“As there are no pacts of faith between lions and men,

nor do wolves and lambs have spirit in kind,…nor for us two

will there be oaths;…

Recollect your every skill.  Now the need is very great

to be a spearman and brave warrior.” – Achilles, the Iliad

The Mycenaean Greeks melded their warrior ethos with Minoan artistry to rule over an Aegean empire extending to the shores of ancient Troy.  The Aryans, distant relatives of the Mitanni, imported their Vedic culture into Northern India by chariot and sword.  Meanwhile, China’s Shang Dynasty, after ousting the corrupt Xia to build a mighty Bronze Age kingdom, saw the Mandate of Heaven pass to the Zhou.

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