Description of Greece

Love is wont to bring many calamities upon men. Lysimachus, although by this time of mature age and considered happy in respect of his children, and although Agathocles had children by Lysandra, nevertheless married Lysandra's sister Arsinoe. This Arsinoe, fearing for her children, lest on the death of Lysimachus they should fall into the hands of Agathocles, is said for this reason to have plotted against Agathocles. Historians have already related how Arsinoe fell in love with Agathocles, and being unsuccessful they say that she plotted against his life. They say also that Lysimachus discovered later his wife's machinations, but was by this time powerless, having lost all his friends.

Since Lysimachus, then, overlooked Arsinoe's murder of Agathocles, Lysandra fled to Seleucus, taking with her her children and her brothers, who were taking refuge with Ptolemy and finally adopted this course. They were accompanied on their flight to Seleucus by Alexander who was the son of Lysimachus by an Odrysian woman. So they going up to Babylon entreated Seleucus to make war on Lysimachus. And at the same time Philetaerus, to whom the property of Lysimachus had been entrusted, aggrieved at the death of Agathocles and suspicious of the treatment he would receive at the hands of Arsinoe, seized Pergamus on the Caicus, and sending a herald offered both the property and himself to Seleucus.

Lysimachus hearing of all these things lost no time in crossing into Asia[*](281 B.C.), and assuming the initiative met Seleucus, suffered a severe defeat and was killed. Alexander, his son by the Odrysian woman, after interceding long with Lysandra, won his body and afterwards carried it to the Chersonesus and buried it, where his grave is still to be seen between the village of Cardia and Pactye.

Such was the history of Lysimachus. The Athenians have also a statue of Pyrrhus. This Pyrrhus was not related to Alexander, except by ancestry. Pyrrhus was son of Aeacides, son of Arybbas, but Alexander was son of Olympias, daughter of Neoptolemus, and the father of Neoptolemus and Aryblas was Alcetas, son of Tharypus. And from Tharypus to Pyrrhus, son of Achilles, are fifteen generations. Now Pyrrhus was the first who after the capture of Troy disdained to return to Thessaly, but sailing to Epeirus dwelt there because of the oracles of Helenus. By Hermione Pyrrhus had no child, but by Andromache he had Molossus, Pielus, and Pergamus, who was the youngest. Helenus also had a son, Cestrinus, being married to Andromache after the murder of Pyrrhus at Delphi.

Helenus on his death passed on the kingdom to Molossus, son of Pyrrhus, so that Cestrinus with volunteers from the Epeirots took possession of the region beyond the river Thyamis, while Pergamus crossed into Asia and killed Areius, despot in Teuthrania, who fought with him in single combat for his kingdom, and gave his name to the city which is still called after him. To Andromache, who accompanied him, there is still a shrine in the city. Pielus remained behind in Epeirus, and to him as ancestor Pyrrhus, the son of Aeacides, and his fathers traced their descent, and not to Molossus.