Vae victis
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Vae victis is Latin for "Woe to the vanquished" or also "Woe to the conquered". (This is the plural form - the singular is Vae victo).
In 390 BC, an army of Gauls led by Brennus attacked Rome, capturing all of the city except for the Capitoline Hill, which was successfully held against them. Brennus besieged the hill, and finally the Romans asked to ransom their city. Brennus demanded 1000 pounds (327 kg) of gold, and the Romans agreed to his terms.
Livy, in Ab Urbe Condita 5.34-49, records that the Gauls provided steelyard and weights, and the Romans brought out their gold. But the Romans noticed that the weights were counterfeited, and dared to notify Brennus about the issue. Brennus took his sword, threw it on to the weights, and exclaimed: "Vae victis!", forcing the Romans to bring even more gold to fulfill their obligation.
[edit] Modern usage
In more recent history, Brennus' phrase was borrowed for the videogame series Legacy of Kain. It became the battlecry of the eponymous vampire anti-hero, Kain. In the first game from the series, Blood Omen, Kain cries out the phrase after slaying an enemy with a triple-swing combo. Kain also uses the the term during battle in the final game Defiance. In that same game, Kain's accomplice, Raziel utters the phrase in disgust of the vampire and follows up with an english translation.
It is also the title of a French wargaming magazine.
