There is a general principle used in forensic pathology which says that a weapon cannot make a stab wound smaller than the width of its blade. The shape was excellent for cutting flesh. It was almost always made of iron, and as such was strong and held a sharp edge well but was brittle and would snapped if snap if bent too much. The blade was usually 30-35 centimetres long, around 4.5 centimetres wide, and had two sharp edges that curved to maximum width in the middle and tapered back towards the socket. The spearhead of the hoplite-spear varied in size and shape to a small degree, but never differed greatly from the general pattern. This design is closely associated with the hoplite style of warfare and forms one of the three essential elements of the panopla, the 'full-kit' of the hoplite warrior: the hoplite-spear, the great round hoplite-shield, and the hoplite-helmet. The other end of the spear was capped with a heavy bronze butt-spike, usually long and thin. It had a wide leaf-shaped iron spearhead, usually attached to the shaft by a tapered socket at the base of the spearhead. The spear was usually about six feet long, just a little taller than the average Greek of that period. The design of the hoplite-spear was remarkably stable over several centuries, with only minor local or individual variations during that time. The two ends of the hoplite spear are different shapes and made of different materials because they were intended to perform different functions, and these differences can provide us with important clues about what it was like to be on the sharp-end of a hoplite battle.īecause of it's curved blade a leaf-shaped spearhead would cut when pulled out and when pushed in. The answer lies in understanding that a weapon is a tool, designed to do a particular job in a particular way, and that the form of a particular weapon reflects its intended function. We might very well be puzzled, just as young Ralph was, as to why a weapon like the hoplite spear should have two sharp-ends. The hoplite spear, used by the Ancient Greek heavy infantryman, known as a hoplite, from the mid 7th century BC through to the 4th century BC, was the archetypal "stick sharpened at both ends" having a large iron spearhead at one end and a heavy bronze spike at the other. He used all the bad words he could think of in a fit of temper that passed into yawning. Ralph tried to attach a meaning to this but could not. "Roger sharpened a stick at both ends." Roger sharpened a stick at both ends. "What are you going to do-?" From the top of the towering rock came the incomprehensible reply. "But what are you going to do when you catch me?" Silence above.
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