In Defence of Patroklos: A Plea to Common Sense

Abstract

Chariots were important weapons in ancient warfare for almost two millennia in Mesopotamia and Egypt. Chariotry in the Bronze Age Aegean was obviously of great significance, but discrepancies between epic descriptions and archaeological evidence have often led to controversy. The Etruscans, Latins and Picene tribes took rapidly to chariotry after its introduction into Italy in the 8th century B.C.—probably by Levantine interests which also persuaded Cyprus and Tartessian Spain to adopt chariots as part of an extensive aristocratic prestige system.

Mourning Deaths and Endangering Lives: Etruscan Chariot Racing Between Symbol and Reality

“…Mary Littauer and Crouwel (1983) argued that fighting from chariots would have been ‘absurd’. Peter Greenhalgh (1973) and Jean Turfa and Alwin Steinmayer (1993) believed in the use of chariots during the battle at least in the Bronze Age, if not later.…”