Pyrrhos; Pyrrhus

Japanese: ピュロス（英語表記）Pyrrhos; Pyrrhus

[Born] 319
[Died] 272 BCE
King of ancient Epirus (reigned 307-302 BC, 297-272 BC). He ascended to the throne at age 12, but was usurped five years later. He accompanied Demetrius I to Asia, and was then sent as a hostage to Alexandria, where he married Antigone, daughter of Ptolemy II Philadelphus, and with her help, he regained the throne (297 BC). He then tried to liberate Epirus from Macedonia, and took advantage of the internal conflicts in Macedonia to seize the mountainous borderlands. He then expanded his territory to Corcyra, the western half of Macedonia, and Thessaly, and also formed alliances with Aetolia and Athens, but was pushed back to Epirus by Lysimachus (285 BC). He briefly attempted to intervene in Italy, marching as far as Sicily (280-275 BC), but returned to Epirus. He attempted to conquer Macedonia, then suddenly turned to the Peloponnese, where he was killed in Argos after a failed siege of Sparta. He made Ambracia his capital, built a great theater at Dodona, and completed the Hellenization of Epirus. He also wrote a military treatise and a treatise on tactics, of which only fragments remain.

Pyrrhus

Please see the "Pyros" page.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

[生]前319
[没]前272
古代エピルスの王 (在位前 307～302，前 297～272) 。 12歳で王位についたが5年後に簒奪され，デメトリオス1世に従ってアジアへ行き，その後人質としてアレクサンドリアへ送られ，そこでプトレマイオス2世フィラデルフォスの娘アンチゴネと結婚，彼の援助を得て王位に復帰 (前 297) 。次に，エピルスのマケドニアからの解放を試み，またマケドニアの内紛を利用して国境地方の山地を獲得。その後もコルキュラ，マケドニアの西半分，テッサリアと領土を拡張し，アイトリアやアテネと同盟も結んだが，リュシマコスによりエピルスへと押し返された (前 285) 。一時イタリアへの介入を試み，シチリアまで進撃した (前 280～275) が，再びエピルスへ帰還。マケドニア征服を試みたが，次いで突如ペロポネソスに転じ，スパルタの包囲に失敗してアルゴスで殺された。アンブラキアを首都とし，ドドナには大劇場を建設，エピルスのギリシア化をなしとげた。また，戦記や戦術論を書いたが，断片しか残っていない。