The ''xiphos'' ( grc, ξίφος ; plural ''xiphe'', grc, ξίφη ) is a double-edged, one-handed Iron Age straight shortsword used by the

ancient Greeks Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...

. It was a secondary battlefield weapon for the Greek armies after the

dory A dory is a small, shallow-draft boat, about long. It is usually a lightweight boat with high sides, a flat bottom and sharp bows. It is easy to build because of its simple lines. For centuries, the dory has been used as a traditional fishin ...

or javelin. The classic blade was generally about long, although the Spartans supposedly preferred to use blades as short as around the era of the

Greco-Persian Wars The Greco-Persian Wars (also often called the Persian Wars) were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire and Greek city-states that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world of th ...

Etymology

Stone's ''Glossary'' has ''xiphos'' being a name used by Homer for a sword. The entry in the book says that the sword had a double-edged blade widest at about two-thirds of its length from the point, and ending in a very long point. The word is attested in

Mycenaean Greek Mycenaean Greek is the most ancient attested form of the Greek language, on the Greek mainland and Crete in Mycenaean Greece (16th to 12th centuries BC), before the hypothesised Dorian invasion, often cited as the '' terminus ad quem'' for th ...

Linear B Linear B was a syllabic script used for writing in Mycenaean Greek, the earliest attested form of Greek. The script predates the Greek alphabet by several centuries. The oldest Mycenaean writing dates to about 1400 BC. It is descended from ...

form as , '. A relation to Arabic '' saifun'' ('a sword') and Egyptian ''sēfet'' has been suggested, although this does not explain the presence of a labiovelar in Mycenaean. One suggestion connects Ossetic ''äxsirf'' "sickle", which would point to a virtual Indo-European ''*k^wsibhro-''.

Construction

Most ''xiphe'' handles followed a two-piece construction (similar to a knife) using either native woods or for more exotic imports like ebony and animal bone. The two slabs were attached to the tang of the sword, secured via two or three pins and then made smooth via filing giving the characteristic oval shape of a ''xiphos'' grip. Hand guards usually followed a "bridge" shape and were either also of organic material or iron or a combination of both, also secured via pins on each point. Some swords found in Italy or Macedonia tended to have an iron extension/reinforcement running along the handle (see picture of modern reconstruction of a ''xiphos'' made by Manning Imperial above). There have been finds of ''xiphe'' with hilts decorated with gold foil. These swords were most likely ceremonial since they are always found in burial sites. Surviving ''xiphe'' are relatively rare, but appear alongside iron weapons in burial sites, indicating both a household status and continued use into the Iron Age.

History

Two xiphe, a kopis and spearheads from Thessaloniki museum

The period between the Classical and Iron Ages is often referred to as a "dark age", but it featured important developments and innovations in metal casting, alloy construction, and procurement as widespread use of metallurgy slowly spread out of Iberia. The xiphos sometimes has a midrib, and is diamond or lenticular in cross-section. It was a rather light weapon, with a weight around . It was generally hung from a baldric under the left arm. The ''xiphos'' was generally used only when the spear was broken, taken by the enemy, or discarded for close combat. Very few ''xiphe'' are known to have survived. The ''xiphos''s leaf-shaped design lent itself to both cutting and thrusting. The origin of the design goes back to the Bronze Age; the blade of the ''xiphos'' looks almost identical to the blade of the Mycenean Naue II sword, which itself transitioned from having a blade of bronze into a blade of iron during the Archaic period. It is likely that the ''xiphos'' is the natural evolution of the iron version of the Naue II but with a more sophisticated handle design. The leaf-shaped short swords were not limited to Greece, as mentioned, but can be found throughout Europe in the late Bronze Age under various names. The early Celtic La Tène short sword, contemporary with the ''xiphos'', had a virtually identical blade design as the ''xiphos''.

Bronze sword myth

Contrary to popular belief, no example of a ''xiphos'' made from

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids suc ...

has ever been found. The several whole or partial ''xiphe'' blades found in places such as Olympia, Macedonia and Southern Italy were all made exclusively from iron. Furthermore ''Xiphos'' swords only began to appear centuries after typical Bronze Age weapons - such as the Naue II - had transitioned from bronze to iron. In reality the Bronze Age sword during the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

was a completely different weapon, and Xiphe were not developed until after the end of the Bronze Age circa 1200 BCE. Researchers think the misidentification of Bronze Age ornaments has created the modern-day myth that the ''xiphe'' were ever cast in bronze.

External links

Casting

Notes and references