DigiNews

Summary

This Cambridge University Press article critically reassesses the claim that Hellenistic war-elephants were given alcohol before battle. It weighs primary and later literary sources, questions translation and interpretation, and analyzes the practicalities and risks of drunken elephants on the battlefield. The piece also contrasts Greek/Roman testimony with Indian parallels (musth) and concludes that alcohol prior to combat was unlikely to be a standard practice, though the idea persists in epic and popular imagination.