political alliances. One was the daughter of
Autoleon, king of the Paeonians; another was Birkenna, daughter of
Bardyllis, king of the Illyrians, while the third, Lanassa, daughter
of Agathokles, despot of Syracuse, brought him as a dowry the city and
island of Korkyra, which had been captured by Agathokles. By Antigone
he had already one son, Ptolemy; by Lanassa he had another son,
Alexander, and Helenus, the youngest of his sons, by Birkenna. They
were all brought up to be good soldiers, being trained in arms by
Pyrrhus himself. It is said that when one of his sons, while yet a
child, asked him to which of them he would leave his kingdom, he
answered "To him whose sword is the sharpest." This saying differs but
little from that celebrated tragic curse upon the brothers who were to
"divide their heritage with whetted steel." So savage and unsocial a
quality is ambition.

X. After this battle Pyrrhus returned home, delighted at the glory
which he had acquired. When the Epirotes gave him the title of the
Eagle, he answered "I owe it to you that I am an eagle, for it is your
arms that enable me to take so high a flight." Shortly afterwards,
learning that Demetrius was dangerously ill, he suddenly invaded
Macedonia, meaning merely to make a short incursion, but he very
nearly obtained possession of the entire kingdom, as he overran the
country without opposition and marched as far as Edessa, while many of
the natives assisted him and joined his army. The danger roused
Demetrius from his sick bed, and his partisans hastily collected a
considerable force and marched to attack Pyrrhus. As he had only come
with the intention of plundering he avoided giving battle and
retreated, but on his way lost a part of his army by an attack of the
Macedonians.

Demetrius, though he had thus easily driven Pyrrhus out of his
kingdom, did not despise him. He had determined to go to war on a
great scale to recover his father's throne, with a force of a hundred
thousand men and five hundred ships of war; and he did not wish to be
thwarted in this design by Pyrrhus, or to leave him as a fierce and
dangerous neighbour for Macedonia. Consequently, as he had no leisure
to go to war with him, he wished to come to terms with him and make
peace, so that he might be at liberty to attack the other kings. These
considerations led him to conclude a truce with Pyrrhus. However, the
greatness of the force at Demetrius's disposal now led him to assume
su