The sheaths are of peculiar shape, being made of a thin plate of bronze with an ornament at the end in the form of a large round knob or several discs on a peg (No. 213; b fig. e, f). They are decorated with the same linear designs as the blades. A later variety of Italian sword, known from the horned extremities of the pommel as the Antennae type, is represented by one specimen (No. 214; fig. d). The horns were generally more elongated than these, and were often developed into large rings or spiral coils. The type is of frequent occurrence throughout Europe, even in the north. Italian spearheads do not suggest so much connection with Mycenaean types. Some of them are narrow, but most have broad and strongly-curving blades which spring sharply from the sockets (No. 215; fig. 83). A spearhead from Sicily is remarkable for its great size. The rest of the arms belong to the historical period. The usual weapons of the Greeks were the spear and sword. The bow was a special arm, which did not form part of the equipment of the ordinary soldier, and its use, like that of the sling, was practised by men of certain districts, who served as mercenaries to other states. The axe was a barbarous weapon, and is generally represented in the hands of Amazons, who brought their mode of warfare from the wilds of Scythia (see fig. 91). The Greek swords in this collection date from the tenth century B.C., when iron was fast taking the place of bronze; but forms. common in the Bronze Age were still reproduced in iron, just as those peculiar to stone implements were for some time preserved in bronze. This conservative tendency is noticeable in three iron swords, of which two are from sites in FIG. 84.-IRON SWORDS, Cyprus (Nos. 216-7; fig. 846). form of the bronze sword from They reproduce the general (No. 205; fig. 80b). A short iron dagger is similar to the common Mycenaean type (No. 218; fig. 84a). 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 The Vase Room (E 468; Pedestal 6) forms part of a group of FIG. 85.-VASE-PAINTING OF THE COMBAT BETWEEN ACHILLES AND MEMNON, SHOWING are bronze arrowheads, some of large size with tangs and some with sockets like miniature spearheads, and a leaden slingshot which is stamped with a thunderbolt and the Greek name Zoilos. Another common type of Greek sword is the heavy knife-like weapon with two cutting edges and a hilt in the shape of a bird's head (No. 221; fig. 87c). Its original appearance may be seen on the Athenian bowl already mentioned on page 80 (fig. 88). The classical name was machaira. Xenophon1 recommends it as a cavalry weapon, because of its suitability for dealing heavy blows from above. This example comes from Spain, where many similar swords have been found, but the origin of the type is probably Greek or even Oriental. The dagger with a cylindrical bronze hilt of which the pommel is a lynx-head, appears from the style and the delicacy of the decoration to be of Graeco-Roman date (No. 222). Some models in terracotta from Naukratis give the types of the Hellenistic period (No. 223). FIG. 86.-WEAPONS FROM THE BATTLEFIELD OF MARATHON Classical spears are represented by a variety of heads both in bronze and iron. Those with three and four blades are a small class, examples of which came to light at Olympia, and suggest as a date the end of the sixth century B.C. (No. 224; fig. 89a). To the same date may belong the decoratively modelled spear from Kameiros, and another of plainer design from the same place (No. 225; fig. 89b, c), with two from Olympia (No. 226). A later Greek form probably appears in the unusually long iron head, which was found in Spain with the iron machaira (No. 227; fig. 89d). This example exhibits in a high degree the superiority of iron to bronze. Other iron spearheads are from Italy. Three specimens, one with remains of the wooden shaft and the lashing of wire, were found near the village of Talamone on the west coast of Italy (No. 228; fig. 90). The ancient name of the place was Telamon, where in 225 B.c. the Romans won a decisive victory over the Gauls, who had marched successfully to within a few days of Rome, and were returning home with their plunder. Like the helmets from Kyme and from Licenza may have belonged to the smaller spears (No. 229). The collection of swords ends in those which belong to the Roman period. A fragment of a sword with a heavy iron blade seems too big for the natives of Italy, and may have been used by a Gaulish invader (No. 230). The large sword with a flat guard and an ivory and bronze handle is perhaps of the type of the Roman gladius (No. 231), which was afterwards superseded in the army by a sword of Spanish pattern. The later Roman sword is excellently represented by the so-called 'Sword of Tiberius," which was found in a field at Mainz on the Rhine (No. 232; fig. 91). The short iron blade is of the usual type, measuring twenty-one inches in length and two and a half in width at the base, from whence it tapers to a sharp point. The scabbard was made of wood covered with a plate of silver-gilt, which is decorated with reliefs in gilt bronze. The plates of the bands which were b d FIG. 89.-GREEK SPEARHEADS (Nos. 224-5, 227). About 1:4. FIG. 90.-IRON SPEARHEADS FROM hooked to the sword-belt are ornamented with wreaths of oak, a Roman civic emblem. At the hilt is a group which represents the Emperor Tiberius receiving his nephew Germanicus |