--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They sent forth men to battle, But no…" description: "\"They sent forth men to battle, But no such men return; And home, to claim their welcome, Come ashes in an urn\" — Aeschylus" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b8/aeschylus-749_ashes_they-sent-forth-men-to-battle-but-no-suc_1132246.png" --- # They sent forth men to battle, But no such men return; And… ![“They sent forth men to battle, But no such men return; And home, to claim their welcome, Come ashes in an urn” quote by Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b8/aeschylus-749_ashes_they-sent-forth-men-to-battle-but-no-suc_1132246.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b8/aeschylus-749_ashes_they-sent-forth-men-to-battle-but-no-suc_1132246.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b8/aeschylus-749_ashes_they-sent-forth-men-to-battle-but-no-suc_1132246.png) > “They sent forth men to battle, But no such men return; And home, to claim their welcome, Come ashes in an urn” [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. War sends men out, but none return, leaving only ash and mourning for those awaiting home. **In simple terms:** War leaves only loss and grief. Key Takeaway Remember the cost of conflict. Themes war loss grief homecoming Mood somber reflective solemn Type poetic historical philosophical When to use this quote - military campaigns - family reunions - memorial services Key Concepts tragedy historical oral tradition Questions to Reflect On - How does loss shape collective memory? - What responsibilities do societies have to the fallen? A Different Perspective The quote may romanticize sacrifice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ashes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashes/) [Ashes Urn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashes-urn-3117308/) [Battle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/battle/) [Claims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/claims/) [Come Ashes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/come-ashes-3117306/) [Forth Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forth-men-3117307/) [Greek mythology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greek-mythology/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men Return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-return-2444245/) [Mythology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mythology/) [Return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/return/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Welcome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/welcome/) ## Related quotes > [Victory passes back and forth between men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/victory-passes-back-and-forth-between-men/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To the Bible men will return; and why? Because they cannot do without it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/to-the-bible-men-will-return-and-why-because-they-cannot-do-without-it/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [“Men can return to where they have done evil deeds, but men do not return to where they’ve been abased. On this point God’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/men-can-return-to-where-they-have-done-evil-deeds-but-men-do-not/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [“As dogs return to their vomit, some men return to their wives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/as-dogs-return-to-their-vomit-some-men-return-to-their-wives/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [“Every one of our sons leaves home at some point. They become men who can return to help us mothers in ways that no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-meeker-md/every-one-of-our-sons-leaves-home-at-some-point-they-become-men-who/) [Meg Meeker Md](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-meeker-md/) > [“Some men return to their past, so that new forces may arise for the reconquest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vd/some-men-return-to-their-past-so-that-new-forces-may-arise-for-the/) [VD](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vd/) > [“Despite being the only one of us who owned the game, I wasn't very good at Resurrection. As I watched them tramp through a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/despite-being-the-only-one-of-us-who-owned-the-game-i-wasn-t-very/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [It is by far the most elegant worship, hardly excepting the Greek mythology. What with incense, pictures, statues, altars, shrines, relics, and the real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/it-is-by-far-the-most-elegant-worship-hardly-excepting-the-greek/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [“According to Greek mythology, Medusa is a Triple Goddess, one of three gorgon sisters—Sthenno, Euryale, and Medusa—representing past, present, and future. Only Medusa exists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-marler/according-to-greek-mythology-medusa-is-a-triple-goddess-one-of-three/) [Joan Marler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-marler/) > [I just always loved mythology, ever since I was a kid. 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Unless you are immortal, both the soul and body are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yelle-hughes/death-is-predestined-for-all-mortals-souls-live-forever-but-the-body/) [Yelle Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yelle-hughes/) > [There's something about the superheroes and the idea behind their relationship with humans, whether it's a metaphor for the better part of ourselves, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-gregg/there-s-something-about-the-superheroes-and-the-idea-behind-their/) [Clark Gregg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-gregg/) > [“And Zeus said: “Hera, you can choose some other time for paying your visit to Oceanus — for the present let us devote ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/and-zeus-said-hera-you-can-choose-some-other-time-for-paying-your/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“She was the goddess of gossip and rumor, not the goddess of thoroughly fact-checked information. Some people, Principal Zeus included, didn't seem to realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-holub-suzanne-williams/she-was-the-goddess-of-gossip-and-rumor-not-the-goddess-of-thoroughly/) [Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-holub-suzanne-williams/) ## More by Aeschylus > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [May dawn, as the proverb goes, bring happy tidings coming from her mother night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/may-dawn-as-the-proverb-goes-bring-happy-tidings-coming-from-her/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [In visions of the night, like dropping rain, Descend the many memories of pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/in-visions-of-the-night-like-dropping-rain-descend-the-many-memories/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [The cure is in the house, not brought by other hands from distant places, but by its own, in agony and blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/the-cure-is-in-the-house-not-brought-by-other-hands-from-distant/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [The tongue of slander is too prompt with wanton malice to wound the stranger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/the-tongue-of-slander-is-too-prompt-with-wanton-malice-to-wound-the/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [The holy heaven yearns to wound the earth, and yearning layeth hold on the earth to join in wedlock; the rain, fallen from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/the-holy-heaven-yearns-to-wound-the-earth-and-yearning-layeth-hold-on/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [God loves to help him who strives to help himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/god-loves-to-help-him-who-strives-to-help-himself/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [Good fortune is a god among men, and more than a god.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/good-fortune-is-a-god-among-men-and-more-than-a-god/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [Zeus, first cause, prime mover; for what thing without Zeus is done among mortals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/zeus-first-cause-prime-mover-for-what-thing-without-zeus-is-done/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [God planteth in mortal men the cause of sin whensoever he wills utterly to destroy a house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/god-planteth-in-mortal-men-the-cause-of-sin-whensoever-he-wills/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [Human prosperity never rests but always craves more, till blown up with pride it totters and falls. From the opulent mansions pointed at by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/human-prosperity-never-rests-but-always-craves-more-till-blown-up/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [To be free from evil thoughts is God's best gift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/to-be-free-from-evil-thoughts-is-god-s-best-gift/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [Hungry wailing standeth not aloof.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hungry-wailing-standeth-not-aloof/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [“If libations were proper to pour above the slain, this man deserved, more than deserved, such sacrament. He filled our cup with evil things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/if-libations-were-proper-to-pour-above-the-slain-this-man-deserved/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [For there is no defense for a man who, in the excess of his wealth, has kicked the great altar of Justice out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/for-there-is-no-defense-for-a-man-who-in-the-excess-of-his-wealth-has/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) [Explore all 382 Aeschylus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) ## More Ashes quotes > [You can flush my ashes down the toilet, for all I care.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-flush-my-ashes-down-the-toilet-for-all-i-care/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-that-is-gold-does-not-glitter-not-all-those-who-wander-are-lost/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't want to have a gravestone. I want to have all my friends burn me and then snort the ashes. I think that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/i-don-t-want-to-have-a-gravestone-i-want-to-have-all-my-friends-burn/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/you-know-how-this-is-if-i-look-at-the-crystal-moon-at-the-red-branch/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [He said that he will never let you cry,he will always be there for you no matter how hard the situation is,that he will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhra/he-said-that-he-will-never-let-you-cry-he-will-always-be-there-for/) [Zhra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhra/) > [“The past is to be learned from but not lived in. We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-past-is-to-be-learned-from-but-not-lived-in-we-look-back-to-claim/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Much can they praise the trees so straight and high, The sailing pine,the cedar proud and tall, The vine-prop elm, the poplar never dry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/much-can-they-praise-the-trees-so-straight-and-high-the-sailing-pine/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [When any civilization is dust and ashes," he said, "art is all that's left over. Images, words, music. Imaginative structures. Meaning—human meaning, that is—is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/when-any-civilization-is-dust-and-ashes-he-said-art-is-all-that-s/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Man is a noble animal, splendid in ashes, and pompous in the grave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/man-is-a-noble-animal-splendid-in-ashes-and-pompous-in-the-grave/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [“Bury us, and mark our names above. Let us be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/bury-us-and-mark-our-names-above-let-us-be-free/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [There is nothing quite like an Ashes trip Down Under.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anderson/there-is-nothing-quite-like-an-ashes-trip-down-under/) [James Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anderson/) > [I think momentum is huge in sport, especially in a series like the Ashes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-stokes/i-think-momentum-is-huge-in-sport-especially-in-a-series-like-the/) [Ben Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-stokes/) > [Mark how fleeting and paltry is the estate of man-yesterday in embryo, tomorrow a mummy or ashes. So for the hairsbreadth of time assigned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/mark-how-fleeting-and-paltry-is-the-estate-of-man-yesterday-in-embryo/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“When you burn a bridge, you have to be prepared to live with some ashes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-coppernoll/when-you-burn-a-bridge-you-have-to-be-prepared-to-live-with-some-ashes/) [Chris Coppernoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-coppernoll/) > [I would rather be ashes than dust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/i-would-rather-be-ashes-than-dust/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) [Browse all 900 Ashes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "They sent forth men to battle, But no such men return; And home, to claim their welcome, Come ashes in an urn", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Aeschylus" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/they-sent-forth-men-to-battle-but-no-such-men-return-and-home-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ashes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/they-sent-forth-men-to-battle-but-no-such-men-return-and-home-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b8/aeschylus-749_ashes_they-sent-forth-men-to-battle-but-no-suc_1132246.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b8/aeschylus-749_ashes_they-sent-forth-men-to-battle-but-no-suc_1132246.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b8/aeschylus-749_ashes_they-sent-forth-men-to-battle-but-no-suc_1132246.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“They sent forth men to battle, But no such men return; And home, to claim their welcome, Come ashes in an urn” — Aeschylus", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Aeschylus", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "They sent forth men to battle,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/they-sent-forth-men-to-battle-but-no-such-men-return-and-home-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/they-sent-forth-men-to-battle-but-no-such-men-return-and-home-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```