Biography of Pyrrhus


Index

Pyrrhus. King of Epirus. Born about 318 B.C. Came to the throne in 306 B.C.; was expelled a few years later, but restored by the help of Ptolemy Soter in 295. Held the kingdom of Macedonia for a short time and, in 281, went to Italy to help Tarentum against the Romans. He was at first successful (through his elephants and the phalanx), but was finally defeated in 175. After this, he again mastered Macedonia, but was killed by a tile in a night attack on Argus in 272.