THE various nations we find mentioned by the most antient writers, as inhabiting Epirus before they became one people, and were blended under the common name of Epirots, are, the Selli, Chaones, Moloff, Dolopes, Paravai, Orefti, Dryope, Hellopes, Enianes, and Pelafgi (C). THE form of government, which prevailed in Epirus, Form af was, without all doubt, monarchical, the whole country govern ▷ STRAB. 1. vii. defcendents, being freightened there for want of room, paffed over to the continent, and fixed their abode in Epirus, where they built a city, calling it Dodona, from their progenitor Dodanim(2). If the opinion of Eufebius be true, the Dodoneans were originally Greeks, and not Barbarians, as soft of the antients ftyle them. However, in procefs of time feveral barbarous nations fettled among them; and hence they are faid by Strabo (3), to have poken promifcuoufly the lanages of the Greeks and Bar barians. (C) But, as to the origin of thefe different tribes, there is a THUCYD. 1. ii, great difagreement among au- (2) Euleb. in chron. (3) Strab. 1. vii. W) Strab, ibid, (4) Homer, Iliad. ■', v. 235. F4 what Pyrrhus. what we find no-where recorded. At the beginning of Peloponnefian war, the Paravai and Orefli were ftill ru by kings of their own nation; the former by Antiochus, a the latter by Oroedus. But the kingdom of the Moloffi fo eclipfed all the others, the Moloffian princes having fubjec the whole country, and united the many fmall kingdoms, which it confifted, into one, known to the antients by name of Epirus. And this alone affords us matter for hiftory, there being nothing upon record relating to others, but the names of fome of their kings, and a few bulous accounts of their actions; for which we refer readers to Hyginus, and Cyrillus, it being beneath dignity of hiftory to take notice of them. WE fhall begin the hiftory of the kings of Epirus w Pyrrhus, the first of the Eacida, who reigned in that cou try, the times which preceded his reign, being overcaft w an impenetrable mift, and the kings, who are fuppofed have ruled over the Moloffi before his arrival, more spoken by the poets than the hiftorians. Pyrrhus was the fou Achilles, by Deidamia, the daughter of Lycomedes king the ifland of Scyros. Upon the death of his father, who w killed at the fiege of Troy, he was prevailed upon by Dian des and Ulyffes to leave his grandfather's court, where he h been brought up, and take upon him the command of th troops, which his father had led against Troy. He diftinguif ed himself at the fiege of that city, if the poets are to credited, by his brave and gallant behaviour; and, after was taken, killed old king Priam with his own hand; thre Aftyanax, the fon of Hector and Andromache, headlong fro an high tower; facrificed Polyxena, the daughter of kir Priam, on the tomb of his father; and carried Andromach with him into Epirus, where he fettled, by the advice of th famous foothfayer Helenus, one of Priam's fons, with th Myrmidones, who had ferved, during the Trojan war, bot under his father and himself. He maintained himself in th new settlement with the affiftance of the Pelopide, to whom he was nearly related, against the natives; who, finding they could not drive him out, fubmitted at length, and ac knowleged him for their king. But his reign was not long for he had fcarce fettled the affairs of his new kingdom when he was murdered by Oreftes in the very temple o HYGIN, fab. 193. 252. Julian, S CYRILL. 1. i. contu Delphi, for marrying Hermione, the daughter of Menelaus, who had been betrothed to the faid Oreftes (D). His body, by command of the oracle, was buried in the temple where he had been murdered; but no honours were there paid to him till the irruption of the Gauls, which happened many ages after, when he is faid to have appeared among other dead heroes, and to have, with his ghaftly looks, ftruck great terror into thofe facrilegious Barbarians. From that time he was honoured with yearly facrifices, and folemn fports, exhibited at his tomb. The Pyrrhica, a kind of tournament, or dance in armour, was fo called from him, he having firft ufed it round the tomb of his father Achilles. Pyrrhus had two wives, Lanaffa the daughter of Cleodaus, one of the defcendents of Hercules, and Hermione the daughter of Menelaus and Helena. By the latter he had no children; but the former brought him three fons, Pyrrhus, Alevas, and Ethneftus, and five daughters. By Andromache, whom fome count among his lawful wives, others among his concubines, he had likewife three fons, Moleffus, Pielus, and Amphialus. Pyrrhus, his eldeft fon by Lanaffa, died in his infancy. Alevas was brought up by Peleus his great-grandfather, king of Phthia in Theffaly, and by him appointed his heir and fucceffor in that kingdom. Ethneftus lived in Theffaly with his brother, and gave his name to the tribe of the Eibefte mentioned by Stephanus. Molaffus lived, after the death of his father, under the tuition of Helenus, the fon of king Priam, on whom Pyrrhus bad bestowed Andromache in marriage, and with her part of his kingdom; having always fhewn a great kindness, and Vide SER. in ii. ÆNEID. & CONSTANT. MANASS, & PRISCIAN. 1. xiv. PLIN. 1. vii. c. 56. & ERASMI chiliad. SUIDAS voce Alevada. i STEPHAN. Voce 'Elvesai, (D) Some writers tell us, that, under pretence of confulting the oracle of Delphi about his iffue by Hermione, he attempted to plunder the temple, and was, in that attempt, killed by the priets (6). His death gave rife to the proverb Neoptolemic reege, ufed by the antients, when One fuffered the fame evils which he had brought upon others; for Pyrrhus, furnamed Neoptole- (6) Vide fcholiaft. Pindar. Virgil. Æneid. 1. ii. v. 333, & feq. Pausan, in Ben. Enfeb, in chron. particular Moloffus. particular friendship, for that prophet *. Helenus brought him up with all poflible care, and at his death, left him that part of the kingdom which had been given him by Pyrrhus As Molofus died without children, he bequeathed the whole Pielus. kingdom to his brother Pielus; for he had fucceeded his father Pyrrhus as well as Helenus (E). Amphialus, the third fon of Pyrrhus by Andromache, fur named Pergamus, paffed over into Afia with his mother; and having there killed in fingle combat Arias king of Teuthrania reigned in his ftead, fixing the place of his refidence at Per gamus, whence he was ftiled Amphialus Pergameus! (F). AMONG the defcendents of Amphialus, we find one Prace mentioned by Paufanias, who is faid to have founded a temple in honour of Achilles in Laconia, whither the young men reforted to offer facrifices to that hero, before they entered the lifts in the public combats. The five daughters, which Pyrrhus had by Lanaffa, as we have obferved above, were married, according to Justin", to the neighbouring princes. THE defcendents of Alevas reigned in Theffaly, and are faid by Herodotus to have invited thither Xerxes king of Perfia, and betrayed the country to him. When Alexander the Pherean attempted to make himself mafter of all Theffaly, they had recourfe to Alexander king of Macedon, who affifted them with a powerful army, as we have related in the history of Macedon. They were at laft ftript of all their domi nions, and the cities they poffeffed declared free by Philip the brother of Alexander king of Macedon, as we read in Ulpianus, Diodorus Siculus, and Polyanus. As to the immediate defcendents of Pielus, we are quite in the dark, k PAUSAN. in Attic, n Scholiaft. PINDAR. I HYGIN. fab. 97. • HERODOT. 1. vii. 9 ULPIAN. in Olynthiac. SPOLY AN. 1. iv. (E) Some authors write, that Molous was fucceeded by his fon; and that from him were defcended the acide or Pyrrhida of Epirus: but we have followed Paufanias, who tells us in exprefs terms, that Molofus died without children; was fucceeded by his brother Pielus; and that from him the kings of Epi rus were, by the most antient writers fometimes styled Piclida (7). (F) Paufanias will have the city of Pergamus to have been fo called from him; but is herein contradicted by most of the antients, who tell us, that this city was built long before his time by the Myfians. (7) Paufan, in Baotic, both both as to their exploits and fucceffion, there being fcarce any mention made of them by the antients, till the time of the Perfian war, when Admetus reigned in Epirus, and was mafter of the greatest part of that country (G). Admetus reigned, as we have hinted above, in Epirus, Admetus. when Xerxes invaded Greece, and refufed to join either party. Upon the defeat of the Perfians, he courted the friendship of the Athenians, offering to enter into an alliance with the republic; but his propofals were, at the inftigation of Themistocles, rejected with fcorn, because he had not lent them any affiftance against their common enemy. Notwithstanding the ill offices done him on this occafion by Themistocles, he afterwards received him, when banifhed from his own country, with great marks of friendship and efteem; refufed to deliver him up to the Athenians and Lacedæmonians, though threatened with war; and plentifully fupplied him with money and other neceffaries, on his leaving Epirus to pals over into Afia'. He was fucceeded by Tharymbas, the only child he had by Tharymhis wife Phthya; but, as this prince was very young at his bas. father's death, he was, by a decree of the people, put under the tuition of Sabylinthus, a man of great diftinction in his country, and of an unblemished character. Sabylinthus attended him to Athens, where he applied himself with great earneftnefs to the study of polite literature; for he was reckoned one of the moft learned princes of his age, and is faid to have been the firft who introduced and encouraged learning among the Epirots his fubjects. He likewife made many wife and wholfome laws, and is, on that account, reckoned by Plutarch amongst the antient lawgivers (H). THUCYD. I. iv. DIODOR. SICUL. I. xvi. ARISTID. in orat. pro quatuor viris. Scholiaft. PINDAR. |