Pyrus and Marius - A Study in the Pathologies of Ambition

Both men were famous commanders, hugely popular with the troops and known for personally taking risks on the field of battle. Both had mentors who helped them on their rise to power that they later turned against. Puris's ambition problem for plutarch was that as soon as he achieved anything, he traded away consolidating that single victory in favour of doubling those gains. For this reason his rival antigonus gonatas likened pyris to a board game player who makes many good rolls of the dice, but doesn't know how to use them.