Pyrrhic War - Beginning

Beginning

Further information: Battle of Heraclea

In 280 BC, Pyrrhus landed with 25,000 troops, including a score of war elephants, in Italy. A Roman army of 50,000 led by Publius Laevinius was sent into the Lucanian territory, where the first battle took place near the city of Heraclea. During this battle, a wounded elephant made the other beasts panic, thereby ruining what would otherwise have been a complete victory for Pyrrhus. Casualty lists differ, ranging from 7,000 to 15,000 for the Romans and 4,000 to 13,000 for the Greeks.

This battle proved to be crucial in showing the stability of the Roman republic. Pyrrhus had expected the Italic tribes to rebel against the Romans and join him. However, by now the Romans had stabilized the area, and only a few Italics actually joined the Greeks.

Read more about this topic:  Pyrrhic War

Famous quotes containing the word beginning:

    “It may be possible to do without dancing entirely. Instances have been known of young people passing many, many months successively, without being at any ball of any description, and no material injury accrue either to body or mind; Mbut when a beginning is made—when felicities of rapid motion have once been, though slightly, felt—it must be a very heavy set that does not ask for more.”
    —Jane Austen (1775–1817)

    “In the beginning was the Word. Man acts it out. He is the act, not the actor.”
    —Henry Miller (1891–1980)

    “Laughter is not at all a bad beginning for a friendship, and it is far the best ending for one.”
    —Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)