Cemetery Battle

Spartan hoplites getting hit by javelins at a cemetery outside the walls of Corcyra. Ancient Greek cultures placed immense value on logic. Having considered the work involved in transporting bodies to cemeteries post-battle, they reached the logical conclusion that all battles should take place on cemeteries to begin with. It was of course only the home army who benefited from the cemetery rule, the visiting side bearing the cost of transporting bodies of their fallen soldiers home in case of a loss. In case of a win however, the away army became the home army anyway, eliminating this complication. Traces of this old tradition survive in today's language, in the phrase "to the victor go the spoils", the last word referring to the rotting bodies of the vanquished.