But about the dead, I'd never grudge their burning. No holding back for the bodies of the fallen: once they are gone, let fire soothe them quickly.

But about the dead, I’d never grudge their burning.
No holding back for the bodies of the fallen:
once they are gone, let fire soothe them quickly.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 7, lines 471-473. Agamemnon agrees a temporary truce in the war with the Trojans, during which time they will be allowed to tend to their dead and give them proper funeral rites. This speaks to the code of respect and honor for the war dead – although this principle is often not adhered to when bodies are left unburied and mutilated in this brutal war.

Homer Quotes