Ancient Greek armor and weapons
Kopis:
a one-handed, single-edged sword used by the Greeks. It measured around 36 inches with the blade curving forward and widening near the tip.
Xiphos:
a double-edged blade that rarely measured longer than 20 inches which made it useful in close range combat. It was more martially versatile than the other prominent sword, the single-edged Kopis.
Gastraphetes
: the long-range weapon of ancient Greeks including Alexander the Great. It was not loaded by pulling up the string. Instead, it was loaded by resting the stomach in a concavity at the rear and pressing down with all strength. This gave it more energy than the one arm of the archer.
Dory
: the primary weapon of the ancient Greeks. It was a long spear about 3 meters in length consisting of a wood shaft with an iron tip. It was single handed like Xiphos allowing the user to hold the shield in the other hand. Dory enabled the hoplite to keep an enemy at a distance and was effective in the phalanx (shield-wall) formation, allowing the first two lines to attack.
Sarissa
: a 4 to 7 meters long spear which was used instead of the dory. It was made of tough cornel wood and weighed around 5 kilograms.
Hoplon
: a large and heavy round shield about 1 meter in diameter and weighing around 7 to 10 kilograms. It was such an important part of the arsenal of the Greek foot soldiers that they were referred to as hoplites. Hoplon was vital in the famous Greek phalanx formation which created a massive shield wall to make frontal attacks difficult for the enemy. It was also used to carry the dead and wounded from the battlefield. Losing it was considered a disgrace which is why women told their husbands:
‘come back with your shield or on it’
.
Cavalry armor:
designed to be lightweight; over a sleeveless tunic called a
chitoniskos
, the cavalry soldier would wear a muscle cuirass designed to leave the arms as free as possible. Sometimes adding greaves to protect the lower leg, the torso and head were usually the only body parts protected by armor
*Disclaimer: None of the pictures above are mine, but found in google for educational purposes.*