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[Mausolos of Caria]

Onto Macedon then 

Spoiler

Four centuries before our time Karanos of Argos was the first man to claim the crown of Macedon. His treacherous brother Pheidon had expelled him from the city of Diomedes and the stupendous oracle of Delphi, with the voice of Apollo himself, led Karanos into Macedon. There he reached the town Edessa in Emathia and renamed it Aigai, after the flock of goats he had followed to find the way during a terrible storm. Karanos united the tribes of Macedon and established the kingdom. Some of our historians might say this story is a product of mythology rather than actual facts, but who are we to foster doubts about the gods of Olympos?

Just North of the godly mountain itself the young kingdom soon began to flourish, albeit it lacked the dense population of Southern Greece. But the subjects of Macedon were not as refined as those Greeks I mentioned before, and their Barbarian heritage was responsible when they laid down to the power of Persia. The Macedonian kings became his vassals and paid regular tributes to the Great King. But at the end of his reign, Alexander I. (ca. 498- 454 BC) regained the kingdom's independence. During the years of the ogreish War between the Peloponnesians and the Athenians Macedon sided mostly with the latter. But it was after the end of that war, that Macedon began to enter the stage of the Greek World on more prominent terms. The great king Archelaos I (413- 399 BC) reformed the state and the army and improved Macedon's trade relations.

However, his successor Amyntas III (393- 370 BC) scarcely survived an Illyrian invasion at the beginning of his reign, but a formidable alliance with Sparta saw him defeat the Chalkidian League under their mighty leader, the city of Olynthos. Following the death of Amyntas, Macedon sunk into chaos. Disastrous wars against Athens and Olynthus over Chalkidike and Amphipolis were only exceeded when the gods decided to hand their favour to the Theban general Pelopidas. All on his own, only accompanied by his retinue, he walked into Macedon and conquered it with a bag of precious gold, which was enough to convince the miserable mercenaries of the Macedonian king. These years of embarassment only came to an end when the brilliant hero Philip II (359- 336 BC) rose to the throne. The gods and godesses of Olympos had benevolently endowed him with the grandest of skills and he reformed the poor crowd that was Macedon's army into a force to be reckoned with. Philip introduced the long spear we know now as the Sarissa for his phalanx, improved the royal company cavalry and added both the guard of the hypaspists as well as the feroucious Agrianians. These new troops showed their worth in the battle of Crocus Field (352 BC) before smashing the might of Olynthos once and for all in 349 BC. Philip the Great won victory after victory and in 338 BC his heroes crushed the armies of Athens and Thebes on the battlefield of Chaironeia. Now the lord of all Greece, he was on the apex of his impressive power. But the Moirai are always erratic and hardly two years after his greatest victory Philip was murdered.

Everyone knows what happened after the death of Philip, when his son was crowned as Alexander III. The red-haired young hero sackd the powerful city of Corinth before he went on to take on the big task of his life: His campaign into Persia. The little corps of brave, Greek heroes overcame both nature and the millions of men commaned by the Great King to defeat him several times and conquer his mighty empire. At the battle of Gaugamela (331 BC) Alexander earned the most brilliant of victories in the history of mankind and proved himself worthy of the favour the gods had granted him. But the restless demigod successfully pursued Dareios through the Zagrous mountains and into the Barbarian Northeast, where he subdued peoples the Greeks had never even heard of before. There he married the beautiful princess Roxane, but in Susa he also espoused Stateira and Parysatis, who were related to the last Great King. But again the Moirai thought that Macedon had got enough glory, and they prevented Alexander from conquering the Arabians and the Carthaginians by calling him up to Olympos. After the death of Alexander, his generals, called Diadochoi, began to tussle for his empire.

Among the Diadochoi was Antigonos Monophtalmos, who was also the most powerful and the most ambitious. When the regent Perdikkas had died, and Alexander's son, who was the child of Roxane, was still too little, Antigonos tried to gain the supremacy over Alexander's empire. The One-eyed was a formidable warrior and fought many battles against his multiple foes, crushing them here and there. To everyone's surprise, the secretary Eumenes of Kardia emerged as his brightest rival and Eumenes succeeded to inflict heavy casualties on Antigonos in the battle of Paraitakene (Autumn 316 BC). But the secretary's victory was to be to no avail, as the ruthless Antigonos followed him into the Persis, where both armies met again at Gabiene at the end of the year. Although Eumenes proved to be a sound commander again, he was eventually betrayed by his own men. Having get rid of Eumenes, Antigonos expelled Seleukos from Babylon and was at the height of his power. This prompted the other remaining Diadochoi, clever and able men themselves, to ally against the mighty One-Eyed. Althought Antigonos captured Phoenicia and Syria in the spring of 314 BC, which was followed by the occupation of Bithynia and Caria. But in the following year Ptolemaios, the pharao of Egypt, snatched Cyprus from under his rule, and together with Seleukos he defeated Antigonos fiery son Demetrios at Gaza (312 BC).

During this time, the treacherous Cassander held Macedon and ordered the murder both of the mother of the godly Alexander as well as the king Alexander IV. But young Alexander had ruled only in name, while Olympias had been a real rival for Cassander. In 306 BC the king was defeated by Demetrios at the battle of Salamis (Cyprus) and blended by the glory of the victory Antigonos and Demetrios proclaimed themselves as kings. The other diadochoi followed them in doing so, but it was Antigonos who paid for his hybris when the alliance of his foes defeated and killed him at Ipsos (302 BC). Demetrios survived, but fled into the unknown. However, five years later Cassander died of the dropsy and this opened the chance for Demetrios to reclaim the throne of Macedon. However, Ptolemaois, Pyrrhos of Epiros and Athens turned against him and Demetrios had to flee the country again before the relentless Seleukos captured him on campaign in Asia and the Besieger died in 286 BC.

Now Ptolemaios Keraunos, the oldest son of Ptolemaios, has made himself king of Macedon after his dishonourable murder of Seleukos. Antigonos Gonatas, son of Demetrios, still commands a little corps of Macedon's elite troops. The feared phalanx along with the Hetairoi, the Hypaspists and a vast arsenal of light troops still forms a force to be reckoned with. If Antigonos could capture Pella, he would be able to rule over all Greece once again and field the best troops of the Hellenic world. But Antigonos only holds his fleet and a small number of cities, from where it will be difficult to regain the rule over Macedon. Perhaps the approaching Celts will open up an opportunity to snatch the throne from Keraunos? Gonatas has inherited his father's talents both as a besieger and as an admiral and in his hybris Keraunos might make the lethal mistake and underestimate his debilitated rival...

Damn, I think it gets longer every time 

[ahowl11]

I like it!

[Mausolos of Caria]

PTOLEMAIC EMPIRE

Spoiler

In the beginning Ra wept, and from the tears he wept, came man. Ra created Egypt, and when he travelled sky on Mandjet, the Eye of Ra spent warmth and light on Egypt. Every day Apophis the serpent tried to stop Ra when he was on the Mesektet, but Ra would always return with the help of Osiris. Now the foreigners who call themselves Greeks tell us to believe in their gods, but we can see that the god they call Dionysos is actually our ancient deity Osiris. But long before the Greeks were graced by the light of the Eye Egypt had already become a majestic kingdom, led by the sublime pharao. Dozens and hundreds of dynasties led Egypt through a long history of brilliance and glory. Which mortal has not heard of the victory of Ramses the Great, son of Sethos, over the Barbarians at the battle of Quadesh (1274 BC)?

But with splendid power and unimaginable wealth came Hybris, as our Greek friends would say. The court of the pharao started to degenerate and from infinite might Egypt fell down under the sway of the Persians. The rules of the Achaemenids was harsh and unpopular, but a number of revolutions by the people of Egypt failed to expel the foreigners from our godly country. But after years of torture Ra smiled on Egypt again and sent Alexander, whom the Greeks call ''the Great'', to liberate the country of the Nile from the Persian Barbarians. Alexander was the son of Amun and he destroyed the supremacy of the Persians over the people of the East. When Amun-Re decided to take his son back to the Great Pesedjet of Heliopolis, his generals where deceived by Apophis and Alexander's empire broke apart.

One of these generals, who enjoyed the protection of Horus the falcon, was Ptolemaios. He had been among the troops who accompanied the brave hero into Asia and was promoted to be the king's edeatros (taster) and later to a position among the somatophylakes (bodyguards). Ptolemaios continued to impressive and rose to the office of a general when Alexander was campaigning in Sogdia and Bactria. He excelled in India and at the time of the demigod's death Ptolemaios was among the most important of Alexander's generals. Seeing the splendour of Egypt, Ptolemaios chose the country of Amun-Re as his new residence. When the regent Perdikkas ordered the corps of the demigod to be brought to Aigai in Macedon from Babylon in the East, Ptolemaios insidiously assailed the convoy and abducted the corps to the godly city of Memphis. Perdikkas was raging, but Ptolemaios was just in his action since Alexander himself had declared before his demise that he wanted to be entombed at the Oasis of Siwa. To underline his power and his immortal legimitation Ptolemaios decided to bury him in Memphis.

During the wars of the Diadochoi Ptolemaios fought together with Seleukos, who claimed Babylon and built his own empire in the East. Together these two fine Greek officers stood against the mighty Antigonos and eventually defeated him after a series of wars. Ptolemaios, whose power had risen every day like Mandjet in the morning, followed the example of Antigonos to make himself king, and as he was in Egypt he became the new Pharao, celebrated by the people of Lower and Upper Egypt equally. When Antigonos died at the battle of Ipsos (302 BC), his renegade son Demetrios disappeared for a while before entering the fray again in Greece. He deceived the people of Macedon to steal the throne and subdue the other Greeks under his sway. But the sly Demetrios had underestimated the power of the sublime Pharao, and when Ptolemaios sent a huge fleet, bigger than the number of boats on the river Styx in Hades, he was able to help the clever men of Athens to overcome the army of Demetrios. The Pharao forged a superior alliance with Pyrrhos from Epiros and Lysimachos and together they defeated Demetrios, who was later captured by Ptolemaios' old friend Seleukos.

At the end of his reign Ptolemaios built a new, glorious Mausoleion in the city of Alexander for the corps of the great demigod general. All the people from Egypt and the Greek world came to see this wonderful piece of Egyptian culture and Greek architecture. Ptolemaios died shortly after, not even three years ago, and his remnants were also entombed in the new Mausoleion to prove his divine connection with Alexander and Ammon-Re. His eldest son Ptolemaios Keraunos was banned from the empire and Ptolemaios II., his younger son, was crowned as the new Pharao. Ptolemaios II. is a wise and cautious man, can he live up to his father's legacy? But as the Pharao he is also the son of Amun-Re, or Zeus as the Greeks say, and he must guide the Ptolemaic Empire into a new great era. The Seleucids in the North are becoming dangerous neighbours ever more with our struggle over Koile Syria, which might lead to a war. As the Pharao, you have Macedonian phalanxes, you have Macedonian Hetairoi, you have ferocious Carians and skilled Cretans at your disposal. Your vast possessions also stretch North into the Aegean and along the coast of Asia Minor. We must protect the Greeks of Sparta and Athens from Macedon and hold the Seleucids back to make our empire the mightiest in the world! The Eye of Ra will cast the divine light upon us...

[Mausolos of Caria]

Carthage

Spoiler

Phoenicia. A small, but rich land in the East, home of our ancestors. More than half a millenium ago (between 825 and 813 BC) a little expedition from Tyros set out to found a colonly in the West. Our recors don't tell if they were searching for precious metals, or if the population of the country was becoming too big to feed, or if it was just the will of the gods that led them to the rocky shores of North Africa. But in any case, they founded our wonderful city Carthage. In the time of only a few decades we became the lords of the North African coast and began to found colonies on Sardinia and along the western Coast. Shortly before the Greeks began to settle Sicily, we built trade points on that island as well and afterwards connected them with roads and forts into a system called the Epikrateia.

The Epikrateia stands strong against the Greeks in the East, but it has been challenged many times over the years. The powerful city of Syracuse, led by it's cruel tyrants Gelon, Dionysios I., Timoleon and others, those cursed scourges of Sicily, have brought chaos into the Epikrateia time and again. But protected by the mighty Senate of Carthage and the great power of the gods above, Melquart be praised, the Epikrateia has survived and remains a constant source of precious revenue for our Republic. Then, 260 years ago we defeated the brazen Greeks off the coast of Corsica at the battle of Alalia (540 BC). Once the Greeks had retreated, we began to colonise the island in full and equally controlled it's bigger Southern neighbour Sardinia. A number of ancient Phoenician towns like Nora had existed there before (since the 9th century BC) and since that time three centuries ago we built up a fine infrastructure even Baal- Hammon is surely proud of. The native Nuraghic (Sardinia) and Torrean people (Corsica) were satisfied as long as we kept to the coasts. But the vast plains of Sardinia offered fertile ground, surely a present by Tanit, and today Sardinian bread is always popular among the urban population of Carthage.

Our expansion also incorporated other Phoenician colonies like Gades near the Pillars of Melquart. Since Phoenician curiosity is as insatiable as our shredness is boundless, famous sailors also explored the lands on the edge of the world. The great Hanno discovered fire-breathing mountains in the South, down the endless coast of Africa, while Himilko travelled to the North to find a land where air and water amalgamate. Carthage thrived economically and we began to dominate the Western Mediterrenean. Bust just three decades ago (310 BC) our hegemony was challenged again by Syracuse. After a lenghty war the gods bestowed the fortune upon us to besiege Syracuse. However, the sly Agathokles, our greatest foe and tyrant of Syracuse, shocked all Carthage when he landed a force in Africa itself. After landing at Cape Bon, he captured two of our towns and crushed our civic army- Baal- Ammon may be merciful to them! To gain the favour of the gods we made luxurious presents to Tyros and the following year our glorious leader Hamilkar stormed the fortress of Syracuse. But once again, the false Greek gods had deceived us and Hamilkar died in the attack, losing his army and the hopes of Baal- Ammon's people. A great weeping and praying took place, and to make matters even worse the Ptolemaic Greeks in Egypt sent reinforcements to Agathokles (308 BC). We were looking at the end of our proud civilization...

But one year later, the gods finally answered our calls and Agathokles himself returned to Sicily, leaving his son Archagathos behind in charge of the Greek warriors in Africa. With our new forces, animated by the spirit of Baal- Qarnaim, we celebrated two impressive victories over the foreigners and saved our home. Shortly after these events (306 BC), we signed a splendid peace with the Greeks of Syracuse. While our city and land recovered quickly thanks to the many talents of our people, Agathokles proclaimed himself king like his Greek equals in the East, emulating their hero Alexander who had destroyed the Persian Empire and brought our native Phoenicia under the sway of the Hellenes. Eshmun smiled upon us when Agathokles died nine years ago (289 BC) and the threat of another invasion faded.

Now, as our greatest enemy has died, a new golden era shall begin. But we need to be wary of the power of Syracuse. While it does not lay in the nature of the Carthaginians to kill anyone without reason and all we want is to keep our Epikrateia and to keep our position as a succesfull economical power. The Senate shall therefore support those Greeks on Sicily who are enemies of Syracuse at all times to keep the Greeks apart, and these people really only need little reason to be split and fight against each other. But rumours about a man named Pyrrhos, who intends to help the Greeks of Taras against the Romans might be true. In that case we must remain cautious and watch the events closely. Our fleet is strong and our rich treasury supports a number of mercenaries, supported by the Sacred Band, subjects from our many maritime possessions and a terrible corps of elephants. With this power, we should be able to remain the dominant power in the Western Mediterrenean. May Baal- Ammon protect us....

[Mausolos of Caria]

Done:

Carthage
Rome
Seleucids
Ptolemies
Macedon

The Hellenic Kingdoms and both Greek states factions won't be playable at the start (only later swap campaigns), so do they need descriptions at all? It would be quite difficult as well considering the variety of factions they comprise- it would sound very artificial and strange and could surely not be written in the style I've used thus far. That would leave, from playable factions, for now:

Parthia
Armenia
Pontos

I'm not sure what how the Barbarian tribes are going to be portrayed in 1.0, are they already playable (since ahowl11 described them as shadow factions, too)? As far as I'm concerned Tekowiāt might be a better choice than myself to write the descriptions/introductions for these three Eastern factions (messaged him).

[Mausolos of Caria]

Answers, comments, volunteers?

[Bercor]

Spoiler

More seriously, I'm liking it so far.

[Mausolos of Caria]

Thanks  Unfortunately Tekowiat doesn't seem to have been online recently and ahowl11's unit list doesn't really tell me if the Barbarians or the three Greek superfactions are in any way playable in 1.0

[ahowl11]

They will be playable. Just give a short paragraph on each sub faction within these superfactions. So Hellenic Kingdoms would have a short description for Pergamum, Epirus, Bactria and Cyrene etc

[Alavaria]

An interesting bit for the superfactions might be to talk about how different citystates (for example) were governed.

Did you still have all the different types? Tyrant, Oligarchs, Democracies etc

[Mausolos of Caria]

Yes indeed you would have that. Perhaps there is also a way to represent that in-game?

Here's a complete list:

Spoiler

Achaian League: Federal council (appoints two strategoi)
Aitolian League: Federal council (appoints two strategoi)
Athens: Democracy
Bactria: Satrapy > monarchy after independence
Boiotian League: Federal council (appoints one strategos), largely controlled by Macedon
Bosporan Empire: Monarchy ruled by the Spartocids, advised by a federal council
Cretan City- States: Oligarchy, democratic assemblies with only a little number of participants and hence less influence than in an Athenian democracy
Epiros: Monarchy with an advising federal council
Kyrene: Satrapy > monarchy after independence
Massalia: Aristocracy
Pergamon: Satrapy > monarchy after independence, with an advising council
Rhodes: Democracy
Sparta: Two (military) kings + gerousia, changed to tyranny at the end of the century
Syracuse: Tyranny
Thessalian League: Aristocratic federal council (appoints one strategos)

[Mausolos of Caria]

Hellenic Kingdoms:

Spoiler

Kyrene

When the gods had brought dark times upon Thera, the people were confused and desperate, and to restore the favour of Apollo on the inhabitants of their island, the city of Thera sent a man called Aristoteles, all Kyrene knows him, to the divine oracle at Delphi. The juvenile god himself spoke to the hopeful Greeks and told them to found a new town in Africa. But the Therans did not know where Africa was, and thus, following their return to the home city, sent merchants to Crete. On the island of Minos, they learned about the location of the land called Kyrenaika, and the expedition led by Aristoteles landed there to found a city. After a short while, they moved to another, even better spot, to lay foundation for the city of Kyrene. There he adapted the name Battos and ruled for 40 years.
His successors were fair and sublime kings and built up the city of Kyrene as a center of trade and science. A close relation to Thera remained, and when the Persians, who had subdued the East and Egypt and were threatening the motherland itself, marched onto Kyrene, the Battids crushed their armies as they had done with those of the Pharao before. Kyrene's army was strong and the city was thriving, but 160 Athenian years ago (440 BC), their last ruler had proved himself unworthy of the name and the civilians of our city installed a democracy after the model of Athens. Once again, the culture of Kyrene blossomed and Apollon smiled upon us. When the god-send Alexander conquered first the Persians and then the Egyptians, we joined his empire and subequently fell under the rule of his general Ptolemaios.
But the rule of the Pharao seemed inept to many, and 33 years ago (313 BC), the civilians of Kyrene rose up once again. That uprising lasted one year, until Ptolemaic power was restored. Seven years later, we revolted again and the situation remained unstable. Thus, the Pharao has sent his stepson Magas to govern the city as his satrap. Now, Ptolemaios I. has died and his son has taken over the reigns. Where does Kyrene's future lay? Is it with Ptolemaios II. and Egypt, or should we rose up once again? Can Magas be trusted? Kyrene has a proud history of thriving culture and strong freedom, and we now command a force of traditional Greek soldiers as well as native levies. It is a force to be reckoned with and will help to determine the future of Kyrene- wherever the brilliant Apollo will lead us...

[ahowl11]

Excellent Read Mausolos!

[Mausolos of Caria]

Cheers

Hellenic Kingdoms II

Spoiler

Bactria

The history of Greek Bactria has been short so far. An ancient country in the far East, Bactria is surrounded by gigantic mountains as high as Olympos on three sides. On the tight, but fertile plains the mighty Alexander founded a number of cities when he came here to claim the province from the defeated Persians. The city of Baktra became the region's capital in the administration of his vast empire. After Alexander died, Bactria was claimed by his successors, because of the legendary Gold of Bactria. Merchants from the rough North trade their products here and thus all Gold flows through Baktra.

Alexander's general Seleukos gained the rule over Bactria and India, but he gave the latter away in exchange for a terrible squad of 500 elephants. He found the province easier to control than he thought, since in the past the sly Persians had settled many Greeks here far from home, who had insulted the Great King. These Greeks hail from Ionia and Kyrenaika. But once Seleukos turned westwards again, separatists arose who had to be handled with and Nomads from the North make the borders very much unsafe. Following the murder of Seleukos I. one year ago, which shattered the world, his son Antiochos now governs the vast empire, and he has declared his intention to regain his power in the East.

But for now, we are isolated from central authority, Nomads are raiding the borders and the power of India looms in the East. But Bactria is a land of a thousand cities, where masses of gold are traded and many civilians have become wealthier men than most of us can imagine. With the equipment of Macedon and the Illyrian cavaly of Alexander at our disposal, we must fight for the future of the Greek rule in Bactria. So let us pray to Zeus, use the Gold reserves and mobilize the natives and the power of Bactria will flourish!


Epiros

The impressive Pindos mountain range reaches as high as the sky, while the river Acheron flows directly from Hades into Epiros. But Epiros is not only the entrance to the underworld, but also a place of wisdom, as the oracle of Zeus at Dodona has already answered the calls of the Greeks before Apollo graced Delphi with his now much more famous oracle. Not far from there, the Vikos gorge forms the deepest of its kind in the world and every man who has stood on the top and looked down into the endless depth can feel how unimportant we mortals are and how near we are to the Asphodel meadows. This land is Epeiros.

Our land has always been on the edge of the Greek world, but settlers from Corinth founded their colonies up here to trade with the natives. Among these towns, Ambrakia became a center of trade and manufacture. Many Greeks from the South claimed we would not belong to them, and thus for long times we were not invited to the Olympian games and other Panhellenic events, only the inhabitants of Ambrakia gained these favours. But even the most arrogant Athenian or Lakedaimonian would concede, that prince Helenos of Troy was the founder of our kingdom. The Aiakids of the Molossian tribe, who can count their lines back to the hero Neoptolemos, have ruled as hegemons of Epiros and kings of their tribe for more than two centuries now. During the war of the Peloponnesians and the Athenians they sided with the former, but the families of the Chaonians still held a great power, while the Thesprotians controlled the oracle at Dodona.

But the favour of Zeus is unsteady and soon the Molossians gained control over Dodona and forged an alliance with Athens, which brought an increase in our wealth and influence. Many towns were founded, among them Phoinike in Chaonia and Passaron in Molossia. Ninety years ago (370 BC) Alexander I. was born and when he had become a grown man, he had become king of the Molossians and hegemon of the Koinon. Five years before, his older sister Olympias had already been married to Philip II., the rising king of Macedon. Since Alexander had still been an ephebe, he had accompanied her to Macedon and only became king once Philip marched into Epeiros to defeat the rivals of Alexander's mighty uncle Arybbas. Alexander followed the glorious rule of Arybbas, which had been ended by the intrigues of the sinister Eris.

Fourteen years later, after Olympias had spent a short while in her home, Alexander married Kleopatra, the wonderful daughter of Philip. But a treacherous conspiracy led to the assassination of Philip during the festivities and his son Alexander, whom we know as The Great, took over the reigns over the people of Macedon and started the campaign into the East to crush the Persian Empire and write his name into the memory of all mortals forever. Meanwhile, Alexander was busy fighting dastard pirates off the course, when the oracle of Dodona told him he would die at Pandosia on the banks of the ominous river Acheron. Appalled by this news, Alexander was only too happy to answer a plea from Taras in Magna Graecia. They had been attacked by the Samnites from the Northern mountains, who had captured many of their bases and colonies. Alexander gathered his troops and landed in Italy. Greek bravery and Molossian iron vanquished the enemy, as the king advanced to take Herakleia, the pirate base Sepius, Consentia and Terina.

But when he recruited Lucanian warriors for his army, the elation of Taras turned into anger. Alexander tried to strike an alliance with the warlike Romans, when the Bruttians and Lucanians ambushed him at a little village. A bloody battle began, but when Alexander learned that the name of the town was Pandosia and the stream near it was called Acheron, he was petrified with horror and was killed by one of his Lucanian allies. Thus, the oracle had spoken the truth once again. But the death of the energetic king plunged Epeiros into chaos once again. Not even the king Aiakides, who was distinguished with the divine name, could stop the internal fights and once again Epeiros disappeared from the stage of history, while major events in the East unfolded. It took until 17 years ago (297 BC), when Pyrrhos, the son of Aiakides, twenty-two years of age and with red hair like his relative Alexander himself, finally secured the throne and established the symmachia of the Epirotes.

Pyrrhos made Ambrakia his capital and fostered the relation to his friend Demetrios Poliorketes, who had received him well during his ephebe years and helped him to win the throne of the Molossians. But it was Ptolemaios who had eventually sent him to Greece and Pyrrhos supported his ally Alexander V., son of Cassander, to become king of Macedon. But Alexander was ousted by Demetrios the following year (293 BC) and the former friends became rivals. Pyrrhos took the initiative and allied with the Boiotians to attack Demetrios, but the experienced general recovered quickly to defeat the invaders. But the clever Demetrios was content with that for now, while Pyrrhos married three women from Paionia, Illyria and Syracuse each, although the latter left him two years later because she felt she should be treated better than the two Barbarian girls. Soon, Ares took over the minds of the two kings again and they met in battle, where the Macedonians, who felt that Demetrios had been a cruel ruler and saw that the brilliant Pyrrhos was a relative of Alexander the Great, deserted Demetrios, who escaped from Greece.

The Macedonians therefore chose Pyrrhos as their new king, and he ruled over Epeiros and Macedon and liberated Athens. But the diadoch Lysimachos, who had supported Pyrrhos against Demetrios, betrayed him and also expelled Demetrios' son Antigonos Gonatas from Greece. While Demetrios was captured by Seleukos and died in the East, Pyrrhos concentrated on his native land. One year ago, ambassadors from Taras arrived once again, to ask for help against the Romans. While Seleukos and Lysimachos died at the same time, Pyrrhos resisted that new opportunity and gathered his forces for a campaign into Italy. The other diadochoi know how dangerous he is and have given him additional soldiers to have him leave for Italy. Antiochos I. has given financial aid, while Ptolemaios Keraunos has sent thousands of warriors. Ptolemaios of Egypt has been even more generous and transported 5000 Phalangites, 4000 horsemen and 50 monstrous war elephants to Ambrakia. With the genius and boldness of Pyrrhos and such a faboulous army of the best soldiers Greek can offer, is there any doubt Pyrrhos can be stopped? Epeiros still remains a rather poor country- true glory and proper wealth can only be obtained abroad. May Poseidon protect our king when he crosses the strait to Italy - he shall go there and save Taras, to become a new Alexander....

[Bercor]

  Pyrrhic love right there.