334 BC and Alexander, King of Molossia and leader of a newly-formed Epirote alliance, is eager for conquest. Over the past eight years he has completely transformed his kingdom into one of the most powerful realms of the time; the Kingdom of Molossia had never been stronger.

Having already achieved great success, Alexander now eagerly awaits his opportunity for a glorious conquest in the West: across the Ionian Sea to Southern Italy and beyond. The opportunity he has been waiting for is about to materialise.

Background: Southern Italy in 350 BC

To the West of Epirus, across the Ionian Sea, lay the rich coastline of Southern Italy, famed for its lucrative waters and fertile lands. There, many colonial Greek cities had prospered for centuries – cities such as Tarentum, Neapolis and Croton – taking advantage of the area’s abundant natural resources.

At their height, these Italiote-Greek cities had become some of the most famous Hellenic settlements in the whole of the Mediterranean, attracting merchants and exotic trade from across the Ancient World. By 350 BC, however, this Italiote-Greek ‘Golden Age’ was fading; and it was fading fast!

Uneasy neighbours

The Greeks were not the only peoples to inhabit Southern Italy at that time. Further inland, the territory was divided among a host of battle-hardened native Italian tribes. Relations between them and the Greeks had always been uneasy; war between the two was always just a breath away.

Envying their economic prosperity, many of these neighbouring Italic powers would see these cities as ideal targets for raids and plundering. Open conflict flared between the two cultures, quickly becoming a frequent occurrance. And soon, the constant military hostility started to take its toll.

By 350 BC, the abundance of hostile raids on their lands and cities had caused great suffering for many of the Greek communities. The Italian coastline that had formerly been called ‘Great Greece‘ was not looking so great or powerful any longer. Yet there was to be no respite for these Italiote-Greek cities; more suffering was to follow.

The Alliance

In around 350 BC, coincident with the death of the great Tarentine statesman Archytas, a new even greater threat emerged in Southern Italy.

Putting aside their petty differences and recognising the inherent weakness of the Italiote-Greek cities, two of the most powerful Italian tribes in Southern Italy, the Lucanians and Bruttians, formed a military alliance. United, they descended on the Greek cities that remained, intending to crush them once and for all. The odds looked heavily in their favour; Greek power in Southern Italy was as low as it had ever been, with many of its cities having already fallen to previous ‘barbarian’ onslaughts. The remaining Italiote-Greeks were in peril.

The Call for Aid

Realising their desperate situation, Tarentum, the strongest remaining Greek city in Southern Italy, decided to take action. It’s citizens sent out a call for aid on behalf of all the Italiote Greeks. They sought a heroic general who could turn the tide of war for them, one eager to prove his worth and gain great glory on the battlefield. By 335 BC, one such general had already attempted to try his luck and lost his life in the process. Yet the Tarentines remained undeterred. Keeping to this policy, they searched for another general from the Greek World. They did not have to look far. They found Alexander.

And so it was in 334 BC that the moment Alexander had been waiting for finally arrived. News reached his court of this call for aid from the Greeks of Southern Italy; they desperately needed help.

Alexander sets sail

For Alexander, this was the pretext he had been yearning for. His great expedition to the West could now finally commence. Accepting the call for aid, the Molossian King proclaimed to the Greek World that he would subdue the barbaric Italian tribes and revive Hellenism in the West. With all haste he set sail for southern Italy with a formidable army, full of optimism and hungry for conquest.

Alexander had siezed the opportunity the Tarentines had offerred with both hands. Yet there was one additional reason as to why Alexander had been so keen on leaving Epirus’ shores.

The Prophecy

Prior to departing for Tarentum, Alexander travelled to the Sanctuary of Zeus at Dodona to consult the Oracle about his decision to aid the Tarentines. He had hoped it would prophesise him good fortune. The response, however, was much more ominous. Livy recalls the Oracle’s response

…the oracle had warned him to beware of the River Acheron and the city, Pandosia, for there he was destined to end his days.

(Livy 8.24.2)

Disturbed at this warning, Alexander heeded the oracle’s advice. Both the city of Pandosia and the River Acheron were places in Epirus. He therefore hastened his departure to Southern Italy, intending to escape his fate. It would come back to haunt him.

Alexander in Italy

Arriving in Italy with a large Epirote army (we do not know exactly how large), Alexander witnessed first-hand the dire situation of many of the Italiote-Greek cities. Militarily weak and exhausted from constant war, their use to him, Alexander realised, would be limited.

Yet Alexander remained undeterred. His revolutionised Epirotes were some of the greatest soldiers in the Greek World, matching even the famed Macedonians of his nephew. The ambitious Molossian king knew that with him as their leader, his force would be more than a match for even the most battle-hardened Italians. He would put them to the test soon enough.

Very quickly, Alexander set about removing the great barbarian threat from the remaining Greek cities – the first step towards making his dreams of western conquest a reality. No longer would Alexander allow the Greeks to remain bottled up in their coastal enclaves; no longer would he allow them to hide behind powerful walls as their lands were quickly overrun. Now, it was time to go on the offensive.

Early success

The success Alexander rapidly gained was phenomenal. From Sipontum in northern Apulia all the way to Terina in Southern Bruttium, Alexander achieved great successes against his enemies. Greek cities were liberated, Italian cities were stormed. Any attempt to resist proved futile. Samnites, Bruttians, Lucanians and Apulians – all these powerful Italian tribes now found themselves bested time and again by the arrival of this formidable Molossian, culminating in a defeat at Paestum in 332 BC. The power of the native Italians appeared to be waning; Alexander and his Epirotes looked unstoppable.

Within two years of arriving in Southern Italy, Alexander and his powerful army had completely turned the tide of war between the Greeks and native Italians of Southern Italy. Yet Alexander had no intention of stopping just yet.

Diplomacy

Fresh from many great successes, Alexander now began to come into contact with Italian powers further to the North. One such power was Rome, arriving at Alexander’s court to seek friendly relations with the Epirote. Cementing his position in Italy yet further, Alexander accepted the offer. Little did he know, that within 60 years, this central Italian power would have made Southern Italy their own.



Great success was now very much in reach for Alexander. Having won countless battles, the Molossian could taste victory. His first step towards creating an Empire in the West was almost complete. Yet it would be now that his dreams would come crashing down.

The Dispute

Meanwhile, the mood in Tarentum was changing. On Alexander’s arrival they had rejoiced. The powerful and skillful Molossian king had answered their call for help, bringing with him a great army. His subsequent victories, too, they had celebrated, congratulating themselves as they saw their policy of calling for foreign aid bearing fruit. The threat from the native Italians was apparently diminished. Yet by 332 BC, this gratitude to Alexander was running thin.

At the height of Alexander’s success, the Tarentines began to appreciate the true extent of the Molossion king’s ambitions. Alexander had no intention of being a ‘short-term solution’ for them, halting the Italian threat before leaving their shores for good. He was there for the long-term, hoping to form his own great empire in the West. This the Tarentines could not allow.

Fearing now for their own freedom, the Tarentines began to turn on the Molossian king. Alexander – the man who up until then they had lauded as their saviour – now quickly became a very divisive and alarming figure. A long-term alliance where Alexander would slowly tear away their autonomy and remaining power in Southern Italy was not in Tarentum’s interests they proclaimed. He had done his job – he had given a brutal lesson to the native Italians of the powerful allies Tarentum had and crippled their power; for that they were grateful, but now they insisted he leave. Yet Alexander had no intention of leaving. Emnity ensued.

Abandoning the Cause

The falling out between Tarentum and Alexander quickly halted Alexander’s Italian onslaught. The Tarentine troops that Alexander had accompanying his army deserted his cause and returned to Tarentum, as too did the financial assurances the Tarentines had promised the Molossian on his arrival. No longer would they cover the expenses of his army; they wanted Alexander to leave, and leave quickly!

With Tarentum’s emnity, Alexander had lost one of his strongest allies in Southern Italy. Yet the Molossian King was still confident. Many of his remaining Greek allies – still extremely grateful for liberating them from the barbarian threat – stayed loyal. Alexander therefore remained determined to carry on his plans of carving his own empire in the West. His war in Southern Italy was to continue.

Unfortunately for Alexander however, this dispute would not prove insignificant. It had lost Alexander precious time; his Italian campaign had stuttered. And the Italians had been sure to take full advantage.

Respite

The Bruttians and Lucanians had not been idle in the meantime. Using the brief period of respite that Alexander’s break with Tarentum had caused, their forces had regrouped, intent on renewing the war with fresh vigour. Forming a new large army, its aim was simple: Crush Alexander.

News soon reached Alexander of this new threat. Hearing of it, Alexander quickly set about confronting the danger. Another great victory against the native Italians, he most likely believed, was soon to be his; the unruly Tarentines could wait.

Arriving near a city on the borders of Lucania and Bruttium, Alexander divided his army on three neighbouring hills. From there, he intended to send his armies into the enemy lands in every direction. The strategy was sound. Little did he know however, that the city nearby was named Pandosia.

The Battle of Pandosia 331 BC

It was then that the great expedition of Alexander came to an abrupt end. Torrential rains flooded the flat lands that joined the three hills Alexander had encamped his army on, isolating each section from the rest of their force. The Lucanians and Bruttians, well-adapted to fighting in these conditions, were sure to take full advantage. Commencing a surprise attack on Alexander’s stranded forces, Livy recalls what happened next,

Continuous rains, which flooded all the fields, having isolated the three divisions of the army and cut them off from mutual assistance, the two bodies other than the king’s were surprised and overpowered by the enemy.

(Livy. 8.24.7)

Due to freakish weather and great misfortune, two-thirds of Alexander’s forces were wiped out by this attack. The opposing Lucanians and Bruttians had seized the opportunity the heavy flooding had caused and inflicted crushing losses on their opponent. In one swift move, Alexander’s hopes of western expansion crumbled.

Isolated

Alexander now found himself and his depleted forces besieged on his last remaining hill. Isolated, his fate appeared to be sealed. Yet it would be an act of treachery that landed the final blow.

Among Alexander’s remaining troops were a group of Lucanian exiles. Joining with Alexander, they had hoped to curry favour with the Molossian King, believing his conquest of their lands was all-but assurred. As soon as this turn of events occurred, however, very quickly their allegiance shifted. Talk of betraying Alexander to their countrymen became rife among these exiles. Sending messengers to the Lucanians, they offered to hand Alexander over, dead or alive. Yet Alexander had other ideas.

Hearing of the proposed treachery, Alexander had no intention of going quietly. Selecting some of his finest Epirotes to join him, Alexander sallied out from the blockade, inflicting death on any that opposed him. There, in the thick of the action, Alexander allegedly faced the Lucanian general in a duel, cutting him down and proving to everyone around him just how capable a fighter he was.

Escape

Breaking out of the blockade and rallying his broken army, Alexander ordered them to make all haste in their escape. Very soon, they reached a nearby river. Seeing that the bridge had collapsed due to the torrential rain of the previous days, Alexander and his men began to cross at the nearest fordable crossing. They had to hurry. The Lucanians were in hot pursuit, desiring to avenge the previous defeats they had suffered at the Molossion’s hands. And it would be then, that Alexander’s attempts to outrun his fate came back to haunt him.

Having started to cross the river, Livy recalls

a discouraged and exhausted soldier cried out, cursing the river’s ill-omened name, “you are rightly called the Acheron!”

(Livy 8.24.11)

On hearing the name, Alexander froze. The words of the oracle had now come freshly back into his mind, “Beware of the River Acheron.“ By campaigning in Southern Italy, Alexander had believed he would evade his fate. Little did he know that another Acheron River resided there, along with another city by the name of Pandosia.

The death of Alexander

It was this hesitation on hearing the ill-fated name of the river that would ultimately prove Alexander’s greatest mistake. Too late Alexander spurred his horse, hoping to reach the far bank and prove the prophecy wrong. It was not to be. The Oracle was right!



As he was reaching the shallows of the opposite bank, within touching distance of escape, Alexander’s body plunged lifeless into the swollen waters, transfixed by a Lucanian javelin. Floating downriver, the Italians discovered his body and mutilated the corpse in revenge. Alexander, the man who had believed himself destined for forming a great Hellenic Empire in the West, was dead.

The result

As Alexander perished, so too did the leadership of his army. Stranded, it is presumed that any remaining Epirotes, despairing at the sudden turn of their fortunes, either remained in the Greek cities of Southern Italy or managed to make their way home to Epirus to inform their kinsmen of the ill-fated expedition. For the next 35 years, although its tribes would remain united, Epirus faded back into relative obscurity. Yet it would not remain so for long.

In 297 BC, another brilliant leader would ascend to the Molossian throne. A man who aimed to take revenge for Alexander’s misfortunes and continue the great Epirote aspirations for an empire in the West: Pyrrhus.

Decadence in Southern Italy

As for the Greeks of Southern Italy, Alexander’s successes had provided some much-needed respite. Yet rather than preventing their decline, Alexander had only delayed it.

Alexander would not be the last king that Tarentum and its allies would call to their shores to save them from hostile Italian neighbours – more were to follow. As their reliance on these foreign Greek generals continued, very quickly, any remaining illusions that these cities were strong enough to defend themselves from such powerful neighbours evaporated.

Rather than teaching their citizens the rigours of military life, the Italiote-Greeks indulged themselves even further into a life of decadence, enjoying the great luxuries trade had brought their cities. Why fight, they thought, if they could pay others to do the fighting for them? Yet this policy would ultimately prove their downfall.

By 272 BC, all the Greek cities of Southern Italy had fallen under the influence of a new growing power in the Central Mediterranean. One that over the next 150 years, would create one of the greatest empires the world had yet seen: Rome.

End

Thus ends the story of Alexander the Molossian. In his lifetime, he had completely transformed the region of Epirus, turning it into a powerful, united kingdom. He would also set a precedent, paving the way for another, even more formidable Molossian king to attempt his own campaign in the West soon after. Yet despite all this success, Alexander’s life is ultimately a tragic one. His campaign to the West had started out with such great promise – his army formidable, his generalship exemplary. War however, is never that straightforward.

In the end, his dreams would come crashing down. Alexander, undone by a combination of Italian stubbornness, Greek disloyalty and freakish weather. This was his story.

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Notes and Further Reading

Although the whole tale of the oracle’s prophecy is very much fiction and became a common motif for later historians such as Strabo, Livy and Justin, it does likely centre loosely around a historical event. Alexander most probably did die near the Bruttian city of Pandosia fighting a rejuvented alliance of Lucanians and Bruttians.

Huge thanks to Johnny Shumate and his fantastic illustrations! Click here for Johnny’s website.

Johnny’s Etsy page, check it out here.

Information from:

Livy, The History of Rome, Book 8.24 (on Alexander in Italy) here.

Strabo on Alexander of Molossia in Italy: 6.1.5 and 6.3.4.

Carter, J. C. 1992, ‘The Decline of Magna Graecia in the Age of Pyrrhos? New Evidence from the Chora.’ in Carter, J. C. 1992, ed., The Age of Pyrrhus: papers deliveed at the international conference, Brown University, 8-10 April, 1988, Louvain-la-Neuve.

Champion, J. 2009, Pyrrhus of Epirus. Pen and Sword Books Ltd.

Lomas, K. 1993, Rome and the Western Greeks 350 BC – AD 200, London.

Author: Tristan Hughes Twitter Facebook

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