Fig. 101.—Iron Swords, showing the Survival of Mycenaean Types (Nos. 263-4). 1:4.
The ordinary Greek sword of the fifth century B.C. is represented by three examples. The type appears frequently in works of art. On a vase in the Third Vase Room (E 468; Pedestal 6) there is a drawing of the combat of Achilles and Memnon, in which Memnon is armed with this sword. In the sheath by his side is another, so that it is possible to see both hilt and blade at once (fig. 102). The shape is entirely different from that of prehistoric times. The hilt is round and the pommel a small knob, while the guard is a plain crosspiece. The blade, which, being made of iron, is long and thin, swells from the hilt towards the point in the manner characteristic of the cutting sword. All these features are visible in the examples (No. 265; fig. 104a, b). The swelling blade is best seen in the largest specimen, while the iron-handled fragment, which was excavated from a tomb near the Mausoleum at Halikarnassos, shows the original form of the hilt. The small dagger with a bone hilt and the bone end of the scabbard forms part of a group of weapons which were found on the battlefield of Marathon (No. 266; fig. 103). The others are iron spearheads, arrowheads both of bronze and iron, and leaden slingshot, two of which are marked with a thunderbolt and the Greek name Zoilos.
Fig. 102.—Vase-Painting of the Combat between Achilles and Memnon, showing the Classical Greek Weapons.
Fig. 103.—Weapons from the Battlefield of Marathon (No. 266). Ca. 1:3.
Another common type of Greek sword is the heavy knife-like sabre with a hilt in the shape of a bird's head (No. 267; fig. 104c). Its original appearance may be seen on the Athenian bowl already mentioned on page 80 (fig. 105). The classical name was machaira. Xenophon recommends it as a cavalry weapon, because of its heavy down-stroke. This example comes from Spain, where many similar swords have been found, but the origin of the type is Greek or even Oriental. The dagger with a cylindrical bronze hilt of which the pommel is a lynx-head, appears from the style of the decoration to be Graeco-Roman (No. 268). Some models in terracotta from Naukratis give the types of the Hellenistic period (No. 269).
