Labrys

The labrys is a double-bitted, two-bladed axe that originated in the Minoan civilization of Bronze Age Crete, where it served as a sacred symbol accompanying female goddesses in religious ritual rather than a common battlefield weapon. Ancient Greeks associated the labrys with Zeus Labrandos in Caria, and the double axe also appeared on coins of the Thracian Odrysian kingdom as a symbol of royal and religious power. Despite its later association with combat in modern fantasy fiction, historians note that double axes were not commonly used in actual fighting.