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The Ancient Greeks often used single-edged blades in warfare, as attested to by art and literature; however, the double-edged, straight, and more martially versatile xiphos is more widely represented. Greek heavy infantry hoplites favored straight swords, but the downward curve of the kopis made it especially suited to mounted warfare.
In modern Greek, μαχαίρι means "knife". Modern scholars distinguish the makhaira from the kopis (an ancient term of similar meaning) based on whether the blade is forward curved (kopis), or not (makhaira). [3]
This is a list of historical pre-modern weapons grouped according to their uses, with rough classes set aside for very similar weapons. Some weapons may fit more than one category (e.g. the spear may be used either as a polearm or as a projectile), and the earliest gunpowder weapons which fit within the period are also included.
Paintings of Ancient Macedonian soldiers, arms, and armaments, from the tomb of Agios Athanasios, Thessaloniki in Greece, 4th century BC. The primary weapon that was used by Greek troops was a two-to-three meter spear with a leaf-shaped blade at one end and a short spike at the other known as the doru. The spearhead was usually made of bronze ...
Unlike the xiphos, which is a thrusting weapon, the kopis was a hacking weapon in the form of a thick, curved single edged iron sword. In Athenian art, Spartan hoplites were often depicted using a kopis instead of the xiphos, as the kopis was seen as a quintessential "villain" weapon in Greek eyes. [47]
Kopis: one-handed single-edged sword – blade 48–60 cm (19–24 in) – with forward-curving blade for slashing; Makhaira: Greek one-handed, single-edged shortsword or knife for cutting (primary) and thrusting; Pugio: Roman dagger
Ancient Macedonians and other Greeks (especially Thessalian cavalry) and a wide range of mercenaries from across the Aegean and the Balkans were employed by Phillip. By 338 BC, more than a half of the army for his planned invasion of the Achaemenid Empire came from outside of Macedon's borders—from all over the Greek world and the nearby ...
However, the extent of profound Hellenistic influence both west and east, Greek trade ports like Emporion (modern Empuries) from the 8th century BCE along the east coast of Iberia, the unequivocal archeological record of the kopis predating the falcata by centuries, as well as the utterly anomalous inward "recurve" configuration across the ...