August 19, 2025 • 33 mins
Dive into the fascinating history of Pyrrhus, the formidable king of Epirus from 336 to 321 BC. Renowned as a brilliant soldier and conqueror, he left his mark on both Macedon and Italy, giving rise to the term Pyrrhic victory that echoes through history. Join Deon Gines as he unravels the legacy of this extraordinary leader.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter three of Paris by Jacob Abbott. This LibriVox recording
is in the public domain recording by Dion Giants Cet
Lake City, Utah, Early Life of Paris b c. Three
thirty two two two ninety five. In the two preceding
(00:21):
chapters we have related that portion of the history of
Macedonia which it is necessary to understand in order rightly
to appreciate the nature of the difficulties in which the
royal family of Epirus was involved at the time when
Puris first appeared upon the stage. The sources of these
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difficulties were two. First, the uncertainty of the line of succession,
there being two branches of the royal family, each claiming
the throne, which state of things was produced in a
great measure by the interposition of Olympias in the affairs
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of Epirus some years before. And secondly, the act of
Olympias in inducing as Cities to come to Macedonia to
embark in her quarrel against Cassander. There of course, since
there were two lines of princes both claiming the throne,
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no sovereign of either line could hold anything more than
a divided empire over the hearts of his subjects, and consequently,
when as cities left the kingdom to fight the battles
of Olympius in Macedon, it was comparatively easy for the
party opposed to him to affect a revolution and raise
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their own prince to the throne. The prince whom Olympias
had originally made king of Epirus to the exclusion of
the claimant belonging to the other branch of the family,
was her own brother. His name was Alexander. He was
the son of Neoptolemus, the rival branch of the family
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where the children of Arembus, the brother of Neoptolemus. This
Alexander flourished at the same time as Alexander the Great,
and in his character very much resembled his distinguished namesake.
He commenced a career of conquest in Italy at the
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same time that his nephew embarked in his in Asia,
and commenced it to under very similar circumstances. One went
to the east and another to the west, each determined
to make himself master of the world. The Alexander of
Macedon succeeded, the Alexander of Epirus failed. The one acquired
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consequently universal and perpetual renown, while the memory of the
other has been almost entirely neglected and forgotten. One reason,
unquestionably for the difference in these results was the difference
in the character of the enemies, respectively, against whom the
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two adventurers had to contend. Alexander of Epirus went westward
into Italy, where he had to encounter the soldiery of
the Romans, a soldiery of the most rugged, determined, and
indomitable character. Alexander of Macedon, on the other hand, went
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to the east, where he found only Asiatic races to
contend with, whose troops, though countless in numbers and magnificently
appointed in respect to all the purposes of parade and display,
were yet enervated with luxury and wholly able to stand
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against any energetic and determined foe. In fact, Alexander of
Epirus used to say that the reason why his nephew
Alexander of Macedon had succeeded while he himself had failed,
was because he himself had invaded countries peopled by men,
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while the Macedonian in his Asiatic campaign, had encountered only women. However,
this may be the campaign of Alexander of Epirus in
Italy had a very disastrous termination. The occasion of his
going there was a request which he had received from
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the inhabitants of Tarentum that he would come over and
assist them in a war in which they were engaged
with some neighboring tribes. Tarentum was a city situated toward
the western shore of Italy. It was at the head
of the deep bay called the Gulf of Tarentum, which
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bay occupies the hollow of the foot that the form
of Italy represents to the eye as seen upon a map.
Tarentum was accordingly across the Adriatic Sea from Epirus. The
distance was about two hundred miles. By taking a southerly
route and going up the Gulf of Tarentum, this distance
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might be traversed wholly by sea. A little to the north,
the Adriatic is narrow, the passage there being only about
fifty miles across to an expedition, However, taking this course,
there would remain, after arriving on the Italian shore, fifty
miles or more to be accomplished by land in order
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to reach Tarentum. Before deciding to comply with the request
of the Tarantanes that he would come to their Aia.
Alexander sent to a celebrated oracle in Epirus, called the
Oracle of Dodona, to inquire whether it would be safe
for him to undertake the expedition. To his inquiries, the
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oracle gave him this for an answer, the waters of
Acheron will be the cause of your death, and Pandosia
is the place where you will die. Alexander was greatly
rejoiced at receiving this answer. Achron was a stream of Epirus,
and Pandosia was a town upon the banks of it.
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He understood the response to mean that he was faded
to die quietly in his own country at some future period,
probably a remote one, and that there was no danger
in his undertaking the expedition to which he had been called.
He accordingly set sail from Epirus and landed in Italy,
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and there, believing that he was fated to die in
Epirus and not in Italy, he fought in every battle
with the most desperate and reckless bravery, and achieved prodigies
of valor. The possibility that there might be an Acheron
and a Pandosia in Italy as well as in Epirus
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did not occur to his mind for a time. He
was very successful in his career. He fought battles, gained victories,
conquered cities, and established his dominion over quite an extended region.
In order to hold what he had gained, he sent
over a great number of hostages to Epirus, to be
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kept there as security for the continued submission of those
whom he had subdued. These hostages consisted chiefly, as was
usual in such cases, of children at length. In the
course of the war, an occasion arose in which it
was necessary for the protection of his troops to encamp
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them on three hills which were situated very near to
each other. These hills were separated by low interval lands
and a small stream, but at the time when Alexander
established his encampment, the stream constituted no impediment to free
intercommunication between the different divisions of his army. There came, on, however,
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a powerful reign the stream overflowed its banks the intervals
were inundated. This enabled the enemy to attack two of
Alexander's encampments, while it was utterly impossible for Alexander himself
to render them any aid. The enemy made the attack
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and were successful in it. The two camps were broken up,
and the troops stationed in them were put to flight.
Those that remained with Alexander, becoming discouraged by the hopeless
condition in which they found themselves, placed, mutinied and sent
to the camp of the enemy, offering to deliver up
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Alexander to them, dead or alive, as they should choose,
on condition that they themselves might be allowed to return
to their native land in peace. This proposal was accepted,
but before it was put in execution, Alexander, having discovered
the plot, placed himself at the head of a determined
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and desperate band of followers, broke through the ranks of
the enemies that surrounded him and made his escape to
a neighboring wood. From this wood, he took a route
which led him to a river, intending to pass the
river by a bridge which he expected to find there,
and then to destroy the bridge as soon as he
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had crossed it, so as to prevent his enemies from
following him. By this means, he hoped to make his
way to some place of safety. He found, on arriving
at the brink of the stream that the bridge had
been carried away by the inundation. He however, pressed forward
into the water on horseback, intending to ford the stream.
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The torrent was wild and the danger was imminent, but
Alexander pressed on at length. One of the attendants, seeing
his master in imminent danger of being drowned, exclaimed aloud,
this cursed river, well, is it named Acheron? The word
Acheron in the original language signifies river of sorrow. By
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this exclamation, Alexander learned for the first time that the
river he was crossing bore the same name with the
one in Epirus, which he supposed had been referred to
in the warning of the oracle. He was at once
overwhelmed with consternation. He did not know whether to go
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forward or to return. The moment of indecision was suddenly
ended by a loud outcry from his attendants, giving the
alarm that the traders were close upon him. Alexander then
pushed forward across the water. He succeeded in gaining the bank,
but as soon as he did so, a dart from
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one of his enemies reached him and killed him on
the spot. His lifeless body fell back into the river
and was floated down the stream until At length it
reached the camp of the enemy, which happened to be
on the bank of the stream below. Here it was
drawn out of the water and subjected to every possible indignity.
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The soldiers cut the body in two, and sending one
part to one of the cities as a trophy of
their victory. They set up the other part in the
camp as a target for the soldiers to shoot at
with darts and javelins. At length a woman came into
the camp, and, with earnest entreaties and many tears, begged
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the soldiers to give the mutilated corpse to her. Her
object in wishing to obtain possession of it was that
she might send it home to Epirus, to the family
of Alexander, and by with it the liberty of her
husband and her children, who were among the hostages which
had been sent there. The soldiers acceded to this request,
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and the parts of the body, having been brought together again,
were taken to Epirus and delivered to Olympias, by whom
the remains were honorably interred. We must presume that the
woman whose them obtained the expected reward in the return
of her husband and children. Though of this we are
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not expressly informed. Of course, the disastrous result of this
most unfortunate expedition had the effect in Epirus of diminishing
very much the popularity and the strength of that branch
of the royal family, namely the line of Neoptolemus, to
which Alexander had belonged. Accordingly, instead of being succeeded by
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one of his brothers, as Cides, the father of Pirus,
who was the representative of the other line, was permitted
quietly to assume the crown. It might have been expected
that Olympius would have opposed his accession, as she was
herself a princess of the rival line. She did, not, however,
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do so. On the contrary, she gave him her support
and allied herself to him very very closely, and he,
on his part, became in subsequent years one of her
most devoted adherents and friends. When Olympius was shut up
in Pydna by the army of Cassandra, as was related
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in the last chapter, and sent for Ascedes to come
to her aid, he immediately raised an army and marched
to the frontier. He found the passes in the mountains
which led from Epirus to Macedonia, all strongly guarded, but
he still determined to force his way through. He soon, however,
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began to observe marks of discontent and dissatisfaction among the
officers of his army. These indications increased until at length
the disaffectation broke out into open mutiny. As stated in
the last chapter, Ascides then called his forces together and
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gave orders that all who were una willing to follow
him into Macedon should be allowed freely to return. He
did not wish, he said, that any should accompany him
on such an expedition, excepting those who went of their
own free will. A considerable part of the army then returned,
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but instead of repairing peaceably to their homes, they raised
a general insurrection in Epirus and brought the family of
Neoptolemus again to the throne. A solemn decree of the
state was passed, declaring that Ascides, in withdrawing from the kingdom,
had forfeited his crown and banishing him forever from the country.
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And as this revolution was intended to operate not merely
against Acids personally, but against the branch of the royal
family to which he belonged, the new government deemed it
necessary in order to finish their work and make it
sure that many of his relatives and friends, and especially
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his infant son and heir, should die. Several of the
members of a city's family were accordingly killed, though the
attendants in charge succeeded in saving the life of the
child by a sudden flight. The escape was effected by
the instrumentality of two of the officers of Acedes household,
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named Androclides and Angelus. These men, as soon as the
alarm was given, hurried the babe away with only such
nurses and other attendants as it was necessary to take
with them. The child was still unweaned, and though those
in charge made the number of attendants as small as possible,
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still the party were necessarily of such a character as
to forbid any great rapidity of flight. A troop was
sent in pursuit of them, and soon began to draw near.
When andro Clytes found that his party would be overtaken
by the troop, he committed the child to the care
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of three young men, bidding them to ride on with
him at their utmost speed to a certain town in
Macedon called Megare, where they thought he would be safe,
and then he himself and the rest of his company
turned back to meet the pursuers. They succeeded, partly by
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their representations and entreaties, and partly by such resistance and
obstruction as it was in their power to make, in
stopping the soldiers where they were at length, Having, though
with some difficulty, succeeded in getting away from the soldiers,
Andro Clytes and Angelus rode on by secret ways till
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they overtook the three young men. They now began to
think that the danger was over. At length. A little
after sunset, they approached the town of MegArray. There was
a river just before the town which looked too rough
and dreadful to be crossed. The party, however, advanced to
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the brink and attempted to ford the stream, but they
found it impossible. It was growing dark, the water of
the river, having been swelled by rains, was very high
and boisterous, and they found that they could not get over.
At length, they saw some of the people of the
town coming down to the bank on the opposite side.
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They were in hopes that these people could render them
some assistance in crossing the stream, and they began to
call out to them for this purpose. But the stream
ran so rapidly, and the roaring of the torrent was
so great, that they could not make themselves heard. The
distance was very inconsiderable, for the stream was not one.
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But though the party with Pearis called aloud and earnestly,
and made signs holding up the child in their arms
to let the people see him, they could not make
themselves understood. At last, after spending some time in these
fruitless efforts, one of the party who were with Paris
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thought of the plan of writing what they wished to
say upon a piece of bark and throwing it across
the stream to those on the other side. They accordingly
pulled off some bark from a young oak which was
growing on a bank of the river, and succeeded in
making characters upon it by the means of the tongue
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of a buckle, sufficient to say that they had with
them Paris, the young prince of Epirus, and that they
were flying with him to save his life, and to
implore the people on the other side to contrive some
way to get them over the river. This piece of
bark they then managed to throw across the stream. Some
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say they rolled it around a javelin, and then gave
the javelin to the strongest of their party to throw.
Others say that they attached it to a stone in
some way or other, they contrived to give it a
sufficient momentum to carry it across the water, and the
people on the other side, when they obtained it and
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read what was written upon it, were greatly excited by
the tidings, and engaged at once with ardor and enthusiasm
in efforts to save the child. They brought axes and
began to cut down trees to make a raft. In
due time, the raft was completed, and notwithstanding the darkness
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of the night and the force and swiftness of the
current of the stream, the party of fugitives succeeded in
crossing upon it, and thus brought the child and all
the attendants accompanying him safely over. The party with pirris
did not intend to stop at Megaree. They did not
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consider it safe, in fact, for them to remain in
any part of Macedon, not knowing what course the war
between Polly'sperchon and Cassander would take there, or how the
parties engaged in the contest might stand affected toward Pearis.
They determined therefore to press forward in their flight till
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they had passed through Macedon and reached the country beyond
the country north of Macedon on the western coast. The
one in which they determined to seek refuge was Illyria.
The name of the king of Illyria was Glaucius. They
had reason to believe that Glaucius would receive and protect
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the child, for he was connected by marriage with the
royal family of Epirus, his wife Beroa being a princess
of the line of the Cities. When the fugitives arrived
at the court of Glaucius, they went to the palace
where they found Gloucius and Boa, and after telling the
story of their danger and escape, they laid the child
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down as a suppliant at the feet of the king.
Glaucius felt not a little embarrassed at the situation in
which he was placed, and did not know what to do.
He remained for a long time silent. At length, little Paris,
who was all the while lying at his feet, began
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to creep closer toward him, and, finally taking hold of
the king's robe, he began to climb up by it
and attempted to get into his lap, looking up into
the king's face at the same time, with a countenance
in which the expression of confidence and hope was with
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a certain instinctive, infantile fear. The heart of the king
was so touched by this mute appeal that he took
the child up in his arms, dismissed at once all
prudential considerations from his mind, and in the end delivered
the boy to the Queen Baroa, directing her to bring
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him up with her own children. Cassander soon discovered the
place of Pius's retreat, and he made great efforts to
induce Glaucius to give him up. He offered Glaucius a
very large sum of money if he would deliver Peirus
into his hands, but Glaucius refused to do it. Cassander
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would perhaps have made war upon Glaucius to compel him
to comply with this requisition, but he was then fully
occupied with the enemies that threatened him in Greece and Macedon.
He did subsequently make an attempt to invade the dominions
of Glaucius and to get possession of the person of Paris,
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but the expedition failed, and after that the boy was
allowed to remain in Illyria without any further molestation. Time
passed on until at length Pearis was twelve years old.
During this interval, great changes took place in the affairs
of Cassander in Macedon. At first he was very successful
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in his plans. He succeeded in expelling Polly's berchon from
the country and in establishing himself as king. He caused
Roxanna and the young Alexander to be assassinated, as was
stated in the last chapter, so as to remove out
of the way the only persons who he supposed could
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ever advance any rival claims to the throne. For a
time everything went well and prosperously with him, But at
length the tide of his own affairs seemed to turn.
A new enemy appeared against him in Asia, a certain
distinguished commander named Demetrius, who afterward became one of the
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most illustrious personages of his age. Just at this time too,
the king of Epirus Alcetas, the prince of the family
of Neoptolemus, who had reigned during Paris's exile in Allyria, died.
Glaucius deemed this a favorable opportunity for restoring Peuris to
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the throne. He accordingly placed himself at the head of
an army and marched into Epirus, taking the young prince
with him. No effectual resistance was made, and Paris was
crowned king. He was of course too young actually to reign,
and a sort of regent was accordingly established in power,
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with authority to govern the country in the young king's
name and till he should come of age. This state
of things could not be very stable. It endured about
five years, and during this time Pearis seemed to be
very firmly established in power. The strength of his position, however,
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was more apparent than real, for the princes of the
other branch of the family, who had been displaced by
Pearis's return to power, were of course discontented and restless.
All the time, they were continually forming plots and conspiracies,
and were only waiting for an opportunity to effect another revolution.
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The opportunity, at length came. One of the sons of
Glaucius was to be married. Pearis had been the companion
and playmate of this prince during his residence in Illyria,
and was of course invited to the wedding. Supposing that
all was safe in his dominions. He accepted the invitation
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and went to Illyria. While he was there, amusing himself
in the festivities and rejoicings connected with the wedding, his
rivals raised a rebellion, took possession of the government and
all of Pirris's treasures, killed or put to flight his
partisans and friends, and raised a prince of the family
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of Neoptolemus to the throne. Peirus found himself once more
and exile. The revolution in Epirus was so complete that,
after careful consideration and inquiry, Peirus could see, with the
resources he had at his command, no hope of recovering
his throne. But being of an ambitious and restless spirit,
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he determined not to remain idle, and he concluded therefore
to enter into the service of Demetrius in his war
against Cassander. There were two considerations which led him to
do this. In the first place, Cassander was his most
formidable enemy, and the prospect of his being ultimately restored
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again to his throne would depend almost entirely he well
knew upon the possibility of destroying or at least curtailing
Cassander's power. Then, besides Demetrius was especially his friend. The
wife of Demetrius was de Damia, the sister of Pirus,
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so that Pirus looked upon Demetrius as his natural ally.
He accordingly offered to enter the service of Demetrius, and
was readily received. In fact, notwithstanding his youth, for he
was now only seventeen or eighteen years of age, Demetrius
gave him a very important command in his army, and
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took great pains to instruct him in the art of war.
It was long before an opportunity was afforded to make
trial of Pearis's capacity as a soldier. A great battle
was fought at Ipsus in Asia Minor, between Demetrius on
one side and Cassander on the other. Besides these two commanders,
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there were many princes and generals of the highest rank
who took part in the contest as allies of the
principal combatants, which had the effect of making the battle
a very celebrated one, and of causing it to attract
very strongly the attention of all mankind at the time
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when it occurred. The result of the contest was, on
the whole unfavorable to the cause of Demetrius. His troops
generally were compelled to give way, though the division which
Paris commanded retained their ground. Paris in fact acquired great
renown by his courage and energy, and perhaps still more
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by his success on this occasion. Young as he was,
Demetrius immediately gave him a new and very responsible command,
and entrusted to him the charge of several very important
expeditions and campaigns, in all of which the young soldier
evinced such a degree of energy and courage, combined too
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with so much forethought, prudence and military skill, as presaged
very clearly his subsequent renown. At length, an alliance was
formed between Demetrius and Ptolemy, King of Egypt, and as
security for the due execution of the obligations assumed by
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Demetrius in the treaty which they made, Ptolemy demanded a hostage.
Pearis offered to go himself to Egypt in this capacity.
Ptolemy accepted him, and Trus was accordingly taken in one
of Ptolemy's ships across the Mediterranean to Alexandria. In Egypt,
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the young prince was of course an object of universal
attention and regard. He was tall and handsome in person.
Agreeable in manners and amiable and gentle in disposition, His
royal rank, the fame of the exploits which he had performed,
the misfortunes of his early years, and the strange and
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romantic adventures through which he had passed all conspired to
awaken a deep interest in his favor at the court
of Ptolemy. The situation of a hostage, too, is always
one which strongly attracts the sympathy and kind feelings of
those who hold him in custody. A captive is regarded
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in some sense as an enemy, and though his hard
lot may await a certain degree of pity and commiseration,
still the kind feeling is always modified by the fact
that the object of it, after all, though disarmed and helpless,
is still a foe. A hostage, however, is a friend.
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He comes as security for the faithfulness of a friend,
and an ally, so that the sympathy and interest which
are felt for him as an exile from his native
land are heightened by the circumstances that his position makes
him naturally an object of friendly regard. The attachment which
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soon began to be felt for Pearis in the court
of Ptolemy was increased by the excellent conduct and demeanor
which he exhibited while he was there. He was very
temperate and moderate in his pleasures, and upright and honorable
in all his doings. In a word, he made himself
a da general favorite, and after a year or two
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he married Antigony, a princess of the royal family. From
being a hostage, he now became a guest, and shortly
afterward Ptolemy fitted out an expedition to proceed to Epirus
and restore him to his throne. On arriving in Epirus,
Peirus found everything favorable to the success of his plans.
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The people of the country had become discontented with the
government of the reigning king and were very willing to
receive Pearis in his place. The revolution was easily affected,
and Pearis was thus once more restored to his throne.
End of Chapter three.
Chapter three of Paris by Jacob Abbott. This LibriVox recording
is in the public domain recording by Dion Giants Cet
Lake City, Utah, Early Life of Paris b c. Three
thirty two two two ninety five. In the two preceding
(00:21):
chapters we have related that portion of the history of
Macedonia which it is necessary to understand in order rightly
to appreciate the nature of the difficulties in which the
royal family of Epirus was involved at the time when
Puris first appeared upon the stage. The sources of these
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difficulties were two. First, the uncertainty of the line of succession,
there being two branches of the royal family, each claiming
the throne, which state of things was produced in a
great measure by the interposition of Olympias in the affairs
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of Epirus some years before. And secondly, the act of
Olympias in inducing as Cities to come to Macedonia to
embark in her quarrel against Cassander. There of course, since
there were two lines of princes both claiming the throne,
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no sovereign of either line could hold anything more than
a divided empire over the hearts of his subjects, and consequently,
when as cities left the kingdom to fight the battles
of Olympius in Macedon, it was comparatively easy for the
party opposed to him to affect a revolution and raise
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their own prince to the throne. The prince whom Olympias
had originally made king of Epirus to the exclusion of
the claimant belonging to the other branch of the family,
was her own brother. His name was Alexander. He was
the son of Neoptolemus, the rival branch of the family
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where the children of Arembus, the brother of Neoptolemus. This
Alexander flourished at the same time as Alexander the Great,
and in his character very much resembled his distinguished namesake.
He commenced a career of conquest in Italy at the
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same time that his nephew embarked in his in Asia,
and commenced it to under very similar circumstances. One went
to the east and another to the west, each determined
to make himself master of the world. The Alexander of
Macedon succeeded, the Alexander of Epirus failed. The one acquired
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consequently universal and perpetual renown, while the memory of the
other has been almost entirely neglected and forgotten. One reason,
unquestionably for the difference in these results was the difference
in the character of the enemies, respectively, against whom the
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two adventurers had to contend. Alexander of Epirus went westward
into Italy, where he had to encounter the soldiery of
the Romans, a soldiery of the most rugged, determined, and
indomitable character. Alexander of Macedon, on the other hand, went
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to the east, where he found only Asiatic races to
contend with, whose troops, though countless in numbers and magnificently
appointed in respect to all the purposes of parade and display,
were yet enervated with luxury and wholly able to stand
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against any energetic and determined foe. In fact, Alexander of
Epirus used to say that the reason why his nephew
Alexander of Macedon had succeeded while he himself had failed,
was because he himself had invaded countries peopled by men,
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while the Macedonian in his Asiatic campaign, had encountered only women. However,
this may be the campaign of Alexander of Epirus in
Italy had a very disastrous termination. The occasion of his
going there was a request which he had received from
(04:42):
the inhabitants of Tarentum that he would come over and
assist them in a war in which they were engaged
with some neighboring tribes. Tarentum was a city situated toward
the western shore of Italy. It was at the head
of the deep bay called the Gulf of Tarentum, which
(05:04):
bay occupies the hollow of the foot that the form
of Italy represents to the eye as seen upon a map.
Tarentum was accordingly across the Adriatic Sea from Epirus. The
distance was about two hundred miles. By taking a southerly
route and going up the Gulf of Tarentum, this distance
(05:28):
might be traversed wholly by sea. A little to the north,
the Adriatic is narrow, the passage there being only about
fifty miles across to an expedition, However, taking this course,
there would remain, after arriving on the Italian shore, fifty
miles or more to be accomplished by land in order
(05:51):
to reach Tarentum. Before deciding to comply with the request
of the Tarantanes that he would come to their Aia.
Alexander sent to a celebrated oracle in Epirus, called the
Oracle of Dodona, to inquire whether it would be safe
for him to undertake the expedition. To his inquiries, the
(06:14):
oracle gave him this for an answer, the waters of
Acheron will be the cause of your death, and Pandosia
is the place where you will die. Alexander was greatly
rejoiced at receiving this answer. Achron was a stream of Epirus,
and Pandosia was a town upon the banks of it.
(06:38):
He understood the response to mean that he was faded
to die quietly in his own country at some future period,
probably a remote one, and that there was no danger
in his undertaking the expedition to which he had been called.
He accordingly set sail from Epirus and landed in Italy,
(07:00):
and there, believing that he was fated to die in
Epirus and not in Italy, he fought in every battle
with the most desperate and reckless bravery, and achieved prodigies
of valor. The possibility that there might be an Acheron
and a Pandosia in Italy as well as in Epirus
(07:23):
did not occur to his mind for a time. He
was very successful in his career. He fought battles, gained victories,
conquered cities, and established his dominion over quite an extended region.
In order to hold what he had gained, he sent
over a great number of hostages to Epirus, to be
(07:45):
kept there as security for the continued submission of those
whom he had subdued. These hostages consisted chiefly, as was
usual in such cases, of children at length. In the
course of the war, an occasion arose in which it
was necessary for the protection of his troops to encamp
(08:07):
them on three hills which were situated very near to
each other. These hills were separated by low interval lands
and a small stream, but at the time when Alexander
established his encampment, the stream constituted no impediment to free
intercommunication between the different divisions of his army. There came, on, however,
(08:32):
a powerful reign the stream overflowed its banks the intervals
were inundated. This enabled the enemy to attack two of
Alexander's encampments, while it was utterly impossible for Alexander himself
to render them any aid. The enemy made the attack
(08:52):
and were successful in it. The two camps were broken up,
and the troops stationed in them were put to flight.
Those that remained with Alexander, becoming discouraged by the hopeless
condition in which they found themselves, placed, mutinied and sent
to the camp of the enemy, offering to deliver up
(09:14):
Alexander to them, dead or alive, as they should choose,
on condition that they themselves might be allowed to return
to their native land in peace. This proposal was accepted,
but before it was put in execution, Alexander, having discovered
the plot, placed himself at the head of a determined
(09:37):
and desperate band of followers, broke through the ranks of
the enemies that surrounded him and made his escape to
a neighboring wood. From this wood, he took a route
which led him to a river, intending to pass the
river by a bridge which he expected to find there,
and then to destroy the bridge as soon as he
(10:01):
had crossed it, so as to prevent his enemies from
following him. By this means, he hoped to make his
way to some place of safety. He found, on arriving
at the brink of the stream that the bridge had
been carried away by the inundation. He however, pressed forward
into the water on horseback, intending to ford the stream.
(10:25):
The torrent was wild and the danger was imminent, but
Alexander pressed on at length. One of the attendants, seeing
his master in imminent danger of being drowned, exclaimed aloud,
this cursed river, well, is it named Acheron? The word
Acheron in the original language signifies river of sorrow. By
(10:49):
this exclamation, Alexander learned for the first time that the
river he was crossing bore the same name with the
one in Epirus, which he supposed had been referred to
in the warning of the oracle. He was at once
overwhelmed with consternation. He did not know whether to go
(11:09):
forward or to return. The moment of indecision was suddenly
ended by a loud outcry from his attendants, giving the
alarm that the traders were close upon him. Alexander then
pushed forward across the water. He succeeded in gaining the bank,
but as soon as he did so, a dart from
(11:32):
one of his enemies reached him and killed him on
the spot. His lifeless body fell back into the river
and was floated down the stream until At length it
reached the camp of the enemy, which happened to be
on the bank of the stream below. Here it was
drawn out of the water and subjected to every possible indignity.
(11:57):
The soldiers cut the body in two, and sending one
part to one of the cities as a trophy of
their victory. They set up the other part in the
camp as a target for the soldiers to shoot at
with darts and javelins. At length a woman came into
the camp, and, with earnest entreaties and many tears, begged
(12:21):
the soldiers to give the mutilated corpse to her. Her
object in wishing to obtain possession of it was that
she might send it home to Epirus, to the family
of Alexander, and by with it the liberty of her
husband and her children, who were among the hostages which
had been sent there. The soldiers acceded to this request,
(12:45):
and the parts of the body, having been brought together again,
were taken to Epirus and delivered to Olympias, by whom
the remains were honorably interred. We must presume that the
woman whose them obtained the expected reward in the return
of her husband and children. Though of this we are
(13:07):
not expressly informed. Of course, the disastrous result of this
most unfortunate expedition had the effect in Epirus of diminishing
very much the popularity and the strength of that branch
of the royal family, namely the line of Neoptolemus, to
which Alexander had belonged. Accordingly, instead of being succeeded by
(13:33):
one of his brothers, as Cides, the father of Pirus,
who was the representative of the other line, was permitted
quietly to assume the crown. It might have been expected
that Olympius would have opposed his accession, as she was
herself a princess of the rival line. She did, not, however,
(13:54):
do so. On the contrary, she gave him her support
and allied herself to him very very closely, and he,
on his part, became in subsequent years one of her
most devoted adherents and friends. When Olympius was shut up
in Pydna by the army of Cassandra, as was related
(14:15):
in the last chapter, and sent for Ascedes to come
to her aid, he immediately raised an army and marched
to the frontier. He found the passes in the mountains
which led from Epirus to Macedonia, all strongly guarded, but
he still determined to force his way through. He soon, however,
(14:37):
began to observe marks of discontent and dissatisfaction among the
officers of his army. These indications increased until at length
the disaffectation broke out into open mutiny. As stated in
the last chapter, Ascides then called his forces together and
(14:57):
gave orders that all who were una willing to follow
him into Macedon should be allowed freely to return. He
did not wish, he said, that any should accompany him
on such an expedition, excepting those who went of their
own free will. A considerable part of the army then returned,
(15:19):
but instead of repairing peaceably to their homes, they raised
a general insurrection in Epirus and brought the family of
Neoptolemus again to the throne. A solemn decree of the
state was passed, declaring that Ascides, in withdrawing from the kingdom,
had forfeited his crown and banishing him forever from the country.
(15:43):
And as this revolution was intended to operate not merely
against Acids personally, but against the branch of the royal
family to which he belonged, the new government deemed it
necessary in order to finish their work and make it
sure that many of his relatives and friends, and especially
(16:04):
his infant son and heir, should die. Several of the
members of a city's family were accordingly killed, though the
attendants in charge succeeded in saving the life of the
child by a sudden flight. The escape was effected by
the instrumentality of two of the officers of Acedes household,
(16:26):
named Androclides and Angelus. These men, as soon as the
alarm was given, hurried the babe away with only such
nurses and other attendants as it was necessary to take
with them. The child was still unweaned, and though those
in charge made the number of attendants as small as possible,
(16:49):
still the party were necessarily of such a character as
to forbid any great rapidity of flight. A troop was
sent in pursuit of them, and soon began to draw near.
When andro Clytes found that his party would be overtaken
by the troop, he committed the child to the care
(17:09):
of three young men, bidding them to ride on with
him at their utmost speed to a certain town in
Macedon called Megare, where they thought he would be safe,
and then he himself and the rest of his company
turned back to meet the pursuers. They succeeded, partly by
(17:30):
their representations and entreaties, and partly by such resistance and
obstruction as it was in their power to make, in
stopping the soldiers where they were at length, Having, though
with some difficulty, succeeded in getting away from the soldiers,
Andro Clytes and Angelus rode on by secret ways till
(17:53):
they overtook the three young men. They now began to
think that the danger was over. At length. A little
after sunset, they approached the town of MegArray. There was
a river just before the town which looked too rough
and dreadful to be crossed. The party, however, advanced to
(18:13):
the brink and attempted to ford the stream, but they
found it impossible. It was growing dark, the water of
the river, having been swelled by rains, was very high
and boisterous, and they found that they could not get over.
At length, they saw some of the people of the
town coming down to the bank on the opposite side.
(18:36):
They were in hopes that these people could render them
some assistance in crossing the stream, and they began to
call out to them for this purpose. But the stream
ran so rapidly, and the roaring of the torrent was
so great, that they could not make themselves heard. The
distance was very inconsiderable, for the stream was not one.
(19:00):
But though the party with Pearis called aloud and earnestly,
and made signs holding up the child in their arms
to let the people see him, they could not make
themselves understood. At last, after spending some time in these
fruitless efforts, one of the party who were with Paris
(19:20):
thought of the plan of writing what they wished to
say upon a piece of bark and throwing it across
the stream to those on the other side. They accordingly
pulled off some bark from a young oak which was
growing on a bank of the river, and succeeded in
making characters upon it by the means of the tongue
(19:43):
of a buckle, sufficient to say that they had with
them Paris, the young prince of Epirus, and that they
were flying with him to save his life, and to
implore the people on the other side to contrive some
way to get them over the river. This piece of
bark they then managed to throw across the stream. Some
(20:07):
say they rolled it around a javelin, and then gave
the javelin to the strongest of their party to throw.
Others say that they attached it to a stone in
some way or other, they contrived to give it a
sufficient momentum to carry it across the water, and the
people on the other side, when they obtained it and
(20:29):
read what was written upon it, were greatly excited by
the tidings, and engaged at once with ardor and enthusiasm
in efforts to save the child. They brought axes and
began to cut down trees to make a raft. In
due time, the raft was completed, and notwithstanding the darkness
(20:50):
of the night and the force and swiftness of the
current of the stream, the party of fugitives succeeded in
crossing upon it, and thus brought the child and all
the attendants accompanying him safely over. The party with pirris
did not intend to stop at Megaree. They did not
(21:11):
consider it safe, in fact, for them to remain in
any part of Macedon, not knowing what course the war
between Polly'sperchon and Cassander would take there, or how the
parties engaged in the contest might stand affected toward Pearis.
They determined therefore to press forward in their flight till
(21:34):
they had passed through Macedon and reached the country beyond
the country north of Macedon on the western coast. The
one in which they determined to seek refuge was Illyria.
The name of the king of Illyria was Glaucius. They
had reason to believe that Glaucius would receive and protect
(21:55):
the child, for he was connected by marriage with the
royal family of Epirus, his wife Beroa being a princess
of the line of the Cities. When the fugitives arrived
at the court of Glaucius, they went to the palace
where they found Gloucius and Boa, and after telling the
story of their danger and escape, they laid the child
(22:19):
down as a suppliant at the feet of the king.
Glaucius felt not a little embarrassed at the situation in
which he was placed, and did not know what to do.
He remained for a long time silent. At length, little Paris,
who was all the while lying at his feet, began
(22:39):
to creep closer toward him, and, finally taking hold of
the king's robe, he began to climb up by it
and attempted to get into his lap, looking up into
the king's face at the same time, with a countenance
in which the expression of confidence and hope was with
(23:00):
a certain instinctive, infantile fear. The heart of the king
was so touched by this mute appeal that he took
the child up in his arms, dismissed at once all
prudential considerations from his mind, and in the end delivered
the boy to the Queen Baroa, directing her to bring
(23:22):
him up with her own children. Cassander soon discovered the
place of Pius's retreat, and he made great efforts to
induce Glaucius to give him up. He offered Glaucius a
very large sum of money if he would deliver Peirus
into his hands, but Glaucius refused to do it. Cassander
(23:43):
would perhaps have made war upon Glaucius to compel him
to comply with this requisition, but he was then fully
occupied with the enemies that threatened him in Greece and Macedon.
He did subsequently make an attempt to invade the dominions
of Glaucius and to get possession of the person of Paris,
(24:05):
but the expedition failed, and after that the boy was
allowed to remain in Illyria without any further molestation. Time
passed on until at length Pearis was twelve years old.
During this interval, great changes took place in the affairs
of Cassander in Macedon. At first he was very successful
(24:27):
in his plans. He succeeded in expelling Polly's berchon from
the country and in establishing himself as king. He caused
Roxanna and the young Alexander to be assassinated, as was
stated in the last chapter, so as to remove out
of the way the only persons who he supposed could
(24:49):
ever advance any rival claims to the throne. For a
time everything went well and prosperously with him, But at
length the tide of his own affairs seemed to turn.
A new enemy appeared against him in Asia, a certain
distinguished commander named Demetrius, who afterward became one of the
(25:11):
most illustrious personages of his age. Just at this time too,
the king of Epirus Alcetas, the prince of the family
of Neoptolemus, who had reigned during Paris's exile in Allyria, died.
Glaucius deemed this a favorable opportunity for restoring Peuris to
(25:33):
the throne. He accordingly placed himself at the head of
an army and marched into Epirus, taking the young prince
with him. No effectual resistance was made, and Paris was
crowned king. He was of course too young actually to reign,
and a sort of regent was accordingly established in power,
(25:55):
with authority to govern the country in the young king's
name and till he should come of age. This state
of things could not be very stable. It endured about
five years, and during this time Pearis seemed to be
very firmly established in power. The strength of his position, however,
(26:16):
was more apparent than real, for the princes of the
other branch of the family, who had been displaced by
Pearis's return to power, were of course discontented and restless.
All the time, they were continually forming plots and conspiracies,
and were only waiting for an opportunity to effect another revolution.
(26:39):
The opportunity, at length came. One of the sons of
Glaucius was to be married. Pearis had been the companion
and playmate of this prince during his residence in Illyria,
and was of course invited to the wedding. Supposing that
all was safe in his dominions. He accepted the invitation
(27:01):
and went to Illyria. While he was there, amusing himself
in the festivities and rejoicings connected with the wedding, his
rivals raised a rebellion, took possession of the government and
all of Pirris's treasures, killed or put to flight his
partisans and friends, and raised a prince of the family
(27:23):
of Neoptolemus to the throne. Peirus found himself once more
and exile. The revolution in Epirus was so complete that,
after careful consideration and inquiry, Peirus could see, with the
resources he had at his command, no hope of recovering
his throne. But being of an ambitious and restless spirit,
(27:47):
he determined not to remain idle, and he concluded therefore
to enter into the service of Demetrius in his war
against Cassander. There were two considerations which led him to
do this. In the first place, Cassander was his most
formidable enemy, and the prospect of his being ultimately restored
(28:11):
again to his throne would depend almost entirely he well
knew upon the possibility of destroying or at least curtailing
Cassander's power. Then, besides Demetrius was especially his friend. The
wife of Demetrius was de Damia, the sister of Pirus,
(28:31):
so that Pirus looked upon Demetrius as his natural ally.
He accordingly offered to enter the service of Demetrius, and
was readily received. In fact, notwithstanding his youth, for he
was now only seventeen or eighteen years of age, Demetrius
gave him a very important command in his army, and
(28:55):
took great pains to instruct him in the art of war.
It was long before an opportunity was afforded to make
trial of Pearis's capacity as a soldier. A great battle
was fought at Ipsus in Asia Minor, between Demetrius on
one side and Cassander on the other. Besides these two commanders,
(29:18):
there were many princes and generals of the highest rank
who took part in the contest as allies of the
principal combatants, which had the effect of making the battle
a very celebrated one, and of causing it to attract
very strongly the attention of all mankind at the time
(29:39):
when it occurred. The result of the contest was, on
the whole unfavorable to the cause of Demetrius. His troops
generally were compelled to give way, though the division which
Paris commanded retained their ground. Paris in fact acquired great
renown by his courage and energy, and perhaps still more
(30:02):
by his success on this occasion. Young as he was,
Demetrius immediately gave him a new and very responsible command,
and entrusted to him the charge of several very important
expeditions and campaigns, in all of which the young soldier
evinced such a degree of energy and courage, combined too
(30:27):
with so much forethought, prudence and military skill, as presaged
very clearly his subsequent renown. At length, an alliance was
formed between Demetrius and Ptolemy, King of Egypt, and as
security for the due execution of the obligations assumed by
(30:47):
Demetrius in the treaty which they made, Ptolemy demanded a hostage.
Pearis offered to go himself to Egypt in this capacity.
Ptolemy accepted him, and Trus was accordingly taken in one
of Ptolemy's ships across the Mediterranean to Alexandria. In Egypt,
(31:08):
the young prince was of course an object of universal
attention and regard. He was tall and handsome in person.
Agreeable in manners and amiable and gentle in disposition, His
royal rank, the fame of the exploits which he had performed,
the misfortunes of his early years, and the strange and
(31:32):
romantic adventures through which he had passed all conspired to
awaken a deep interest in his favor at the court
of Ptolemy. The situation of a hostage, too, is always
one which strongly attracts the sympathy and kind feelings of
those who hold him in custody. A captive is regarded
(31:55):
in some sense as an enemy, and though his hard
lot may await a certain degree of pity and commiseration,
still the kind feeling is always modified by the fact
that the object of it, after all, though disarmed and helpless,
is still a foe. A hostage, however, is a friend.
(32:17):
He comes as security for the faithfulness of a friend,
and an ally, so that the sympathy and interest which
are felt for him as an exile from his native
land are heightened by the circumstances that his position makes
him naturally an object of friendly regard. The attachment which
(32:39):
soon began to be felt for Pearis in the court
of Ptolemy was increased by the excellent conduct and demeanor
which he exhibited while he was there. He was very
temperate and moderate in his pleasures, and upright and honorable
in all his doings. In a word, he made himself
a da general favorite, and after a year or two
(33:03):
he married Antigony, a princess of the royal family. From
being a hostage, he now became a guest, and shortly
afterward Ptolemy fitted out an expedition to proceed to Epirus
and restore him to his throne. On arriving in Epirus,
Peirus found everything favorable to the success of his plans.
(33:27):
The people of the country had become discontented with the
government of the reigning king and were very willing to
receive Pearis in his place. The revolution was easily affected,
and Pearis was thus once more restored to his throne.
End of Chapter three.
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