Famous Men of Greece · Ch. XXIX · Unit 9: After Alexander and the fall of Greece

35. Pyrrhus

Goal: Your child can explain what a "Pyrrhic victory" is and tell how Archimedes defended Syracuse.

⏱ About 25 minutes · 6 steps

Open it at the Internet Archive ↗

You'll need

  • A map or globe (a free online map works well)
  • A notebook or paper and colored pencils
  • Your timeline (a long strip of paper on the wall, or a notebook page)
  • A ruler and a pencil (for a lever)

What's in the book

Pyrrhus of Epirus, dreaming of being another Alexander, wins and loses Macedonia, then fights Rome for the Greeks of southern Italy. His victories cost so much that he says another one would leave him alone. The Romans refuse to poison him, and he frees his prisoners. He is killed at Argos by a tile thrown from a roof (272 B.C.). Section II: Archimedes defends Syracuse with his machines.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Set the scene

    Find Epirus (northwest Greece), then across the Adriatic Sea to southern Italy, called "Great Greece" because so many Greeks lived there. Find Rome, Sicily and Carthage (in north Africa, in today's Tunisia).

  2. Read the chapter together

    Read pages 249–253 aloud, or let your child read and help with the hard names.

  3. Narration

    Close the book. Ask your child to tell the story back in their own words, from the beginning. Don't correct as they go; just listen. If they get stuck, use a prompt:

    - Who did Pyrrhus want to be like?

    - Why did Pyrrhus go to Italy?

    - What did he say after his first victory?

    - How did the war with Rome end in "a very curious way"?

    - How did Archimedes help Syracuse?

  4. Talk it over

    Ask:

    1. Say: Today a "Pyrrhic victory" is a win that costs so much it is almost a loss. Why is it named after Pyrrhus?

    2. Why did the Romans send the traitor back? What did Pyrrhus do in return?

    3. Read carefully: earlier, the chapter says Pyrrhus went to Sicily to help the Greeks there against Carthage. Does section II say the same thing? (It gets it mixed up; even books can slip!)

  5. Try a lever

    Archimedes was a great mathematician who studied levers. Lay a ruler over a pencil. Put a small book or a few coins on one end and press the other end. Move the pencil closer to the load and try again. The closer the pencil to the load, the easier it is to lift.

    The book also says "it is said" he set ships on fire with burning-glasses. Many people today doubt that story. Don't try burning-glasses at home.

  6. Remember it

    "Another such victory and I shall have to go home alone."

    Add "272 B.C.: death of Pyrrhus" and "287 B.C.: Archimedes born" to the timeline.

Afterwards

Your child draws Pyrrhus's elephants landing in Italy.

Answers to the book's problems

1. He won battles against Rome but lost so many men that the wins did him little good. 2. They scorned to win by treason; Pyrrhus sent back all his prisoners without ransom. 3. No; section II says he was helping the Carthaginians fight the Sicilians, which is the other way round.

Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.

@teddyrookbook GitHub