Spear

The spear – or one of it's derived forms – has been, until very recently, the primary armament of warriors in human history, and it should be no surprise that specialized terminology has developed to describe not only components of the weapon, but also of the differing types of spear themselves.  In Old Norse, one of the more popular terms to describe a type of spear used in military engagements - as distinct from personal duelling or revenge actions - is kesja.  The term itself is of uncertain derivation and meaning, but it is certain that it refers to a spear of some kind, and one which was exceedingly popular during the viking age.

There is some difficulty, however, when attempting to identify kesjur among the spear-heads found in areas of Scandinavian activity, which stems from the fact that the current status of classification for spear-heads in Scandinavia is based almost entirely upon the Petersen typology.  Petersen, while thorough from a purely physical point of view, does not provide any link with the textual examples to identify his weapons within the context of the sags.  Falk, in his Altnordische Waffenkunde, provides several plausible exemplars of what may have been kesjur, although Petersen ignored his attempt at lending literary names to artefacts.  Despite that, Falk's analysis – while flawed in several
cases – does lend an important element to the discussion on the weapons of early medieval Scandinavia.

Following in Falk's footsteps, this paper intends to provide an identification of kesjur in the archaeological record via comparisons of blade sizes and geometries with the descriptions of their use in Old Norse literature.

The principal offensive weapons of the greek warrior are sword and spear, named respectively ξίφος and δόρυ. Though at first these two terms designate two different types of weapons, the fact is that, in addition, they are used in the greek tragedy -and, with certain nuances, in  the epic too- in a metaphorical or symbolic way to designate two different types of action, namely, the attack against philoi and the attack against echthroi.

The article outlines results of weapon complex analysis of the PyanyBor culture population from Novo-Sasykul burial ground, dated back to the 1st – 2nd cc. BC. The main weapon of this population was ranged weapon e.g. bone and iron arrowheads. Features of archer’s burials are compared with all funeral complexes of the PyanyBor culture. As a result, some patterns of finding iron arrowheads and its certain types were revealed. Bony sleeve arrowheads were common during at the whole cultural stage from the 2nd c. BC. to the 2ndc. AD, petiolate arrowheads appeared later – in the 1st c. AD. Melee weapons (daggers, spears, swords) are insignificant in the Novo-Sasykul burial ground. All discovered swords and daggers are borrowed from the nomads. The exception is combat knives, which are found in large numbers. They are a kind of ethnocultural marker in the PyanyBor community. Bronze knife cases are considered by the authors as the same marker.

"Contents:
1. Introduction: doriktetos chora and the ‘spear theme’
in Hellenistic court poetry
2. The text of the epigram for Neoptolemus
3. The identity of Neoptolemus
4. Historical background
4.1. Anatolia between Ptolemies and Seleucids in the third century BC
4.2. Galatian raids in Anatolia
4.3. A coalition of Pisidians, Paeonians and Agrianians
with Galatians against Tlos, a Lycian fortress. Possible scenarios
5. The typology of the statue
6. Other epigrams for Ptolemaic generals and soldiers
7. Some concluding remarks

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Expanded version of the paper presented at the Fédération internationale des Associations d'études classiques (FIEC) Kongress Berlin, 24. - 29. August 2009:
http://www.fiec2009.org/proposals/barbantani.pdf
http://www.fiec2009.org/panel1.html

Abstract 2009:
"Doriktetos chora. The symbol of the spear in funerary or honorary epigrams/inscriptions for
Ptolemaic philoi and soldiers."

An interesting epigram, preserved by Stephanus of Byzantium, has been composed to accompany an honorary statue of Neoptolemos, a Ptolemaic general who, on the occasion of “barbarian” invasions, helped the city of Tlos, situated in the interior of Lycia, a region under the control of Egypt under Ptolemy Philadelphos. The poem suggests that Neoptolemos is portrayed as a doryphoros, like the Lysippean Alexander praised by many poetae docti active in Alexandria (see
Posid. 65, 70 A.-B.; Asclepiades A.P. XVI 120; cfr. Antiph. A.P. VI 97). The symbol of the spear, usually associated to Hellenistic kings both in poetry and in the visual arts, represents the martial aspect of the ruler, who, with the protection of the gods, conquers and preserves his domain, the «spear-won land» (dorivkthtoı cwvra). Scholars have generally overlooked the presence of this symbol in documents referring to the king’s generals, philoi and also private soldiers. I shall examine some of these, with special focus on the Ptolemaic kingdom.""

V. Nobs, « Catalogue », in : L. E. Baumer, D. Marino, éds, Ô dieux de Crotone ! Lieux et témoignages du sacré à l’intérieur d’une ville antique de Calabre (catalogue de l’exposition, Genève, Uni Dufour, 1er octobre au 22 décembre 2010 et Paris, Institut national d’histoire de l’Art, Galerie Colbert, salle Longhi, 15 janvier au 1er avril 2011), Paris, 2010, p. 59-69

Euripides’ Heracles includes an agon scene between Lycus and Amphitryon in which great prominence is attached to the value of the bow as opposed to that of the spear. According to some scholars, this debate about the weapons is not appropriate and it even seems to create a break in the dramatic illusion. This paper, however, analyzes the role of bows and spears in the tragedy and it shows how weapons are used to make visible the transformation of the hero in the play.

... Cet article présente le sommaire du catalogue de l'exposition consacrée à la collection de l'Alaska Commercial Company au Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology (Université de Californie, Berkeley) proposant quelques 1 960 spécimens de la culture matérielle Eskimo et ...