The several whole or partial xiphe blades found in places such as Olympia, Macedonia and Southern Italy were all made exclusively from iron. ( July 2022) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)Ĭontrary to popular belief, no example of a xiphos made from bronze has ever been found. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ![]() Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. The early Celtic La Tène short sword, contemporary with the xiphos, had a virtually identical blade design as the xiphos. 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. 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 origin of the design goes back to the Bronze Age the blade of the xiphos looks almost identical to the blade of the Mycenaean Naue II sword, which itself transitioned from having a blade of bronze into a blade of iron during the Archaic period. The xiphos 's leaf-shaped design lent itself to both cutting and thrusting. Very few xiphe are known to have survived. The xiphos was generally used only when the spear was broken, taken by the enemy, or discarded for close combat. It was generally hung from a baldric under the left arm. It was a rather light weapon, with a weight around 450–900 g (0.99–1.98 lb). The xiphos sometimes has a midrib, and is diamond or lenticular in cross-section. 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. History Iron xiphos, khopis and iron spear heads, Thessaloniki Museum 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. These swords were most likely ceremonial since they are always found in burial sites. There have been finds of xiphe with hilts decorated with gold foil. 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). 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. 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. Most xiphe handles followed a two-piece construction (similar to a knife) using either native woods or, for more exotic imports, ebony and animal bone. One suggestion connects Ossetic äxsirf "sickle", which would point to a virtual Indo-European *k wsibhro. 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. ![]() ![]() The word is attested in Mycenaean Greek Linear B form as □□□□, qi-si-pe-e. 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. Stone's Glossary has xiphos being a name used by Homer for a sword. The classic blade was generally about 45–60 cm (18–24 in) long, although the Spartans supposedly preferred to use blades as short as 30 cm (12 in) around the era of the Greco-Persian Wars.Įtymology Iron xiphos, Thessaloniki museum It was a secondary battlefield weapon for the Greek armies after the dory or javelin. The xiphos ( Ancient Greek: ξίφος plural xiphe, Ancient Greek: ξίφη ) is a double-edged, one-handed Iron Age straight shortsword used by the ancient Greeks. Modern reconstruction of a Greek xiphos and scabbard. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols. This article contains special characters.
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