SWORD |
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The ordinary sword of the Greeks (xiphos, figs. 2 and 5), had a straight two-edged blade 16 to 18 inches long, and 2 to 2 1/2 inches broad; the handle, which was often made in one piece with the blade, was 4 to 6 inches long, and without a bend, but with a cross or shell-shaped guard. The scabbard was of metal or leather mounted with metal, and frequently covered the hilt as well as the blade (see fig. 1). It hung by a belt thrown over the shoulder, usually on the left side, on a level with the hip. At the beginning of the 4th century B.C., a sword of nearly double this length was introduced by Iphicrates for the light infantry called peltasts. A sword slightly curved on one side from the hilt upwards, and only sharpened on this side, was the machaira (figs. 3 and 4). This was the shape of the Spartan sword (xyele), which was peculiarly short. For the Roman sword, see GLADIUS. |
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Pictures and Media
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Scabbard (Gerhard, Auserles. Vasenbilder, Taf. coi). |
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Sword (do.) |
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Sword (Millingen, Peintures des Vases, pl. v). |
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Machaira in sheath (ib. pl. lvii). |
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Sword (Monumenti dell' Inst., 1856, tav. x). |
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