Indo-European Poetry and Myth

δο ́ ρυ δουρ, σα ́ κο σα ́ κεϊ προθελ3μνωι ‘covering spear with spear, shield
with layered shield’; 16. 215 α, σπ? Eρ’α, σπ? #ρειδε, κο ́ ρυ κο ́ ρυν, α, νρα
δ’α, νρ, ‘shield pressed shield, helmet helmet, and man man’. Tyrtaeus
employs similar language where the two front lines are clashing (11. 31–3):

κα? πο ́ δα πα` ρ ποδ? θε? κα? $π’α, σπδο α, σπδ’$ρεσα,

$ν δC λο ́ φον τε λο ́ φωι κα? κυνην κυνηι

κα? στρνον στρνωι πεπλημνο.

And planting foot by foot, and pressing shield on shield,

bringing crest close to crest and helm to helm

and breast to breast.

The Iliadic example at 11. 150,

πεζο? μCν πεζο7 Zλεκον φε3γοντα α, να ́ γκηι,

Tππη



 δ’Tππη



α,

foot-soldiers were destroying foot-soldiers as they fled,

and chariot-fighters chariot-fighters,

has many striking parallels in the Maha ̄bha ̄rata, for example at 4. 31. 8,

ratha ̄ rathaih

̇

sama ̄janmuh

̇

pa ̄da ̄tais ́ ca pada ̄tayah

̇

,

sa ̄dibhih

̇

sa ̄dinas ́ caiva gajais ́ ca ̄pi maha ̄gaja ̄h

̇

,

chariots engaged chariots, foot soldiers other foot soldiers,

riders attacked riders, elephants elephants.^125

In Latin epic there are several examples, beginning with Ennius, Ann. 584
premitur pede pes atque armis arma teruntur, who is no doubt following Greek
models rather than a native Italic tradition.^126 It is less certain that Classical
influence must be invoked to account for Irish instances such as

I mbíat fáebra fri fáebra | ocus findne fri findne.

When edges shall be against edges | and shields against shields.

Wrist to wrist and palm to palm, tunic to tunic they stand,

shield to shield and frame to frame [etc.]^127

(^125) See also 6. 43. 79, 111. 41; 7. 19. 37, 31. 73, 72. 19, 139. 6; 8. 8. 9, 16. 32, 33. 56, 36. 5; 9. 8. 10,

22. 58; 10. 8. 92; Rm. 5. 44. 37. Battles involving chariots were a development of the early
    second millennium, so this component in the parallel must be due either to independent
    evolution from a common original pattern or to Mycenaean contact with Indo-Iranian poetry
    (a possibility I have adverted to elsewhere).

(^126) See Otto Skutsch, The Annals of Q. Ennius (Oxford 1985), 724–6.
(^127) Cath Cairnn Conaill ed. W. Stokes, ZCP 3 (1901), 208; poem in Fled Bricrenn 53. Cf also
Táin (I) 2308 dobert fóbairt bidbad fo bidbadaib forro co torchratár bond fri bond 7 méde fri méde,
‘he made upon them the attack of a foe upon his foes so that they fell, sole of foot to sole of foot,
and headless neck to headless neck’.

2. Phrase and Figure 115