Τhe new airport of Ioannina, is named after the famous king of Epirus in ancient times, King Pyrrhus. But why was this king great and what is his connection with Epirus?
Pyrrhus was born in Epirus in 319/318 BC. His father was the king of Molossians, Aiakides and he had a distant kinship with Alexander the Great. He was married three times: Antigone, daughter of Berenice, who later became Queen of Egypt next to the King of Egypt Ptolemy I, Lanassa, daughter of Agathocles, the famous tyrant of Syracuse, the daughter of the King of Paeones Autoleon(name unknown), and the daughter of the Illyrian King Vardyllios. He had three sons, Ptolemy (Antigone), Alexander II (Lanassa) and Helena (Virkenna), and a daughter named Olympia.
In an attempt by Aiakides, Pyrrhus' father, to help Olympias in her fight against Cassander, King of Macedonia, a serious revolution was provoked which overthrew the King of the Molossians and led Epirus into Macedonian subjugation. The newborn Pyrrhus fled from Aiakides' confidants to escape the murderous fury of the rebels against the king of Illyria and his wife Beroa. There, in the court of Glafkias, he received his education and upbringing.
Pyrrhus was about to turn 12 years old when Demetrius Poliorkitis(translated as Conqueror), son of King Antigonus, went to Greece to fight against Cassander on his father's orders. Demetrius' course was crowned with success as Cassandros had lost the sympathy of the Molossians. Glaucias did not miss any opportunity and in 307, at the age of 12, he made Pyrrhus king of Epirus. The conditions seemed to be favorable for Pyrrhus, especially when Demetrius married his sister Deidameia. Unfortunately, however, the rule and arbitrariness of Pyrrhus' guardians, who could only rule when he would be in adulthood, led to a second revolution: When Pyrrhus was at a festival in Glaucia, the Molossians dethroned him and banished him from his kingdom.
Bust of Pyrrhus at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples
Thus the 17-year-old Pyrros was banned from his homeland for the second time in 302 BC. He decides to go to Asia to Demetrius. With his help, he learns how to operate the various siege machines, arts of war and siege management. He learns the use of elephants as a weapon and the function of the phalanx. Thus he develops his military career and progresses so much that in the Battle of Ipsos of Phrygia in 301, in which four of Alexander the Great's successors, Lysimachos, Seleukos, Kassander and Ptolemy attack against Antigonos who was Demetrius’ father, he manages to force his opponents to flee despite the final defeat.
Despite the defeats of Demetrius, Pyrrhus remained loyal to him. Even when he was asked to be sent as a hostage to Ptolemy of Egypt, Pyrrhus accepted without second thoughts. His stay in Egypt was a milestone in his life. He gained the impressions and favor of the court, became the protector of Queen Berenice and married her daughter Antigone. It did not take long until Ptolemy saw in the face of Pyrrhus a counterweight to the power of his enemy Demetrius and so in 296 BC he made him king of Epirus with quick procedures, although Neoptolemy was already the king. The 2 kings’ cooperation went smoothly at first, but after Neoptolemus' failed attempt to wipe him out, Pyrrhus murdered Neoptolemus and became the one and only Molossian king.
Pyrrhus: King of Epirus, Thessaly and Macedonia
With the second and final return of Pyrrhus to the continental throne, his glorious path begins. After the death of Antigone, Pyrrhus married Lanassa in 294, who gave him Corfu as a dowry, which he had in mind as he could use it as a base for future campaigns. With his subsequent marriages, which brought conflicts and finally led to the dissolution of his marriage with Lanassa, Pyrrhus secured his borders from the Illyrians and Paeonians. Pyrrhus' great plan was to conquer and unite Greece and the eastern state of Alexander the Great.
His opportunity arose after Cassander’s death, when his two sons, Antipater and Alexander, fought for the Macedonian throne. Antipater ousted Alexander and so Alexander asked Demetrius’ help, but without reply. So he turns to Pyrrhus. Pyrrhus gladly accepts the invitation and annexes the ancient Macedonian provinces of Tymfaia and Paravaia as well as Acarnania, Amfilochia and Amvrakia.
From that time on, he took the name of the king of Epirus, as he created an important kingdom that stretched from the mountains of Keravnia to Acheloos. He defeats Antipatros, who seeks refuge to his father-in-law, Lysimachos, who tries to come to terms with Pyrrhus by deception but does not succeed. At the same time, Demetrius arrives from Peloponnese and kills Alexander, who had been crowned as the king of Macedonia and takes the throne (293). This was not favorable to Pyrrhus, since Demetrios wanted to extend his rule to all Greece, and therefore in Epirus and the relation between them was not good after the death of Diiamida.
Pyrrhus preferred to secure his borders as far as possible before provoking Demetrius in an open confrontation. As already mentioned, he did two more marriages in order to create a threat at the border of his opponent, but without taking into account the pride of his wife Lanassa, who could not tolerate it. She left Pyrrhus while he was in Thessaly, returned to Corfu and invited Demetrius to marry her. Demetrius accepted her proposal and when he returned from Corfu, he conquered Lefkada. The hostilities began. At the beginning of the year 289 Demetrios attacked Pyrrhus' allies, the Aetolians from southern Hesse, and after defeating them, he entered the territory of the Aetolians to reach Epirus, leaving Pantafchos to stop the march of Pyrrhus. Pantafchos and Pyrrhus clash, Pyrrhus triumphs and he becomes known as the "eagle" of the Epirots.
Demetrius, frightened as he was, he returns to Macedonia and tries to reach to an agreement with Pyrrhus, after the plundering of Edessa by Pyrrhus in retaliation. He now turns to Asia, gathering colossal forces to attack the other successors. They unite, take Pyrrhus with their side and attack Demetrius. Pyrrhus, who was the last one who involved in the battle, arrives with no problems at Veria and occupies it, causing confusion and outrage among Demetrius' soldiers. Through propaganda and maneuvers, he causes waste, hunger and exhaustion in the Macedonian camp.
Finally, Demetrius fled because of the bad situation and left the field to Pyrrhus, who was proclaimed king of Macedonia without delay, but then shared his valuable conquests with Lysimachos. But Lysimachos wanted entire Macedonia for himself. After the reappearance and the capture of Demetrius by Seleukos in 285, Lysimachos turned against Pyrrhus with extremely strengthened forces and they met in Edessa. There Lysimachos (we do not know whether a battle took place) managed to beat Pyrrhus and force him back to Epirus and so to eventually proclaim himself king of Macedonia.
The End
After the success of Lysimachos in Macedonia, the "Eagle" was forced to return to Epirus to regroup in order to carry out his plan. It is necessary to acknowledge the expansion of the continental empire at that time, whose borders started from today's Durrës, included the entire Epirus and reached as far as Acheloos. At this moment, however, an opportunity comes to Pyrros that he had not expected. The Romans, powerful people, wanted to subjugate the neighboring peoples and became a threat to a prosperous trading city, Tara. The Tarantinos people, turned to Pyrrhus for help after Roman invasion and sent messages to Pyrrhus twice, as the king of Epirus refused the first time to help them.
However, in 280 B.C. Pyrrhus decided to conduct a campaign in Italy to help the Tarantinos, in order to also extend his rule. This campaign ended ingloriously, and in 275 Pyrrhus returned to Epirus. It was the last attempt of the Greeks to prevent the creation of the Roman Empire and to protect the "free Greeks".
Pyrrhus was again ready to pursue his original plan, namely the occupation of Macedonia. So he marched against Antigonus Gonatas, the son of Demetrius. In his advance, he did not face serious resistance. His reputation was undiminished and his fame was widespread so two thousand soldiers of Antigonus surrendered and took his side. Antigonus' attempt to stop him became a complete disaster and Pyrrhus occupied most of Macedonia, but also all of Thessaly except Demitriada.
But the barbaric and sacrilegious deed of the Galatians, a dynasty that made its first appearance at that time, who dug, plundered and took the money from the tombs of the Macedonian kings, caused the hatred of the Macedonians. The immediate punishment of the sacrilegious enemies was demanded. Pyrrhus, however, postponed the punishment constantly, because new military occupations made him want to go to the Peloponnese and he did not want to lose part of his army. This postponement, which in their eyes seemed to be tolerance and perhaps fear, caused the Macedonians' indignation about Pyrrhus. Antigonus tried to take advantage of the Macedonian indignation and marched with new forces against the people of Epirus. He clashed with Ptolemy, but suffered another defeat.
Pyrrhus, meanwhile, decided to liberate Greece from Antigonus' allies and then destroy him. The invitation from Cleonymus to help claim the throne of Sparta contributed to this desire. Pyrrhus marched against Sparta and the king of its territory. However, bad timing and the delay in the attack of the Epirus king cost him his success. The luck and bravery of Sparta's women were the catalysts in the defense against Pyrrhus'. At the same time, Antigonus was in Corinth as his goal was to capture Argos and move to Sparta.
In the city of Argos, at that time, two factions were fighting: the pro-Macedonian faction of Aristippus and the democratic faction of Aristeas. As soon as Aristeas noticed the arrival of Antigonus in Argos, he quickly called Pyrrhus for help. Pyrrhus, looking for an opportunity to stop the run of Antigonus, went immediately to Argos. On his way, however, he lost his son Ptolemy due to Areas’ ambushes. But he suppressed his fatherly anger and continued. When he arrived in Argos, he demanded that Antigonus, who had arrived there, come to fight in open battle. Antigonus avoided this constantly and the inhabitants of Argos who saw two armies ready to clash in front of their city, put their differences aside and asked them to leave the city.
Antigonus accepted, but not Pyrrhus. One dark night, from a gate called "Diaberes", he began to advance with his army inside the city of Argos but the noise was noticed by the people of Argos. Thereupon a strange battle began in the streets of Argos. The situation became difficult for Pyrros and he decided to withdraw. He ordered through a messenger his son, Elenos, to stand at the exit and watch the movements of those who were leaving the city. The messenger, however, did not obey, and Elenos remained in Argos, trying to help his father. The end was near.
In the confusion that prevailed, Pyrrhus was wounded by an Argite, the son of an old and poor woman. The Eagle attacked him in fury. His mother, however, who, like the other Argites, watched the battle from the roof of the house, grabbed a tile and threw it at Pyrros, breaking his neck. Pyrrhus remained unconscious. Then a soldier of Antigonus, Zopyros, recognized him and pulled him away. There he succeeded in killing Pyrrhus. The news of his death shocked enemies and friends. His body was burned, his ashes were transported to Amvrakia and a monument was built in his honor, the well-known "Pyrrion". So in 272 B.C., in an alley in Argos, at the age of 46, the "Eagle" folded his wings forever along with the wings of entire Epirus.
Pyrrhus and Epirus
Pyrrhus devoted himself with all his heart to the glorification of his country. He created for the first time the special forces of the imperial guard, decorated the cities with statues, palaces, monuments and statues, promoted technical works and Greek education. Pyrrhus also minted coins: 1) when he came to Epirus with an army from Egypt to reclaim the throne, 2) when he became King of Macedonia, 3) when he organized the Italian campaign in Amvrakia, 4) during the wartime operations in Italy, 5) when he became King of Sicily and 6) when he became King of Macedonia again.
It is known that at the time of Pyrrhus, Epirus was a poor, mountainous and barren land, with citizens’ poor life based on cattle breeding. It was sparsely populated, with villages rather than cities and a small percentage of inhabitants. The inhabitants of Epirus lived happily their primitive life, which they eventually regarded as a natural and unchanging state. Most kings lived and died in darkness but Pyrrhus put Epirus and its people at the top of the political and military life of Greece. Next to such an ambitious, enthusiastic and active king, they felt their stature rise and their dreams come true.
With the death of Pyrrhus, the glory of Epirus was finally extinguished. His name, however, became known and preserved by modern historians because of the benefits and development that took place during his reign.
