Have you ever heard the term “pyrrhic victory”? You know, a victory so painful—in terms of casualties taken or war material lost—that it more closely resembles a defeat. Ever wondered from where that term derived?
281 B.C. found a young Roman Republic fast consolidating its hold over the Italian Peninsula. Defeating those pesky Samnites and Lucanians the previous year, Roman legions moved ever south, until they ran into Greek colonies. They quickly took the Greek cities of Croton and Rhegium and seemed intent upon establishing control over the entirety of what had been for a long time called Magna Graecia. The city of Tarentum, split politically but fearful of Roman intent nonetheless, found itself on the chopping block, so-to-speak, and reached out to a young, but powerful leader for assistance; King Pyrrhus of Epirus*.
Pyrrhus had assumed the Macedonian throne at the age of thirteen, but was soon forced to abdicate by Cassander just four years into his reign. Already considered King of the Molossians, he later was crowned King of Epirus, in modern day Albania. Scheming to retrieve his Macedonian crown, Pyrrhus came up with a round-about way to get it done. He’d simply defeat Rome and Carthage, seize both Magna Graecia and Sicily, then return home at the head of an absolute wrecking ball of an army. The call for help from Tarentum played right into that incredible master plan.
Realistic or not, this was the course of action to which King Pyrrhus committed both himself and his veteran army. That said, even then, taking on Rome was not to be considered lightly and he appealed to patrons as far away as Macedonia and Egypt for troops and material support. He also recruited Thessalian cavalry and Rhodian archers and slingers. Cleary, Pyrrhus had some serious connections! His plan, however, rested upon receiving reinforcement from the recently defeated Samnites and Lucanians, both perennially willing to fight against Rome.
While all these plans and preparations took place, however, the Romans struck, seizing Tarentum in 281 and carrying away much plunder. Willing to sign a peace treaty with Rome following the loss of their principal city, negotiations were called off when the lead elements, just 3,000 men, of Pyrrhus’s army arrived on Italian soil.
The Romans braced themselves for another round of fighting, likely never expecting the scope and intensity of the campaign which followed. In July of 280, at the head of just 35,500 men—including 20 war elephants—Pyrrhus moved against the gathering Roman army, taking up a position on one bank of the Siris River not far from the city of Heraclea. The Roman Consul Publius Valerius Laevinus had roughly 42,000 men at his disposal, with more in a separate force under Tiberius Coruncanius preventing the Samnites and Lucanians from joining the invading Epirote army. Confident Rome had isolated the intruding force, Laevinus moved in for the kill, setting up camp across the Siris.
At dawn, the Romans formed up for battle and crossed the river. Considered the first real encounter between legions and the Macedonian-style pike phalanx, each side made seven attacks with neither able to pierce the heavy infantry line of the other. Having kept his elephants in reserve all day, Pyrrhus committed them directly into the Roman cavalry on his flank. Appalled at the sight and sound of the huge, armored beasts, the Roman horses fled, causing panic and then rout amongst the weary legions, leaving the field to the victorious Epirotes. Pyrrhus had won his first victory against Rome inflicting some 15,000 casualties on the Republic. Yet his victory at Heraclea had cost him 11,000 of his own, a rate of loss he could not maintain while on enemy soil.
Still, Pyrrhus had a plan, and after receiving Greek reinforcements from Southern Italy, he aimed his army straight for the heart of the beast, Rome itself. The Romans retreated before him and Pyrrhus took many towns in Campania and Latium, plundering as he went. Two days’ march from Rome the Epirotes met the fresh troops of Coruncanius. Fearful that Laevinus and his force were circling around behind him, Pyrrhus wisely withdrew. But instead of marching back through the path of destruction his men had already cut, he instead headed east into unscathed Apulia.
Again, Pyrrhus took many towns. Still others capitulated without a fight and he placed his troops into winter quarters near Asculum. In the Spring of 279, then, the Romans moved to Asculum and constructed their camp opposite the Epirote king. By this time Pyrrhus’s army had swollen to some 40,000 men and the Romans faced him with a roughly equal force. Accounts of the battle vary widely, but what appears true is that Pyrrhus was again victorious, potentially swapping 15,000 casualties on each side in the process. It’s at this point that Pyrrhus supposedly made the statement that left his name with us forever, “If we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we shall be utterly ruined.”
Twice he’d fought the Romans and twice prevailed, but at what cost? He’d already lost 26,000 men and yet Rome showed no sign whatsoever of negotiating for peace. And Pyrrhus had his great mission, didn’t he? As his army rested, the king received a call for help from Greek colonies on Sicily and, sensing better opportunity there, abandoned his allies in Southern Italy to the mercy of the now very angry Romans.
Still, Pyrrhus was no slouch and over the course of a three-year campaign conquered all of Carthaginian Western Sicily before failing to take the city of Lilybaeum by siege in 278. In an attempt to press his victories with an invasion of the Carthaginian homeland, he ordered the construction of a massive fleet. In the process, however, he treated his Greek allies in Sicily poorly and they rebelled, forcing him to return to Southern Italy. Yet again, Pyrrhus’s ambition seemed to know no bounds and once ashore, he launched his diminished force toward Rome.
During his three-year absence, however, the Romans had worked hard to put an end to any future Samnite threat and won multiple victories over the tough hill people. This meant that, unlike at Asculum, Pyrrhus would receive no support from the Samnites this time around. Nearing Beneventum, Pyrrhus approached two separate Roman armies and he likewise split his army in two. But the force he led became disarrayed passing through a dense forest and emerged bedraggled on the far side within striking range of the intended Roman target.
The leader of that Roman army, Manius Curius Dentatus, recognized the opportunity for what it was and launched his legions at Pyrrhus as the Epirote force hastily ordered itself. The veteran Epirote troops managed to hold their ground until a wounded elephant calf panicked and began stridently calling for its mother. This caused the pachyderm mom to absolutely lose it and, plunging back through friendly lines, caused great disarray.
Casualties in the confused Battle of Beneventum are difficult to assess but may have amounted to roughly fifty percent of each force. Yet this time Pyrrhus had no choice but to leave the battlefield to the Romans and, gathering his forces, he returned to Epirus.
The experience made a lasting impression upon the Romans as the lessons they learned fighting Pyrrhus would come in handy in the coming Punic Wars with Carthage. Yet Pyrrhus was far from satisfied … and still working off his original plan of conquest.
Characterizing all that he’d accomplished in Italy and Sicily as evidence of his own greatness, he marched on Macedon, seizing the throne in 274. Two years later, the most famous military commander of his time, he led the Epirote-Macedonian army south into the Greek Peloponnese. His assault on Sparta itself was only thwarted when the great general was killed in vicious street fighting at the Battle of Argos.
Dead at the age of 47, Pyrrhus nonetheless left behind a military legacy worthy of study, if not quite emulation. He’d fought all the heavy hitters of his time, Rome, Carthage, Macedonia, and Sparta, causing fear and a great deal of bloodshed everywhere his royal sandal trod. Yet his enduring legacy remains—at least in the English language—a synonym for unsustainable success.
M. G. Haynes
* If you’re interested in learning more about the Epirotes, I highly recommend “Forgotten People of the Ancient World” by Phillip Matyszak. Available in both paperback and ebook formats, it provides a wonderful introduction to many of the ancient world’s most fascinating disappeared civilizations.