025: Pyrrhus - Wars with the Diadochi & Westward Ho!

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Hi there, you're listening to the Hellenistic Age Podcast, episode 25, Pyrrhus part 2, Wars with the Diadohoi and Westward Ho, 296 to 280 BC. When we last left the story, our protagonist, King Pyrrhus, had recovered his throne of Molossia in Epirus and eliminated his rival king, Neoptolemus II, in a rather convoluted plot. Despite the murderous hiccup, Pyrrhus was now the undisputed ruler of Epirus, and with his nation relatively untouched by the wars of Alexander the Great's successors, he could now take his revenge against the man who caused him to be on the run and an exile from his own kingdom since he was but an infant, King Cassander I of Macedon. But this could never happen. Before we begin, if you haven't done so already, I would encourage you to listen to episode 18, the fourth and final part of my coverage of the Wars of the Diadohoi. Some of the events that will be covered during this episode are explored with much more depth and detail than what I'm going to do currently, so as to not simply retread old ground. Still, I will give a nominal reminder of what has transpired. Cassander I, having declared himself king of Macedon, would rule uncontested down to 297, before dying from illness. In his wake, Macedon was left in a tumult in regards to providing a stable kingship. The oldest son of Cassander, Philip IV, ruled for only a few months before he too died of illness. The reign then fell to the other underage children of Cassander, Alexander V and Antipater II, who were under the protection of their mother, Thessalonicae. It didn't take long before Antipater murdered his mother and ousted Alexander in either 296 or 295. To Pyrrhus, it may have been a but fortune soon smiled upon them with a pretty good consolation prize. That year, the exiled Alexander approached Pyrrhus with an offer. Restore Alexander to the throne of Macedon, and be repaid with more land south of Epirus that were formerly taken by Philip II, nearly 60 years prior. So, gathering an army, Pyrrhus swiftly overran Macedon with zero resistance, and put Alexander back on the throne. Part of the payment included was the wealthy city of Ambracia, which was extremely important for giving control over the Ionian Sea via the Ambracian Gulf, the later site of the Roman battle of Actium. Pyrrhus also exploited this ideal location by transforming it into his royal capital, pouring funds in order to construct numerous temples, a whole new district of the city known as the Piraeum, and fortifications. This was perhaps a way to imitate the other successors of Alexander by their attempt to reinvent a new identity for their kingdoms. And since Ambracia was not rooted in the territory of one of the Epirote tribes, Pyrrhus could strengthen the power of the Molossian throne by making all political functions reliant on his terms, not on the consent of the Epirote alliance. This also strengthened the economic ties between the Greek colonies of Italy and Epirus, giving Pyrrhus the funds to initiate his monetary reforms of the Epirote state, providing coin money, and above all else, paying for the mercenaries that he was inevitably going to accumulate. As I've said many times before, being a Hellenistic warrior king was expensive, and Molossia couldn't continue to supply the armies for Pyrrhus's grander designs, and he had to buy many mercenaries to compete with the other standing armies of the successor kings. Unfortunately, Pyrrhus would also be subject to a number of setbacks. The first is that his beloved wife, Antigone, had died. Pyrrhus would remarry with a number of wives, each being princesses of surrounding nations like Illyria, Panoia, and the powerful kingdom of Agathocles of Syracuse, and this would grant him a level of security when it came to strengthening his own kingdom. The other problem would lie with a new rival, Demetrius I Polyarches, Pyrrhus's brother-in-law and former benefactor. Since the Battle of Ipsus in 301, Pyrrhus had remained on relatively amicable terms with Demetrius, as Pyrrhus's sister Didymeia was married to the Antigonid king, and even being handed over as a political hostage to the Ptolemaic court of Alexandria in Demetrius's place didn't necessarily have to sour things either, since it turned out to be a boon for Pyrrhus. Unfortunately, their destinies were sent into a collision course by the civil war between the two boy kings of Macedon. Along with asking Pyrrhus for help, Alexander also turned to Demetrius, who had held considerable strongholds in southern Greece and a rather large military and navy. When Demetrius had finally reached Macedon after some delay, he found out it was too late to get a cut of the reward from Alexander, and was merely told that his services were no longer required. Now, you don't bring a warlord like Demetrius to your backyard with the promise of booty or land, and expect him to leave quietly. In yet another convoluted story, as recalled by Plutarch, Demetrius had Alexander killed, and Antipater was driven into exile at the court of Lysimachus. In 294, the throne of Macedon was now finally in Antigonid hands, after decades of warfare. From a basic standpoint, there could not be two strong kingdoms next to each other without some sort of friction, especially with the ambitious military men that dominated the political landscape. Pyrrhus could not strengthen Epirus without threatening Demetrius, and Demetrius could not strengthen Macedon without threatening Pyrrhus. The fraying of the ties that bound them would be exacerbated by the death of Didymaea, effectively eliminating their alliance. In addition, Pyrrhus' wife, Lanassa, raised as an educated and likely very spoiled daughter at her father Agathocles' palace in Syracuse, felt neglected by her husband's preference towards his more barbarian wives. So, she sought a husband that would be more befitting of her status. In 291, she sent a number of letters to Demetrius, while Pyrrhus was out campaigning, and managed to convince the Antigonid to marry her quite easily, apparently due to his low amorous standards. On top of Pyrrhus' emasculation, this also had the unfortunate side effect of losing the extremely valuable island of Corcyra, modern Corfu, which was part of the dowry given long with the marriage to Lanassa. With this last insult, it seemed that war between Demetrius and Pyrrhus was on the horizon. Pyrrhus' hostility to Demetrius was not unique. Ever since the Antigonid took the throne of Macedon, the other Diadohoi and successor kings had tried to undermine Demetrius' attempts to strengthen his power. One of the ways to do it was to send a flurry of letters to Pyrrhus, beckoning him to attack the vulnerable Demetrius, who was busy conquering Aetolia. Pyrrhus decided to lend his support to the Aetolians, and for the first time, attacked the Macedonian armies who were garrisoned in the conquered territories, crushing them, but never coming to blows with Demetrius, who in turn attacked some of the Epirote territories. When Pyrrhus turned back north, he had attempted to conquer Macedon in the king's absence, but was pushed back to recover Epirus. The campaign had resulted in little economic or territorial gains, but it was extremely important establishing Pyrrhus' reputation as a gifted commander. Pyrrhus completely outmaneuvered the Macedonian general left by Demetrius, and even managed to defeat him in a one-on-one duel. This seemed to impress the Macedonian soldiers, who felt that Demetrius was not performing up to snuff when it came to being a Macedonian king. Here was Pyrrhus leading his armies from the front, fighting in duels like the heroes of the Iliad wearing a bronze-plumed helmet with ram's horns, marking him out amongst his men, not wearing the circumstance and pomp of purple gowns and golden crowns. I joked in the last episode that Pyrrhus was a bit odd in his obsession with warfare, but he put his money where his mouth was, and was clearly a charismatic king, attracting the admiration of both the Epirotes and the men serving under him, but also the respect from the kings and Macedonians whom he marched against. Pyrrhus' inspired performance also earned him the eagle, but, true to his image of the humble commander, he responded, Through you I am an eagle, and why, pray, should I not be? It is by your arms that I am born aloft, as by swift wings. Further opportunities for war against Macedon would have to be postponed. In 289, Demetrius wanted to make nice with Pyrrhus, since his great invasion to retake the territories of Alexander's empire was currently in the planning stages. The king most fearful of Demetrius' plans was Lysimachus I, who was occupying the realm of Thrace, the Bosphorus, and parts of Asia Minor, the natural land route for Demetrius to invade through. Lysimachus sought to bolster support by turning to Pyrrhus, believing him to be capable of destroying any support in Macedon that the Antigonid could require. Pyrrhus and, according to Plutarch, fell into a deep slumber and began to dream. In it, he saw the figure of Alexander the Great lying upon a couch, beckoning Pyrrhus to come towards him, and Dream Alexander offered his help in figuring out Pyrrhus' plans of action. Pyrrhus was curious and asked how could he have helped, given that he really was not in the best state himself, since he was dead. But fear not, Alexander said, that he would show the way, and the king leapt from his couch on top of a horse and cantered off with Pyrrhus in tow. This is yet another curious appearance by Alexander in the dreams of his successors, the other famous one being in Eumenes of Cardia and Demetrius Polyarchates' biographies, also written by Plutarch. Pyrrhus' connection to Alexander is an interesting subject in itself, because of all the successors, he initially appears to be the most unlikely to have a strong image of him. Men like Ptolemy, Eumenes of Cardia, and Antigonus Monophthalmos all personally worked with the king, and even Demetrius, as a Macedonian and a son of Antigonus, would have a stronger cultural and ethnic connection to Alexander. Pyrrhus, being a Molossian prince born four or five years after Alexander died, would only tangentially know of Alexander and his exploits. Certainly, Alexander could be a model of success to any king, but Pyrrhus was a Molossian monarch through and through. Instead of consciously adopting Alexander's image as an imperial or Hellenistic king, Pyrrhus chose to display his martial prowess on the battlefield and emulated Achilles, both characteristics that Alexander himself was famous for. He hesitated to place his own image upon Epirus' coinage, preferring symbols of power like Zeus and his thunderbolts, and used also figures like Achilles and his demigod mother, Thetis, as his choice of iconography, hearkening back to the tradition of Neoptolemus' foundation of the Molossian dynasty. This doesn't mean that Pyrrhus shunned the former Macedonian king. He understood the political value of his familial connections to Olympias of Epirus and Alexander, however distant, and used these to promote propaganda to appease his soon-to-be Macedonian subjects. In 288, Lysimachus' forces streamed into northeastern Macedon. While Demetrius and the Macedonians were tied up, Pyrrhus took advantage of his neighbor and invaded from the west, capturing the city of Berea without a fight, perhaps the second most important city in the kingdom of Macedon. With the news of the occupation of the city and disguised Pyrrhic soldiers entering Demetrius' camp, the Macedonians mutinied against their Antigonid king, abandoning their posts and heading to Pyrrhus' territory instead. Demetrius' rule in Macedon was finished, and he would never be king of the region again. Although his story doesn't end here, Demetrius effectively leaves our narrative, preferring instead to make peace after Pyrrhus cleaned up the Antigonid garrisons in northern Greece and engage in his final campaigns in Asia Minor. With the removal of Demetrius from the throne, Pyrrhus was now the king of Macedon as of the year 287. Surprisingly, Pyrrhus managed to win control without engaging in a single battle with Demetrius, showing both the limits of Macedonian patience and the diplomatic and PR skills of Pyrrhus. Still, things were not perfect. Like the myth of the Lernaean Hydra with the cutting off of one head another two take its place, the exit of Demetrius from Greece and Macedon had resulted in a power vacuum to form between Pyrrhus and his new neighbor, Lysimachus. Now, Lysimachus and Pyrrhus were never on the best of terms. When Pyrrhus was busy involving himself in the civil wars between Alexander and Antipater, Lysimachus had attempted to stop the conflict, a seemingly noble intention, but only for the fact that Demetrius could have turned it to his advantage. He apparently sent Pyrrhus a forged letter on the guise of it being from Ptolemy I to trick him into entering a ceasefire, knowing that Pyrrhus was extremely loyal to his benefactor and wouldn't openly defy his wishes. Unfortunately, Lysimachus didn't seem to realize just how friendly Pyrrhus and Ptolemy were. The opening line of the letter gave the plot away, addressed as King Ptolemy to King Pyrrhus, rather than the more intimate and warm, the father to the son. This deception outraged Pyrrhus, but he managed to swallow his anger to tolerate Lysimachus' peace brokerage. Even after their alliance to attack Demetrius, it would really only last as long as the Antigonid king was still running around alive. The main gripe that Lysimachus had with Pyrrhus at the moment was that he felt he deserved his share of Pyrrhus' territorial and economic gains, since he was the one to engage with the Macedonians on the field of battle, while Pyrrhus swooped in for the kill. Now, this isn't an unreasonable complaint, but it was only a precursor to the conflict soon to come. From 287 onwards, Lysimachus did his best to erode Macedonian loyalty to Pyrrhus. He was already at an advantage, being ethnically Macedonian and playing up the foreign occupation angle of Pyrrhus' reign, and he also had the deposed Antipater II in tow, though not for much longer since the former king would be soon executed, but regardless, Lysimachus had a good chance at turning the Macedonians under Pyrrhus' command. In some ways, Pyrrhus was aware of the restless behavior of the Macedonians in times of peace, believing them to be only obedient in times of war, and Pyrrhus had to wage conflict in Thessaly in 286 to ensure their loyalty and to get a steady supply of excellent Thessalian cavalrymen for his army. Politics makes strange bedfellows, and of all the people that Lysimachus could have sided with, in 285, he chose a man named Antigonus II Gonatas, the son of Demetrius Polyarches, and the eventual hero of the Celtic invasion of Aether Minor. Gonatas was residing as a governor in southern Greece since his father was deposed from the throne of Macedon, and had faced the brunt of Pyrrhus' attacks in Thessaly, which was still loyal to the Antigonid cause. Lysimachus approached him with an opportunity of the alliance, and Gonatas quickly accepted, believing that peace with Lysimachus and a bulwark against his aggressive northwestern neighbor was a mutually beneficial deal. Things came to a head in 283 BC, when Demetrius Polyarchides' death was made public knowledge, and the alliance between Pyrrhus and Lysimachus, a sham at this point, had no longer a reason to continue. Lysimachus mounted an invasion force of Macedon, bolstered by the support of Gonatas, and bought off many of the Macedonian Epiroc commanders serving under Pyrrhus for bribes, though the size of Lysimachus' army alone was vastly larger than Pyrrhus', and even with his own military acumen, Lysimachus was a talented commander in his own right, and thus the bribes were just icing on the cake. Pyrrhus had to return to Epirus, minus one kingship of Macedonia, but remained relatively unmolested by further attacks from Lysimachus, who had his own issues to deal with. The next few years remained quiet, too quiet. To Pyrrhus, peace and quiet made him sick with boredom, especially in contrast to the rather chaotic events that were occurring around him. Again, I turn you all to episode 18. In 281, Lysimachus was defeated and killed on the field of battle at Cordopedium by Seleucus I, who was in turn immediately assassinated by the renegade half-brother of Ptolemy II, the lovably hateable Ptolemy Kerenes, who was declared king of Macedon. I mean, what's so great about ruling a nation like a peaceful monarch if you aren't able to fight another king to the death to make sure the peace was in your favor? Well, my dear listeners, Pyrrhus wouldn't have to wait long. While the successors were duking it out in the final days of the Wars of the Diadohoi, there was another conflict brewing in the west. Pyrrhus would get his opportunity for further campaigning, and it was all thanks to a barbarian tribe of Italy known as the Roman Republic. In episodes 22 and 23, we covered the rise of the Roman Republic, watching as she transformed from a small city-state among many to the premier power of the Italian peninsula. I left that narrative shortly before the arrival of Pyrrhus onto the scene, so I feel I need to give some sort of clarification on what happened in order to detract the Molossian king's attention in the first place. The mid-280s BC was a time of great success for the Romans. They had just came off from their conquest of the majority of central Italy, primarily against their fierce mountainous rivals, the Samnites, who occupied much of the eastern portion of the Italian peninsula. Rome's territorial expansion was now causing them to bump shoulders with the city-states of the Greek colonists who settled along the eastern and southern regions of Italy. The most prominent city that Rome had to dealt with was Taras, or Tarentum, a former Spartan colony turned economic and political powerhouse along the southeastern shores of Italy, the site of modern Taranto. The Tarantines and Romans had treaties long before the 280s, records suggesting at least since 301 BC and likely before, but circumstances had left the citizens of Tarantum uncomfortable with the recent successes of the Roman Republic. The Romans had been engaging in diplomatic relations with many of the other Greek colonies, such as Naples or Massalia, and were actually entering into military and economic alliances with them, bolstering these cities' powers, whereas Tarantum wanted to retain its prestigious status as the unofficial figurehead of Magna Graecia in the east. On top of this, Rome clearly was an expansionist power, whether in the form of direct conflicts or through the guise of protecting her allies in client cities, which occurred in their dealings with the Italic Lucanians, who threatened the Roman-protected Greek city of Thurii, only a stone's throw away from Tarantum. Roman armies were now closer than ever, installed as protective garrisons and supporting the friendly oligarchies put into Thurii, never mind the Roman military colonies peppering along the peninsula. The last straw came in 282, in the form of Roman warships in the ports of Tarantum, which was in direct violation of the treaty that Rome and Tarantum made in 301, whereby no warships would be allowed in Tarantine waters. The Romans argued that the ships were making their way to Thurii, but Tarantine officials were doubtful that this wasn't a political move to show the increased might of Rome. It wouldn't be long before the Romans made their move and conquered south. So, a mob of enraged Tarantines were egged on by a local demagogue to storm, burn and sink a number of the docked vessels before the Roman navy had to flee the port. In addition, the Tarantine military had immediately marched to Thurii to drive out the Roman garrison and puppet government. According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus, the Romans sent an ambassador to the Tarantines to demand compensation for the expensive losses of the warships and an explanation for their march on Thurii, but were only met with arrogance from the Greek officials, who mocked the ambassador's barbarian accent, and even a drunk wino walked up to the ambassador, whether out of an attempt to join in on the mockery or legitimately didn't know where he was, and urinated on his gown. This soaked and stained toga was brought to the Roman senate as proof of the Tarantines' unchecked aggression and disrespect, and in 281, the senate conscript fathers declared war upon Tarentum. Despite their willingness to throw themselves into a war, the odds were not in Tarentum's favor. The hard-won struggle for central Italy hidden between the victorious Romans and their Samnite foes had left Rome with a powerful army garrisoned across their subjected territories, and their skill at alliance building had resulted in an enormous pool of manpower to levy further troops from. The Roman armies descended upon the territories of Tarentum, whittling it down until little stood in the way between the Tarantines and the horde of angry Roman barbarians. With their hopes dwindling, the leading figures of the Tarantine assembly had decided that they needed to call upon outside help, if they were to stand a chance. They called for none other than Pyrrhus of Epirus. This was not a unique situation. Tarentum had previously called upon foreign Greek allies to act as protectors of their city, most famously asking for the aid from Alexander the Molossus in the 330s, who died fighting the Lucanian Italians. Epirus was the closest neighbor to Italy, only about a few hundred kilometers across the Adriatic Sea from the Greek peninsula. There were concerns from some in the assembly of calling for Pyrrhus' help, believing that the Tarantine citizens never truly grasped what bringing a warlike king to take control of the city actually meant, but necessity forced these moderates to silence, and the envoys were sent with the utmost urgency. When word reached Pyrrhus about the state of the Tarantines, he was left at a bit of a crossroads. Traditionally, both Tarentum and Epirus had long-standing tides of trade and military alliances, as I mentioned before with Alexander the Molossus, and Tarentum had recently lent a number of warships to Pyrrhus to take back the island of Corsaira, which was taken by Demetrius Polycarchetes by way of Pyrrhus' former bride, Launassa. From a political standpoint, Pyrrhus had a duty to answer Tarentum's call. But it wasn't out of honor that beckoned the king to take on Italy. If we look at it from a practical perspective, if Pyrrhus was to continue his military campaigns in the name of glory, plunder, and territory, then the territories to the east were not in his best interests. The ravaging by the wars of the Diadohoi had left much of Macedon and western Asia minor a mess, both politically and economically, and there were plenty of competitor kings that Pyrrhus would have to deal with in response. The west, on the other hand, was virtually untouched, and the cities of Italy were extremely wealthy. Besides, once the king had dealt with the unwashed Italian barbarians, he could move on to greener pastures, above all else, Sicily, which was undergoing a bit of a crisis since the death of Pyrrhus' former father-in-law, Agathocles, and theoretically Pyrrhus had some sort of right to claim the throne. In addition, this was also a political checkmate in terms of his dealings at home. The other Hellenistic kings, Antigonus Ganatus, Antiochus I of the Seleucid Empire, and the usurper Ptolemy Karinus of Macedon, would do anything to keep Pyrrhus occupied and as far away from their new kingdoms as humanly possible. To top it off, Pyrrhus could also style himself as a champion of Greek freedom, ensuring that he had the backing of the Epilote Assembly while he was away. There may have even been a bit of a mythological influence, since Pausanias records that the ambassador attempted to appeal to Pyrrhus' ancestry to Achilles and Neoptolemus, since the Romans were the descendants of Trojan colonists, and it was therefore destiny that would bring Pyrrhus to mimic his ancestor. Plutarch, on the other hand, paints this decision as an example of his unsatisfied lust for glory in war, believing that he could have settled into his role as an epilote king and remain content as a powerhouse in his own right. But alas, greater opportunities lay ahead. And so, Pyrrhus prepared for war. Thanks to his political savvy, the Molossian managed to secure a treaty with the other Hellenistic kings, and extracted payment in the form of warships from Antigonus Gonatas, money from Antiochus I and Ptolemy II of Egypt, and veteran Macedonian troops and war elephants from Ptolemy Kerenes. In total, Pyrrhus had 23,000 infantry in the form of phalangites and skirmishers, 2,000 archers, 500 slingers, 20 war elephants, and 3,000 cavalry assembled from the aristocrats of Epirus, akin to the companion cavalry in the Hetairoi of Macedon. In many ways, this was almost the exact same army that Alexander the Great had assembled for his great invasion of Persia, minus the elephants, and was nearly uncontested on the field of battle against any barbarian foe. Yet, before it could even properly start, disaster would strike. In the spring of 280, Pyrrhus had set sail from Epirus down to the Ionian Sea. But, the fickle weather of the Mediterranean had suddenly turned, and a great storm had set upon Pyrrhus' invasion fleet. The ships were tossed and broken among the waves like bathtub toys, and the king was forced to leap off the deck into the dark waters rather than be taken down with his vessel. Throughout the night, the king struggled to remain alive, and through dogged determination, he remained afloat until the morning, when a group of Italian natives nearby along the shore had rescued him from a watery grave. Once the king recovered, he discovered the remains of his army, a mere 2,000 infantry, a handful of cavalry, and two remaining elephants. Losing 90% of his army was one hell of a welcome, but Pyrrhus was still alive, and still could fight. So, gathering his men, he decided to set out for Tarentum. Whatever the circumstances were, Pyrrhus had now taken his first footsteps on Italian soil as part of his great invasion. And next time, on the third and final episode of The Life of Pyrrhus, we will cover his wars with the Roman Republic and Sicily. In the meanwhile, thank you all for listening and supporting the show. This episode happens to fall upon my first year anniversary since starting the Hellenistic Age podcast. So, as always, I sincerely thank each and every one of you. I hope it's just as much fun for you all to listen to as it is for me to work on it. So, as we go past the anniversary, I'd like to give you a rough outline of the next few months. As I said, the next episode will be our final look at Pyrrhus Epirus. Following this, we will take a look at the topic of Women of the Hellenistic Age, which is expected around mid to late May. Following that, I want to leave the heartland Greece and the Mediterranean to return back east. A number of episodes to take a look at the Seleucid Empire and also taking a look at the other great power of the east, the Indian Sumerians, and perhaps the rise of the Greco-Bactrians of Afghanistan. One of my goals of year two is to try to remain more consistent or even better in regards to the frequency of my content released. I have been hampered in this because of grad school, which severely restricted the amount of free time I could dedicate to the show. But, as of this July, I am going to be graduated and finished with schooling for good, thank god. I will then have more time to work on the show. Now, this is all a month down the line and may be subject to change, but I am still remaining positive. If you like what you've been listening to, consider subscribing to me in the platform of your choosing, whether it's iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or, newly added, Spotify. If you want to get in contact with me or keep up with show updates or my ramblings, you can follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or hit me up on my website, hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com, where I post episode notes, which range from maps and diagrams to timelines and sources used in each episode. The links to all of these will be provided in the show notes, and I will also be providing links to the War and Conquest podcast, who provided the opener of this episode. If you like military history, give them a shot. So, I will see you all on the next episode of the Hellenistic Age Podcast.