on
his camp and to retire toward Tarentum. The Romans immediately
advanced, flushed with victory, and carrying all before them. Pyrrhus
retreated faster and faster, his numbers continually diminishing as he
fled, until at last, when he reached Tarentum, he had only a few
horsemen in his train. He sent off the most urgent requests to his
friends and allies in Greece to furnish him aid. The help, however,
did not come, and Pyrrhus, in order to keep the small remnant that
still adhered to him together, resorted to the desperate expedient of
forging letters from his friends, promising speedy and abundant
supplies, and showing these letters to his officers, to prevent them
from being wholly discouraged and abandoning his cause. This miserable
contrivance, however, even if successful, could only afford a
momentary relief. Pyrrhus soon found that all hope and possibility of
retrieving his fortunes in Italy had entirely disappeared, and that no
alternative was left to him but to abandon the ground. So, pretending
to wonder why his allies did not send forward the succors which they
had promised in their letters, and saying that, since they were so
dilatory and remiss, he must go himself and bring them, but promising
that he would immediately return, he set sail from Tarentum, and,
crossing the sea, went home to his own kingdom. He arrived safely in
Epirus after an absence of six years.

CHAPTER IX.

THE FAMILY OF LYSIMACHUS.

B.C. 284-273

Some account of the family of Lysimachus.--Remarks on the principle
of hereditary succession.--Difficulties that often
occur.--Examples.--Return to the history of Macedon.--Stories of
Lysimachus's strength and courage.--Put in a dungeon with a
lion.--Amastris and her two sons.--Arsinoe.--Feud in Ptolemy's
family.--Origin of the quarrel.--Account of the family.--Ptolemy
Ceraunus.--Transfer of the quarrel from Egypt to
Macedon.--Lysandra.--Envy and hatred of Arsinoe.--Lysandra's husband
imprisoned.--Danger of her children.--Lysandra's flight.--An army
raised.--Desperate battle.--Ptolemy Ceraunus.--His reckless and
desperate character.--Alliance of Ceraunus with Seleucus.--His
plans.--Ceraunus's meditated treachery.--Argos.--Ceraunus proceeds
to Macedon.--His rivals and enemies.--Their various claims.--The
first contest was with Antigonus.--Arsinoe and her children.--Their
retreat to Cassandria.--Ceraunus proposes marriage to
Arsinoe.--Ceraunus finds himself in great prosperity.--Inv