10 Legendary Tales of Revenge Being Served Cold

Though the phrase “revenge is a dish best served cold” isn’t very old (its first documented use was in a Eugène Sue work published in the 1800s), its meaning resonates through time. History is filled with examples of those who delayed their revenge out of necessity or deliberate cruelty. As the famous saying argues, delayed vengeance often makes the moment that much sweeter for the person seeking revenge and crueler for those who thought they had escaped it.

And while many of us can cite an example of delayed revenge from our own lives, few stories of cold vengeance can compare to these incredible tales of calculated payback that took years to complete and often leave a mark that will last for even longer than that.

Related: History’s Ten Most Intense Sibling Feuds

10 Frank Eaton Morphs into Pistol Pete to Get Cinematic Revenge

At the end of the Civil War, Frank Eaton and his family moved to Kentucky in search of a quiet, post-war life. Unfortunately, they couldn’t outrun the unruly nature of the times. Frank’s father, a known abolitionist, was murdered by vigilantes when Frank was only eight years old. Not long after, a family friend named Mose Beaman tasked Frank with avenging his father’s death.

Though a tall task for an eight-year-old boy, Frank soon dedicated his life to learning the skills needed to get revenge. Mose first taught him to use a gun, and Frank furthered his gunfighting skills by moving to a military fort and outshining soldiers much older than him. Frank’s proficiency with a pistol reportedly earned him the name “Pistol Pete.” Over the following decades (and with a little help from other legends of the West), the prodigy pistoleer morphed into a legend as he methodically hunted and killed his father’s murderers.^[1]

9 Julius Caesar Shows His Captors His True Value

Around 75 BC, a group of pirates captured a young Roman nobleman named Julius Caesar. They set his ransom at 20 Talents. A young Caesar laughed at this suggestion and said they could easily get 50 Talents for him. Caesar’s increased ransom was eventually delivered, but not before Caesar spent a little over a month playing mind games with the pirates and exhibiting his superiority over them. At the time, the pirates were amused by the captive’s actions.

However, they soon realized Caesar was no laughing matter. Caesar raised a naval force, pursued the pirates, captured them, took back his ransom money, and brought them back to Rome as prisoners. A governor decided to send the pirates into slavery. Caesar, feeling that wasn’t quite good enough, had them crucified instead.^[2]

8 Pedro of Portugal Has a Lot of Hearts(s)

Pedro of Portugal (son of King Alfonso XI) was arranged to marry Constanza Manuel of Villena but ended up falling in love with her cousin, Ines de Castro. Pedro eventually asked his father for permission to marry Ines. His permission was not only denied, but the king had Ines murdered and buried in a nearby graveyard. Pedro tried to stage a revolt against his father in response to this insult, but his revolution was subdued. At that point, Pedro was seemingly left with no real recourse for revenge.

As luck would have it, though, the king died shortly after Pedro’s failed uprising. Pedro was still able to claim the throne and quickly used his powers to have his lover’s killers executed. He even had their hearts ripped out in public in a poetic fashion that would later inspire numerous stories. Speaking of stories, it’s rumored that Pedro had Ines’s body exhumed, dressed, and placed on the throne so everyone could pay tribute to her. However, some say he simply had the body moved to a more appropriate resting place, where he commissioned a stunningly elaborate tomb for her that would one day face his resting place.^[3]

7 Montgomery Meigs Turns His Revenge into a National Landmark

One of the earliest strategic blows of the Civil War came when Robert E. Lee decided to join the Confederate army. Lee’s decision to defend Virginia over continuing to serve in the United States military was seen as a betrayal by many. Among them was Montgomery Meigs, a Brigadier General who once considered Lee a friend and inspiration.

So when Meigs was ordered to find a place to bury the quickly growing number of fallen Union soldiers, he quickly chose Lee’s recently captured former home, Arlington Estate. Meigs expressed a grim satisfaction at watching graves fill the land around Lee’s former home. The graveyard later became the esteemed Arlington National Cemetery. Meigs himself was even buried there in 1892.^[4]

6 Dave Carroll Sings a Swan Song for United Airlines Stock

Dave Carroll was traveling on a United Airlines Flight when a fellow passenger noticed that the airline’s baggage handlers were mishandling pieces of luggage. When Dave landed, he discovered his prized guitar was severely damaged. Dave filed a claim that was denied by United due to questionable technicalities. A prolonged back-and-forth between him and the airline yielded no better results. So, Dave got his revenge another way.

Dave proceeded to release three songs over the next year that became known as the “United Breaks Guitars” trilogy. The songs quickly became viral hits and forced United representatives to scramble and try to save face amid an ever-escalating situation. They apologized and promised to change their ways, but they may not have been quick enough. Within weeks of Carroll’s first song being uploaded, United Airlines’ stock fell 10%.^[5]

5 King Clovis Never Forgets a Vase

When Saint Remigius received word that Clovis I had won the Battle of Soissons, he immediately thought of the Vase of Soissons, a religious artifact prized by the Reims for its history and beauty. He sent word to Clovis and pleaded for the vase to be spared from pillaging and returned to the church. Clovis ordered that the vase be protected as one of his prizes.

However, a bold soldier disagreed with Clovis’s order and smashed the vase with an axe. To the surprise of nearly everyone, Clovis did nothing. At least not at that time. Around a year later, though, Clovis spotted the soldier again. He approached the soldier, asked to inspect his axe, threw it to the ground, and promptly split the soldier’s head, much like the soldier had smashed the vase. Though some believe parts of this story may be a myth mixed with facts, it speaks to Clovis’s reputation.^[6]

4 Jeanne de Clisson Chooses a Pirate’s Life

The beheading of Olivier IV de Clisson shocked many. Nobles like Olivier were rarely beheaded, and many felt that Olivier’s executioners made no reasonable attempt to present evidence of his guilt. When Olivier died, he left behind his wife, Jeanne, and their two kids. Had Olivier’s killers known what was about to happen, they probably would have gone after them as well.

After taking her kids to see Olivier’s displayed decapitated head, Jeanne sold the family’s estates, raised a small army, and purchased three ships that were refitted for war. From her fleet’s flagship (wonderfully dubbed My Revenge), Jeanne proceeded to raid the castles and chateaus of those who murdered her husband. For 13 years, Jeanne’s feared fleet became the terror of the seas. Her campaign only ended when she decided to remarry.^[7]

3 King Goujian Forces Himself to Remember the Taste of Defeat

The war between the Wu and Yue states was a prolonged affair that defined and reshaped China around 400 BC. Eventually, though, the Wu forces defeated Yue and forced the royal Gouijan to serve King Fuchai of the Wu empire for three years. On the outside, Goujian appeared to be a loyal, useful, and dutiful servant. However, he was already planting the seeds of vengeance.

Having fulfilled his duties admirably, Goujian was allowed to return to his home. There, he not only rebuilt the Yue empire but made it more glorious than ever. Yet Goujian not only refused the many luxuries available to him but reportedly forced himself to taste bile regularly so he would never forget the humiliation of his servitude. After 10 years of reform, Goujian raised the forces needed to crush the Wu army and led a devastating invasion of Wu lands. King Fuchai soon committed suicide after his call for peace was denied.^[8]

2 Never Cross 47 Ronin with Nothing to Lose

When the feudal lord Asano was shamed into committing seppuku by a perturbed official named Kira Yoshinaka, he left behind 47 ronin, former samurai without a master. For over a year, the ronin retreated into the darkness of a quiet life out of apparent shame. Some took jobs, some found families, and some succumbed to debauchery. Well, at least that’s what people thought they were doing. In reality, the ronin spent that time planting the seeds of their revenge.

The ronin spent their time gathering information and putting themselves in a position to stage a decisive strike against Yoshinaka. When the time was right, they gathered and used their skills, strategic positioning, and knowledge to stage an assault on Yoshinaka’s home. Yoshinaka was beheaded during the assault, and the 47 ronin (46, technically) awaited their punishment. However, the ronin had garnered incredible public sympathy for their honorable actions and were allowed to commit seppuku instead. They were buried near their former master.^[9]

1 Pierre Picaud Inspires the Definitive Cold Revenge Story

Pierre Picaud was lucky enough to fall in love with a wealthy woman but was slightly less fortunate when it came to his choice of friends. Jealous over Picaud’s engagement, his three “friends” (Loupian, Solari, and Chaubart) falsely accused Picaud of being a spy. Picaud was soon imprisoned in the Fenestrelle fortress but managed to escape and secure a treasure he learned about from a fellow inmate. With his newfound wealth, Picaud set out on an epic adventure of vengeance.

Though Picaud merely murdered Chaubart and Solari upon re-entering society (or had them murdered), he saved his greatest wrath for Loupian, who had married his former fiancée. Picaud arranged for Loupian’s daughter to fall in love with a thief. After having the thief arrested, the daughter died of shock. He then had Loupian’s son sent to jail as a thief before finally stabbing Loupian. Picaud was eventually caught, but not before his revenge was complete. If any of this sounds familiar, it’s because it is believed to be the basis for the greatest work of cold revenge fiction ever written, The Count of Monte Cristo.^[10]