05 - Pyrrhus by Jacob Abbott

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.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter five of Paris by Jacob Abbott. This LibriVox recording
is in the public domain recording by Dion Jin's cet
Laic City Utah War in Italy b. C. Two eighty.
The grand undertaking in which Paris now engaged, as indicated

(00:22):
in the last chapter, the one in which he acquired
such great renown, was an expedition into Italy against the Romans.
The immediate occasion of his embarking in this enterprise was
an invitation which he received from the inhabitants of Tarentum

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to come to their aid. His predecessor, Alexander had been
drawn into Italy precisely in the same way, and we
might have supposed that Paris would have been warned by
the terrible fate which Alexander met with not to follow

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in his steps. But military men are never deterred from
dangerous undertakings by the disasters which others have encountered in
attempting them before. In fact, perhaps Peirus was the more
eager to try his fortune in this field on account

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of the calamitous result of his uncle's campaign. He was
unwilling that his kingdom of Epirus should rest under the
discredit of a defeat, and he was fired with a
special ambition to show that he could overcome and triumph
where others had been overborne and destroyed. The dominion of

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the Romans had extended itself before this time over a
considerable portion of Italy, though Tarentum and the region of
country dependent upon it had not yet been subdued. The
Romans were, however, now gradually making their way toward the

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eastern and southern part of Italy, and they had at
length advanced to the frontiers of the Tarantine territory, and
having been met and resisted there by the Tarantine troops,
a collision ensued, which was followed by an open and
general war. In the struggle, the Tarantines found that they

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could not maintain their ground against the Roman soldiery. They
were gradually driven back, and now the city itself was
in very imminent danger. The difficulties in which the Tarantines
were placed were greatly increased by the fact that there
was no well organized and stable government ruling in the city.

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The government was a sort of democracy. In its form
and in its actions, it seems to have been a
democracy of a very turbulent character. The questions of public
policy being debated and decided in assemblies of the people,
where it would seem that there was very little of

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parliamentary law to regulate the proceedings. And now the dangers
which threatened them on the approach of the Romans distracted
their councils more than ever, and produced in fact, universal
disorder and confusion throughout the city. Various parties were formed,

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each of which had its own set of measures to
urge and insist upon. Some were for submitting to the
Romans and thus allowing themselves to be incorporated in the
Roman Commonwealth. Others were for persevering in their resistance to
the last extremity. In the midst of these disputes, it

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was suggested by some of the councilors that the reason
why they had not been able to maintain their ground
against their enemies was that they had no commander of
sufficient predominance in rank and authority to concentrate their forces
and employ them in an efficient and advantageous manner. And

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they proposed that in order to supply this very essential deficiency,
Pearis should be invited to come and take the command
of their forces. This plan was strongly opposed by the
more considerate and far sighted of the people, for they
well knew that when of foreign power was called in

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in such a manas as a temporary friend and ally,
it almost always became in the end a permanent master.
The mass of the people of the city, however, were
so excited by the eminence of the immediate peril, that
it was impossible to impress them with any concern for

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so remote and uncertain a danger, and it was determined
that pearis should be called. It was said that the
meetings which were held by the Tarantines while these proceedings
were in progress, were so boisterous and disorderly, that, as
often happens in democratic assemblies, the voices of those who

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were in the minority could not be heard, And that
at last one of the public men, who was opposed
to the plan of sending the invitation to Paris, resorted
to a singular divine in order to express his opinion.
The name of this personage was meton the artifice which

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he adopted. Was this he disguised himself as a strolling
montebank and musician, and then, pretending to be half intoxicated,
he came into the assembly with a garland upon his head,
a torch in his hand, and with a woman playing

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on a sort of flute to accompany him. On seeing
him enter the assembly, the people all turned their attention
toward him. Some laughed, some clapped their hands, and others
called out to him to give them a song. Meton
prepared to do so, and when after much difficulty silence

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was at length obtained, Meton came forward into the space
that had been made for him, and, throwing all his disguise,
he called out aloud, men of Torrentum, you do well
in calling for a song and in enjoying the pleasures
of mirth and merriment. While you may, for I warn

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you that you will see very little like mirth or
merriment in Tarentum. After Paris comes. The astonishment which this
sudden turn in the affair occasioned was succeeded for a
moment by a murmur of assent, which seemed to pass
through the assembly, the good sense of many of the spectators,

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being surprised as it were, into an admission that the
sentiment which Meton had so surreptitiously found means to express
to them was true. This pause was, however, but momentary.
A scene of violent excitement and confusion ensued, and metin

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the woman were expelled from the meeting without any ceremony.
The resolution of sending for Peiris was confirmed, and ambassadors
were soon afterward dispatched to Epirus. The message which they
communicated to Paris on their arrival was that the Tarantines,

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being engaged in a war with the Romans, invited Peris
to come and take command of their armies. They had
troops enough, they said, and all necessary provisions and munitions
of war. All that they now required was an able
and efficient general, and if Pearis would come over to

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them and assume the command, they would at once put
him at the head of an army of twenty thousand
horse and three hundred and fifty thousand foot soldiers. It
seems incredible that a state should have attained to such
a degree of prosperity and power as to be able

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to bring such a force as this into the field,
while under the government of men who, when convened for
the consideration of questions of public policy in a most
momentous crisis, were capable of having their attention drawn off
entirely from the business before them by the coming in

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of a party of strolling montebanks and players. Yet such
is the account recorded by one of the greatest historians
of ancient times. Paris was, of course very much elated
at receiving this communication. The tidings to produced great excitement

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among all the people of Epirus. Great numbers immediately began
to offer themselves as volunteers to a company the expedition.
Paris determined at once to embark in the enterprise, and
he commenced making preparations for it on a very magnificent scale.

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For notwithstanding the assurance which the Tarantines had given him
that they had a very large body of men already assembled,
Pearis seems to have thought it best to take with
him a force of his own. As soon as a
part of his army was ready, he sent them forward

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under the command of a distinguished general and minister of
state named Sinius. Sinius occupied a very high position in
Paris's court. He was a Thessalian by birth. He had
been educated in Greece under Demosthenes, and he was a
very accomplished scholar and orator as well as statesmen. Pearis

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had employed him in embassies and negotiations of various kinds.
From time to time, and Sinius had always discharged these
trusts in a very able and satisfactory manner. In fact, Paris,
with his customary courtesy in acknowledging his obligations to those

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whom he employed, used to say that Sinius had gained
him more cities by his address than he had ever
conquered for himself by his arms. Pineus, it was said,
was in the outset not much in favor of this
expedition into Italy. The point of view in which he

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regarded such an enterprise was shown in a remarkable conversation
which he held with Pearis while the preparations were going on.
He took occasion to introduce the subject one day when
Pearis was for a short peers at leisure in the
midst of his work, by saying, the Romans are famed

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as excellent soldiers, and they have many warlike nations in
alliance with them. But suppose we succeed in our enterprise
and conquer them, what use shall we make of our victory?
Your question answers itself, replied the king. The Romans are
the predominant power in Italy. If they are once subdued,

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there will be nothing in Italy. That can withstand us.
We can go on immediately and make ourselves master of
the whole country. After a short pause, during which he
seemed to be reflecting on the career of victory which
Peris was thus opening to view, Sineus added, and after

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we have conquered Italy, what shall we do next? Why
there is Sicily, very replied Pearis, a very fruitful and
populous island, and one which we shall then very easily
be able to subdue. It is now in a very
unsettled state, and could do nothing effectual to resist us.

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I think that is very true, said Sineus. And after
we make ourselves masters of Sicily, what shall we do, then, then,
replied Pearis. We can cross the Mediterranean to Libya and Carthage.
The distance is not very great, and we shall be
able to land on the African coast at the head

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of such a force that we shall easily make ourselves
master of the whole country. We shall then have so
extended and established our power that no enemy can be
found in any quarter who will think of opposing us.
That is very true, said Sineus. And so you will

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then be able to put down effectually all your old
enemies in Thessaly, Macedon and Greece, and make yourself master
of all those countries. And when all this is accomplished,
what shall we do then? Why, then, said Pearis, we
can sit down and take our ease, and eat, drink,

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and be merry, And why rejoin sineus? Cannot we sit
down and take our ease and enjoy ourselves now? Instead
of taking all this trouble beforehand. You have already at
your command every possible means of enjoyment. Why not make

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yourself happy with them now? Instead of entering on a
course which will lead to such dreadful toils and dangers,
such innumerable calamities, and truth such seas of blood, and
yet bring you, after all, at the end, nothing more
than you have at the beginning. It may perhaps be

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a matter of doubt whether Sinius intended this as a
serious remonstrance against the execution of Pearis's designs, or only
as an ingenious and good humored satire on the folly
of ambition to amuse the mind of his sovereign in
some momentary interval of leisure that came in the midst

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of his cares. However, it may have been intended it
made no serious impression on the mind of Paris and
produced no change in his plans. The work of preparation
went vigorously on, and as soon as a portion of
the troops were ready to embark, Sineus was put in

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command of them, and they crossed the Adriatic Sea. After
this Puris completed the organization of the remaining force. It
consisted of twenty elephants, three thousand horse and twenty thousand foot,
with two thousand archers and twenty thousand slingers. When all

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was ready, Pirris put these troops on board a large
fleet of galleys, transports and flat bottomed boats, which had
been sent over to him from Tarentum by Cineas for
the purpose, and at length set sail. He left Ptolemy,
his eldest son, then about fifteen years old, regent of

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the kingdom, and took two younger sons, Alexander and Helenus,
with him. The expedition was destined. It seems to begin
in disaster, for no sooner had Piris set sail than
a terrible storm arose, which for a time threaten the
total destruction of the fleet and of all who were

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on board of it. The ship which conveyed Pirus himself,
was of course larger and better manned than the others,
and it succeeded at length a little after midnight in
reaching the Italian shore, while the rest of the fleet
were driven at the mercy of the winds and dispersed

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in every direction over the sea far and wide. But
though Peis's ship approached the shore, the violence of the
winds and waves was so great that for a long
time it was impossible for those on board to land.
At length, the wind suddenly changed its direction and began

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to blow very violently off the shore, so that there
seemed to be a great probability that the ship would
be driven to sea again. In fact, so imminent was
the danger that Peirus determined to throw himself into the
sea and attempt to swim to the shore. He accordingly

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did so, and was immediately followed by his attendants and guards,
who leaped into the water after him and did everything
in their power to assist him in gaining the land.
The danger, however, was extreme, for the darkness of the night,
the roaring of the winds and waves, and the violence

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with which the surf regurgitated from the shore rendered the
scene terrific beyond description. At last, however, about daybreak, the
shipwrecked company succeeded in gaining the land. Pearis was almost
completely exhausted in body by the fatigues and exposures which

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he had endured, but he appeared to be by no
means depressed in my mind. The people of the country
flocked down to the coast to render aid. Several other
vessels afterwards succeeded in reaching the shore, and as the
wind now rapidly subsided, the men on board of them

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found comparatively little difficulty in effecting a landing. Paris collected
the remnant thus saved, and marshaled them. On the shore.
He found that he had about two thousand foot, a
small body of horse, and two elephants. With this force,
he immediately set out on his march to Tarentum. As

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he approached the city, Sineus came out to meet him
at the head of the forces which had been placed
at his command, and which had made the passage in safety.
As soon as Paris found himself established in Tarentum, he
immediately assumed the command of every everything there, as if

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he were already the acknowledged sovereign of the city. In fact,
he found the city in so disorganized and defenseless a
condition that this assumption of power on his part seemed
to be justified by the necessity of the case. The inhabitants,

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as is often the fact with men when their affairs
are in an extreme and desperate condition, had become reckless
everywhere throughout the city. Disorder and idleness reigned supreme. The
men spent their time in strolling about from place to place,
or sitting idly at home, or gathering in crowds at

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places of public diversion. They had abandoned all care or
concern about public affairs, trusting to Paris to save them
from the impending danger. Pearis perceived accordingly that an entire
revolution in the internal condition of the city was indispensably required,

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and he immediately took most efficient measures for effecting it.
He shut up all the places of public amusement, and
even the public walks and promenades, and put an end
to all feastings, revels and entertainments. Every man capable of
bearing arms was enrolled in the army, and the troops

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thus formed were brought out daily for severe and long
protracted drillings and reviews. The people complained loudly of these exections,
but Puris had the power in his hands, and they
were compelled to submit. Many of the inhabitants, however, were
so dissatisfied with these proceedings that they went away and

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left the city altogether. Of course, it was those who
were the most hopelessly idle, dissolute, and reckless that thus withdrew,
while the more hardy and resolute remained. While these changes
were going on, Paris set up and repaired the defenses
of the city. He secured the walls and strengthened the gates,

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and organized a complete system of guards and centuries. In
a word, the condition of Tarentum was soon entirely changed.
From being an exposed and defenseless town filled with devotees
of idleness and pleasure, it became a fortress, well secured

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at all points, with material defenses, and occupied by a
well disciplined and resolute garrison. The inhabitants of the southeastern
part of Italy, where Tarentum was situated, were of Greek origin,
the country having been settled, as it would seem, by

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emigrants from the opposite shores of the Adriatic Sea. Their language, therefore,
as well as their customs and usages of life, were
different from those of the Roman communities that occupied the
western parts of the peninsula. Now. The Greeks at this
period regarded themselves as the only truly civilized people in

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the world. All other nations they called barbarians. The people
of Tarentum, therefore, in sending for Pearis to come to
their aid against the Romans, did not consider him as
a foreigner brought in to help them in a civil
war against their own countrymen, but rather as a fellow

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countryman coming to aid them in a war against foreigners.
They regarded him as belonging to the same race and
lineage with themselves, while the enemies who were coming from
beyond the Apennines to assail them they looked upon as
a foreign and barbarous horde, against whom it was for

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the common interest of all nations of Greek descent to combine.
It was this identity of interest between Paris and the
people whom he came to aid, in respect both to
their national origin and the cause in which they were engaged,
which made it possible for him to assume so supreme

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an authority over all their affairs. When he arrived at Tarentum,
the people of the neighboring cities were slow in sending
in to Paris the quotas of troops which the Tarantines
had promised him, and before his force was collected, the
tidings arrived that the Romans were coming on at the

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head of a great army under the command of the
consul Leavenus. Paris immediately prepared to go forth to meet them.
He marshaled the troops that were already assembled, and leaving
the city, he advanced to meet the Consul. After proceeding
some way, he sent forward an ambassador to the camp

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of Levinus to propose to that general that before coming
to extremities, an effort should be made to settle the
dispute between the Romans and Tarantines in some amicable manner,
and offering his services as an umpire and mediator for
this purpose. To this embassage, Levinus coolly replied that he

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did not choose to accept Pearis as a mediator, and
that he did not fear him as an enemy. Of course,
after receiving such a message as this, there was nothing
left to Paris to prepare for war. He advanced accordingly
at the head of his troops, until at length he

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reached a plain where he encamped with all his forces.
There was a river before him, a small stream called
the River Cyrus. The Romans came up and encamped on
the opposite side of the bank of this stream. Pirus
mounted his horse and rode to an eminence near the

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river to take a view of them. He was much
surprised at what he saw. The order of the troops,
the systematic and regular arrangement of guards and sentinels, and
the regularity of the whole encampment excited his admiration. Barbarians,
said he, there is certainly nothing of the barbarian in

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their manner of arranging their encampment, and we shall soon
see how it is with them in other respects, saying,
he turned away and rode to his own camp. He, however,
now began to be very seriously concerned in respect to
the result of the approaching contest. The enemy with whom

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he was about to engage was obviously a far more
formidable one than he had anticipated. He resolved to remain
where he was until the allies, whom he was expecting
from the other Grecian cities should arrive. He accordingly took
measures for fortifying himself as strongly as possible in his position,

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and he sent down a strong detachment from his main
body to the river to guard the bank and prevent
the Romans from crossing to attack him. Levinus, on the
other hand, knowing that Puris was expecting strong reinforcements, determined
not to wait till they should come, but resolved to

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cross the river at once, notwithstanding the guard which Peirus
had placed on the bank to dispute the passage. The
Romans did not attempt to cross the stream in one body.
The troops were divided, and the several columns advanced to
the river and entered the water at different points up

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and down the stream, the foot soldiers at the fords,
where the water was most shallow, and the horsemen at
other places the most favorable that they could find. In
this manner, the whole river was soon filled with soldiers.
The guard which Peiras had posted on the bank found

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that they were wholly unable to withstand such multitudes. In fact,
they began to fear that they might be surrounded. They
accordingly abandoned the bank of the river and retreated to
the main body of the army. Pearis was greatly concerned
at this event, and began to consider himself in imminent danger.

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He drew up his foot soldiers in battle array and
ordered them to stand by their arms, while he himself
advanced at the head of the horsemen toward the river.
As soon as he came to the bank, an extraordinary
spectacle presented itself to view. The surface of the stream

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seemed covered in every part with shields rising a little
above the water as they were held up by the
arms of the horsemen and footmen who were coming over
as fast as the Romans landed. They formed an array
on the shore, and Pearis, advancing to them, gave them battle.

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The contest was maintained with the utmost determination and fury
on both sides for a long time. Peirus himself was
very conspicuous in the fight, for he wore a very,
very costly and magnificent armor, and so resplendent in luster
withal as to be an object of universal attention. Notwithstanding this,

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he exposed himself in the hottest parts of the engagement,
charging upon the enemy with the most dauntless intrepidity, whenever
there was occasion, and moving up and down the lines
wherever his aid or the encouragement of his presence was
most required. At length, one of the generals named Leonardas

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wrote up to him and said, do you see, sire,
that barbarian trooper on the black horse with the white feet?
I counsel you to beware of him. He seems to
be meditating some deep design against you. He singles you out,
and keeps his eye constantly upon you, and follows you

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wherever you go. He is watching an opportunity to execute
some terrible design, and you will do well to be
on your guard against him. Leonardus said Pearis in reply,
we cannot contend against our destiny, I know very well,
but it is my opinion that neither that man, nor

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any other man in the Roman army that seeks an
encounter with me, will have any reason to congratulate himself
on the result of it. He had scarcely spoken these
words when he saw the horseman whom Leonardus had pointed out,
coming down upon him at full speed, with his spear

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grasped firmly in his hands, and the iron point of
it aimed directly at Pearis. Pearis sprang immediately to meet
his antagonist, bringing his own spear into aim. At the
same time the horses met and were both thrown down
by the shock of the encounter. The friends of Pirus

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rushed to the spot. They found both horses had been
thrust through by the spears, and they both lay now
upon the ground dying. Some of the men drew Peirus
out from under his horse and bore him off the field,
while others stabbed and killed the Roman where he lay. Peirus,

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having escaped this terrible danger, determined now to be more
upon his guard. He supposed, in fact, that the Roman
officers would be made furious by the death of their
comrade and would make the most desperate efforts to avenge him.
He accordingly contrived to find an opportunity, in the midst

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of the confusion of the battle, to put off the
armor which made him so conspicuous, by exchanging with one
of his officers named Megacles. Having thus disguised himself, he
returned to the battle. He brought up the foot soldiers
and the elephants, and instead of employing himself as heretofore

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in performing single feats of personal valor, he devoted all
his powers to directing the arrangements of the battle, encouraging
the men, and rallying them when they were for a
time driven away from their ground by the exchange of
armor which Pearis thus made. He probably saved his life

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for megacles. Wherever he appeared after he had assumed the
dress of Paris, found himself always surrounded by enemies who
pressed upon him incessantly and everywhere in great numbers, And
he was finally killed. When he fell. The men who
slew him seized the glittering helmet and the resplendent cloak

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that he wore, and bore them off in triumph into
the Roman lines as proof that Peirus was slain. The tidings,
as it passed along from rank to rank of the army,
awakened a long and loud shout of acclamation and triumph,
which greatly excited and animated the Romans, while it awakened

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in the army of Paris a correspondent emotion of discouragement
and fear. In fact, for a short time it was
universally believed in both armies that Paris was dead. In
order to correct this false impression among his own troops,
which threatened for a season. To produce the most fatal effects.

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Peirus rode along the ranks with his head uncovered, showing
himself to his men and shouting to them that he
was yet alive. At length, after a long and very
ob instate conflict, the Greeks gained the victory. This result
was due, in the end in a great measure to

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the elephants which Paris brought into the battle. The Roman horses,
being wholly unused to the sight of such huge beasts,
were terrified beyond measure at the spectacle, and fled in
dismay whenever they saw the monsters coming. In fact, in
some cases the riders lost all command of their horses,

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and the troop turned and fled, bearing down and overwhelming
the ranks of their friends behind them. In the end,
the Romans were wholly driven from the field. They did
not even return to their camp, but after recrossing the river,
in confusion, they fled in all directions, abandoning the whole

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country to their conqueror. Paris then advanced across the river
and took possession of the Roman camp. End of chapter
five