"Come back with your shield, or on it."
(A Spartan mother's instruction to her warrior son on the eve of his first battle.)
A hoplite's shield was too heavy to carry if you were fleeing from your enemy in panic, and it was big enough to be used as a stretcher if your
comrades had to carry you back.
Another mother, when her son complained his sword was too short, told him "Just take another step closer to your enemy."
Isn't it odd that in an age where every man could be called on to fight, and where combat was face to face, man to man, wars were just as common as they are now?