Terminology of Spears

[Patrick Waterson]

The Greeks had a word for almost everything, and they had plenty of designations for weapons of the spear family, both thrown and thrust.

Aikhme brache ('short point') – a hurling or dual-use weapon about 6' in length.  Used by Herodotus to describe the armament of many contingents in Xerxes' army in 480 BC and by Plutarch (possibly meaning the pilum) to describe that of Hannibal's troops at Nola in 215 BC.

Akontion – general Greek word for javelin, usually equating to the type we are familiar with from sporting events.  Used by skirmishing infantry and some cavalry.

Doru – the generic Greek word for 'spear', usually indicating a heavy infantry spear c.9' long, but occasionally used more generally (cf. Appian Gallica 1.4 where he uses it for the pilum).

Doration - a later usage for infantry spears, assumed to be smaller than the classic doru.

Grosphos – a javelin-type missile used by Roman velites, whom Polybius refers to as grosphomachoi, as described thus: "A wooden haft of about two cubits, and about a finger's breadth in thickness; its head is a span long, hammered fine, and sharpened to such an extent that it becomes bent the first time it strikes, and cannot be used by the enemy to hurl back."

Hussos – specifically, the Roman pilum.  Polybius uses it when referring to the combination of light and heavy pila; other authors seem less exact.

Kontos – a long, heavy cavalry lance, assumed to be weightier than the xyston (below).  Possibly also used to designate the legionary pilum in Arrian's Order of Battle Against the Alans, as most Roman infantry were equipped with it.  Has the basic meaning of 'pole'.  Latin contus.

Logkhe/longkhe – a long javelin used for distant shooting by skirmishers and some peltast-type troops; occasionally also a melee weapon.

Palton – a throwing spear used by horsemen, derived from a hunting-spear.  Dimensions unknown, but more than one carried.  Xenophon uses it to designate Persian cavalry weapons. [Note: not to be confused with pelta, a type of light shield used by peltasts.]

Sarissa – the Macedonian pike, perhaps originally made of two shafts of cornel-wood joined by a central sleeve but nowadays generally considered to have had a single-piece shaft, c.21' long and counterweighted.  Used by infantry and some cavalry (sarissaphoroi).

Saunion – a heavy javelin for close-range shooting.  An approximate equivalent of the Roman pilum, and occasionally used to indicate same (parallel accounts of an early Roman battle have Romans preparing by sharpening their 'saunia' in Dionysius and their 'pila' in Livy).

Xyston – a long (13'+) slender lance used by cavalry in preference to the heavier kontos or sarissa.  Also used by Josephus (and apparently by one of Dionysius of Halicarnassus' sources in Book XX) to mean the Roman pilum.  'Xyston' has the basic meaning of 'slender'.


The Romans also had a number of spear words, some of which had, or were, Greek equivalents.

Contus – a heavy lance used by cavalry, especially Parthians and Sassanid (Sasanian) Persians.  Cf. Greek kontos.

Cuspis – a narrow-pointed shafted cavalry weapon, used principally in melee.  Possibly a form of light lance.

Gaesum – a short, heavy all-iron javelin for close-range work.  Carried, along with a hasta, by Livy's leves (light troops) in 340 BC.

Hasta – a medium-length spear that could be hurled but which was usually thrust.  Used by cavalry and infantry.  Also a general term for spear-like weapons, similar to Greek doru.

Ictus - generic word for 'dart' or 'missile'.  Rarely if ever used to designate a specific type of weapon.

Lancea – a lighter spear than the hasta, intended primarily for hurling (cf. Greek logkhe)

Pilum – the characteristic Roman heavy infantry throwing weapon.  This came in two flavours: heavy and light.

Soliferrum – approximate equivalent of the gaesum (qv).

Spiculum - a heavy throwing weapon similar in configuration and role to the pilum.

It should be mentioned that usage among sources, and hence definite identification of spear types in use, is not always consistent or certain.  The above is a guide rather than a definitive outline.

Patrick

[Andreas Johansson]

Lat contis and lanca should be respectively contus and lancea, I believe.

[Patrick Waterson]

So would I, but it is surprising how often one sees the forms I used, and not just as different cases.

[Andreas Johansson]

See them in actual Latin texts, or in secondary contexts?

[Erpingham]

I'm no linguist but in keeping with the theme here are some Viking words for spears which I found when trying to resolve a question in another part of this forum a few days ago.

darraðr - a javelin (cf dart)
fleinn - variously translated as light javelin or pike! - the jury seems out on this one
gaflak - a javelin
geirr - generic spear word, used in compounds e.g atgeir - a cut and thrust weapon, often, though incorrectly, translated as halberd
spjót - generic spear word, used in compounds e.g. Krókaspjót - a barbed spear and Höggspjót - a 'hewing spear' , a cut and thrust weapon again sometimes incorrectly translated as halberd

A statistical analysis on the vocabulary of the Icelandic sagas on the Hurstwic site shows that spjót is by far the most common spear name used.

http://www.hurstwic.org/library/arms_in_sagas/weapon_use_summary.htm

I've not added palstafr, which is translated as heavy throwing spear in The Kings Mirror, but I can't find further examples of its use to get some clarity.

[Patrick Waterson]

See them in actual Latin texts, or in secondary contexts?

Thinking about it, probably mainly secondary contexts.  I have adjusted 'lanca' to 'lancea' and 'contis' to 'contus' as we might as well start new readers on the authorised version.

Thanks, Andreas, for pointing that out.

Patrick

[aligern]

This is a picky point, but we really should put dates on the words and quote context. That's because words change over time and as Patrick points out, by author.  This is quite a complex subject and we risk being in error if we assume that words have unitary meanings. Patrick gets there with the Carthaginian longche , exactly what weapon is this?   What is a a saunion,  what is that other Spanish thing?  When Rhabanus maurus mentions a contusion as a cavalry weapon what does he mean?  Is Rhabanus just copying Vegetius who did have a real meaning in mind?

This subject is a minefield!

Roy

[Duncan Head]

Aikhmes bracheis ('short point') – a hurling or dual-use weapon about 6' in length.  Used by Herodotus to describe the armament of many contingents in Xerxes' army in 480 BC and by Plutarch (possibly meaning the pilum) to describe that of Hannibal's troops at Nola in 215 BC.

aikhme, not -es, in the nominative. Herodotos uses both "short" (VII.61, of the Persians) and "small", aikhme smikre (VII.78, the Moschoi) of Achaemenid aichmai.

A "hurling or dual-use weapon" is dubious, since Persian spears are normally illustrated in the hand: "thrusting or dual-use" might be safer.

Interpretation of Marc. 12 to mean pila is very individual, since whatever the weapon was, using it seems to have put the Carthaginians at a disadvantage. And this passage just uses aikhme, not aikhme brakhe as implied.

[Andreas Johansson]

See them in actual Latin texts, or in secondary contexts?

Thinking about it, probably mainly secondary contexts.  I have adjusted 'lanca' to 'lancea' and 'contis' to 'contus' as we might as well start new readers on the authorised version.

Thanks, Andreas, for pointing that out.

You're welcome. You might also want to change "contis" in the entry for Gk kontos. 

[Duncan Head]

Dora/doru – the generic Greek word for 'spear', usually indicating a heavy infantry spear c.9' long, but occasionally used more generally (cf. Appian Gallica 1.4 where he uses it for the pilum).

Not "dora". The singular is doru or dory, depending which way you prefer to represent upsilon at the end of a word. The plural is dorata.

For an example of more general usage, see Asklepiodotos, who says that the hoplitai use "dorata of the longest kind, which the Macedonians call sarissai". By the 6th century AD, Prokopios is using doru for the Byzantine and Gothic cavalry "lance".

It may also be worth adding to the list doration, pl. doratia, a diminutive - "small spear" - which Prokopios uses at least once for infantry spears.

[Duncan Head]

Grosphos – an indeterminate javelin-type missile used by Roman velites, whom Polybius refers to as grosphomachoi.

I'm not sure why you use "indeterminate" here. Polybios VI.22 gives quite a specific description of the grosphos, which matches up well with Roman finds from Numantia and elsewhere.

[Patrick Waterson]

And here it is:

The spear of the velites [grosphon belos] has a wooden haft of about two cubits, and about a finger's breadth in thickness; its head is a span long, hammered fine, and sharpened to such an extent that it becomes bent the first time it strikes, and cannot be used by the enemy to hurl back; otherwise the weapon would be available for both sides alike.

[Patrick Waterson]

Not "dora". The singular is doru or dory, depending which way you prefer to represent upsilon at the end of a word. The plural is dorata.

Adjusted. 

[Patrick Waterson]

Aikhmes bracheis ('short point') – a hurling or dual-use weapon about 6' in length.  Used by Herodotus to describe the armament of many contingents in Xerxes' army in 480 BC and by Plutarch (possibly meaning the pilum) to describe that of Hannibal's troops at Nola in 215 BC.

aikhme, not -es, in the nominative. Herodotos uses both "short" (VII.61, of the Persians) and "small", aikhme smikre (VII.78, the Moschoi) of Achaemenid aichmai.

A "hurling or dual-use weapon" is dubious, since Persian spears are normally illustrated in the hand: "thrusting or dual-use" might be safer.

Interpretation of Marc. 12 to mean pila is very individual, since whatever the weapon was, using it seems to have put the Carthaginians at a disadvantage. And this passage just uses aikhme, not aikhme brakhe as implied.

I shall stick with 'hurling or dual-use' for now on the basis of the tactics used by the Neo-Babylonians in the Cyropaedia, but am open to evidence on this point.

Plutarch's Life of Marcellus use of aikhme is interestingly parallelled in Josephus (Jewish War book 5 chapter 11 section 5 selon Whiston):

suneplekonto gar Ioudaioi tois prostokhousi kai tais aikhmais aphulaktos empiptontes

[for the Jews fought now hand to hand with all that came in their way, and, without any caution, fell against their enemies' aikhmais]

The Jews are fighting against Romans, and it is amply clear from the following that they are Romans:

the law of the Romans was terrible, that he who left his post there, let the occasion be whatsoever it might be, he was to die for it

Perseus link here: http://tinyurl.com/cu9uh4r  See 483 for the above line and 484 for use of 'aikhmais'.

Bearing in mind Josephus' use of 'xyston' for the pilum and the apparent same use by Dionysius' source for his Book XX, I should not be at all surprised to find Josephus and Plutarch's source in Marcellus 12 using 'aikhme' for 'pilum'.

[Duncan Head]

Plutarch's Life of Marcellus use of aikhme is interestingly parallelled in Josephus (Jewish War book 5 chapter 11 section 5 selon Whiston):

suneplekonto gar Ioudaioi tois prostokhousi kai tais aikhmais aphulaktos empiptontes

[for the Jews fought now hand to hand with all that came in their way, and, without any caution, fell against their enemies' aikhmais]

The Jews are fighting against Romans, and it is amply clear from the following that they are Romans:

the law of the Romans was terrible, that he who left his post there, let the occasion be whatsoever it might be, he was to die for it

Perseus link here: http://tinyurl.com/cu9uh4r  See 483 for the above line and 484 for use of 'aikhmais'.

Bearing in mind Josephus' use of 'xyston' for the pilum and the apparent same use by Dionysius' source for his Book XX, I should not be at all surprised to find Josephus and Plutarch's source in Marcellus 12 using 'aikhme' for 'pilum'.

If Josephus uses xyston to mean pilum, doesn't that suggest that when he uses another word, he might mean something else?

While it is clear that the Jews are fighting Romans, it is not clear that they are fighting pilum-using legionaries rather than hasta-bearing auxiliaries, who are by this point subject to the same stern discipline; nor is it clear that aikhme in this instance means anything more than "spearpoint", as in the translation you quote. As with Plutarch's aikhmai, there is no indication that Josephus' are thrown.

And the "apparent" use of xyston by Dionysios' source is not apparent to me, I'm afraid.