WAR IN ITALY.
B.C. 280
The grand expedition into Italy.--The dominion of the Romans.--The
Tarentines.--Various parties formed at Tarentum.--Boisterous
meetings.--Meton's artifice.--Meton succeeds in accomplishing his
aim.--Pyrrhus is invited to come to Tarentum.--Great numbers of
volunteers.--Cineas.--Cineas propounds questions to Pyrrhus.--Pyrrhus
explains his designs and plans.--The opinion of Cineas on the
subject.--Pyrrhus sets sail.--His fleet and army.--Pyrrhus narrowly
escapes death by shipwreck.--He establishes himself at Tarentum.--His
energy.--Pyrrhus adopts very decisive measures.--The Tarentines were
Greeks in origin.--Troops come in slowly.--Laevinus.--Pyrrhus sees a
Roman encampment.--The Romans attack Pyrrhus by crossing the
river.--Extraordinary spectacle.--Pyrrhus conspicuous.--Conversation
between Pyrrhus and Leonatus.--Pyrrhus in dreadful danger.--The
elephants.--Trophies borne through the field.--Pyrrhus shows
himself.--The Romans defeated.
The grand undertaking in which Pyrrhus now engaged, as indicated 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 to come to their aid.[I] His
predecessor, Alexander, had been drawn into Italy precisely in the
same way; and we might have supposed that Pyrrhus would have been
warned by the terrible fate which Alexander met with not to follow 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 Pyrrhus was the more eager to
try his fortune in this field on account 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.
[Footnote I: See map.]
The dominion of 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 eastern and
southern part of Italy, and they had at length advanced to the
frontiers of the Tarentine territory; and having been met and resisted
there by the Tarentine troops, a collision ensued, which was followed
by an open and general war. In the struggle, the Tarentines found that
they 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 Tarentines were placed were greatly
increased by the fact that there was no well-organized and stable
government ruling in the city. The government was a sort of democracy
in its form, and in its action 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 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, 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 was suggested by some of the
counselors 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
they proposed that, in order to supply this very essential deficiency,
Pyrrhus 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 a foreign
power was called in, in such a manner, 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 imminence of
the immediate peril, that it was impossible to impress them with any
concern for so remote and uncertain a danger, and it was determined
that Pyrrhus should be called.
It was said that the meetings which were held by the Tarentines while
these proceedings were in progress, were so boisterous and disorderly
that, as often happens in democratic assemblies, the voices of those
who 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 Pyrrhus, resorted to a singular device in order to express his
opinion. The name of this personage was Meton. The artifice which he
adopted was this: he disguised himself as a strolling mountebank 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 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 was at length obtained, Meton came forward into
the space that had been made for him, and, throwing off his disguise,
he called out aloud,
"Men of Tarentum! You do well in calling for a song, and in enjoying
the pleasures of mirth and merriment while you may; for I warn you
that you will see very little like mirth or merriment in Tarentum
after Pyrrhus 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 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 Meton and the woman were expelled from the
meeting without any ceremony.
The resolution of sending for Pyrrhus was confirmed, and embassadors
were soon afterward dispatched to Epirus. The message which they
communicated to Pyrrhus on their arrival was, that the Tarentines,
being engaged in a war with the Romans, invited Pyrrhus 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 Pyrrhus would come
over to 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 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 of a party of
strolling mountebanks and players. Yet such is the account recorded by
one of the greatest historians of ancient times.
Pyrrhus was, of course, very much elated at receiving this
communication. The tidings, too, produced great excitement among all
the people of Epirus. Great numbers immediately began to offer
themselves as volunteers to accompany the expedition. Pyrrhus
determined at once to embark in the enterprise, and he commenced
making preparations for it on a very magnificent scale; for,
notwithstanding the assurance which the Tarentines had given him that
they had a very large body of men already assembled, Pyrrhus 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 under
the command of a distinguished general and minister of state, named
Cineas. Cineas occupied a very high position in Pyrrhus'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 statesman. Pyrrhus had employed him in embassies and negotiations
of various kinds from time to time, and Cineas had always discharged
these trusts in a very able and satisfactory manner. In fact, Pyrrhus,
with his customary courtesy in acknowledging his obligations to those
whom he employed, used to say that Cineas had gained him more cities
by his address than he had ever conquered for himself by his arms.
Cineas, it was said, was, in the outset, not much in favor of this
expedition into Italy. The point of view in which he regarded such an
enterprise was shown in a remarkable conversation which he held with
Pyrrhus while the preparations were going on. He took occasion to
introduce the subject one day, when Pyrrhus was for a short period at
leisure in the midst of his work, by saying,
"The Romans are famed 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, there will be
nothing in Italy that can withstand us; we can go on immediately and
make ourselves masters of the whole country."
After a short pause, during which he seemed to be reflecting on the
career of victory which Pyrrhus was thus opening to view, Cineas
added,
"And after we have conquered Italy, what shall we do next?"
"Why, there is Sicily very near," replied Pyrrhus, "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."
"I think that is very true," said Cineas; "and after we make ourselves
masters of Sicily, what shall we do then?"
"Then," replied Pyrrhus, "we can cross the Mediterranean to Lybia and
Carthage. The distance is not very great, and we shall be able to land
on the African coast at the head of such a force that we shall easily
make ourselves masters 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 Cineas; "and so you will 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 Pyrrhus, "we can sit down and take our ease, and
eat, drink, and be merry."
"And why," rejoined Cineas, "can not 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 yourself happy with them now, instead of
entering on a course which will lead to such dreadful toils and
dangers, such innumerable calamities, and through 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 a matter of doubt whether Cineas intended this as
a serious remonstrance against the execution of Pyrrhus'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 of his cares. However it may have been
intended, it made no serious impression on the mind of Pyrrhus, 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, Cineas was put in command of them, and they crossed the
Adriatic Sea. After this, Pyrrhus 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 was ready, Pyrrhus 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 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 Pyrrhus set sail than a
terrible storm arose, which, for a time, threatened the total
destruction of the fleet, and of all who were on board of it. The ship
which conveyed Pyrrhus 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 in every
direction over the sea, far and wide. But, though Pyrrhus'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 to
blow very violently off the shore, so that there seemed to be great
probability that the ship would be driven to sea again. In fact, so
imminent was the danger, that Pyrrhus determined to throw himself into
the sea and attempt to swim to the shore. He accordingly did so, and
was immediately followed by his attendants and guards, who leaped into
the water after him, and did every thing 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 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.
Pyrrhus was almost completely exhausted in body by the fatigues and
exposures which he had endured, but he appeared to be by no means
depressed in mind. The people of the country flocked down to the coast
to render aid. Several other vessels afterward succeeded in reaching
the shore; and as the wind now rapidly subsided, the men on board of
them found comparatively little difficulty in effecting a landing.
Pyrrhus 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 he approached the city, Cineas 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 Pyrrhus found himself established in Tarentum, he
immediately assumed the command of every thing there, as if 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, as is often the fact with men
when their affairs are in an extreme and desperate condition, had
become reckless. Every where 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
places of public diversion. They had abandoned all care or concern
about public affairs, trusting to Pyrrhus to save them from the
impending danger. Pyrrhus perceived, accordingly, that an entire
revolution in the internal condition of the city was indispensably
required, 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 thus formed were brought out
daily for severe and long-protracted drillings and reviews. The people
complained loudly of these exactions; but Pyrrhus 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 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, Pyrrhus set up and repaired the defenses of the city. He
secured the walls, and strengthened the gates, and organized a
complete system of guards and sentries. 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 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 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 the world;
all other nations they called barbarians. The people of Tarentum,
therefore, in sending for Pyrrhus 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-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 the common interest of all nations of
Greek descent to combine. It was this identity of interest between
Pyrrhus 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 an authority over all their
affairs when he arrived at Tarentum.
The people of the neighboring cities were slow in sending in to
Pyrrhus the quotas of troops which the Tarentines had promised him;
and before his force was collected, the tidings arrived that the
Romans were coming on at the head of a great army, under the command
of the consul Laevinus. Pyrrhus 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 embassador to the camp of Laevinus to
propose to that general that, before coming to extremities, an effort
should be made to settle the dispute between the Romans and Tarentines
in some amicable manner, and offering his services as an umpire and
mediator for this purpose. To this embassage Laevinus coolly replied
"that he did not choose to accept Pyrrhus 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 Pyrrhus but to prepare for
war.
He advanced, accordingly, at the head of his troops, until, at
length, he reached a plain, where he encamped with all his forces.
There was a river before him, a small stream called the River
Siris.[J] The Romans came up and encamped on the opposite side of the
bank of this stream. Pyrrhus mounted his horse and rode to an eminence
near the river to take a view of them.
[Footnote J: See map.]
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.[K]
[Footnote K: See Frontispiece.]
"Barbarians!" said he. "There is certainly nothing of the barbarian in
their manner of arranging their encampment, and we shall soon see how
it is with them in other respects."
So 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 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, 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. Laevinus, on the other hand, knowing that Pyrrhus was
expecting strong re-enforcements, determined not to wait till they
should come, but resolved to cross the river at once, notwithstanding
the guard which Pyrrhus 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 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 Pyrrhus had posted on the bank found 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.
Pyrrhus was greatly concerned at this event, and began to consider
himself in imminent danger. 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 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 Pyrrhus, advancing to
them, gave them battle.
The contest was maintained, with the utmost determination and fury on
both sides, for a long time. Pyrrhus himself was very conspicuous in
the fight, for he wore a very costly and magnificent armor, and so
resplendent in lustre withal as to be an object of universal
attention. Notwithstanding this, 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 his generals, named Leonatus, rode
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 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."
"Leonatus," said Pyrrhus, in reply, "we can not contend against our
destiny, I know very well; but it is my opinion that neither that man,
nor 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
Leonatus had pointed out coming down upon him at full speed, with his
spear grasped firmly in his hands, and the iron point of it aimed
directly at Pyrrhus. Pyrrhus 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 Pyrrhus 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 Pyrrhus out from under his horse
and bore him off the field, while others stabbed and killed the Roman
where he lay.
Pyrrhus, 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 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, 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 Pyrrhus thus made he probably saved his
life; for Megacles, wherever he appeared after he had assumed the
dress of Pyrrhus, found himself always surrounded by enemies, who
pressed upon him incessantly and every where in great numbers, and he
was finally killed. When he fell, the men who slew him seized the
glittering helmet and the resplendent cloak that he wore, and bore
them off in triumph into the Roman lines, as proof that Pyrrhus 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 in the army
of Pyrrhus a correspondent emotion of discouragement and fear. In
fact, for a short time it was universally believed in both armies that
Pyrrhus was dead. In order to correct this false impression among his
own troops, which threatened for a season to produce the most fatal
effects, Pyrrhus rode along the ranks with his head uncovered, showing
himself to his men, and shouting to them that he was yet alive.
[Illustration: THE TROPHIES.]
At length, after a long and very obstinate conflict, the Greeks gained
the victory. This result was due in the end, in a great measure, to
the elephants which Pyrrhus 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, 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 country to their conqueror.
Pyrrhus then advanced across the river and took possession of the
Roman camp.