ABSTRACT
Over the course of 280 and 279, the Romans and Pyrrhus engaged in a number of military encounters. In 280 the consul Laevinius marched south, finding Pyrrhus’ own army near Heraclea on the southern coast of Italy. The king defeated the Romans through a skillful use of his phalanx, cavalry, and elephants. In an effort to force the Romans to accept peace, Pyrrhus then marched north into Campania and then Latium. Unable to do so and surrounded by Roman armies, he returned south. The next year the Romans again attacked, but this time with the two consuls operating in conjunction. Pyrrhus once again won the day, effectively securing his control of southern Italy. In the narratives of both battles, the Romans prove themselves brave and admirable through a number of extraordinary deeds, including single combat, facing elephants for the first time, and the attempted self-sacrifice of the consul Decius. Pyrrhus supposedly was forced to admire the spirit of the Roman people. Even in defeat the Romans are portrayed as nearly matching one of the best generals in history. In fact, some later Roman writers insisted that one or both of these battles were Roman victories.
