Publius Valerius Laevinus was commander of the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

forces at 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, ...

in 280 BC, in which he was defeated by

Pyrrhus of Epirus Pyrrhus ( ; ; 319/318–272 BC) was a Greeks, Greek king and wikt:statesman, statesman of the Hellenistic period.Plutarch. ''Parallel Lives'',Pyrrhus... He was king of the Molossians, of the royal Aeacidae, Aeacid house, and later he became ki ...

. In his '' Life of Pyrrhus'',

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

wrote that

Gaius Fabricius Luscinus Gaius Fabricius Luscinus, son of Gaius, was said to have been the first of the Fabricii to move to ancient Rome, his family originating from Aletrium. In 284 BC he was one of the ambassadors to Tarentum, successfully keeping peace, and was ...

said of this battle that it was not the Epirots who had beaten the Romans, but only Pyrrhus who had beaten Laevinus. Laevinus was

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

, along with

Tiberius Coruncanius Tiberius Coruncanius (died 241 BC) was a consul of the Roman Republic in 280 BC. As a military commander in that year and the following, he was known for the battles against Pyrrhus of Epirus that led to the expression "Pyrrhic victory". He was th ...

, in 280 BC.

Sources

*''The Life of Pyrrhus'' by

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http://classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/pyrrhus.html] Ancient Roman patricians 3rd-century BC Roman consuls Laevinus, Publius Ancient Roman generals Pyrrhic War {{AncientRome-mil-bio-stub

See also

Sources