Attila and the Sword of Ares

Abstract

This article looks at a famous anecdote in Priskos. According to the historian, Attila possessed a sword sacred to the war-god Ares. The Hunnic ruler is said to have regarded this weapon as a sign of his destiny to conquer the world. However, there is almost nothing in Priskos’ account that makes sense in Hunnic terms. Instead, it reflects contemporary Roman misunderstandings about the Huns and their origins. The tale is a fiction, one almost certainly invented by a Pannonian Roman at Attila’s court.