Cineas

Kineas ( Latinized Greek κινέας, Cineas, * probably in the second half of the 4th century BC; † after 278 BC ) came from Thessaly and was a diplomat of the King Pyrrhus. He wrote a summary of the works of Aeneas Taktikos, the earliest surviving European military writer.

Life

Kineas was trained by Demosthenes. Because of his oratorical skills, it was said that he "won more cities with words as Pyrrhus with weapons." After completing his training he became a diplomat in the king of the Molosser, Pyrrhus services. He advised that on the Italian campaign, but took over in winter 281/280 BC, the leadership of an advance team of 3,000 men, with whom he received Pyrrhus in Taranto. During the war with Rome, he was repeatedly sent as envoy to Rome. After the victory of Pyrrhus at Heraclea recommended Kineas to extradite the prisoners without ransom. So he was sent with the prisoners to Rome to make an offer of peace, however, rejected by the Senate. Plutarch and Pliny emphasize that Kineas addressed the senators and knights by name and gave gifts for their wives and children. After winning Ausculum ( Pyrrhic ) he was sent again to Rome, but could not reach for his king. The following year, 278 BC, he led the negotiations with the cities of Sicily, with some success.

Works

Kineas summed up the military writings of Aeneas Taktikos together, probably for Pyrrhus, and wrote a history of Thessaly.

Afterlife

With regard to the diplomatic services of the Kineas and his commitment to peaceful solutions, which showed up in discouragement of the Italian campaign, and the renunciation of ransom demands, wrote Émeric Cruce 1623 book The New Kineas in which he proposes a kind of League of Nations with a permanent ambassador Assembly.

Swell

• Pliny the Elder, Naturalis historia 7.24 ( here excerpted below 7, § 88).
• Plutarch, Pyrrhus (English translation ).