# Xiphos

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{{Short description|Ancient Greek shortsword}}
{{Special characters}}
thumb|right|Modern reconstruction of a Greek xiphos and scabbard.
[[File:Death Actaeon BM VaseF176.jpg|thumb|[Actaeon](/source/Actaeon) holding a xiphos. [Painted vase](/source/Lucanian_vase_painting) from [Metaponto](/source/Metaponto), c. 390–380 BC]]
The '''''xiphos''''' ({{langx|grc|ξίφος}} {{IPA|grc|ksípʰos|}}; plural '''''xiphe''''', {{langx|grc|ξίφη}} {{IPA|grc|ksípʰɛː|}})<ref>{{LSJ|ci/fos|ξίφος|ref}}</ref> is a double-edged, one-handed [Iron Age straight shortsword](/source/Iron_Age_sword) used by the [ancient Greeks](/source/ancient_Greeks). It was a secondary battlefield weapon for the Greek armies after the [dory](/source/dory_(spear)) or [javelin](/source/javelin). The classic [blade](/source/blade) was generally about {{cvt|45–60|cm|in}} long, although the [Spartans](/source/Spartans) supposedly preferred to use blades as short as {{cvt|30|cm|in}} around the era of the [Greco-Persian Wars](/source/Greco-Persian_Wars).

== Etymology ==
left|thumb|Iron ''xiphos'', Thessaloniki museum
[Stone's ''Glossary''](/source/George_Cameron_Stone) 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.<ref>George Cameron Stone, ''A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration, and Use of Arms and Armor''</ref> 

The word is attested in [Mycenaean Greek](/source/Mycenaean_Greek) [Linear B](/source/Linear_B) form as {{lang|gmy|𐀥𐀯𐀟𐀁}}, ''{{lang|gmy-Latn|qi-si-pe-e}}''.{{refn|group=n|''Qi-si-pe-e'' is thought to be the [dual number](/source/Dual_(grammatical_number)) [nominative case](/source/nominative_case) form of *''qi-si-po''; that is, its meaning is "two swords". It is found on the [PY](/source/Pylos) Ta 716 tablet.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.palaeolexicon.com/ShowWord.aspx?Id=16755|title=The Linear B word qi-si-pe-e |publisher=Palaeolexicon. Word study tool of Ancient languages}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://minoan.deaditerranean.com/resources/linear-b-sign-groups/qi/qi-si-pe-e/|title=qi-si-pe-e|work=Minoan Linear A & Mycenaean Linear B|last=Raymoure|first=K. A.|publisher=Deaditerranean|access-date=2014-03-21|archive-date=2016-03-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160319205406/http://minoan.deaditerranean.com/resources/linear-b-sign-groups/qi/qi-si-pe-e/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=PY 716 Ta (2)|website=DĀMOS: Database of Mycenaean at Oslo|url=https://www2.hf.uio.no/damos/Index/item/chosen_item_id/4982|publisher=[University of Oslo](/source/University_of_Oslo)}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first=Alfred|last=Heubeck|title=MYKENISCH *''qi-si-po'' = ξίφος|journal=Minos|volume=6|year=1958|pages=114&ndash;116|language=de}}</ref>
Mycenaean {{lang|gmy|𐀞𐀏𐀙}}, ''pa-ka-na'', could be an attested form of {{lang|grc|φάσγανον}}, ''phasganon'', the famous [Homer](/source/Homer)ic word for sword.<ref>{{LSJ|fa/sganon|φάσγανον|shortref}}.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.palaeolexicon.com/ShowWord.aspx?Id=16840|title=The Linear B word pa-ka-na|publisher=Palaeolexicon. Word study tool of Ancient languages}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://minoan.deaditerranean.com/resources/linear-b-sign-groups/pa/pa-ka-na/|title=pa-ka-na|work=Minoan Linear A & Mycenaean Linear B|last=Raymoure|first=K.A.|publisher=Deaditerranean|access-date=2014-03-21|archive-date=2013-10-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131013061210/http://minoan.deaditerranean.com/resources/linear-b-sign-groups/pa/pa-ka-na/|url-status=dead}}</ref> A sword is usually represented iconographically in [Linear B](/source/Linear_B) by the [ideogram](/source/ideogram) {{lang|gmy|{{script|Linb|𐃉}}}}.}} A relation to Arabic ''[saif](/source/Arab_sword)un'' ('a sword')  and Egyptian ''sēfet'' has been suggested, although this does not explain the presence of a [labiovelar](/source/Labialized_velar_consonant) in Mycenaean.<ref>Frisk, ''Griechisches Etymologisches Woerterbuch''</ref> One suggestion connects Ossetic ''äxsirf'' "sickle",<ref>Čop [KZ](/source/Historische_Sprachforschung) 74, p. 231 f</ref> which would point to a virtual [Indo-European](/source/Indo-European_languages) ''*k<sup>w</sup>sibhro-''.

== Construction ==
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. 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.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bachrach, Bernard S.|title=Warfare in medieval Europe, c.400-c.1453|others=Bachrach, David S., 1971-|year=2017|isbn=978-1-138-88765-7|location=London|oclc=961307661}}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Two xiphe, a kopis and spearheads from Thessaloniki museum.jpg|thumb|Iron ''xiphos'', ''[kopis](/source/kopis)'' and iron spear heads, Thessaloniki Museum |231x231px]]

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.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bachrach, Bernard S.|title=Warfare in medieval Europe, c.400-c.1453|others=Bachrach, David S., 1971-|year=2017|isbn=978-1-138-88765-7|location=London|oclc=961307661}}</ref>

The xiphos sometimes has a midrib, and is diamond or lenticular in cross-section. It was a rather light weapon, with a weight around {{cvt|450–900|g|lbs}}. It was generally hung from a [baldric](/source/baldric) under the left arm.<ref name="myarmoury.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.myarmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=6021 |title = Leaf-Blades? -- myArmoury.com}}</ref> 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 Mycenaean 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.<ref name="Brunning, Sue">{{Cite book|last=Brunning, Sue|title=The sword in early Medieval Northern Europe : experience, identity, representation|isbn=978-1-78744-456-0|location=Woodbridge|oclc=1105200255}}</ref>

The early Celtic [La Tène](/source/La_T%C3%A8ne_culture) short sword, contemporary with the ''xiphos'', had a virtually identical blade design as the ''xiphos''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/H_ML-1669|title=Sword: La Tène II|website=www.britishmuseum.org|accessdate= 18 June 2022}}</ref>

==See also==
*[Gladius](/source/Gladius)
*[Iron Age sword](/source/Iron_Age_sword)
*[Kopis](/source/Kopis)
*[Makhaira](/source/Makhaira)

==Notes and references==
;Notes
{{reflist|group=n}}
;References
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Xiphos}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R62TPFzBQ40 Casting]

{{Swords by region}}

Category:Ancient European swords
Category:Ancient Greek military terminology
Category:Ancient Greek military equipment
Category:Edged and bladed weapons

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Xiphos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiphos) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiphos?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.