Pausanias' description of Greece, Volume I.

by active approximately 150-175 Pausanias

And in the theatre, which they call Odeum, there are statues, in the entrance, of the Egyptian kings. Their names are all Ptolemy alike, but each has another distinguishing name also. Thus they call one Philometor, and another Philadelphus, and the son of Lagus Soter, a name the Rhodians gave him. Philadelphus is the one whom I have before made mention of as one of the Eponymi. And near him is also a statue of his sister Arsinoe.

CHAPTER IX.

Now the Ptolemy called Philometor is the eighth in descent from Ptolemy the son of Lagus, and he got his name in irony; for none of these kings that we know of was so hated by their mother as he was; for though he was the eldest of her sons she would not allow them to call him to the kingdom, but got him banished to Cyprus by his father previously. Now of this dislike of Cleopatra to her son they allege other motives, but especially this one, that she thought Alexander, the younger of her sons, would be more obsequious to her. And therefore she urged the Egyptians to choose Alexander for their king. And when the people opposed her in this, she sent Alexander to Cyprus, nominally as general, but really because she wished through him to make herself more formidable to Philometor. And at last having mutilated those of the eunuchs whom she thought most friendly, she brought them before the populace, and pretended that she was plotted against by Philometor, and that the eunuchs had been treated in that shameful manner by him. And the Alexandrians were eager to kill Philometor, but, as he got on shipboard and escaped them, they made Alexander king on his return from Cyprus. But Cleopatra was punished eventually for her getting Philometor banished by being slain by Alexander, whom she had got appointed king over the Egyptians. And the crime being detected, and Alexander fleeing from fear of the citizens, Philometor quietly returned from exile and a second time held Egypt, and warred against the Thebans who had revolted. And having reduced them in the third year after the revolt, he punished them so severely that there was no vestige left them of their ancient prosperity, which had reached such a pitch that they excelled in wealth the wealthiest of the Greeks, even the treasures of the temple at Delphi and the Orchomenians. And Philometor not long after meeting the common fate, the Athenians who had been well treated by him in many respects that I need not enumerate, erected a brazen statue both of him and Berenice, his only legitimate child. And next to the Egyptian kings are statues of Philip and his son Alexander. They performed greater exploits than to be mere appendages to an account of something else. To the other Egyptian kings gifts were given as being of real merit and benefactors, but to Philip and Alexander more, from the flattery of the community towards them, for they also honoured Lysimachus by a statue, not so much out of good will as thinking him useful under existing circumstances.

Now this Lysimachus was by birth a Macedonian and the armour-bearer of Alexander, whom Alexander once in anger shut up in a building with a lion and found him victorious over the beast. In all other respects he continued to admire him, and held him in honour as among the foremost of the Macedonians. And after Alexander’s death Lysimachus ruled over those Thracians who were contiguous to the Macedonians, over whom Alexander had ruled, and still earlier Philip. And these would be no very great portion of Thrace. Now no nations are more populous than all the Thracians, except the Celts, if one compares one race with another; and that is why none of the Romans ever subdued all Thrace at an earlier period. But all Thrace is now subject to the Romans, and as much of the Celtic land as they think useless from the excessive cold and inferiority of the soil has been purposely overlooked by them, but the valuable parts they stick to. Now Lysimachus at this period fought with the Odrysæ first of all his neighbours, and next went on an expedition against Dromichetes and the Getæ. And fighting with men not inexperienced in war, and in number far superior, he himself getting into the greatest danger, fled for his life; and his son Agathocles, now first accompanying his father on campaign, was captured by the Getæ. And Lysimachus after this, being unfortunate in battles and being greatly concerned at the capture of his son, made a peace with Dromichetes, abandoning to Getes his possessions across the Ister, and giving him his daughter in marriage, more of necessity than choice. But some say that it was not Agathocles who was captured, but Lysimachus himself, and that he was ransomed by Agathocles negotiating with Getes on his account. And when he returned he brought with him for Agathocles a wife in Lysandra, the daughter of Ptolemy Lagus and Eurydice. And he crossed over into Asia Minor in his fleet, and destroyed the rule of Antigonus. And he built the present city of the Ephesians near the sea, bringing into it as settlers Lebedians and Colophonians, after destroying their cities, so that Phœnix, the Iambic writer, laments the capture of Colophon. Hermesianax, the Elegiac writer, could not have lived, it seems to me, up to this date; for else he would surely have written an elegy over the capture of Colophon. Lysimachus also waged war against Pyrrhus the son of Æacides. And watching for his departure from Epirus, as indeed he was wandering most of his time, he ravaged all the rest of Epirus, and even meddled with the tombs of the kings. I can scarce believe it, but Hieronymus of Cardia has recorded that Lysimachus took up the tombs of the dead and strewed the bones about. But this Hieronymus has the reputation even on other grounds of having written with hostility against all the kings except Antigonus, and of not having been altogether just even to him. And in this account of the tombs in Epirus he clearly must have invented the calumny, that a Macedonian would interfere with the tombs of the dead. And besides it appears that Lysimachus did not know that the people of Epirus were not only the ancestors of Pyrrhus but also of Alexander; for Alexander was not only a native of Epirus, but on his mother’s side one of the Æacidæ. And the subsequent alliance between Pyrrhus and Lysimachus proves that if they did fight together there was no irreconcilable animosity between them. But perhaps Hieronymus had other causes of complaint against Lysimachus besides the chief one that he destroyed the city of Cardia, and built instead of it Lysimachia on the Isthmus of the Thracian Chersonese.

CHAPTER X.

Now as long as Aridæus, and after him Cassander and his sons, ruled, there was friendship between Lysimachus and the Macedonians; but when the kingdom came to Demetrius the son of Antigonus, then at once Lysimachus thought war would be waged against him by Demetrius, and preferred to take the initiative himself, knowing that it was a family tradition with Demetrius to wish to be grasping something, and at the same time observing that he had come to Macedonia on being sent for by Alexander the son of Cassander, and on his arrival had killed Alexander and taken in his stead the kingdom of the Macedonians. For these reasons he fought with Demetrius at Amphipolis and was within an ace of being ejected from Thrace, but through the help of Pyrrhus he retained Thrace and afterwards ruled the Nestians and Macedonians also. But the greater part of Macedonia Pyrrhus kept for himself, coming with a force from Epirus and being useful to Lysimachus at that time. But when Demetrius crossed over into Asia Minor and fought with Seleucus, as long as the fortunes of Demetrius lasted the alliance between Pyrrhus and Lysimachus remained unbroken; but when Demetrius got into the power of Seleucus the friendship was dissolved, and Lysimachus fought with Antigonus, the son of Demetrius, and with Pyrrhus himself, and was easily victorious and got Macedonia and compelled Pyrrhus to return to Epirus. Now many misfortunes are wont to come on men through love. For Lysimachus being already advanced in age, and being reputed fortunate in respect to his offspring, and although his son Agathocles had children by Lysandra, yet married Arsinoe Lysandra’s sister. And it is said that this Arsinoe, fearing for her children that after the death of Lysimachus they would be in the hands of Agathocles, for these reasons conspired against Agathocles. And some writers have alleged that Arsinoe was violently in love with Agathocles, but being disappointed in this plotted his death. And they say that afterwards Lysimachus came to know of the awful doings of his wife, when it was too late to be of any service to him, being entirely deprived of his friends. For when Lysimachus permitted Arsinoe to put Agathocles to death, Lysandra fled to Seleucus, taking with her her sons and brothers, and in consequence of what had happened they fled for refuge to Ptolemy. And these fugitives to the court of Seleucus were accompanied by Alexander also, the son of Lysimachus by his wife Odrysiades. And they, having got to Babylon, besought Seleucus to go to war with Lysimachus; and Philetærus at the same time, who had had all the money of Lysimachus entrusted to him, indignant at the death of Agathocles and thinking the conduct of Arsinoe suspicious, occupied Pergamum beyond the river Caicus, and sent an envoy and offered himself and his money to Seleucus. And Lysimachus, learning all this, crossed into Asia Minor forthwith, and himself began the war, and encountering Seleucus was badly beaten and himself killed. And Alexander, who was his son by his wife Odrysiades, after much entreaty to Lysandra recovered his corpse, and subsequently conveyed it to the Chersonese and buried it there, where even now his tomb is to be seen, between the village Cardia and Pactye. Such was the fate of Lysimachus.

CHAPTER XI.

The Athenians also have a statue of Pyrrhus. This Pyrrhus was only related to Alexander by ancestry. For Pyrrhus was the son of Æacides the son of Arybbas, whereas Alexander was the son of Olympias the daughter of Neoptolemus. Now, Neoptolemus and Arybbas had the same father, Alcetas the son of Tharypus. And from Tharypus to Pyrrhus, the son of Achilles, are fifteen generations. For he first, after the capture of Ilium, neglected, returning home to Thessaly, and removed to Epirus and dwelt there in accordance with the oracles of Helenus. And he had no son by Hermione, but by Andromache he had Molossus and Pielus and the youngest Pergamus. And Helenus also had a son Cestrinus by Andromache, whom he married after the death of Pyrrhus at Delphi. And when Helenus died having handed over the kingdom to Molossus the son of Pyrrhus, Cestrinus with the Epirotes who volunteered to go with him occupied the region across the river Thyamis, and Pergamus, crossing into Asia Minor, killed Arius the king of Teuthrania in single combat for the sovereignty of the country, and gave the city his own name, which it now has. There is also to this day a temple of Andromache, who accompanied him, in the city. But Pielus remained at home in Epirus, and it was to him and not to Molossus that Pyrrhus the son of Æacides and his fathers traced up their ancestry. Now up to the days of Alcetas the son of Tharypus Epirus was under one king; but the sons of Alcetas after some quarrelling changed the government to an equal share for each, and remained loyal to that agreement; and afterwards Alexander the son of Neoptolemus died in Lucania, and Olympias returned to Epirus from fear of Antipater, and Æacides, the son of Arybbas, in all respects remained loyal to Olympias, and even joined her in fighting against Aridæus and the Macedonians, though the people of Epirus were unwilling to enter into it. But as Olympias, when she conquered, had acted infamously in connection with the death of Aridæus, and far more so to the Macedonians, and consequently was thought afterwards to have only met with her deserts from Cassander, the Epirotes would not receive Æacides for a time owing to their hostility against Olympias; and when he obtained pardon from them some time after Cassander again prevented his return to Epirus. And a battle being fought between Philip (the brother of Cassander) and Æacides at Œnidæ, Æacides was wounded and died no long time after. And the people of Epirus made Alcetas king, the son of Arybbas and elder brother of Æacides, a man on previous occasions of ungovernable temper, and for that very reason banished by his father. And now on his arrival he immediately so madly raged against the people of Epirus, that they rose up against him by night and killed him and his sons. And when they had killed him they brought back from exile Pyrrhus the son of Æacides. And immediately on his arrival Cassander marched against him, as being young and not firmly established in the sovereignty. But Pyrrhus, on the invasion of the Macedonians, went to Egypt to Ptolemy the son of Lagus; and Ptolemy gave him as wife the uterine sister of his own children, and restored him with a force of Egyptians. And Pyrrhus, on becoming king, attacked the Corcyræans first of the Greeks, seeing that the island of Corcyra lay opposite to his own territory, and not wishing it to be a base for operations against him. And after the capture of Corcyra all the defeats he met with fighting against Lysimachus, and how after he had driven Demetrius out of Macedonia he ruled there until he in turn was ejected by Lysimachus,—all these, the most important events at that time in Pyrrhus’ life, have been already narrated by me in connection with Lysimachus. And we know of no Greek before Pyrrhus that warred with the Romans. For there is no record of any engagement between Æneas and Diomede and the Argives with him; and the Athenians, who were very ambitious and desired to reduce all Italy, were prevented by the disaster at Syracuse from attacking the Romans; and Alexander the son of Neoptolemus, of the same race as Pyrrhus but older in age, was prevented by his death in Lucania from coming to blows with the Romans.

CHAPTER XII.

So Pyrrhus is the first that crossed the Ionian Sea from Greece to fight against the Romans. And he crossed at the invitation of the people of Tarentum, who had had earlier than this a war of long standing with the Romans: and being unable to resist them by themselves, (and they had already done services to Pyrrhus, for they had aided him with their fleet when he was warring against Corcyra), their envoys won Pyrrhus over, giving him to understand that it would be for the happiness of all Greece, and that it would not be honourable for him to leave them in the lurch, inasmuch as they were friends and on the present occasion suppliants. And as the envoys urged these things, the remembrance of the capture of Ilium came to Pyrrhus, and he hoped the same would happen to him: for he, a descendant of Achilles, would be warring against colonies of Trojans. And as the idea pleased him, (and he was not the man to loiter at anything he had a mind for), he forthwith equipped men-of-war and transports and got ready cavalry and infantry to take with him. Now, there are some books written by men not remarkable for historical power still extant, called Commentaries of Events. As often as I read them I am inclined to marvel, not only at the daring of Pyrrhus which he displayed in action, but also at the forethought which he always exhibited. On this occasion he crossed over into Italy in his ships unbeknown to the Romans, and his arrival was unknown to them until, (an attack being made by them upon the people of Tarentum), he first showed himself at the head of his army, and, attacking them contrary to their expectation, threw them into confusion as was only likely. And, knowing full well that he was not a match for the Romans in fighting, he contrived to let loose elephants upon them. Now Alexander was the first European who had elephants, after the conquest of Porus and India: and on his death other European kings had them, and Antigonus a very large quantity of them: and the elephants of Pyrrhus were captured by him in the battle with Demetrius. And now on their appearance a panic seized the Romans, who thought they were something superhuman. For the use of ivory indeed all nations have clearly known from the earliest times; but the animals themselves, until the Macedonians crossed into Asia, no nations had seen at all except the Indians and Libyans and the adjacent nations. And Homer proves this, who has represented the beds and houses of the wealthier of the kings as decked with ivory, but has made no mention whatever of the elephant. And if he had seen or heard of them he would, I think, have recorded them rather than the battle of the Pygmies and cranes. Pyrrhus was also invited into Sicily by an embassy of Syracusans. For the Carthaginians used to cross over and take the Greek cities in Sicily, and Syracuse the only one left they were blockading and besieging. And Pyrrhus, hearing this from the envoys, left Tarentum and the Italians that dwelt on the headland, and crossed over into Sicily and compelled the Carthaginians to raise the siege. And, having overweening self-confidence, he was elated to fight on sea against the Carthaginians, (who were the greatest maritime nation of all the barbarians of that day, having been originally Tyrians and Phœnicians), with the natives of Epirus only, who even after the capture of Ilium were most of them unacquainted with the sea, and knew not the use of salt. As that line of Homer, in the “Odyssey,” bears me out: