Pyrrhus en Italie, réflexion sur les contradictions des sources

Abstract

The conflicts between Pyrrhos and Rome give way to contradictions in the sources; through a certain number of devices, the historians, Roman and Greek alike, distort historical reality and give it a Roman colouring. The narrative of the battle of Heraclea is an outstanding example of this. Likewise the war against Tarentum becomes a just war. The year 280, the year of the rout at Heraclea is passed over in silence and doomed to oblivion. The victor has progressively been able to impose his vision of affairs by silencing the Greek sources.

Keywords

• sources
• historical reconstruction
• Pyrrhos
• Appius Claudius Caecus
• Fabricius
• Heraclea