Motif
Honorable face-to-face combat contrasted with distant or stealthy killing
honorable_face_to_face_combat_contrasted_with_distant_or_stealthy_killing
A motif of the Sacred Combat and Ritual Warfare family, within the sub-family Champion Combat and Duel. Every row below is a tagged passage; each rests on a quote in its source text.
1 occurrences
1 traditions
roman
-
The Aeneid of Virgil BOOK NINTH / THE SIEGE OF THE TROJAN CAMP / BOOK TENTH / THE BATTLE ON THE BEACH; lines 6905-6955 confidence: high
Mezentius refuses a rear or distant killing of Orodes and meets him face to face; Orodes dies after warning that Mezentius will soon share an equal fate, and Mezentius replies that the father of gods and king of men should take counsel concerning him.
Mezentius declines to strike Orodes from behind with a flying lance and instead meets him face to face; the passage later contrasts this with a treacherous arrow-shot from far away.
read in the book →