Death of Pyrrhus. A.M. 3667

This is one of a group of drawings by British artist and book illustrator Edward Francis Burney, depicting scenes from Greek and Roman history and mythology. Pyrrhus, King of Epirus (about 319 - 272 BCE) wrote highly-praised treatises on the art of war. His very costly military sucesses against the Macedonians and the Romans gave rise to the phrase 'Pyrrhic Victory'. Pyrrhus was killed in the city of Argos after a woman in a building threw a tile at his head. He was dazed by the strike and, in his weakened state, was killed by the enemy.