of Homer, and probably reflect the historical event of the Siege of Troy c. 1200 RC., although the military descriptions apply to the age of Homer himself!. Human remains of earlier times have occasionally been found in archaeological excavations, of which Egyptian diggings have produced the majority2. The war injuries mentioned in the Iliad allow direct comparison between the type of weapon and the anatomical site of injury produced by that weapon, and may be taken as respresenting battle casualties in the 8th century B.c. Homer, however, has been selective in his description of casualties, for the Iliad only reports the last few days of the long drawn-out battle for Troy which lasted for almost ten years; furthermore, the emphasis of the epic is concentrated on the kings of the opposing forces and the leaders of the fighting units. Nevertheless, it appears quite valid to compare the actual injuries described by the poet, bearing in mind that the protective armour and personal we~pons of the military leaders are always likely to be of higher quality than those of the ordinary soldier. The epic of the Iliad was continued by Homer in the Odyssey, and by Virgil in the Aeneid. Virgil flourished at·the very end of the first millenium and lived into the early years of Christianity. As his .lifespanned a period of unrest in the Roman Empire, he was well placed to observe military operations undertaken by the Roman armies, and consequently the Aeneid, although based on the Iliad and on the past glories of the R()mans themselves, reflects the military machine of Rome in the last century of the first millenium B.c. An analysis of injuries produced by selected weapons mentioned in the Iliad and the Aeneid is shown in Tables I and n. Some battle casualties have had to be omitted from these tables because of insufficient detail in their description. However, from the injuries that have been clearly described by Homer and Virgil, it appears that the majority of lethal wounds were almost immediately fatal, before the victim could even be taken to the surgeon. The spear was the most important weapon of attack described in the Iliad, whereas the sword was more frequently used in the Aeneid. The discharge of a spear or javelin from the hand did not necessarily leave a warrior entirely dependent on his sword, since it was customary for the infantry to carry at least two spears' into battle. This form of armament was usual among those fighting at Troy, is also