Pyrrhus was the king of Epirus and lived from 318 BCE to 272 BCE. He is widely acknowledged as being one of the most brilliant generals of his age. He led his soldiers to many victories, but is most famous for his battles against Rome. Along with being an outstanding general, he was a praised author. His books on the art of war have been quoted and acclaimed by many ancient authors. Despite his many great qualities Pyrrhus was a lousy politician. Many people believe that if he had had better political sense he would have been able to keep control of the land he conquered and his battles against Rome
Pyrrhus became king at the age of 12 but was soon dethroned by an uprising in 302 BCE. For the next few years he served as an officer in the wars of the Diadochi. In 298 BCE, he was sent to Alexandria as a hostage under the treaty of Demetrius and Ptolemy. Pyrrhus befriended Ptolemy and then married Ptolemy’s step daughter, Antigone. In 297 BCE Ptolemy restored Pyrrhus to his kingdom. Three years later, with military and financial aid from Ptolemy, Pyrrhus went to war against his former ally Demetrius, king of Macedonia. Pyrrhus took control of the entire western half of Macedonia and Thessaly. He was driven out of Macedonia in 286 BCE when he was defeated by Lysimachus at Edessa.
Pyrrhus’s battle against Rome started in 281 BCE when the Greek city of Tarentum in southern Italy asked for his assistance against Rome. This was to be the first time that the Romans and Greeks ever met on the battlefield. Pyrrhus came to Italy with an army of about 25 000 men and 20 war elephants. The first battle (the battle of Heraclea) took place in 280 BCE. Due to his elephants and superior cavalry Pyrrhus’s army won a costly victory. After this v...
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...litary might and trained professionals. After being defeated at Heraclea many Roman senators feared that Pyrrhus would conquer all of Rome. Pyrrhus himself may have only influenced Rome in a small way but, the Pyrrhic war foreshadowed how Rome would fight and conquer for years to come. Rome emerged from these wars as an even bigger military power than they were before.
Pyrrhus’s skill as a general and his books on the art of war influenced many generals who came after him, including Hannibal. Plutarch wrote that “the other kings… represented Alexander with their purple robes, their body-guards, the inclination of their necks, and their louder tones in conversation; but Pyrrhus alone, in arms and action.” (3) What Pyrrhus lacked as a king he made up for on the battlefield. He will always be remembered for his bravery as a soldier and his brilliance as a commander.
The brutal killing of Priam, king of Troy, is both at the beginning of the story of the Aeneid and an end to the story of the Trojan war contained in the Iliad. In war, some of the most damaging things that can be accomplished are the demoralizing of the other soldiers and the desecration of their gods. The Trojans held their gods in great esteem and are portrayed as a very reverent people. This can be seen by Aeneas refusal to touch the statues of his household gods until he can clean himself of the battle from which he has just come.
Sophocles was one of the most influential writers of Ancient Greece. He was thought to be born around 496 B.C.E. in Colonus, near Athens Greece, and died at around 406 B.C.E. meaning that he only lived for about 90 years. He was born into a wealthy family, his father being Sophillius, and he was an amour manufacturer in the rural community
During the Babylon conference following the death of Alexander the army expressed a great loyalty to the Argead dynasty and desire to preserve Alexander 's empire. The Generals Craterus and Meleager were both very popular with the army and used their influence to propose Phillip Arrhidaeus as the new king. Perdiccas was aware of Meleager 's popularity and thus appointed him as Hyparchos to appease the soldiers. At one point Perdiccas incorrectly suspected Ptolemy of aspiring to claim the whole empire, so he marched on Egypt with an army. The expedition failed embarrassingly with many soldiers drowning while trying to cross the nile and they ran out of supplies early. Ptolemy turned these soldiers against Perdiccas by providing them with food and supplies. They then murdered Perdiccas in his tent11. After decades of campaigning with Alexander the macedonian army were tired of fighting and just wanted a reward for their efforts and whichever successor could provide them with the most booty earned their favour12. War was central to the successor 's economies and the resources, allowing them to live in extreme luxury, flaunting their power. It was not mearly the fruits of war that commanded authority but also skill in waging war and military bravery. For Example in 317 at the battle of Paraitakene Antigonus and Eumenes both charged into battle in the front lines of their armies13. In
Hannibal managed to defeat a larger Roman force of 50,000 with only 40,000 troops. He did this by setting up his army in a crescent moon formation against the eager Roman consul, Varro. As the Roman army moved in, the light infantry places at the front of the formation began falling back and drawing them in. As the Romans continued to push the Carthaginian army encircled them and completely surrounded the Roman army. With the odds stacked against him Hannibal managed a great victory against the Romans, killing 44,000 and only losing 6,000 of his own men. This show of astonishing military prowess led to many city states defecting to Hannibal, which led Philip the V of Macedon following suit and initiating the First Macedonian War with
Alexander the great is known as one of the most ruthless and greatest leaders the world has ever seen. In less than ten years, Alexander conquered cities from Greece all the way to modern day India. Not only did he defeat and conquer cities throughout the known world, but Alexander would also leave his mark spreading and influencing Greek society wherever he went. His leadership and conquests united the East and the West as a whole like no one up to that point had done before. His impact on culture and society when meshing his Greek background with his conquered cities became something truly unique. In 323 B.C. when Alexander passed away, he not only left behind a vast thriving empire, but also a legacy that would be remembered throughout history.
Xerxes was a man of power. The Great King of Persia, his empire encompassed the majority of the known world. On his invasion of Greece in the spring of 480BCE, he reportedly commanded a horde of over two million men. Even the Greek oracle at Delphi encouraged prudence in face of such an overwhelming force (7.140). Thus the question arises of why such an army failed to compel Greece into submission. I will explore this with focus on the key battles and the important factors, most notably the timing of the attack, the quality of his expeditionary force and Xerxes’ personal faults.
Rome became a powerful empire engulfing much of Europe, North Africa, and parts of Asia and what seemed like this great entity called the Romans were always in the search of more territory and land to conquer and assimilate into their ever growing vast empire. However, this was not always the case, before Rome became one of the greatest empires in all of history, Rome was a republic. They were government consisted of a Senate who much like our country today represented certain classes of the citizens of the Republic. During the growth and rise of the Roman republic conquering neighboring territories and competing for land grabs was not Romans primary objectives. Romans believed in the well being and wealth of Rome, and if that meant the total destruction of a potential adversary, then as history will show that is unfortunately to the detriment of the adversary what happened.
The ancient Greek historian Diodorus Siculus said “During the twenty-four years of his [Phillip II] reign as King of Macedonia, Phillip built his own kingdom up into the greatest power in Europe … he bequeathed a military establishment of such size and quality that his son Alexander was enabled to overthrow the Persian empire … these achievements were not the work of fortune but of his own force of character, for this king stands out above others for his military acumen, personal courage, and intellectual brilliance.” Despite this, Alexander believed that his success was the work of divine forces. He called himself the son of Zeus, and likened his bloodline to that of Achilles and Heracles, modeling his behavior after them. Alexander’s success was also due to the methods
This was now called the Diadochi. Diadochi is Greek for successors. In 319 the “Antipater” died and was succeeded as regent by Polyperchon, whom did Antipater’s son Cassander quickly oust. In time Roxanne and her son were also killed by Cassander, who became the king of Macedon in 305 BC. Alexander Aegus was thirteen when he died. He left his empire in his own words, "to the strongest. Whether or not Alexander had plans for any world conquering cannot be determined but he had accomplished greater conquests than any before him. He was one of the greatest generals of all time and one of the most powerful personalities of antiquity. He influenced the spread of Hellenism throughout the Middle East and into Asia; establishing city-states modeled on Greek institutions that flourished long after his death. Alexander will never be superior to any man and will remain forever as "the Great" in the pages of History as we know it.
After the mysterious death of the great conquer Phillip the second, Alexander the III came and took the throne and was left with his father’s dream to conquer the Persian Empire. His journey started when he was 20 years old. In 335 B.C., According to “The Parallel Lives” when Alexander came to Thebes he asked for Phoenix and Prothytes, the authors of the rebelli...
The initial population of Rome consisted of immigrants, refugees and fugitives from neighboring lands. Romulus took in these societal rejects and offered them a new starts; despite settling in the foreign land of a new city, these people accepted Romulus and the laws he laid out for them. These people were “the first step to [Rome’s] future greatness”(pg. 40). Along with laws, Romulus formed a means of governing the population through the one hundred-member senate based on patre status. Early attempts at alliances did not pan out, but after Rome’s victory over Veii, a truce was formed. Feasibly, Romulus’ most notable acts as the leader of Rome revolved around his military command. The victory over Caenina marked Rome’s first of many; Rome managed to defeat well-established cities like Antemnae, Sabine, and Fidenae, despite only being in its early stages. Under Romulus, the Roman army fought on, even though retreat proved to be the better option at times. The drive and strength of such a young force sealed the dominance of Rome for years to
No one would deny that Pericles was the most prominent Greek statesman and spokesperson during the Golden Age. His contribution was largely felt during the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars having obtained power from his family link to the Alcmaeonid family. He commanded a lot of respect to from the Athenian citizens with Thucydides describing him as "the first citizen of Athens” . He was born at around 495 BC north of Athens in the ...
Although, many might say that the Roman Empire was already very successful even without the Greek influence, the Romans were already known for their very great army. The Romans were able to conquer so many lands and keep a great structure to the point where other communities feared them because of their army. It is true, Rome was already very successful they had conquered many lands before the Hellenistic period, and were already known to be a very rich and powerful community. Just as Chris Truman states on the website the History learning site where du...
Alexander The Great is one of the most accomplished generals and kings of any time throughout history. Alexander was born in Macedonia in 356 B.C., as a young child, he watched his father transform his country’s military into one of the best military’s. Alexander’s Father was King Phillip of Macedonia and his mother was Olympias, The princess of neighboring Epirus. Olympias was a very spiritual person that made sure her son knew who his ancestors were, like Achilles of Troy and the mythical warrior Hercules. Starting at an early age, he was trained both in education and military tactics to be a great and powerful leader and King. Alexander became focused on becoming a great ruler and a hero of his people, which he later would become.
Have you ever wondered why Alexander from Macedonia is called Alexander the Great. According to history, it is because he is the most glorious general in the history who conquered Persia, Greece, Egypt and Babylon in a very inexperienced age. He became the commander of Macedonian armies at age eighteen and the king of Macedonia at age twenty. After six years of preparation, he conquered the great Persian empire. Unfortunately, he died at age thirty-three. He would have conquered many lands if he hadn’t died at a such young age. He was a legend and an icon for great kings like Charlemagne, Julius Caesar, and Pompey. World’s most famous generals tried to compete with him but they couldn’t accomplish. After years, his tomb