Cineas ( el, Κινέας) was a man from

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...

and an important adviser of King Pyrrhus. He had a reputation for great

wisdom Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowledge, ...

and was a pupil of

Demosthenes Demosthenes (; el, Δημοσθένης, translit=Dēmosthénēs; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prow ...

the orator and was the only man who could be compared in skill with Demosthenes. Pyrrhus held him in high regard. Cineas was an

Epicurean Epicureanism is a system of philosophy founded around 307 BC based upon the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus. Epicureanism was originally a challenge to Platonism. Later its main opponent became Stoicism. Few writings by Epi ...

according to Cicero and Plutarch. Plutarch wrote that Pyrrhus sent Cineas to many cities in Greece as an ambassador and "used to say that more cities had been won for him by the eloquence of Cineas than by his own arms; and he continued to hold Cineas in especial honour and to demand his services." Plutarch wrote that prior to Pyrrhus undertaking the

Pyrrhic War The Pyrrhic War (280–275 BC) was largely fought between the Roman Republic and Pyrrhus, the king of Epirus, who had been asked by the people of the Greek city of Tarentum in southern Italy to help them in their war against the Romans. A ski ...

, Cineas tried to dissuade him from waging war against Rome in Italy and urged him to be satisfied with the possessions he already had. He asked Pyrrhus a series of questions: how he would use a victory against the Romans, what he would do after taking Italy, whether his expedition would stop with the taking of Sicily (according to Plutarch, Pyrrhus wanted to take Sicily as well as Italy) and, since Pyrrhus said that he would go on to take

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

and

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...

so that no enemies who threatened him would offer further resistance, he asked what he would do "when we have got everything subject to us". The reply of Pyrrhus to the last question was: "We shall be much at ease, and we'll drink bumpers, my good man, every day, and we'll gladden one another's hearts with confidential talks." Cineas got Pyrrhus where he wanted in order to make his point and said: "Surely this privilege is ours already, and we have at hand, without taking any trouble, those things to which we hope to attain by bloodshed and great toils and perils, after doing much harm to others and suffering much ourselves." Cassius Dio wrote that Cineas saw the folly of Pyrrhus' expedition and tried to dissuade him. He wrote: yrrhusintended by his prowess to rule the whole earth, whereas Cineas urged him to be satisfied with his own possessions, which were sufficient for enjoyment. But the king's fondness for war and fondness for leadership prevailed against the advice of Cineas and caused him to depart in disgrace from both Sicily and Italy, after losing in all of the battles countless thousands of his own forces." Pyrrhus did not listen to Cineas. Ostensibly, he waged war against Rome to support the Greek city of

Tarentum Tarentum may refer to: * Taranto, Apulia, Italy, on the site of the ancient Roman city of Tarentum (formerly the Greek colony of Taras) **See also History of Taranto * Tarentum (Campus Martius), also Terentum, an area in or on the edge of the Camp ...

, in southern Italy, in a dispute with the Romans. Before sailing to Tarentum, Pyrrhus sent Cineas to that city in advance with some troops. This helped to sway the people of Tarentum from attempting a reconciliation with Rome. After his victory in the

Battle of Heraclea The Battle of Heraclea took place in 280 BC between the Romans under the command of consul Publius Valerius Laevinus, and the combined forces of Greeks from Epirus, Tarentum, Thurii, Metapontum, and Heraclea under the command of Pyrrhus, king ...

, Pyrrhus sent his ambassador Cineas to negotiate with the Romans. Cineas offered to free the Roman prisoners, also promised to help the Romans with the subjugation of Italy and asked only friendship and immunity for Tarentum in return. Many senators were inclined towards peace (in Plutarch's account) or a truce (in Cassius Dio's account) because the Romans would have to face a larger army as the

Italic peoples The Italic peoples were an ethnolinguistic group identified by their use of Italic languages, a branch of the Indo-European language family. The Italic peoples are descended from the Indo-European speaking peoples who inhabited Italy from at leas ...

who were allies of Pyrrhus had now joined him. However,

Appius Claudius Caecus Appius Claudius Caecus ( 312–279 BC) was a statesman and writer from the Roman Republic. The first Roman public figure whose life can be traced with some historical certainty, Caecus was responsible for the building of Rome's first road (t ...

, who was old and blind and had been confined to his house, had himself carried to the senate house in a litter. He said that Pyrrhus was not to be trusted and that a truce (or peace) was not advantageous to the state. He called for Cineas to be dismissed from the city immediately and for Pyrrhus to be told to withdraw to his country and to make his propositions from there. The senate voted unanimously to send away Cineas that very day and to continue the war for so long as Pyrrhus was in Italy. Plutarch wrote that Cineas assessed that the Romans now had twice as many soldiers as those who fought at the Battle of Heraclea and that "there were many times as many Romans still who were capable of bearing arms."Plutarch Parallel Lives, the Life of Pyrrhus, 19

Notes

References

* Cassius Dio, Roman History, Vol 1, Books 1–11, (Loeb Classical Library), Loeb, 1989;

* Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Cineas". Encyclopædia Britannic

* Plutarch, Plutarch Lives, Vol. 9, Demetrius and Antony. Pyrrhus and Gaius Marius (Loeb Classical Library), Loeb, 1920; ASIN B00E6TGQK

{{Authority control 3rd-century BC Greek people Ancient Greek statesmen Hellenistic Thessalians Ancient Epirus Ancient Thessalian statesmen Pyrrhus of Epirus