Explanation: In the relatively early days of the Roman Republic's expansion, it came into conflict with the Greek colonies in Southern Italy. These Greek city-states, wary of the aggressively expansionist Italic hegemon confronting them, begged the Greek warlord Pyrrhus of Epirus to help them preserve their own, Greek hegemony over Southern Italy instead.

Pyrrhus obliged, but his 'victories' against the Roman Republic were so costly and disastrous that 'Pyrrhic Victory' is used to this day to mean a 'a victory not worth the cost'. Pyrrhus would eventually abandon the Greek colonies to their own devices because of the expense of these 'victories', resulting in the Greek city-states in Italy ceding control of their foreign policy to the Roman Republic.