by Pausanias
[12.2] Pleased with this proposal, and being a man who never lost time when once he had made up his mind, he immediately proceeded to man war ships and to prepare transports to carry horses and men-at-arms. There are books written by men of no renown as historians, entitled “Memoirs.” When I read these I marvelled greatly both at the personal bravery of Pyrrhus in battle, and also at the forethought he displayed whenever a contest was imminent. So on this occasion also when crossing to Italy with a fleet he eluded the observation of the Romans, and for some time after his arrival they were unaware of his presence; it was only when the Romans made an attack upon the Tarentines that he appeared on the scene with his army, and his unexpected assault naturally threw his enemies into confusion.
[3] ἅτε δὲ ἄριστα ἐπιστάμενος ὡς οὐκ ἀξιόμαχος εἴη πρὸς Ῥωμαίους, παρεσκευάζετο ὡς τοὺς ἐλέφαντας ἐπαφήσων σφίσιν. ἐλέφαντας δὲ πρῶτος μὲν τῶν ἐκ τῆς Εὐρώπης Ἀλέξανδρος ἐκτήσατο Πῶρον καὶ τὴν δύναμιν καθελὼν τὴν Ἰνδῶν, ἀποθανόντος δὲ Ἀλεξάνδρου καὶ ἄλλοι τῶν βασιλέων καὶ πλείστους ἔσχεν Ἀντίγονος, Πύρρῳ δὲ ἐκ τῆς μάχης ἐγεγόνει τῆς πρὸς Δημήτριον τὰ θηρία αἰχμάλωτα: τότε δὲ ἐπιφανέντων αὐτῶν δεῖμα ἔλαβε Ῥωμαίους ἄλλο τι καὶ οὐ ζῷα εἶναι νομίσαντας.
[12.3] And being perfectly aware that he was no match for the Romans, he prepared to let loose against them his elephants. The first European to acquire elephants was Alexander, after subduing Porus and the power of the Indians; after his death others of the kings got them but Antigonus more than any; Pyrrhus captured his beasts in the battle with Demetrius. When on this occasion they came in sight the Romans were seized with panic, and did not believe they were animals.
[4] ἐλέφαντα γάρ, ὅσος μὲν ἐς ἔργα καὶ ἀνδρῶν χεῖρας, εἰσὶν ἐκ παλαιοῦ δῆλοι πάντες εἰδότες: αὐτὰ δὲ τὰ θηρία, πρὶν ἢ διαβῆναι Μακεδόνας ἐπὶ τὴν Ἀσίαν, οὐδὲ ἑωράκεσαν ἀρχὴν πλὴν Ἰνδῶν τε αὐτῶν καὶ Λιβύων καὶ ὅσοι πλησιόχωροι τούτοις. δηλοῖ δὲ Ὅμηρος, ὃς βασιλεῦσι κλίνας μὲν καὶ οἰκίας τοῖς εὐδαιμονεστέροις αὐτῶν ἐλέφαντι ἐποίησε κεκοσμημένας, θηρίου δὲ ἐλέφαντος μνήμην οὐδεμίαν ἐποιήσατο: θεασάμενος δὲ ἢ πεπυσμένος ἐμνημόνευσεν ἂν πολύ γε πρότερον ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν ἢ Πυγμαίων τε ἀνδρῶν καὶ γεράνων μάχης.
[12.4] For although the use of ivory in arts and crafts all men obviously have known from of old, the actual beasts, before the Macedonians crossed into Asia, nobody had seen at all except the Indians themselves, the Libyans, and their neighbours. This is proved by Homer, who describes the couches and houses of the more prosperous kings as ornamented with ivory, but never mentions the beast; but if he had seen or heard about it he would, in my opinion have been much more likely to speak of it than of the battle between the Dwarf-men and cranes.
[5] Πύρρον δὲ ἐς Σικελίαν ἀπήγαγε πρεσβεία Συρακουσίων: Καρχηδόνιοι γὰρ διαβάντες τὰς Ἑλληνίδας τῶν πόλεων ἐποίουν ἀναστάτους, ἣ δὲ ἦν λοιπή, Συρακούσαις πολιορκοῦντες προσεκάθηντο. ἃ τῶν πρέσβεων Πύρρος ἀκούων Τάραντα μὲν εἴα καὶ τοὺς τὴν ἀκτὴν ἔχοντας Ἰταλιωτῶν, ἐς δὲ τὴν Σικελίαν διαβὰς Καρχηδονίους ἠνάγκασεν ἀπαναστῆναι Συρακουσῶν. φρονήσας δὲ ἐφ᾽ αὑτῷ Καρχηδονίων, οἳ θαλάσσης τῶν τότε βαρβάρων μάλιστα εἶχον ἐμπείρως Τύριοι Φοίνικες τὸ ἀρχαῖον ὄντες, τούτων ἐναντία ἐπήρθη ναυμαχῆσαι τοῖς Ἠπειρώταις χρώμενος, οἳ μηδὲ ἁλούσης Ἰλίου θάλασσαν οἱ πολλοὶ μηδὲ ἁλσὶν ἠπίσταντό πω χρῆσθαι. μαρτυρεῖ δέ μοι καὶ Ὁμήρου ἔπος ἐν Ὀδυσσείᾳ:”οἳ οὐκ ἴσασι θάλασσαν
ἀνέρες, οὐδέ θ᾽ ἅλεσσι μεμιγμένον εἶδαρ ἔδουσιν.
“Hom. Od.11.122
[12.5] Pyrrhus was brought over to Sicily by an embassy of the Syracusans. The Carthaginians had crossed over and were destroying the Greek cities, and had sat down to invest Syracuse, the only one now remaining. When Pyrrhus heard this from the envoys he abandoned Tarentum and the Italiots on the coast, and crossing into Sicily forced the Carthaginians to raise the siege of Syracuse. In his self-conceit, although the Carthaginians, being Phoenicians of Tyre by ancient descent, were more experienced sea men than any other non-Greek people of that day, Pyrrhus was nevertheless encouraged to meet them in a naval battle, employing the Epeirots, the majority of whom, even after the capture of Troy, knew no thing of the sea nor even as yet how to use salt. Witness the words of Homer in the Odyssey:– Nothing they know of ocean, and mix not salt with their victuals. Hom. Od. 11.122
13. τότε δὲ ὁ Πύρρος, ὡς ἡττήθη, ταῖς ναυσὶν ἐς Τάραντα ἀνήγετο ταῖς λοιπαῖς: ἐνταῦθα προσέπταισε μεγάλως καὶ τὴν ἀναχώρησιν — οὐ γὰρ ἀμαχεὶ Ῥωμαίους ἠπίστατο ἀφήσοντας — πορίζεται τρόπον τοῦτον. ὡς ἐπανήκων ἐκ Σικελίας ἡττήθη, πρῶτον διέπεμπε γράμματα ἔς τε τὴν Ἀσίαν καὶ πρὸς Ἀντίγονον, τοὺς μὲν στρατιὰν τῶν βασιλέων, τοὺς δὲ χρήματα, Ἀντίγονον δὲ καὶ ἀμφότερα αἰτῶν: ἀφικομένων δὲ τῶν ἀγγέλων, ὥς οἱ γράμματα ἀπεδόθη, συναγαγὼν τοὺς ἐν τέλει τῶν τε ἐξ Ἠπείρου καὶ τῶν Ταραντίνων, ὧν μὲν εἶχε τὰ βιβλία ἀνεγίνωσκεν οὐδέν, ὁ δὲ ἥξειν συμμαχίαν ἔλεγε. ταχὺ δὲ καὶ ἐς τοὺς Ῥωμαίους ἦλθε φήμη Μακεδόνας καὶ ἄλλα ἔθνη περαιοῦσθαι τῶν Ἀσιανῶν ἐς τὴν Πύρρου βοήθειαν: Ῥωμαῖοι μὲν δὴ ταῦτα ἀκούοντες ἡσύχαζον, Πύρρος δὲ ὑπὸ τὴν ἐπιοῦσαν περαιοῦται νύκτα πρὸς τὰ ἄκρα τῶν ὀρῶν, ἃ Κεραύνια ὀνομάζουσι.
[13.1] XIII. Worsted on this occasion Pyrrhus put back with the remainder of his vessels to Tarentum. Here he met with a serious reverse, and his retirement, for he knew that the Romans would not let him depart without striking a blow, he contrived in the following manner. On his return from Sicily and his defeat, he first sent various dispatches to Asia and to Antigonus, asking some of the kings for troops, some for money, and Antigonus for both. When the envoys returned and their dispatches were delivered, he summoned those in authority, whether Epeirot or Tarentine, and without reading any of the dispatches declared that reinforcements would come. A report spread quickly even to the Romans that Macedonians and Asiatic tribes also were crossing to the aid of Pyrrhus. The Romans, on hearing this, made no move, but Pyrrhus on the approach of that very night crossed to the headlands of the mountains called Ceraunian.
[2] μετὰ δὲ τὴν ἐν Ἰταλίᾳ πληγὴν ἀναπαύσας τὴν δύναμιν προεῖπεν Ἀντιγόνῳ πόλεμον, ἄλλα τε ποιούμενος ἐγκλήματα καὶ μάλιστα τῆς ἐς Ἰταλίαν βοηθείας διαμαρτί�
�ν. κρατήσας δὲ τήν τε ἰδίαν παρασκευὴν Ἀντιγόνου καὶ τὸ παρ᾽ αὐτῷ Γαλατῶν ξενικὸν ἐδίωξεν ἐς τὰς ἐπὶ θαλάσσῃ πόλεις, αὐτὸς δὲ Μακεδονίας τε τῆς ἄνω καὶ Θεσσαλῶν ἐπεκράτησε. δηλοῖ δὲ μάλιστα τὸ μέγεθος τῆς μάχης καὶ τὴν Πύρρου νίκην, ὡς παρὰ πολὺ γένοιτο, τὰ ἀνατεθέντα ὅπλα τῶν Κελτῶν ἐς τε τὸ τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς ἱερὸν τῆς Ἰτωνίας Φερῶν μεταξὺ καὶ Λαρίσης καὶ τὸ ἐπίγραμμα τὸ ἐπ᾽ αὐτοῖς:”τοὺς θυρεοὺς ὁ Μολοσσὸς Ἰτωνίδι δῶρον Ἀθάνᾳ
“
[13.2] After the defeat in Italy Pyrrhus gave his forces a rest and then declared war on Antigonus, his chief ground of complaint being the failure to send reinforcements to Italy. Overpowering the native troops of Antigonus an his Gallic mercenaries he pursued them to the coast cities, and himself reduced upper Macedonia and the Thessalians. The extent of the fighting and the decisive character of the victory of Pyrrhus are shown best by the Celtic armour dedicated in the sanctuary of Itonian Athena between Pherae and Larisa, with this inscription on them:–
[3] “Πύρρος ἀπὸ θρασέων ἐκρέμασεν Γαλατᾶν,
πάντα τὸν Ἀντιγόνου καθελὼν στρατόν. οὐ μέγα θαῦμα:
αἰχματαὶ καὶ νῦν καὶ πάρος Αἰακίδαι.
“τούτους μὲν δὴ ἐνταῦθα, τῷ δὲ ἐν Δωδώνῃ Διὶ Μακεδόνων ἀνέθηκεν αὐτῶν τὰς ἀσπίδας. ἐπιγέγραπται δὲ καὶ ταύταις:”αἵδε ποτ᾽ Ἀσίδα γαῖαν ἐπόρθησαν πολύχρυσον,
αἵδε καὶ Ἕλλασιν δουλοσύναν ἔπορον.
νῦν δὲ Διὸς ναῶ ποτὶ κίονας ὀρφανὰ κεῖται
τᾶς μεγαλαυχήτω σκῦλα Μακεδονίας.
“
Πύρρῳ δὲ Μακεδόνας ἐς ἅπαν μὴ καταστρέψασθαι παρ᾽ ὀλίγον ὅμως ἥκοντι ἐγένετο Κλεώνυμος αἴτιος,
[13.3]
Pyrrhus the Molossian hung these shields
taken from the bold Gauls as a gift to Itonian
Athena, when he had destroyed all the host
of Antigonus. ’Tis no great marvel. The
Aeacidae are warriors now, even as they were of old.
These shields then are here, but the bucklers of the Macedonians themselves he dedicated to Dodonian Zeus. They too have an inscription:–
These once ravaged golden Asia, and brought
slavery upon the Greeks. Now ownerless
they lie by the pillars of the temple of Zeus,
spoils of boastful Macedonia.
Pyrrhus came very near to reducing Macedonia entirely, but,
[4] ἑτοιμοτέρῳ καὶ ἄλλως ὄντι ἑλέσθαι τὰ ἐν χερσίν. Κλεώνυμος δὲ οὗτος, ὁ τὸν Πύρρον ἀπολιπόντα τὰ Μακεδόνων πείσας ἐς Πελοπόννησον ἐλθεῖν, Λακεδαιμόνιος ὢν Λακεδαιμονίοις στρατὸν ἐς τὴν χώραν πολέμιον ἐπῆγε δι᾽ αἰτίαν, ἣν ἐγὼ τοῦ γένους ὕστερον τοῦ Κλεωνύμου δηλώσω. Παυσανίου τοῦ περὶ Πλάταιαν τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ἡγησαμένου Πλειστοάναξ υἱὸς ἐγένετο, τοῦ δὲ Παυσανίας, τοῦ δὲ Κλεόμβροτος, ὃς ἐναντία Ἐπαμινώνδᾳ καὶ Θηβαίοις μαχόμενος ἀπέθανεν ἐν Λέκτροις: Κλεομβρότου δὲ Ἀγησίπολις ἦν καὶ Κλεομένης, Ἀγησιπόλιδος δὲ ἄπαιδος τελευτήσαντος Κλεομένης τὴν βασιλείαν ἔσχε.
[13.4] being usually readier to do what came first to hand, he was prevented by Cleonymus. This Cleonymus, who persuaded Pyrrhus to abandon his Macedonian adventure and to go to the Peloponnesus, was a Lacedaemonian who led an hostile army into the Lacedaemonian territory for a reason which I will relate after giving the descent of Cleonymus. Pausanias, who was in command of the Greeks at Plataea, was the father of Pleistoanax, he of Pausanias, and he of Cleombrotus, who was killed at Leuctra fighting against Epaminondas and the Thebans. Cleombrotus was the father of Agesipolis and Cleomenes, and, Agesipolis dying without issue, Cleomenes ascended the throne.
[5] Κλεομένει δὲ παῖδες γίνονται πρεσβύτερος μὲν Ἀκρότατος, νεώτερος δὲ Κλεώνυμος. Ἀκρότατον μὲν οὖν πρότερον κατέλαβεν ἡ τελευτή: Κλεομένους δὲ ἀποθανόντος ὕστερον ἐς ἀμφισβήτησιν κατέστη περὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς Ἀρεὺς ὁ Ἀκροτάτου, καὶ Κλεώνυμος ὅτῳ δὴ τρόπῳ μετελθὼν ἐπάγει Πύρρον ἐς τὴν χώραν. Λακεδαιμονίοις δὲ πρὸ μὲν τοῦ ἐν Λεύκτροις οὐδὲν ἐγεγόνει πταῖσμα, ὥστε οὐδὲ συνεχώρουν ἀγῶνί πω κεκρατῆσθαι πεζῷ: Λεωνίδᾳ μὲν γὰρ νικῶντι οὐκ ἔφασαν τοὺς ἑπομένους ἐς τελέαν ἐξαρκέσαι φθορὰν τῶν Μήδων, τὸ δὲ Ἀθηναίων καὶ Δημοσθένους ἔργον πρὸς τῇ νήσῳ Σφακτηρίᾳ κλοπὴν εἶναι πολέμου καὶ οὐ νίκην.
[13.5] Cleomenes had two sons, the elder being Acrotatus and the younger Cleonymus. Now Acrotatus died first; and when afterwards Cleomenes died, a claim to the throne was put forward by Areus son of Acrotatus, and Cleonymus took steps to induce Pyrrhus to enter the country. Before the battle of Leuctra the Lacedaemonians had suffered no disaster, so that they even refused to admit that they had yet been worsted in a land battle. For Leonidas, they said, had won the victory, but his followers were insufficient for the entire destruction of the Persians; the achievement of Demosthenes and the Athenians on the island of Sphacteria was no victory, but only a trick in war.
[6] πρώτης δὲ γενομένης σφίσι συμφορᾶς ἐν Βοιωτοῖς, ὕστερον Ἀντιπάτρῳ καὶ Μακεδόσι μεγάλως προσέπταισαν: τρίτος δὲ ὁ Δημητρίου πόλεμος κακὸν ἀνέλπιστον ἦλθεν ἐς τὴν γῆν. Πύρρου δὲ ἐσβαλόντος τέταρτον δὴ τότε στρατὸν ὁρῶντες πολέμιον αὐτοί τε παρετάσσοντο καὶ Ἀργείων ἥκοντες καὶ Μεσσηνίων σύμμαχοι: Πύρρος δὲ ὡς
ἐπεκράτησεν, ὀλίγου μὲν ἦλθεν ἑλεῖν αὐτοβοεὶ τὴν πόλιν, δῃώσας δὲ τὴν γῆν καὶ λείαν ἐλάσας μικρὸν ἡσύχαζεν. οἱ δὲ ἐς πολιορκίαν εὐτρεπίζοντο, πρότερον ἔτι τῆς Σπάρτης ἐπὶ τοῦ πολέμου τοῦ πρὸς Δημήτριον τάφροις τε βαθείαις καὶ σταυροῖς τετειχισμένης ἰσχυροῖς, τὰ δὲ ἐπιμαχώτατα καὶ οἰκοδομήμασιν.
[13.6] Their first reverse took place in Boeotia, and they afterwards suffered a severe defeat at the hands of Antipater and the Macedonians. Thirdly the war with Demetrius came as an unexpected misfortune to their land. Invaded by Pyrrhus and seeing a hostile army for the fourth time, they arrayed themselves to meet it along with the Argives and Messenians who had come as their allies. Pyrrhus won the day, and came near to capturing Sparta without further fighting, but desisted for a while after ravaging the land and carrying off plunder. The citizens prepared for a siege, and Sparta even before this in the war with Demetrius had been fortified with deep trenches and strong stakes, and at t
he most vulnerable points with buildings as well.
[7] ὑπὸ δὲ τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον καὶ τὴν τοῦ πολέμου τοῦ Λακωνικοῦ τριβὴν Ἀντίγονος τὰς πόλεις τῶν Μακεδόνων ἀνασωσάμενος ἠπείγετο ἐς Πελοπόννησον οἷα ἐπιστάμενος Πύρρον, ἢν Λακεδαίμονα καταστρέψηται καὶ Πελοποννήσου τὰ πολλά, οὐκ ἐς Ἤπειρον ἀλλ᾽ ἐπί τε Μακεδονίαν αὖθις καὶ τὸν ἐκεῖ πόλεμον ἥξοντα: μέλλοντος δὲ Ἀντιγόνου τὸν στρατὸν ἐξ Ἄργους ἐς τὴν Λακωνικὴν ἄγειν, αὐτὸς ἐς τὸ Ἄργος ἐληλύθει Πύρρος. κρατῶν δὲ καὶ τότε συνεσπίπτει τοῖς φεύγουσιν ἐς τὴν πόλιν καί οἱ διαλύεται κατὰ τὸ εἰκὸς ἡ τάξις:
[13.7] Just about this time, while the Laconian war was dragging on, Antigonus, having recovered the Macedonian cities, hastened to the Peloponnesus being well aware that if Pyrrhus were to reduce Lacedaemon and the greater part of the Peloponnesus, he would not return to Epeirus but to Macedonia to make war there again. When Antigonus was about to lead his army from Argos into Laconia, Pyrrhus himself reached Argos. Victorious once more he dashed into the city along with the fugitives, and his formation not unnaturally was broken up.
[8] μαχομένων δὲ πρὸς ἱεροῖς ἤδη καὶ οἰκίαις καὶ κατὰ τοὺς στενωποὺς καὶ κατ᾽ ἄλλο ἄλλων τῆς πόλεως, ἐνταῦθα ὁ Πύρρος ἐμονώθη καὶ τιτρώσκεται τὴν κεφαλήν. κεράμῳ δὲ βληθέντα ὑπὸ γυναικὸς τεθνάναι φασὶ Πύρρον: Ἀργεῖοι δὲ οὐ γυναῖκα τὴν ἀποκτείνασαν, Δήμητρα δέ φασιν εἶναι γυναικὶ εἰκασμένην. ταῦτα ἐς τὴν Πύρρου τελευτὴν αὐτοὶ λέγουσιν Ἀργεῖοι καὶ ὁ τῶν ἐπιχωρίων ἐξηγητὴς Λυκέας ἐν ἔπεσιν εἴρηκε: καί σφισιν ἔστι τοῦ θεοῦ χρήσαντος, ἔνθα ὁ Πύρρος ἐτελεύτησεν, ἱερὸν Δήμητρος: