<P> In English, the dogs of war is a phrase spoken by Mark Antony in Act 3, Scene 1, line 273 of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar: "Cry' Havoc!', and let slip the dogs of war". </P> <P> In the scene, Mark Antony is alone with Julius Caesar's body, shortly after Caesar's assassination . In a soliloquy, he reveals his intention to incite the crowd at Caesar's funeral to rise up against the assassins . Foreseeing violence throughout Italy, Antony even imagines Caesar's spirit joining in the exhortations: "ranging for revenge, with Ate by his side come hot from hell, shall in these confines with a Monarch's voice cry "Havok!" and let slip the dogs of war ." </P> <P> In a literal reading, "dogs" are the familiar animals, trained for warfare; "havoc" is a military order permitting the seizure of spoil after a victory and "let slip" is to release from the leash . Shakespeare's source for Julius Caesar was The Life of Marcus Brutus from Plutarch's Lives, and the concept of the war dog appears in that work, in the section devoted to the Greek warrior Aratus . </P>

Where does the phrase release the hounds come from