Fighting wars was never just about conflicts. It was about the perception of one-self and our friends and relatives, it was about controlling land and dreaming about ancestors and talking to gods. Heroes were bellowed by the gods and damned by them. They were the central pillar of society around whom legends and myths were intertwined – inhabiting the space between gods and humans; they were mythological creatures as well as real woman and men worshipped after death. Not only performing dangerous feats, killing villains and monsters, they were also guilty of numerous acts of murder, rape and sacrilege.
For numerous burials, due to their special position, outstanding grave goods or complex burial rites, we can assume that they were burials of people that held a special role in ancient societies – they were historical mortals that were elevated to heroes. Prematurely deceased, illustrious warriors or early political leader – their societies intended for them a special afterlife that separated them from an ordinary man.
