Part 17: Pyrrhic Victory
A pyrrhic victory is a victory achieved at such a great cost as to make it worthless or one in which a victor's losses are more than those of the defeated. If you describe Susan's victory as pyrrhic, you probably mean that she lost more than she gained, even though she was victorious.
Here are some examples:
(1) Peter won last week's boxing match, but he suffered permanent brain damage. It was a pyrrhic victory.
(2) Mary won the court case, but it was a pyrrhic victory because her legal fees were more than the damages the court awarded her.
Pyrrhic victory got its name from King Pyrrhus of Epirus, an ancient Greek city-state. His adventures and conquests around Greece, Italy, and Sicily made him one of the most famous warriors of his time.
Between 280 and 275 BC, his army engaged the Roman Republic army in battles popularly known as the Pyrrhic Wars. He won, forcing the Romans to retreat. However, his victory came at a great cost. His army suffered heavy casualties, and he lost nearly all of his most competent soldiers. It is from these losses that the term pyrrhic victory is derived.
Because of the heavy losses his army suffered, it could not replenish itself fast enough. The next time the Romans attacked, they overran his kingdom and forced it to submit to Roman authority.
