King of Epirus, and kinsman of Alexander the Great; essayed to emulate the Macedonian by conquering the western World, and in 280 B.C. invaded Italy with a huge army, directed to assist the Italian Greeks against Rome; in the decisive battles of that year and the next, he won "Pyrrhic victories" over the Romans, losing so many men that he could not pursue his advantage; 278 to 276 he spent helping the Greek colonies in Sicily against Carthage; his success was not uniform, and a Carthaginian fleet inflicted a serious defeat on his fleet returning to Italy; in 274 he was thoroughly vanquished by the Romans, and retired to Epirus; subsequent wars against Sparta and Argos were marked by disaster; in the latter he was killed by a tile thrown by a woman (318-272 B.C.).