Pyrrhus
Won but lost
Pyrrhus was a Greek king of Epirus (319–272 BCE) whose costly victory over the Romans at Asculum gave rise to the term "Pyrrhic victory"—a win achieved at such devastating cost that it amounts to defeat.
His reported remark, "One more such victory and I am undone," captures the meaning.
The adjective Pyrrhic now applies to any success that comes at too high a price: It was a Pyrrhic victory—they won the lawsuit but went bankrupt paying legal fees.
Mediterranean's biggest island
- RomeItaly's capital city
- CarthagePhoenician colony that challenged Rome
- MacedoniaAncient realm, modern nation
- SyracuseCity in two eras
Argos · Sparta · war elephants · mercenaries · Greek colonies
Triumph devoid of reward
- ruinousCausing severe destruction
- devastatingCausing severe damage
- self-defeatingCausing one's own failure
- counterproductiveHindering intended outcome
futile · bittersweet · debilitating · unsustainable · draining · strategic failure · attrition · exhaustion
Massed infantry formation
- war elephantsTrained elephants for combat
- hopliteAncient Greek heavy infantry
- cavalryMounted military force
- siege warfareSurrounding fortifications to force capitulation
tactician · strategist · general · commander · infantry · military innovation · pitched battle · Alexander the Great
Sicily
Mediterranean's biggest island
- RomeItaly's capital city
- CarthagePhoenician colony that challenged Rome
- MacedoniaAncient realm, modern nation
Syracuse · Argos · Sparta · war elephants · mercenaries · Greek colonies
hollow victory
Triumph devoid of reward
- ruinousCausing severe destruction
- devastatingCausing severe damage
- self-defeatingCausing one's own failure
counterproductive · futile · bittersweet · debilitating · unsustainable · draining · strategic failure · attrition · exhaustion · depleted
phalanx
Massed infantry formation
- war elephantsTrained elephants for combat
- hopliteAncient Greek heavy infantry
- cavalryMounted military force
siege warfare · tactician · strategist · general · commander · infantry · military innovation · pitched battle · Alexander the Great · professional army
Illyria
Ancient Balkan coastal territory
- ThessalyGreek region, east-central
- AdriaticSea east of Italy
- BalkanSoutheastern European peninsula region
dynastic · exile · restoration
Plutarch
Greek biographer, Roman era
- Ancient GreeksSocrates, Plato, Aristotle, Homer, Pericles
- Greek RulersAlexander the Great, Philip II, Leonidas, Cleopatra, Ptolemy
- Trojan WarTroy, Achilles, Hector, Helen, Odysseus
- EpirusAcheron
- Hellenistic EraAlexander the Great, Antigonid dynasty, Ptolemy, satrap, Cleopatra
- Hellenistic FiguresAlexander the Great, Ptolemy, Eratosthenes, Archimedes, Euclid
PyrrhusSun Tzu
Ancient Chinese strategist
Scipio Africanus · Frederick the Great · Duke of Wellington · strategic genius
PyrrhusAlexander the Great
Macedonian empire builder
Augustus · Genghis Khan · Julius Caesar · empire builder · Cyrus the Great
PyrrhusAlexander the Great
Macedonian empire builder
Caesar · Augustus · world conqueror · enduring legacy · Charlemagne