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Man, supposing you and I, escaping this battle Would be able to live on forever, ageless, immortal, So neither would I myself go on fighting in the foremost Nor would I urge you into fighting where men win glory. But now, seeing that the spirits of death stand close about us In their thousands, no man an turn aside nor escape them, Let us go on and win glory for ourselves, or yield to others …

…wealthiest men, would more than likely have been the ones who had achieved the greatest glory in battle. While it is quite possible that many wealthy men did not have success in battle, they would not be seen as being as happy or fulfilled as the other. To Homer life was about the here and now, and what happened after was inconsequential, death was something that was supposed to happen on the field of battle.