Many Hellenistic epitaphs for youths fallen in battle point out that the deceased belonged to thecivic élite of hoi apo tou gymnasiou. The importance attached to the poetic and musical paideiain these epigrams is such that the excellence of the deceased in this field is mentioned evenbefore ahead of military valour (traditionally the focus of war epitaphs). The article examinesin detail some case studies, analyzing how in these epitaphs the relationship between militarykleos and intellectual prestige unfolds, and comparing them with some key expressions in thepoems of Callimachus.