Atlas of Battles

battle, major, ancient

Battle of Heraclea

Battle of Heraclea was a battle fought in 280 BC at Policoro, in what is now Italy. It was part of the Pyrrhic War, which ran from 280 BC to 275 BC. The recorded result: Epiruite victory.

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Wars between Rome and Taranto Rome Beneventum (mod. Benevento) - Battle of Beneventum (275 BC) Asculum (mod. Ascoli Satriano) - Battle of Asculum (279 BC) Heraclea - Battle of Heraclea (280 BC) Tarant
Wars between Rome and Taranto Rome Beneventum (mod. Benevento) - Battle of Beneventum (275 BC) Asculum (mod. Ascoli Satriano) - Battle of Asculum (279 BC) Heraclea - Battle of Heraclea (280 BC) Tarant. Panairjdde, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought280 BC
WherePolicoro, Italy40.220N, 16.670E
OutcomeEpiruite victory
BelligerentsEpiruagainstRoman Republic
Part ofPyrrhic War280 BC to 275 BC

Where it sits in the Pyrrhic War

Battle of Heraclea, 280 BCBattle of Asculum, 279 BCSiege of Venusia, 279 BCSiege of Syracuse, 278 BCBattle of Rhegium, 278 BCSiege of Eryx, 277 BCBattle of the Cranita hills, 277 BCBattle of Kroton, 277 BCSiege of Lilybaeum, 276 BCBattle of the Strait of Messina, 276 BCBattle of Beneventum, 275 BC280 BC275 BCBattle of Heraclea, 280 BC
11 placed engagements of the Pyrrhic War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date280 BC (year precision)
PlacePolicoro, Italy
40.220N, 16.670E
KindBattle, ancient
Strength~35,000 men; ~4,000 cavalry; ~28,500 Infantry; 2,000 Archers; 500 slingers; 20 war elephantsat least 42,400 men; at least 40,000 infantry; at least 2,400 cavalry
Casualties and lossesPlutarch and Hieronymus: 4,000; Dionysius of Halicarnassus: 13,000Plutarch and Hieronymus: 7,000 dead and 1800 Romans captured; Dionysius of Halicarnassus: 15,000 dead
Commanders
  • Publius Valerius Laevinus
Battle of HeracleaBattle of HeracleaBattle of SapriportisBattle of TarantoBattle of TarentumBattle of TarentumSiege of TarantoBattle of SapriportisBattle of TarantoBattle of TarentumSalernoBariBeneventoBarlettaCrotonePotenza100 km40.220N, 16.670E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Heraclea
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Heraclea today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-07-18. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 35 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from -4 to 142 m, 146 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 32% grassland, 28% cropland, 23% tree cover.

grassland: 32%cropland: 28%tree cover: 23%built-up: 13%shrubland: 3%grassland 32%cropland 28%tree cover 23%built-up 13%shrubland 3%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 99 mnorth to south, 10.0 km4 to 61 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 280 BC

Battle of Heraclea is one of 193 engagements of the 3rd century BC in the atlas and one of 1,038 in present-day Italy.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q744611, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Heraclea, revision 1378171341, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.