The meaning of Pyrrhic Victory - King Pyrrhus and his unhealthy aspirations
- Ryszard Skarbek
- Oct 20, 2022
- 9 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
You probably know the term "Pyrrhic Victory". It is a phrasal verb that means "a victory achieved at an excessive cost". It is an apparent victory because the losses outweigh the gains. Historically, it refers to a victory achieved under difficult conditions in a war fought in a foreign territory. It basically means winning the battle but losing the war.
Pyrrhus was the king of Epirus, a land in northwestern Greece on the Ionian Sea. He lived in the 3rd century BC and reigned from 307 to 302 BC and from 297 BC until his unusual death in 272. This opponent of Rome and a ruler with powerful ambitions was considered a military genius. He was one of the greatest military tacticians of his era, and the famous Hannibal, general of Carthage, considered him one of the three best commanders of all time. But as usual, he also had a wise advisor, Kineas.
Let's see how Kineas behaved before the critical clash with the Roman Empire, which became the source of the famous saying. Consider what we can learn from Kineas, particularly in the realm of achieving our professional ambitions.
Here is how Plutarch reports it in his famous book "The Lives of Famous Men".
The Greek King Pyrrhus of Epirus and his wise advisor: how to know that excessive aspirations will fail?
The wise advisor did his best to save the Greek King of Epirus from disaster. He was very well aware of his ruler's temperament and the military strength of his potential opponent. Therefore, he was against another clash and wanted to gently dissuade his ruler from going to war with Rome. He predicted that unhealthy ambitions would only bring heavy losses, and knew a potential triumph would be achieved at great cost.
Kineas, seeing how much his leader cared about winning the war, had this conversation with him.
– They say the Romans are brave warriors. Even if we defeat them, what good will it do us?
– You're asking about a simple thing. Then all of Italy will be in our hands, and the benefits will be enormous, replied the monarch.
– And what will we do after we get it?
– There is an island nearby, Sicily. I think it will be easy to get it - replied the ruler.
- It's very likely. Will conquering Sicily be the end of our expedition? – Kineas continued to ask.
– May we win! It will be an invitation for us to take part in further great undertakings. Who could refrain from taking over Africa if it were so easy?
– And when we do this, what will we do next? Kineas continued.
- Later? We will enjoy resting! Day after day, we will enjoy wine, talk, and have fun!
Then Kineas remarked:
– So, what is stopping us from having fun and resting now? We have had enough of everything. Do we want bloodshed to achieve something we already have, exposing ourselves to many dangers?
What is the Pyrrhic Victory meaning? What can we learn from the history of the Greek king's battles with the Romans?
Unfortunately, the Greek genius of war did not listen to his wise advisor. In 279 BC, in the great Battle of Asculum (Ausculum), thousands of people faced each other. The Greek king Pyrrhus managed to defeat the Romans but suffered heavy losses and went down in history with a disgraceful name. This winning battle cost him approximately 3,500 heads, which constituted several dozen percent of his army.
And, what is very important, for his legions, these were losses impossible to replenish. The opponents lost almost twice as many troops (the number of casualties reached 6,000), but they could form new units.
After this victory over the Romans, Pyrrhus of Epirus was to have said the following words to the officers who congratulated him:
"If we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we shall be utterly ruined."
The other sources claim that he was to say that another victory against the Romans would “utterly undo him.”
And the Polish writer, Stanisław Jerzy Lec, put it beautifully in one of his Thoughts on Pyrrhic War:
"A Pyrrhic victory that's victory! Getting rid of your enemies and your own in one fell swoop."
The clash at Asculum in 279 BCE did not bring the entire war to an end. Pyrrhus failed to destroy the enemy, and the shrinking army he commanded had less and less chance of final victory. So he abandoned the conquest of Rome and headed for Sicily, which seemed to be easy prey.
On this occasion, it is impossible not to mention the Battle of Heraclea in 280 BC. It was the first major confrontation in the war between Italy and Greece. The two best infantry formations of that time clashed there. Thousands of people fought each other until the end. But what determined the victory was not the infantry.
They were elephants. One of the greatest commanders ever used 20 elephants in this battle.
At that time, these animals were unknown to the Italians. They saw them for the first time in their lives. The war elephants caused panic among their soldiers and terrified their horses. Thanks to this, Pyrrhus of Epirus won the first significant victory in the war with Italy. Approximately 7,000 Romans died, and the loss of the Greek army was estimated at 4,000.
Despite winning, Pyrrhus did not destroy the enemy. And although he reached a place from which the enemy's capitals were already visible, he did not decide to continue the conquest. He ordered a retreat home and returned to the Italian Peninsula after the end of winter. In this clash, he recorded many killed and a large number of wounded. And most importantly, he lost most of his best-trained troops. Had he learned from this, the more costly victory at the subsequent Battle of Ausculum in 279 BC would not have happened.
In both confrontations, he lost over 7,500 of his most elite warriors, including many officers.
The entire expedition to the Apennine Peninsula began in 281 as a response to the call of the Greek city of Tarentum (modern Taranto), one of the Greek colonies on the peninsula, and asked for defense against Rome. Epirus then came to the aid of 25,000 soldiers.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that despite so many efforts, Pyrrhus did not leave this world in glory. First, at the Battle of Benevento (Beneventum) in 275 BC, Italy defeated him and forced him to withdraw to Greece for good.
Secondly, after returning home, he couldn't stay still for long, and three years later, he attacked the city of Argos. There, he died at the hands of a woman, hit on the head with a heavy ceramic roof tile. The woman threw her from the roof where she was watching her son's hand-to-hand fight with the Greek Monarch. It took place during street fighting in Argos in 272 BC. On the day of his death, he was 46 years old.
The meaning of Pyrrhic Victory in the field of professional aspirations.
We often confuse satisfying ambitions with fulfilling well-understood dreams. The case, when the ambition of the so-called "leader" is greater than their capability, is the best example.
It is dangerous because such a person quickly reaches the level of incompetence and focuses on defending their achievements (i.e., status, prestige, power, and sense of influence). Ultimately, the struggles end up ruining the victor.
So, at all costs, he will fight against people and situations that, in his opinion, threaten his position and what he has already achieved. The paradox is that such a person has an unhealthy sense of self-worth. That is why all external signs of "success" are important to him. He will do his best to weaken any potential "enemy".
The following Turkish proverb nicely captures the clue:
When a clown moves into the palace, he does not become king. The palace becomes a circus.
How many battles are you fighting? And for what reason? Which of them could be a victory that is not worth winning? This question about the clarity of your "why" is crucial.
Where do you focus your attention? We have already written many times that your energy follows your attention.
Can you appreciate what you have, or are you building your empire like Pyrrhus?
Or are you in constant pursuit of "more"? If you take part in this pursuit for more, maybe at least you can say when "more" will be "enough" for you.
Do you realize how much you are stimulated at work, or by TV ads and social media? Are you aware that you often give in to voices that whisper "You have to, you have to, you have to ...", or "You will lose, you will lose, you will lose ... "?
Do you realize that such winding leads to the spring breaking? You will lose what is truly valuable: your health, your loved ones, and worst of all, you may lose yourself.
Other Examples of Pyrrhic Victories. Not only Rome, but also the Battle of Malplaquet, the Battle of Borodino, and the Battle of Bunker Hill.
Unfortunately, many great commanders did not learn the painful lessons of Epirus and fought at a high cost, which ultimately resulted in big troubles.
It includes the Battle of Malplaquet in 1709, considered one of the bloodiest clashes of the 18th century. It was a confrontation between the Kingdom of France and British forces supported by Austrian, Prussian, and Dutch soldiers. At stake was the succession to the throne of Spain after Charles II, Habsburg, who died without an heir. The British won but buried twice as many soldiers as the French (24,000 people - almost a quarter of their army. The losing French general, Claude de Villars, said the following to his monarch, Louis XIV:
“If it pleases God to give your enemies another victory like this, they are ruined.”
And he was right. The anti-French alliance began to fall apart quickly, and the king of France's grandson, Philip V of Bourbon, eventually became the ruler of Spain.
The great leader Napoleon Bonaparte also did not escape such a bloody and hollow victory. The French emperor was on the march to the East, and his disastrous experience was the clash at Borodino. It took place on September 7, 1812, and was part of the French invasion of Russia. In the early stage of the campaign, the Russian army was content to conduct tactical retreats and evasions.
But when Napoleon's Great Army approached the small village of Borodino, the Russian commander Mikhail Kutuzov not only turned his troops around, but this time stopped, built fortifications, and prepared well for defense. Napoleon wasted no time and ordered an attack. Russia's defenders were theoretically doomed to destruction.
Although the French army was victorious, the battlefield of Borodino was strewn with French bodies. Napoleon lost about 30,000 soldiers out of 130,000 soldiers thrown into battle. However, unlike the Russian army (which lost 45,000 soldiers in combat), it had no opportunity to rebuild its resources. Over time, Bonaparte's Grand Army was forced to flee from Russia, and the entire campaign cost the lives of 400,000 Frenchmen who died not only in combat but also from disease and frost.
We may list other examples of unfortunate victories in military history. Among them, the most frequently mentioned are the Battle of Bunker Hill in Massachusetts, U.S. (1775, by British General William Howe), the Battle of Chancellorsville in the American Revolutionary War (1863, Generals Robert E. Lee vs. Joseph Hooker), some battles of famous General Thomas Stonewall Jackson, and the Vietnam War.
Summary: Beware of hollow victory.
Overall, the pyrrhic victory highlights the complex nature of warfare, where triumph can come with a heavy burden, incurring a devastating toll on the victor and often leaving the winner in a position of vulnerability.
This concept resonates with numerous historical contexts, such as the struggles of colonial forces against larger union forces or the challenges faced by South Vietnam during its conflict. Similarly, the attack on Pearl Harbor was considered a victory for the Japanese. However, by provoking an army with superior power, they set in motion forces they could not control.
Winning the battle but losing the war exemplifies the situation in which the victor has lost so much in winning that the victory was not worth the excessive cost incurred. Thus, Pyrrhus's story serves as a poignant reminder of the fine line between success and failure.
(1) Phraseology - a combination of two or more words with a fixed meaning other than the meaning of the words constituting the compound, established in use.
See also other coaching parables and stories:
Renoir - the pain passes and the beauty stays
Personal Development: The parable of the sculptor
Wise support coaching - A parable of a man in the swamp
About the role of a leader: The parable of the star
Words are of great importance: A parable of hammering the nails
The story of three bricklayers - Building a cathedral story
Shake it off! About a donkey that could not be buried alive
About author
Ryszard Skarbek is a certified business coach, mentor, and HR advisor with over 30 years of professional experience, including over 22 years of work in an international and multicultural corporation present on six continents.
As a coach and mentor, Ryszard mostly works with middle and senior managers as well as business owners.
His specializations are 21st-century leadership, interpersonal communication, self-awareness, HR, IT, and Project Management.