Makers of History – Pyrrhus: Biographies of Famous People for Children

Pyrrhus (/ˈpɪrəs/; Πύρρος, Pyrrhos; 319/318–272 BC) was a Greek general and statesman of the Hellenistic period.[1][2][3][4] He was king of the Greek tribe of Molossians,[3][5] of the royal Aeacid house (from c. 297 BC),[6] and later he became king of Epirus (r. 306–302, 297–272 BC) and Macedon (r. 288–284, 273–272 BC).[citation needed] He was one of the strongest opponents of early Rome. Some of his battles, though successful, caused him heavy losses, from which the term Pyrrhic victory was coined. He is the subject of one of Plutarch's Parallel Lives.