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A Pyrrhic victory (pronounced pirric) is a victory which comes at heavy cost to the victor. The phrase is a reference to King Pyrrhus of Epirus, who defeated the Romans at Heraclea and Asculum in 279 BC, but suffered severe and irreplaceable casualties in the process, going on to eventually lose the Pyrrhic War. After the battle of Asculum, Plutarch relates a report by Dionysius that: A Victor (from vincere defeat, victoria victory) is a winner. ...
Pyrrhus (312-272 BC) (Greek: Î Ï…ÏÏος - the color of fire, red-blonde, Latin Pyrrhus), king of the Molossians (from ca. ...
Epirus (Greek ΉπειÏος, Ãpiros) is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in south-eastern Europe. ...
See also Roman Republic (18th century) and Roman Republic (19th century). ...
Heraclea was the name of a large number of ancient cities founded by the Greeks. ...
The Battle of Asculum took place in 279 BC between the Romans under the command of consul Publius Decius P.f. ...
Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 320s BC 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC - 270s BC - 260s BC 250s BC 240s BC 230s BC 220s BC 284 BC 283 BC 282 BC 281 BC 280 BC - 279 BC - 278 BC 277 BC 276...
Combatants Roman republic Magna Graecia, Epirus Commanders Publius Valerius Laevinus, Publius Decius Mus Pyrrhus of Epirus The Pyrrhic War was a war between Pyrrhus of Epirus and Rome that lasted from 280 BC to 275 BC. It was an important precursor to the Punic Wars, because in establishing itself as...
Plutarch Mestrius Plutarchus (c. ...
Several people in history have been known by the name Dionysius: Dionysius of Syracuse, a tyrant Dionysius the Elder, a Greek mythological figure Dionysius the Areopagite, a citizen of Corinth who was converted by Paul of Tarsus Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, identified by some with a Georgian theologist Peter the...
- "The armies separated; and, it is said, Pyrrhus replied to one that gave him joy of his victory that one other such would utterly undo him. For he had lost a great part of the forces he brought with him, and almost all his particular friends and principal commanders; there were no others there to make recruits, and he found the confederates in Italy backward. On the other hand, as from a fountain continually flowing out of the city, the Roman camp was quickly and plentifully filled up with fresh men, not at all abating in courage for the loss they sustained, but even from their very anger gaining new force and resolution to go on with the war." [1]
The phrase is more often reported as "Another such victory over the Romans and we are undone". While it is most closely associated with a military battle, the term is used by analogy in fields such as business, politics, law or sport to describe any similar struggle which is ruinous for the victor. For example: "The football team gained a pyrrhic victory; they won the game but their star players were injured." The Battle of Waterloo by William Sadler. ...
Analogy is either the cognitive process of transferring information from a particular subject (the analogue or source) to another particular subject (the target), or a linguistic expression corresponding to such a process. ...
See also A battle of attrition is a military engagement in which neither side has any tactical advantage, so that the only result of the fighting is the loss of men and material on both sides. ...
The Winners curse is a phenomenon akin to a Pyrrhic victory that occurs in common value auctions with incomplete information. ...
A heroic failure is a loss or losing draw, in which the losing side has actually gained the moral upper hand. ...
In general use, a no-win situation is one where a person has choices, but no choice leads to success. ...
This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ...
A Mexican standoff scene from the film Reservoir Dogs. ...
Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ...
External links - A brief summary about Pyrrhus, King of Molossians
- A detailed description of the Pyrrhic War
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