The xyston ( "

spear A spear is a polearm consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with Fire hardening, fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable materia ...

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon. Today, the javelin is predominantly used for sporting purposes such as the javelin throw. The javelin is nearly always thrown by hand, unlike the sling ...

; pointed or spiked stick, goad), was a type of a long thrusting spear in

ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

. It measured about long and was probably held by the cavalryman with both hands. It had a wooden shaft and a spear-point at both ends. Possible reasons for the secondary spear-tip were that it acted partly as a counterweight and also served as a backup in case the xyston was broken in action. The xyston is usually mentioned in context with the '' hetairoi'' (), the cavalry forces of ancient

Macedon Macedonia ( ; , ), also called Macedon ( ), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal ...

. After Alexander the Great's death, the ''hetairoi'' were named ''xystophoroi'' (, "spear-bearers") because of their use of the xyston

lance The English term lance is derived, via Middle English '' launce'' and Old French '' lance'', from the Latin '' lancea'', a generic term meaning a wikt:lancea#Noun">lancea'', a generic term meaning a spear">wikt:lancea#Noun">lancea'', a generi ...

. In his Greek-written '' Bellum Judaicum'', the

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

historian

Flavius Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a History of the Jews in the Roman Empire, Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing ''The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Judaea ...

uses the term ''xyston'' to describe the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

throwing javelin, the ''

pilum The ''pilum'' (; : ''pila'') was a javelin commonly used by the Roman army in ancient times. It was generally about long overall, consisting of an iron shank about in diameter and long with a pyramidal head, attached to a wooden shaft by eith ...

''. The xyston was wielded either underarm or overarm, presumably as a matter of personal preference. It was also known, especially later, as the kontos; meaning literally "barge-pole"; the name possibly originated as a slang term for the weapon. It is made of cornel wood. The recorded density is 51.5 lbs per cubic foot (825 kg/m³), or 0.03 lb per cubic inch (0.83 g/cm³). 20140216Cornus mas Reilingen2

Cornus mas ''Cornus mas'', commonly known as cornel (also the Cornelian cherry, European cornel or Cornelian cherry dogwood), is a species of shrub or small tree in the dogwood family Cornaceae native to Western Europe, Southern Europe, and Southwestern Asi ...

'', also known as the Cornelian cherry, is common in the wood mountains that surround Macedonia, ranging from areas in the Balkans and into Syria; some specific locations are Mt. Olympus, Phthiotis, Aetolia, Arcadia, Laconis. This cornel wood was used for the spear, because of its elasticity and hardness, making it very durable and a good material for spears, javelins, and bows. The cornel wood was effective compared to other woods, for uses such as these. The wood, despite being used for a spear that was so long, was able to withstand the weight of itself; it was tough enough to not need thickness to balance the weight of its length, while still maintaining its elasticity.

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* * LSJ
ξυστόν
from verbal adjectiv
ξυστός
which is in turn derived from the ver
ξύω
(shave, scrape). {{Ancient Greece topics Ancient weapons Polearms Ancient Greek military terminology Ancient Macedonian military equipment Ancient Greek military equipment

See also

References

Bibliography