natural sequel to death in battle and left without its actualization being
reported, though with a hint of the gratification that it will give the birds and
beasts. Achilles’ wrath consigned many warrior souls to Hades and made their
bodies ‘plunder’ (λ.ρια) for the dogs and all the birds, or with the ancient
variant reading ‘a feast’ for the birds (Il. 1. 4 f.). Agamemnon’s victims lay
‘more attractive to the vultures than to their wives’ (11. 162). Bodies not
recovered will be κυσ?ν μλπηθρα, ‘sport for dogs’ (17. 255, 18. 179); they
will ‘sate’ dogs and birds (8. 379, 13. 831, 17. 241). Similarly Helgi is character-
ized as a man er opt hefir o ̨rno sadda, ‘who has often sated the eagles’ (Hel-
gakviða Hundingsbana A 35).^128 An Anglo-Saxon poet describes the Assyrians
lying slain by the Hebrew army, wulfum to ̄ willan and e ̄ac wælgı ̄frum | fuglum
to ̄ fro ̄fre, ‘to wolves’ liking and carnage-greedy birds’ comfort’ (Judith 296 f.).
Vindictive victoryThe hero’s savagery towards his enemy does not abate once he has killed him.
TheIliad poet himself seems rather to disapprove of Achilles’ behaviour in
piercing Hector’s heels with leather straps and dragging his body behind his
chariot to the ships (Il. 22. 395–404). It may have been a traditional motif in
heroic narrative about chariot-warriors. At any rate it has a close parallel in
Irish saga:
Then Fergus put a spancelling band through Etarcomol’s heels and dragged him
behind his own chariot to the camp. Whenever Etarcomol’s body went over rocks, one
half would part from the other... Medb looked at him. ‘That was not kind treatment
for a young hound, Fergus,’ said Medb. ‘It is no source of annoyance to me,’ said
Fergus, ‘that the mongrel should have waged battle with the great hound [Cú
Chulainn] for whom he was no match’ (Táin (I) 1378–84).
A yet more barbaric story is told about Tydeus, a hero of the Theban War.
He had been wounded by Melanippus. When Amphiaraus killed Melanippus
and brought back his head as a trophy, Tydeus split it open and passionately
gobbled the brain, to the disgust of Athena, who was approaching to bestow
immortality on him but now thought better of it.^129 Cutting off an enemy’s
head is a primitive practice, attested sporadically in several Indo-European
traditions.^130 So is drinking his blood. Herodotus (4. 64. 1) relates that a
Scythian drinks of the blood of the first man that he slays in battle, as well as
(^128) More Norse material in Gering–Sijmons (1927–31), ii. 91.
(^129) Sch. D Il. 5. 126, probably from the epic Thebaid (= fr. 9 Bernabé and West).
(^130) Cf. M. Green (1986), 31; Campanile (1990a), 269–71; Bernard Sergent, Celtes et Grecs, i.
Le livre des héros (Paris 1999), 165 f.
492 12. Arms and the Man