- Never near Argos -

[Mediolanicus]

Source 2:

Our second source about the taking of Arpi is an official letter from 263 from Taras to Sparta, the mother city of Taras, in which they asked Sparta to send drillmasters to train the garrison of a city called Argurippoi.

Notes:

Argurippoi is the old Greek name of Arpi, as we can clearly see through the Italotai name of the town: Argyrippa. It is therefore certain that Arpi was in Greek hands, and not in the hands of the rebels. Any mention of Arpi in Greek documents during the Roman occupation of the town simply referred to the town as “Arpoi”.

Source 3:

We learn from a pamphlet, issued in Ambrakia in 264, that Pyrrhos possessed the title “Protector of All Samnite People”. If fact, this was the only title the pamphlet granted Pyrrhos.

Notes:

Yes, Ambrakia is indeed the Epirote capital. Odd place for anti-Pÿrrhos propaganda, but it appears that the Epirote population grew tired of seeing their king fight other people’s war while letting his sons die in wars more important and closer to home.
It was Alexandros who became to be looked upon as the real king of Epeiros. He kept – forgive me an anachronism here – the country running, while his father was playing mercenary general over seas. It was also him who set up the campaign to avenge Ptolemaios’ death.

Source 4 – and Notes together for the sake of readability:

Yet another source for this period are the Athenian archives, which were under the supervision of Krateros the historian, king of Makedon, during the years 267-264. The archive, wherein all official documents passing through Athens were copied and registered, reached its high days during the supervision of Krateros, who was obsessed with having everything recorded for later generations.
One such a document gives us the information that in the summer of 265 Alexandros of Epeiros fought a battle almost on the same location as where his brother had fallen two years earlier. The scroll gives amazingly accurate troop numbers for both sides, but almost no other information about the battle. Alexandros of Epeiros, with 23530 men under his command, seems to have defeated a 30270 men strong Antigonid army, led by Antisthenes, on a plain near Demetrias.

After his victory Alexandros did not besiege Demetrias, as the Antigonids suspected. Instead they saw the Epirote army heading back North and disappearing out of sight. The Antigonids immediately sent two armies from Thessalia to intercept Alexandros.
Unfortunately for them, Alexandros had boarded an allied Illyrian pirate fleet and sailed South towards the almost unprotected Athena. The siege was short and a direct attack followed a few weeks later.
Guarding the city were around 2500 levies under command of Kalos Agreades, the youngest son of Antigonos. Although the Epirotes lost more than 4000 men in the attack, Athena was soon theirs. Kalos was captured and brought to Alexandros, who beheaded him himself. Ptolemaios was avenged.

Source 5, and Notes :

Roman official annals gives us a good idea of the events in Southern Italy during the year 263, and it seems that the Greek occupation of Arpi was a short one. The Consuls for that year, Tiberius Cornelius Blasio and Marius Aurelius Orestes, attacked both Apulia and Taras, each with two legions and their alae.
Blasio first led siege to Arpi where a left a small part of his army and then marched with the remainder of his two legions to Pyrrhos’ camp, a little to the South. Although the Roman army was defeated and the consul was killed in the battle, Pyrrhos saw no other option than to retreat back into Tarantine territory.
Orestes, meanwhile, had laid siege to Taras. We do not have account of any battle, but Orestes was granted a triumph at the end of his magistracy for a victory over Pyrrhos, although Taras had not yet fallen. So we can say with some certainty that Orestes had defeated Pyrrhos in a field battle.
With both his main stronghold under siege, one battle won with apparently enough casualties on his own side to make him retreat and one battle lost, Pyrrhos’ position looked bleak to say the least.