07-16-2008, 01:58 AM
'sarissa' is a non-greek word, quite possibly of Thracian origin, and originally meant simply 'long spear'.
It came to be used of the two-handed pikes which the Macedonian Phalanx carried in pitched battles ( they almost certainly used the handier dual-purpose longche short spear in other situations) Some Macedonian light cavalry were nick-named sarissaphoroi(long spear carriers)....but this does not necessarily mean they carried or used the infantry two-handed pike, but rather, "long spears".....no Depictions of Macedonian cavalry show them with anything longer than the 12 ft(3.6 m) xyston, used single-handedly. Even the later two-handed heavier Lance nicknamed 'kontos'(bargepole) was only 12 ft(3.6 m) long..........
The Triballi weapon in question, then, is likely to have been a long lance ( up to 12 ft) used single-handedly......
It came to be used of the two-handed pikes which the Macedonian Phalanx carried in pitched battles ( they almost certainly used the handier dual-purpose longche short spear in other situations) Some Macedonian light cavalry were nick-named sarissaphoroi(long spear carriers)....but this does not necessarily mean they carried or used the infantry two-handed pike, but rather, "long spears".....no Depictions of Macedonian cavalry show them with anything longer than the 12 ft(3.6 m) xyston, used single-handedly. Even the later two-handed heavier Lance nicknamed 'kontos'(bargepole) was only 12 ft(3.6 m) long..........
The Triballi weapon in question, then, is likely to have been a long lance ( up to 12 ft) used single-handedly......
"dulce et decorum est pro patria mori " - Horace
(It is a sweet and proper thing to die for ones country)
"No son-of-a-bitch ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country" - George C Scott as General George S. Patton
Paul McDonnell-Staff
(It is a sweet and proper thing to die for ones country)
"No son-of-a-bitch ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country" - George C Scott as General George S. Patton
Paul McDonnell-Staff
