Roma şi Pyrrhos. I. Negocierile de la Heraklea
Rome and Pyrrhus I. The Negotiations of Herakleia, 280 B.C.

Summary/Abstract: According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus (19.9.1-4), before the battle ofHerakleia, Pyrrhus wrote to the Romans that he was disposed to judge thedisputes between Rome, Tarentum and other Italiots. The consul M. ValeriusLaevinus wrote back, declining the offer (Dionysius 19.10.1-5). This diplomaticapproach is found in other two sources: Plutarch, Pyrrhus 16.3-4 says thatPyrrhos presented his offer by a herald, while Zonaras 8.3 just mentions theexchange of letters, without entering into too many detalis about their content.In a book published in 1894, R. Schubert denied the existence of this diplomaticcontact, arguing that Dionysius had invented the letters because of his attractionto oratory and moral deeds. The German scholar’s reasoning convinced manyillustrative names of the ancient historians, but, from our point of view, it is validonly regarding the means by which the diplomatic contacts between the twosides set up. The denial of the letters do not imply the denial of the negotiationsof Herakleia. The main objectiv of Pyrrhus western campaign was Sicily, whereSyracuse had disappeared as an important centre of power after the death ofAgathocles in 289 B.C. Under these circumstances, in order to take advantage ofthe anarchy on the island as soon as possible, the king had to find a solution toloosen up, even if temporarily, the relations between Rome, Tarentum and theItalic populations of the southern parts of the peninsula. Perhaps, the minimumof the conditions forwarded by Pyrrhus to the consul Laevinus were the same asthe ones his minister Kineas would negotiate several months later, after thevictory of the king’s troops at Herakleia.

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