ABSTRACT
In battle, fear can grip men so hard that they freeze even as they turn to flee. Singing, shouting, and dancing, however, may ban or dull such fear. Warriors the world over have therefore sung, shouted, and danced to heighten their prowess and drown their fear. IndoEuropeans believed their gods and heroes had taught them this.1 Plato held that soft songs made soft warriors; the late-Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus agreed and urged warriors to shout lustily.2
