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The difference in meaning between kopis and makhaira (μάχαιρα, another Greek word, meaning "chopper" or "short sword", "dagger") is not entirely clear in ancient texts, [5] but modern specialists tend to discriminate between single-edged cutting swords, those with a forward curve being classed as kopides, those without as makhairai. [6]
Modern reconstruction of a Greek xiphos and scabbard. Actaeon holding a xiphos. Painted vase from Metaponto, c. 390–380 BC. The xiphos (Ancient Greek: ξίφος; plural xiphe, Ancient Greek: ξίφη [ksípʰɛː]) [1] is a double-edged, one-handed Iron Age straight shortsword used by the ancient Greeks.
Swordsmanship or sword fighting refers to the skills and techniques used in combat and training with any type of sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing , but by extension it can also be applied to any martial art involving the use of a sword.
Antique swords, fig. 1-3: Xiphos, fig. 4: Makhaira. The Greek word μάχαιρα (mákhaira, plural mákhairai), also transliterated machaira or machaera, is related to μάχη (mákhē) "a battle", μάχεσθαι (mákhesthai) "to fight". It derives from the Proto-Indo-European *magh-.
A Greek hoplite with muscle cuirass, spear, shield, Corinthian helmet and sheathed sword. Ancient Greek weapons and armor were primarily geared towards combat between individuals. Their primary technique was called the phalanx , a formation consisting of massed shield wall, which required heavy frontal armor and medium-ranged weapons such as ...
Civilian weapons include single sword, sword and cape, sword and dagger, and sword and Brocchiero (Buckler). The military weapons are the two-handed sword, spear, shield and spear, sword and targe, and sword and rotella. The civil weapons championship is one of the largest HEMA tournaments in the world. [30]
This fighting was also often referred to as dorarismos, meaning "spear-fighting" because the hoplites would use small swords in the fighting. [31] One example of melee combat is described by Herodotus during a battle at Thermopylae.
Pankration, as practiced in historical antiquity, was an athletic event that combined techniques of both boxing (pygmē / pygmachia – πυγμή / πυγμαχία) and wrestling (palē – πάλη), as well as additional elements, such as the use of strikes with the legs, to create a broad fighting sport similar to today's mixed martial ...