Several cultures throughout history not only accepted but preferred death in battle, often tying it to honour, religion, or eternal reward. Here are some of the most prominent examples, with references and direct quotes:
1. Spartans (Ancient Greece) - The Spartan code valued dying in battle above all else. Surrender or retreat was seen as disgraceful.
- Plutarch, Life of Lycurgus:
“With their shields or upon them.”
(Mothers told sons to return victorious with their shield, or dead upon it — never having thrown it away in flight.)
2. Norse / Vikings - For Norse warriors, dying in battle was the surest way to enter Valhalla, Odin’s hall. Those who died in bed were believed to go to Hel (the underworld of the dead).
- Poetic Edda, Hávamál (stanza 138–139):
“Cattle die, kinsmen die, the self must also die;
but glory never dies, for the man who is able to achieve it.”
- Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda:
“All men who fall in battle are Odin’s chosen.”
3. Samurai (Feudal Japan) - Samurai embraced bushido (the way of the warrior), where honour in battle or ritual suicide (seppuku) was preferred over surrender.
- Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Hagakure:
“The way of the Samurai is found in death. When it comes to either/or, there is only the quick choice of death.”
4. Aztecs (Mesoamerica) - Aztec warriors who died in combat or as sacrificial captives were believed to join the sun god on his journey through the sky.
- Sahagún, Florentine Codex (Book 6):
“Those who died in war, those who died in sacrifice… these the Sun received, they dwelt with him.”
5. Celts - Classical authors described Celtic warriors as fearless in battle, believing in a form of reincarnation or continued existence.
- Julius Caesar, Gallic Wars (6.14):
“They are eager for war because they are taught that the souls do not perish, but pass after death from one body to another.”
6. Early Germanic Tribes - Like their Norse kin, Germanic tribes placed high value on heroic death.
- Tacitus, Germania (ch. 7):
“To throw away one’s shield is the supreme disgrace; and a man thus dishonored is not allowed to take part in religious rites, or even to enter the assembly.”
In short: Spartans sought honour, Vikings sought Valhalla, Samurai sought honourable death, Aztecs sought union with the Sun, Celts sought reincarnation, and Germanic tribes sought eternal honour. |
