026: Pyrrhus - The Wars in Italy & a Pyrrhic Victory (280-272 BC)

The Hellenistic Age Podcast

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4.7 • 558 Ratings

🗓️ 10 May 2019

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The conclusion of our series on Pyrrhus of Epirus, we focus upon his invasion of Italy and his conflict with the Roman Republic in the first great clashes of Legion against Phalanx. While suffering under his "Pyrrhic victories", the King takes a shot at ruling Sicily before ultimately retreating back to Epirus and ending his reign in one of the most absurd moments of the entire Hellenistic period. Title Theme: Seikilos Epitapth with the Lyre of Apollo, played by Lina Palera (https://soundcloud.com/user-994392473) Ancient Greece Declassified: Website (http://greecepodcast.com/) Links Website/Show Notes: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2019/05/10/026-pyrrhus-the-wars-in-italy-a-pyrrhic-victory-280-272-bc/) Twitter: (https://twitter.com/HellenisticPod) Facebook: (https://www.facebook.com/hellenisticagepodcast/)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, fellow explorers of the Hellenistic world. I'm Lantern Jack, host of the Ancient Greece Declassified podcast.
0:06.9	What I love about Derek's show is that he dives into this understudied period of history and shows you how action-packed it really was.
0:14.3	And that's what fascinates me about the ancient Greek world in general, that from 800 to 100 BC, the Greeks went from being illiterate shepherds to the builders
0:22.4	of astronomical calculators, steam-powered devices, and the biggest library the world would
0:27.0	see until modern times. My podcast is dedicated to understanding why these rapid developments
0:32.7	occurred, and I do that by interviewing world-class experts in ancient history and archaeology.
0:38.2	Each episode investigates one topic that's not only of historical importance, but also relevant to today's world and today's challenges.
0:45.0	If any of this piques your interest, then take a moment to check out Ancient Greece Declassified, wherever you get your podcasts.
0:51.0	And now, your feature presentation.
1:02.5	Thank you. podcasts. And now, your feature presentation. Hi there.
1:03.9	You're listening to the Hellenistic Age podcast.
1:07.5	Episode 26.
1:09.3	Pyrrhus Part 3.
1:15.6	The Wars in Italy and Apeeric Victory, 280 to 272 BC.
1:28.7	When we last left our narrative, Pyrrhus had taken his first steps upon the shores of Italy, following a disastrous crossing, whereby a great storm had wiped out almost 90% of his invasion fleet in the spring of 280. Instead of giving up, Pyrrhus
1:35.2	took the remains of his army and marched to the city of Tarentum, who had been the ones to call
1:40.3	the Molossian king in to protect them from the forces of the Roman Republic. Inside was Cannaeus, a commander in Confidon serving under Pyrrhus, and was previously
1:50.0	sent ahead to Italy to garrison Tarentum with about 3,000 men. And thankfully this reserve
1:55.0	more than doubled Pyrrhus' 2,000 or so sea wrecked survivors. Still, it would be not enough. Peirists, true to his nature,
2:04.1	though not necessarily unreasonable, treated Tarentum like it was a military camp.
2:09.3	The king immediately conscripted many of the male Tarentines to supplement his army, and to
2:14.6	encourage a more masculine or militaristic mindset, he banned all sorts of recreational
	...

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