Rome and Pyrrhos. I. The Negotiations of Heraklea

According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus (19.9.1-4), before the battle of Herakleia, Pyrrhus wrote to the Romans that he was disposed to judge the disputes between Rome, Tarentum and other Italiots. The consul M. Valerius Laevinus wrote back, declining the offer (Dionysius 19.10.1-5). This diplomatic approach is found in other two sources: Plutarch, Pyrrhus 16.3-4 says that Pyrrhos presented his offer by a herald, while Zonaras 8.3 just mentions the exchange of letters, without entering into too many detalis about their content. In a book published in 1894, R. Schubert denied the existence of this diplomatic contact, arguing that Dionysius had invented the letters because of his attractionto oratory and moral deeds. The German scholar’s reasoning convinced many illustrative names of the ancient historians, but, from our point of view, it is valid only regarding the means by which the diplomatic contacts between the two sides set up. The denial of the letters do not imply the denial of the negotiations of Herakleia.