fact, the public affairs of the two countries, through the personal relations and connections which subsisted from time.
Book excellence awards honors ian crouchs historical. He was king of the greek tribe of molossians, of the royal aeacid house from c. Pyrrhus is certainly one of the better known characters of antiquity, known as one of the first eastern potentates to clash with rome to mixed result. It is the result of ausculum where the term pyrrhic victory is attributed. At the end of the battle, estimates of 6,000 roman and 3,500 epirote casualties left pyrrhus in command of the field, but again at great cost. At both battles, the epirote also inspired his men with his charismatic leadership. Out of our population of less than 38,000,000 there were mobilized 8,500,000. A pyrrhic victory is a victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that it is tantamount. An engagement taking place soon after, pyrrhus, when on the point of fleeing, got the victory by means of his elephants, at the sight of which the romans, to whom they were strange, were greatly terrified. The phrase pyrrhic victory is named after king pyrrhus of epirus, whose army suffered irreplaceable casualties in defeating the romans at heraclea in 280 bc. After invading italy in 280, he defeated the romans at asculum in 279, but sustained heavy losses. The phrase a pyrrhic victory is often used to denote a win that costs the victor more than the loser, but few have any notion of how the term came into use. The history of pyrrhus by jacob abbott download ebook. He has written numerous articles on hellenistic warfare for specialist journals such as slingshot, the journal of the society of ancients.
A pyrrhic victory is a victory won at too great a cost. King pyrrhus landed on the southern italian shore in tarentum of magna graecia with 20 elephants and 25,000 to 30,000 soldiers ready to defend their fellow greek speakers against advancing roman domination. Pyrrhus was recognized as one of the greatest leaders of his time and as one of the strongest opponents of early rome. The country of epirus, as will be seen by the accompanying map, was situated on the eastern shore of the adriatic sea, and on the southwestern confines of macedonia. Although this book is primarily a narrative history, any course of historical events cannot be understood in isolation. A pyrrhic victory following up from the awardwinning first volume of this trilogy, the shaping of destiny, pyrrhus is now comfortable in his role of king of epirus. Indeed, it would probably come as a surprise to many that it derives from a remark made by pyrrhus of epirus after a battle in which he had defeated his roman enemies at asculum. Otl afaik pyrrhus, after a lackluster campaign against rome, considered two options. When pyrrhus invaded apulia 279 bc, the two armies met in the battle of asculum, where pyrrhus won a costly victory. Someone who wins a pyrrhic victory has also taken a heavy toll that negates any true sense of achievement or damages longterm progress. The pyrrhic war 280275 bc was a war fought by pyrrhus, the king of epirus. Pyrrhus of epirus has always been one of antiquitys characters that fascinated me. Click download or read online button to get pyrrhus of epirus book now. Pyrrhus won a victory, but he was obliged to pay for it very dearly, and lost so many soldiers that he was heard to exclaim.
Pyrrhus met opposition at asculum, both sides double their previous number and nearly equivalent at 70,000 infantry, 8,000 cavalry, and others, with 300 roman wagons of various ingenious designs created to counter the triumphant war elephants. Hist elephants epig epirots epirus fabricius forces gesch gonatas greece greek griech heraclea hermes hieronymus historians holds that pyrrhus inscription italy judeich justinus kienast king klio klotzsch klotzsch ibid koinon laevinus lanassa legions leveque ibid livy. Pyrrhus of epirus, renowned for his bravery, insatiability, and vain clashes against the major powers of the time. Collection gutenberg contributor project gutenberg language english. This has led to the expression pyrrhic victory, a term for a victory that inflicts losses the victor cannot afford in the long term. These three battles are lumped together because they represent the collective origin of the phrase pyrrhic victory. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Afterall pyrrhus was one of the first eastern potentates to take on rome. In the third century bc, the king pyrrhus invaded italy and began a war with the roman empire, upsetting the romans in. According to plutarch, when congratulated on his victory, pyrrhus replied that one other such victory would utterly undo him. Modern historical consensus gives the breach of the treaty mentioned by appian and the raising of the. A pyrrhic victory refers to one that comes at such a cost that it threatens to destroy the victor. At heraclea, pyrrhus had been significantly outnumbered.
Within a hundred years after the gauls destroyed rome, the romans ruled all the lands around the. In his life, he sought to emulate the deeds of his kinsman of alexander the great, and proved an able commander, named by hannibal as second only to alexander among the great captains of the day. After inheriting the throne as a boy, and a period of exile, he began a career of alliances and expansion, in particular against the regions rising power. King pyrrhus landed on the southern italian shore in tarentum of magna graecia with 20 elephants and 25,000 to 30,000 soldiers. The highly researched book was chosen by the international book awards competition over hundreds of entries from around the world, noting its highquality writing, design, and market appeal. Jeff champion is a customs and excise officer in australia. Both successes were widely lauded for pyrrhus military ability. This alludes to the battle of ausculum ascoli satriano, in apulia. Where does the expression pyrrhic victory come from. The book is written in a readable manner an laid out in chronological order. Abridgement of roman historybook ii wikisource, the. He set out from his little state of epirus, greece, to conquer the world. In business, examples of such a victory could be succeeding at a hostile takeover bid or winning a.
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