--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The greatest war story ever told…" description: "\"“The greatest war story ever told commemorates a war that established no boundaries, won no territory, and furthered no cause.”\" — Caroline Alexander" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72d/caroline-alexander-40242_epic_the-greatest-war-story-ever-told-commemo_463863.jpg" --- # The greatest war story ever told commemorates a war that… ![“The greatest war story ever told commemorates a war that established no boundaries, won no territory, and furthered no cause.” quote by Caroline Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72d/caroline-alexander-40242_epic_the-greatest-war-story-ever-told-commemo_463863.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72d/caroline-alexander-40242_epic_the-greatest-war-story-ever-told-commemo_463863.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72d/caroline-alexander-40242_epic_the-greatest-war-story-ever-told-commemo_463863.jpg) > ““The greatest war story ever told commemorates a war that established no boundaries, won no territory, and furthered no cause.”” [Caroline Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-alexander/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A war can be glorified despite lacking clear purpose or benefit. **In simple terms:** War may be praised even without gains. Key Takeaway Question the purpose behind celebrated conflicts. Themes war history meaning propaganda Mood critical reflective Type analytical historical When to use this quote - political speeches - historical analysis - media critique Key Concepts military nationalism media narratives Questions to Reflect On - What motives drive glorifying pointless wars? - How does this affect public perception? A Different Perspective Stories may ignore the human cost and moral ambiguity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Commemorates War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commemorates-war-4023100/) [Epic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epic/) [Greatest War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatest-war-2460410/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homer/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Story Told](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-told-386116/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [War Established](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-established-2105078/) [War Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-story-422620/) ## Related quotes > [It's hard to write a war story without thinking about the 'Iliad.' Because the 'Iliad' knows everything about war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/it-s-hard-to-write-a-war-story-without-thinking-about-the-iliad/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [“The battlefields of World War I established the importance of petroleum as an element of national power when the internal combustion machine overtook the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-yergin/the-battlefields-of-world-war-i-established-the-importance-of/) [Daniel Yergin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-yergin/) > [“The rules of war established by pen soldiers do not form the basis of actual operations in the field,” he wrote.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-chivers/the-rules-of-war-established-by-pen-soldiers-do-not-form-the-basis-of/) [C.J. Chivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-chivers/) > [The legitimacy of a war is not established by how it is organized but by what it achieves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/the-legitimacy-of-a-war-is-not-established-by-how-it-is-organized-but/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [Have we so soon forgotten those four years of terrible carnage, the greatest war of all time; forgotten the millions of men who gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-b-kellogg/have-we-so-soon-forgotten-those-four-years-of-terrible-carnage-the/) [Frank B. Kellogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-b-kellogg/) > [Imperfection is inherited, therefore we all sin, but fighting the war of sin is the greatest war of all because we all die in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/imperfection-is-inherited-therefore-we-all-sin-but-fighting-the-war/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The greatest war every fought, and are still fighting, where more people have been defeated and died, is the war within.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/the-greatest-war-every-fought-and-are-still-fighting-where-more/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [The man with the greatest soul will always face the greatest war with the low minded person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-man-with-the-greatest-soul-will-always-face-the-greatest-war-with/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“We are fighting the greatest war the world has ever seen, and our likely future is death and ruins, and you are thinking about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/we-are-fighting-the-greatest-war-the-world-has-ever-seen-and-our/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [Grave of the Fireflies” is an emotional experience so powerful that it forces a rethinking of animation... It belongs on any list of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/grave-of-the-fireflies-is-an-emotional-experience-so-powerful-that-it/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [“Surely, by all convention, the Iliad will end here, with the triumphant return of its vindicated hero. But the Iliad is not a conventional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-alexander/surely-by-all-convention-the-iliad-will-end-here-with-the-triumphant/) [Caroline Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-alexander/) > [“This, the only occasion in the Iliad when furious Achilles smiles serves as a bittersweet reminder of the difference real leadership could have made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-alexander/this-the-only-occasion-in-the-iliad-when-furious-achilles-smiles/) [Caroline Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-alexander/) > [“Priam and Achilles meet in the very twilight of their lives. Their extinction is certain and there will be no reward for behaving well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-alexander/priam-and-achilles-meet-in-the-very-twilight-of-their-lives-their/) [Caroline Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-alexander/) > [“Homer's epic does not tell of such seemingly essential events as the abduction of Helen, for example, nor of the mustering and sailing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-alexander/homer-s-epic-does-not-tell-of-such-seemingly-essential-events-as-the/) [Caroline Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-alexander/) > [“Nestor is the spokesman for the status quo, for the tradition-hallowed belief that institutional power equates with unquestioned authority.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-alexander/nestor-is-the-spokesman-for-the-status-quo-for-the-tradition-hallowed/) [Caroline Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-alexander/) ## More by Caroline Alexander > [“Nestor is the spokesman for the status quo, for the tradition-hallowed belief that institutional power equates with unquestioned authority.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-alexander/nestor-is-the-spokesman-for-the-status-quo-for-the-tradition-hallowed/) [Caroline Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-alexander/) > [“Priam and Achilles meet in the very twilight of their lives. Their extinction is certain and there will be no reward for behaving well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-alexander/priam-and-achilles-meet-in-the-very-twilight-of-their-lives-their/) [Caroline Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-alexander/) > [The passion for exploration and discovery, the hunger to learn all things about all aspects of the physical world, the great and preposterous optimism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-alexander/the-passion-for-exploration-and-discovery-the-hunger-to-learn-all/) [Caroline Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-alexander/) > [“Surely, by all convention, the Iliad will end here, with the triumphant return of its vindicated hero. But the Iliad is not a conventional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-alexander/surely-by-all-convention-the-iliad-will-end-here-with-the-triumphant/) [Caroline Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-alexander/) > [“We honor the Greeks because in their art, literature, philosophy and civic history we discern the early stirrings of our own ideals—rationalism, humanism, democracy—which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-alexander/we-honor-the-greeks-because-in-their-art-literature-philosophy-and/) [Caroline Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-alexander/) > [“of cattle, a bringer of dreams,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-alexander/of-cattle-a-bringer-of-dreams/) [Caroline Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-alexander/) > [Each pattern describes a problem which occurs over and over again in our environment, and then describes the core of the solution to that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-alexander/each-pattern-describes-a-problem-which-occurs-over-and-over-again-in/) [Caroline Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-alexander/) > [“This, the only occasion in the Iliad when furious Achilles smiles serves as a bittersweet reminder of the difference real leadership could have made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-alexander/this-the-only-occasion-in-the-iliad-when-furious-achilles-smiles/) [Caroline Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-alexander/) > [“Homer's epic does not tell of such seemingly essential events as the abduction of Helen, for example, nor of the mustering and sailing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-alexander/homer-s-epic-does-not-tell-of-such-seemingly-essential-events-as-the/) [Caroline Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-alexander/) > [“I have seen Fuji, the most dainty and graceful of all mountains; and also Kinchinjunga: only Michael Angelo among men could have conceived such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-alexander/i-have-seen-fuji-the-most-dainty-and-graceful-of-all-mountains-and/) [Caroline Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-alexander/) [Explore all 11 Caroline Alexander quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-alexander/) ## More Epic quotes > [Would you like a side of epic with that fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabi/would-you-like-a-side-of-epic-with-that-fail/) [Gabi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabi/) > [My first three manuscripts were epic fantasy - like high fantasy - and then the fourth one was a historical fantasy about Mozart as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-lu/my-first-three-manuscripts-were-epic-fantasy-like-high-fantasy-and/) [Marie Lu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-lu/) > ['Forever Evil' is my love letter to DC super villains. It's my chance to take all of the villains I've worked with and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-johns/forever-evil-is-my-love-letter-to-dc-super-villains-it-s-my-chance-to/) [Geoff Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-johns/) > [The epic disappeared along with the age of personal heroism; there can be no epic with artillery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-renan/the-epic-disappeared-along-with-the-age-of-personal-heroism-there-can/) [Ernest Renan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-renan/) > [“Stop waiting for permission to be epic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-b-truant/stop-waiting-for-permission-to-be-epic/) [Johnny B. Truant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-b-truant/) > [The epic poet has behind him a tradition of matter and a tradition of style; and that is what every other poet has behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lascelles-abercrombie/the-epic-poet-has-behind-him-a-tradition-of-matter-and-a-tradition-of/) [Lascelles Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lascelles-abercrombie/) > [“An epic without a focus - without a single action, a coherent plot, a single terrible point to make - was just a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/an-epic-without-a-focus-without-a-single-action-a-coherent-plot-a/) [Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/) > [To realise belatedly that there are Swahili epic poems which rival their European equivalents for sweep and power has been exciting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-foden/to-realise-belatedly-that-there-are-swahili-epic-poems-which-rival/) [Giles Foden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-foden/) > [The richly cadenced prose is hypnotic, the research prodigious, the analysis acute, the mood spellbinding, and the cast of characters mythic in scale. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/the-richly-cadenced-prose-is-hypnotic-the-research-prodigious-the/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [I want to do character driven epic storylines with Throne of Atlantis kicking off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-johns/i-want-to-do-character-driven-epic-storylines-with-throne-of-atlantis/) [Geoff Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-johns/) > [Jesus never discipled one-on-one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-g-hendricks/jesus-never-discipled-one-on-one/) [Howard G. Hendricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-g-hendricks/) > [When you think about it, some people don't like certain things, but when it comes to music, no matter who you are, where you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-horan/when-you-think-about-it-some-people-don-t-like-certain-things-but/) [Niall Horan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-horan/) > [As you know, I describe Shirat ha-Yam as part of an epic story that has qualities of history and which also has qualities of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/as-you-know-i-describe-shirat-ha-yam-as-part-of-an-epic-story-that/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Evolution isn't just a take-it-or-leave-it story about where we came from. It's an epic at the centre of life itself. It tells us we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/evolution-isn-t-just-a-take-it-or-leave-it-story-about-where-we-came/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [The Warmth of Other Suns is a sweeping and yet deeply personal tale of America's hidden 20th century history - the long and difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brokaw/the-warmth-of-other-suns-is-a-sweeping-and-yet-deeply-personal-tale/) [Tom Brokaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brokaw/) [Browse all 746 Epic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The greatest war story ever told commemorates a war that established no boundaries, won no territory, and furthered no cause.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Caroline Alexander" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-alexander/the-greatest-war-story-ever-told-commemorates-a-war-that-established/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Epic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-alexander/the-greatest-war-story-ever-told-commemorates-a-war-that-established/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72d/caroline-alexander-40242_epic_the-greatest-war-story-ever-told-commemo_463863.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72d/caroline-alexander-40242_epic_the-greatest-war-story-ever-told-commemo_463863.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72d/caroline-alexander-40242_epic_the-greatest-war-story-ever-told-commemo_463863.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The greatest war story ever told commemorates a war that established no boundaries, won no territory, and…” — Caroline Alexander", "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": "Caroline Alexander", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-alexander/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The greatest war story ever told...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-alexander/the-greatest-war-story-ever-told-commemorates-a-war-that-established/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-alexander/the-greatest-war-story-ever-told-commemorates-a-war-that-established/#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 } } ] } ```