From ancient times, Epirus,
together with Macedonia,
formed northern Greece,
of which the northwestern corner reached the Acroceraunian
mountains and the Genususriver.TheEpirotes were the most ancient of all Greeks.
Aristotle states that Epirus, the district around Dodona,
was the first region to be called Hellas and its inhabitants Hellenes,
adding, in fact, that this was where the Greeks were first called Graikoi, a name that the Romans would later spread
through Western Europe.
Known amongst the various Epirotic
tribes were the Chaonians, the Thesprotians and the Molossians,
who, together with the Atintanes and some others,
are mentioned as allies of the Lacedaemonians
during the Peloponnesian War."Around 329 BC,
the Molossians prevailed in Epirus
and during the reign of King Alcetas, they took
part in the Second Athenian League. The Molossian
kings according to the myths were descendants of Homeric Achilles And went
on to ally themselves to Philip of Macedon. It is well known that Olympias, the sister of the king of Epirus,
was the mother of Alexander the Great. Two other rulers
who brought glory to ancient Epirus,
also came from the same dynasty. Of these, Alexander I campaigned in Italy
supporting the Greek cities of Magna Graecia
in their wars against the Italian peoples (338-330 BC)' Pyrrhus
(319 or 318-272 BC), the most glorious king of Epirus,
would later repeat his efforts.Pyrrhus was considered by ancient historians to be the
greatest general in Greece and in the entire ancient world after Alexander the Great." Alexander
neutralized the Persian threat from the East and carried Greek civilization
to Asia. Pyrrhus attempted
to repeat this feat in the West, in his famous wars with the Romans and the
Carthaginians (306-272 BC).His campaign was considered "Panhellenic," and the course of history would be
different if Pyrrhus' political ability had
equaled his tactical talents." After his defeat in Italy he became involved in the Greek civil wars, and was killed in Argos in 272 HC. Almost fifty years of internal conflict racked Epirus after Pyrrhus' death. Considering the monarchy to
be the source of the trouble, the Epirots abolished
the institution, and created the Epirotan Confederation, with Phoenice as its capital.
Later, the Epirots were almost the only Greeks to
support the Macedonians in their wars against the Roman invaders. Following
the battle of Pydna (167 BC), where the Greek
forces were defeated, the Epirots experienced the
Romans' severity and vengeful fury. Seventy cities were destroyed and
150,000 inhabitants were sold into slavery. The wars of the Epirots against the enemies of Hellenism, in Italy as well as in Greece,
generated a panhellenic response, and Polybius the historian wrote in their praise:"It is the Epirots'
ancestral custom to fight and put themselves in danger for their friends,
and die for their country."Dionysius of Halicarnassus ,Roman Antiquities:It was for this reason that Pyrrhus
was defeated by the Romans also in a battle to the finish. For it was no
mean or untrained army that he had, but the mightiest of those then in
existence among the Greeks and one that had fought a great many wars.
The following designs can be used for Shield emblems (" in greek : episimon").
