A formidable and courageous general, Pyrrus was enlisted by the Greek cities of southern Italy to counter the increasingly powerful Romans. In 279 BC, his invading Greek forces met and defeated the Romans at the battle of Asculum in Apulia.
The engagement was costly, however: Pyrrhus lost many men, several close associates, and all of his baggage. When one of his soldiers congratulated the king on his victory, he famously replied: "Another such victory and we are ruined!"
A Pyrrhic victory is an "excessively expensive triumph."
SM
"If we will be quiet and ready enough, we shall find compensation in every disappointment." Henry David Thoreau
