Victory or death

"Victory or death" and its equivalents, is used as a motto or battle cry.

• A boxer Agathos Daimon died in ancient Olympia aged 35, having promised Zeus ἢ στέφος ἢ θάνατον ("victory or death").[1]
• The Bedford Flag, possibly the oldest extant battle flag of the American Revolution, bears the motto 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 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:
  • to Erwin Rommel at the Second Battle of El Alamein (1942);
  • to Friedrich Paulus at the Battle of Stalingrad (1942–3).
• 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 ("Conquer or Die").
• 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 – Vincere vel mori ("To conquer or die")
• Clan Maclaine of Lochbuie – Vincere vel mori ("To conquer or die")
• Clan McCabe – Vincere vel mori ("To conquer or die")
• Irish clan Murphy of Wexford and Cork uses Vincere vel mori ("To conquer or die")

In fiction

• In Mass Effect the Krogan word "korbal" is roughly translated to "Victory or Death".
• In the 1984 film The Last Starfighter, the phrase is chanted by the starfighters.
• In the Warcraft universe, "Lok'tar ogar!" (Victory or Death!) is the battlecry of the Horde.
• In Hearthstone. It is said by the warrior in beginning of games.
• In Guild Wars, "Victory or Death" was the name of a skill in Guild versus Guild battles. In Guild Wars 2, it is the title of the final story quest.
• In Warhammer 40,000, "Victorus aut Mortis" is the war cry of the Raven Guard chapter of Space Marines.
• In the 2001 film Enemy at the Gates and 2003 video game Call of Duty, "Victory or Death" is a common slogan for Red Army Political Commissars.
• A commercial for the last episode of the final season of the animated series Samurai Jack mentions this phrase.
• In Voltron: Legendary Defender, "Victory of Death" is one of the two war cries of the Galra.

See also

• Victory
• Death

References

1. Ancient Olympics BCH 88, p. 186