Incendiary.

This is coolbert:

We are familiar with dog-o-war. War dogs. Are not familiar with pig-o-war.

War pigs? Pigs used to rout an enemy using elephants in combat?

I must say I am skeptical. Came across this one quite by accident. But worth a blog entry nonetheless.

"War pigs are pigs reported to have been used in ancient warfare as military animals, mostly as a countermeasure against war elephants."

"Historical accounts of incendiary pigs or flaming pigs were recorded by the Greek military writer Polyaenus and by Aelian. Both writers reported that Antigonus II Gonatas' siege of Megara in 266 BC was broken when the Megarians doused some pigs with combustible pitch, crude oil or resin, set them alight, and drove them towards the enemy's massed war elephants. The elephants bolted in terror from the flaming, squealing pigs, often killing great numbers of their own soldiers by trampling them to death. According to an account, Gonatas later made his mahouts keep a swine among elephants to accustom the animals to pigs and this practice was immortalized by a Roman bronze coin dating back to his time, which showed an elephant on one side and a pig on the other."

"mahout: noun - the keeper or driver of an elephant"

We need to understand this fully. War elephants the counter being pigs set-a-fire and running amok the squealing of the swine causing the elephants to panic and become out of control?  

Comments:

* Much to my surprise there are [?] instances of war elephants in action Europe! Hannibal we have heard of but nothing other than that was my perception. I guess I am wrong.

* War elephants running about crazed during a battle you intuitively understand a great danger to friend and foe alike. Mahouts carrying a large mallet and spike. The latter to be driven into the brain of the pachyderm if circumstances warranted. Hard and cruel but necessary.

* The standard of the XX Roman legion having the image of a wild boar. An animal well deserving the reputation as being dangerous if aroused. 

coolbert.