What is a Pyrrhic triumph? The Story of King Pir and His Bitter Victory

After the victory of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu in the second round of elections on May 28, many politicians and journalists interpreted this result as a “Pyrus victory”. Following these comments, many of the townspeople began to investigate, wondering about Pyrrhus’ victory and the meaning of the word Pyrrhus. This concept describes a victorious person who achieves this result by inflicting great losses. The term comes from an ancient story about the war between King Pyrrhus and Rome. So what is a Pyrrhic victory and what is it used for? If you are interested in a detailed explanation of this intriguing term, here is its meaning👇

What does a Pyrrhic victory mean?

The term “Pyrrhic victory” is used to refer to situations in which victory is actually achieved after a major defeat. More precisely, “You won, but for what?” The word is said for such situations. In other words, with this concept it is said that suffering for the sake of victory is not worth winning. The term refers to the experience of King Pyrrhus of Epirus, who defeated the Romans in 279 BC but lost most of his troops. King Pyrrhus defeated the Romans but also lost much of his human and animal strength. King Pyrrhus looks back after the victory and utters the famous words: “If we get another one like this, we’ll be doomed!”

King Pier and his bitter victory

BC. Tarentum, one of the Greek colonial cities in Italy, which was troubled by the expansion of its territory by the Roman Republic in 280, asks King Pyrrhus for help. After financially supporting Macedonia, King Pir decides to support his compatriots in Italy. Pyrrhus then declares war on Rome. The king, seeing nothing but victory, continues to fight for the loss of everything at any cost.

Although Pyrrhus eventually wins, he cannot rejoice in his victory because the consequences of the war were too hard for him. For this reason, the term “Pyrrhic victory” is used to refer to the fact that the victory actually turned into a defeat or disaster. Today, the phrase Pyrrhic victory is used to denote relative success, while significant losses must be accepted to achieve that success. For example, when a person or group is celebrating a victory, this expression can be used to draw attention to the high price paid for that victory.

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