--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: …but there they lay, sprawled across the…" description: "\"…but there they lay, sprawled across the field, craved far more by the vultures than by wives.\" — Homer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a56/homer-357_fields_but-there-they-lay-sprawled-across-the-f_632118.png" --- # …but there they lay, sprawled across the field, craved far… ![“…but there they lay, sprawled across the field, craved far more by the vultures than by wives.” quote by Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a56/homer-357_fields_but-there-they-lay-sprawled-across-the-f_632118.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a56/homer-357_fields_but-there-they-lay-sprawled-across-the-f_632118.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a56/homer-357_fields_but-there-they-lay-sprawled-across-the-f_632118.png) > “…but there they lay, sprawled across the field, craved far more by the vultures than by wives.” [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The dead are more desired by scavengers than by loved ones, highlighting the harsh reality of death. **In simple terms:** Death attracts vultures more than grieving families. Key Takeaway Recognize life's fragility and value relationships. Themes mortality grief war humanity Mood somber reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - battlefields - funeral rites - war zones - memorials Key Concepts epic poetry Greek mythology Questions to Reflect On - How do we honor the dead beyond material loss? - What does this say about human attachment? A Different Perspective The quote may romanticize war, ignoring its tragedies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Greece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greece/) [Vultures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vultures/) [Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife/) ## Related quotes > [Elvis is bound to be dead. Look at all the vultures in his vicinity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharyn-mccrumb/elvis-is-bound-to-be-dead-look-at-all-the-vultures-in-his-vicinity/) [Sharyn McCrumb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharyn-mccrumb/) > [Suffering attracts fixers the way road-kills attract vultures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/suffering-attracts-fixers-the-way-road-kills-attract-vultures/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [“I want you to be my black vulture:forever monogamous!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/munia-khan/i-want-you-to-be-my-black-vulture-forever-monogamous/) [Munia Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/munia-khan/) > [Women are one and all a set of vultures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petronius/women-are-one-and-all-a-set-of-vultures/) [Petronius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petronius/) > [Bogotá seemed a cruel towering place, like an eagles' nest now inhabited by vultures and their dying prey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/bogot-seemed-a-cruel-towering-place-like-an-eagles-nest-now-inhabited/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [Writers are also sort of like vultures, but with fewer ethics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/writers-are-also-sort-of-like-vultures-but-with-fewer-ethics/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [Vultures are the most righteous of birds: they do not attack even the smallest living creature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/vultures-are-the-most-righteous-of-birds-they-do-not-attack-even-the/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [And when you look along the way we've come, there are spirals of vultures wheeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-chatwin/and-when-you-look-along-the-way-we-ve-come-there-are-spirals-of/) [Bruce Chatwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chatwin/) > [Over the weekend the vultures got into the presidential palace by pecking through the screens on the balcony windows and the flapping of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/over-the-weekend-the-vultures-got-into-the-presidential-palace-by/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [Thoughts, like old vultures, prey upon their heart-strings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-watts/thoughts-like-old-vultures-prey-upon-their-heart-strings/) [Isaac Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-watts/) > [Vultures are homely, but they clean up all the garbage and that's good. And they're elegant in the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-tory-peterson/vultures-are-homely-but-they-clean-up-all-the-garbage-and-that-s-good/) [Roger Tory Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-tory-peterson/) > [Despicable creatures, vultures: without a doubt the most disgusting birds ever. I suppose they served their purpose, but did they have to be so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/despicable-creatures-vultures-without-a-doubt-the-most-disgusting/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Doctinaires are the vultures of principle. They feed upon principle after it is dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lloyd-george/doctinaires-are-the-vultures-of-principle-they-feed-upon-principle/) [David Lloyd George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lloyd-george/) > [Civilization - a heap of rubble scavenged by scrawny English Lit. vultures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/civilization-a-heap-of-rubble-scavenged-by-scrawny-english-lit/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [“Blood is everywhere.. Vultures take shelter beneath the tanks; for the fumed sky is unsafe for their avian flight to prey on the Palestinian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/munia-khan/blood-is-everywhere-vultures-take-shelter-beneath-the-tanks-for-the/) [Munia Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/munia-khan/) ## More by Homer > [He knew the things that were and the things that would be and the things that had been before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/he-knew-the-things-that-were-and-the-things-that-would-be-and-the/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“Few sons are like their fathers--most are worse, few better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/few-sons-are-like-their-fathers-most-are-worse-few-better/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, as it pleases him, for he can do all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-lord-gives-and-the-lord-takes-away-as-it-pleases-him-for-he-can/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story of that man skilled in all ways of contending, the wanderer, harried for years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/sing-in-me-muse-and-through-me-tell-the-story-of-that-man-skilled-in/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Hateful to me as are the gates of hell, Is he who, hiding one thing in his heart, Utters another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/hateful-to-me-as-are-the-gates-of-hell-is-he-who-hiding-one-thing-in/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“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/) > [Ruin, eldest daughter of Zeus, she blinds us all, that fatal madness—she with those delicate feet of hers, never touching the earth, gliding over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/ruin-eldest-daughter-of-zeus-she-blinds-us-all-that-fatal-madness-she/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“Scepticism is as much the result of knowledge, as knowledge is of scepticism. To be content with what we at present know, is, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/scepticism-is-as-much-the-result-of-knowledge-as-knowledge-is-of/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Boy, everyone is stupid except me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/boy-everyone-is-stupid-except-me/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“With that the dream departed, leaving him there, his heart racing with hopes that would not come to pass. He thought he would take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/with-that-the-dream-departed-leaving-him-there-his-heart-racing-with/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Tell me, O Muse, of that ingenious hero who travelled far and wide after he had sacked the famous town of Troy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/tell-me-o-muse-of-that-ingenious-hero-who-travelled-far-and-wide/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Ah, beer, my one weakness. My Achille's heel, if you will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/ah-beer-my-one-weakness-my-achille-s-heel-if-you-will/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [My life is more to me than all the wealth of Ilius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/my-life-is-more-to-me-than-all-the-wealth-of-ilius/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Being popular is the most important thing in the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/being-popular-is-the-most-important-thing-in-the-world/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Urge him with truth to frame his fair replies And sure he will for Wisdom never lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/urge-him-with-truth-to-frame-his-fair-replies-and-sure-he-will-for/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) [Explore all 639 Homer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) ## More Fields quotes > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [Turn over the pages of history and read the damning record of the church's opposition to every advance in every field of science. . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/turn-over-the-pages-of-history-and-read-the-damning-record-of-the/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [It's a great lesson in modesty that you realize you're illiterate in a field that you think you're an expert in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wim-wenders/it-s-a-great-lesson-in-modesty-that-you-realize-you-re-illiterate-in/) [Wim Wenders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wim-wenders/) > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [From the grasses in the field to the stars in the sky, each one is doing just that; and there is such profound peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/from-the-grasses-in-the-field-to-the-stars-in-the-sky-each-one-is/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [I don't think people will ever forget I was an 'Angel,' anymore than they'll forget Sally Field was 'The Flying Nun.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-ladd/i-don-t-think-people-will-ever-forget-i-was-an-angel-anymore-than/) [Cheryl Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-ladd/) > [ I can't imagine that I would be asked that by the president-elect \[Donald Trump\], or then-president \[Barack Obama\]. But it's - I'm very clear.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mattis/i-can-t-imagine-that-i-would-be-asked-that-by-the-president-elect/) [James Mattis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mattis/) > [My dream is to see India as a nation of well-looked-after and respected sportspeople in all fields.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saina-nehwal/my-dream-is-to-see-india-as-a-nation-of-well-looked-after-and/) [Saina Nehwal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saina-nehwal/) > [ By profession a biologist, \[Thomas Henry Huxley\] covered in fact the whole field of the exact sciences, and then bulged through its four fences.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/by-profession-a-biologist-thomas-henry-huxley-covered-in-fact-the/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Karma means changing planes of reality or changing fields of attention. There will be perhaps a resulting physical action stemming from the change of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/karma-means-changing-planes-of-reality-or-changing-fields-of/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I've been screwed by as many women as I have by men, in terms of lawyers. But lawyers don't count. If you take lawyers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-love/i-ve-been-screwed-by-as-many-women-as-i-have-by-men-in-terms-of/) [Courtney Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-love/) > [I am sympathetic to developing countries’ concerns: because of our emissions it’s their crops that will disappear; because of our inaction, it’s their fields…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/i-am-sympathetic-to-developing-countries-concerns-because-of-our/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [No matter what. Wherever your mind wanders, it seems to turn up at the same Field of Dreams. It's the vision you wake up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-c-collins/no-matter-what-wherever-your-mind-wanders-it-seems-to-turn-up-at-the/) [James C. Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-c-collins/) > [I don't think that a company should own a studio and the network, and program for their own network. It hurts the creativity -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-bakula/i-don-t-think-that-a-company-should-own-a-studio-and-the-network-and/) [Scott Bakula](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-bakula/) Browse all 4,699 Fields quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "…but there they lay, sprawled across the field, craved far more by the vultures than by wives.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Homer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/but-there-they-lay-sprawled-across-the-field-craved-far-more-by-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fields" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/but-there-they-lay-sprawled-across-the-field-craved-far-more-by-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a56/homer-357_fields_but-there-they-lay-sprawled-across-the-f_632118.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a56/homer-357_fields_but-there-they-lay-sprawled-across-the-f_632118.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a56/homer-357_fields_but-there-they-lay-sprawled-across-the-f_632118.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“…but there they lay, sprawled across the field, craved far more by the vultures than by wives.” — Homer", "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": "Homer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "…but there they lay, sprawled across...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/but-there-they-lay-sprawled-across-the-field-craved-far-more-by-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/but-there-they-lay-sprawled-across-the-field-craved-far-more-by-the/#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 } } ] } ```