How many men did Pyrrhus have, when he invaded Sparta in 272BC?

Question

This question was posed 6 days ago. As i would like to help the original poster, i have posted the question again.

Answer 1

According to Plutarch, Pyrrhus of Epirus invaded the Peloponnesian, in the aftermath of his losses in Italy, 25,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry, and 24 war elephants. He figured that he could easily take Sparta as by custom it didn't have any walls, and its king and his soldiers were in Crete, but a stout resistance by the Spartans bought the Spartan king Areus I enough time to return to Laconia with his army as well as mercenary reinforcements from Corinth, which forced Pyrrhus to call off the siege.

Answer 2

This website has a lot of info on this person. I looked for more info on the battle you are seeking. This however may be of some assistance on your search.

Answer 3

Well, I'm not a historian, but 25,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry, and 24 elephants seems to be the answer. I've cut the paragraph below from the website listed as a reference at the bottom.

You should check the date of the battle referred to in the <snip>, but unless he invaded Sparta more than once, the article is quite categorical about the answer. Hope this helps, and hope the article is accurate.

"...Yet again, Pyrrhus became distracted by a new project, and so, leaving his new kingdom to crumble behind him, he went to conquer Sparta.  At this time, one of the two royal houses of Sparta had an internal dispute, and one faction decided to call in Pyrrhus to help.  This client was Cleonymus, the uncle of King Areus.  Areus's son, Acrotatus -- a youth in the full flower of manhood -- was having an open affair with Cleonymus' beautiful young wife, Chilonis, the daughter of Leotychides.  The Spartans had never liked Cleonymus anyway (he was too arbitrary to be a leader) and the public snickering over this affair aggravated his bitterness.  So Cleonymus brought Pyrrhus to Sparta with 25,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry, and 24 elephants to avenge the wounded vanity of a cuckold..."

Answer 4

Plutarch claims that Pyrrhus invaded the peloponnese with 28,000 Infantry, 2000 cavalry and 24 elephants.

This army would have included Macedonian troops (Pyrrhus had recently conquered Macedonia).  The bulk of the army would have been made up from Epiriots, with additional troops including, Galatian mercenaries and Thessalian horse.  The elephants most likely were captured from Antigonus (the former ruler of Macedon).