The xiphos is a double-edged, one-handed straight shortsword carried by ancient Greek armies during the Iron Age, typically 45 to 60 centimeters long, though Spartan warriors favored blades as short as 30 centimeters. Its leaf-shaped blade suited both cutting and thrusting, and the design descended from the Mycenaean Naue II sword as Greek metallurgy shifted from bronze to iron during the Archaic period. Greek hoplites carried the xiphos as a secondary weapon, drawing it only after their primary spear, the dory or a javelin, was lost, broken or thrown, a role that made it a battlefield backup rather than a soldier's weapon of first choice.
Facts
Disputed
Introduced YearThe xiphos design evolved from the Bronze Age Naue II sword, transitioning to an iron blade at the start of the Greek Iron Age, conventionally circa 1100 BC; no single origin year is recorded. Weapon Class
Weapon Class (category)Sword / Polearm / Bladed 1 Weapon ClassDouble-edged Iron Age shortsword 1 Connections
Associated With
The xiphos, a short double edged sword, was the sidearm carried by the Spartan Army's hoplites
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Xiphos
WikipediaLead paragraph, first sentence
is a double-edged, one-handed Iron Age straight shortsword used by the ancient Greeks.
Design/origin section
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.
- Introduced circa -1100 per the entity's own sourced description text; no pre-1900 weapon system remains in current active military service.
View the Source Wikidata: Xiphos
Wikidata Q1500165, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.