Recreating a Greek Cavalryman

[John Conyard]

"I would be very tempted to identify the cavalry spear on the Melos amphora as a Kamax , for it appears to have all ther right characteristics - sauroter, small head, tapered shaft, rearward balance - point......"

........ but it's not long enough. It looks like a 2m long spear with a heavily weighted butt end, almost in the form of a mace. It is certainly for fighting, not throwing.

"The Issus mosaic is one depiction I know, the other which springs to mind is the "kinch's tomb' depiction/painting.....in both, the large spear butt is shown with a parallel sided shaft....."

.........but it's not long enough. And it almost, kind of, just about, looks tapered. Compared to the rider it's around 2m long, compared to the horse, maybe 3m.
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In the same way the Alexander/Porus coin seems to show a long spear.
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Arrian certainly equates the xyston with the kontos. And there is a Bactrian silver dish which may be promising, but I haven't got a picture of it........ (I think). The dish doesn't show a butt spike.

In the logical world of Roman reconstruction writers were sensible enough to write the lengths of weapons down. I have this image of Vegetius pausing in his writing to rush outside to a group of soldiers. "Quick give me a spiculum and verutum" he says. All the smartest soldiers with the best weapons go into their huddle and talk about their officers. The worst soldiers look confused. Vegetius grabs the nearest most approachable tiro. He borrows some weapons, pops back indoors, measures them quickly and inaccurately, and passes them back. The verutum head had come off several times. It had been remounted several times on the same shaft, which had in effect shrunk several times. The spiculum was mounted on some softwood. The soldier had made it a little longer to compensate. It was longer than others in the unit. They are immortalised for eternity. We copy them today........