Victory or death explained
"Victory or death" and its equivalents, is used as a motto or battle cry.
Military
- Scipio Africanus used the phrase Victory or death in a speech before the battle of Zama.
- A boxer Agathos Daimon died in ancient Olympia aged 35, having promised Zeus Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ἢ στέφος ἢ θάνατον ("victory or death").[1]
- The Bedford Flag, possibly the oldest extant battle flag of the American Revolution, bears the motto Latin: Vincere aut mori ("To conquer or die")
- Before Washington's crossing of the Delaware River at the Battle of Trenton in 1776, "Victory" was the password and "Or Death" was the response.
- The Maniots used "Victory or Death" as their motto when they joined the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire in 1821.
- The Himno de Riego, which was the Spanish anthem during the Trienio Liberal, the First and Second Spanish Republic ends with Vencer o Morir ("Victory or Death" in Spanish) in its refrain.
- The letter written by commander William Barret Travis "To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World" during the Battle of the Alamo (1836), ends with "Victory or Death!".
- Adolf Hitler gave the order "Victory or Death" twice:
- The 32nd Armor Regiment of the United States Army has the motto "Victory or Death" .
- The 1960 film G.I. Blues features the regimental emblem as Elvis Presley had served with them in 1958–60.
- The 1986 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off features a black beret bearing the regiment's emblem.
- Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses has the regiment's emblem and motto tattooed on his left arm.
- The 442 Field Artillery Battalion of the US Army have the motto Victoria laeta aut mors ("Glorious victory or death")
- The Chilean Navy has the motto Vencer o Morir ("Victory or Death" in spanish).
- It was used as a battle cry in medieval Muslim battles and conquests.
It is the name of a gun battery on the main gun deck of the U.S.S. Constitution.
Heraldic motto
It is given as the translation of the heraldic motto of several Irish clans and Scottish clans :
- Clan Gallagher - Buaidh nó Bás ("Victory or death")
- Clan MacDougall – Buaidh no bas ("Victory or death")
- Clan MacNeil – Buaidh no bas ("Victory or death")
- Clan Macdowall – Latin: Vincere vel mori ("To conquer or die")
- Clan Maclaine of Lochbuie – Latin: Vincere vel mori ("To conquer or die")
- Clan McCabe – Latin: Vincere vel mori ("To conquer or die")
- Irish clan Murphy of Wexford and Cork uses Latin: Vincere vel mori ("To conquer or die")
- The Clifton family of Lytham uses
("Death or victory")
In fiction
See also
References
- http://ancientolympics.arts.kuleuven.be/sourceEN/D093EN.html Ancient Olympics BCH 88, p. 186