The makhaira is a type of

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

bladed weapon, generally a large

knife A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidence ...

or sword with a single cutting edge.

Terminology

The Greek word μάχαιρα (''mákhaira'', plural ''mákhairai''), also transliterated ''machaira'' or ''machaera,'' is related to (''mákhē'') "a battle", (''mákhesthai'') "to fight". It derives from the

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo- ...

*''magh-.''

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

mentions the makhaira, but as a domestic knife of no great size. In period texts, μάχαιρα has a variety of meanings, and can refer to virtually any knife or sword, even a surgeon's

scalpel A scalpel, lancet, or bistoury is a small and extremely sharp bladed instrument used for surgery, anatomical dissection, podiatry and various arts and crafts (either called a hobby knife or an X-acto knife.). Scalpels may be single-use dispos ...

, but in a martial context it frequently refers to a type of one-edged sword; a sword designed primarily to cut rather than thrust. The Koine of the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

uses the word ''makhaira'' to refer to a sword generically, not making any particular distinction between native blades and the

gladius ''Gladius'' () is a Latin word meaning "sword" (of any type), but in its narrow sense it refers to the sword of ancient Roman foot soldiers. Early ancient Roman swords were similar to those of the Greeks, called '' xiphe'' (plural; singular ''xi ...

of the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

. This ambiguity appears to have contributed to the apocryphal ''malchus'', a supposedly short curved sword used by

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

to cut off the ear of a slave named

Malchus Malchus (; grc-x-koine, Μάλχος, translit=Málkhos, ) was the servant of the Jewish High Priest Caiaphas who participated in the arrest of Jesus as written in the four gospels. According to the Bible, one of the disciples, Simon Peter, b ...

during the arrest of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

. While such a weapon clearly is a ''makhaira'' by ancient definition, the imprecise nature of the word as used in the New Testament cannot provide any conclusive answer. ''Makhaira'' entered

classical Latin Classical Latin is the form of Literary Latin recognized as a literary standard by writers of the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. It was used from 75 BC to the 3rd century AD, when it developed into Late Latin. In some later period ...

as ''machaera'', "a sword". The

dimachaerus The dimachaeri (singular: dimachaerus) were a type of Roman gladiator that fought with two swords. The name is the Latin-language borrowing of the Greek word meaning "bearing two knives" ( di- ''dual'' + machairi ''knife''). The dimachaeri we ...

was a type of Roman gladiator that fought with two swords. In

modern Greek Modern Greek (, , or , ''Kiní Neoellinikí Glóssa''), generally referred to by speakers simply as Greek (, ), refers collectively to the dialects of the Greek language spoken in the modern era, including the official standardized form of the ...

, means "knife". Modern scholars distinguish the makhaira from the

kopis The term kopis ( grc, Κόπις) in Ancient Greece could describe a heavy knife with a forward-curving blade, primarily used as a tool for cutting meat, for ritual slaughter and animal sacrifice, or refer to a single edged cutting or "cut and ...

(an ancient term of similar meaning) based on whether the blade is forward curved (kopis), or not (makhaira).

Characteristics

Makhaira were of various sizes and shapes, being regional, and not exclusively Greek.

Greek art Greek art began in the Cycladic and Minoan civilization, and gave birth to Western classical art in the subsequent Geometric, Archaic and Classical periods (with further developments during the Hellenistic Period). It absorbed influences of E ...

shows the

Lacedaemonian Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

and

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

n armies employing swords with a single cutting edge, but Persian records show that their primary

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

sword was two edged and straight, similar to the Greek

xiphos The ''xiphos'' ( grc, ξίφος ; plural ''xiphe'', grc, ξίφη ) is a double-edged, one-handed Iron Age straight shortsword used by the ancient Greeks. It was a secondary battlefield weapon for the Greek armies after the dory or javelin. ...

(cf.

acinaces The acinaces, also spelled akinakes ( Greek ) or akinaka (unattested Old Persian ''*akīnakah'', Sogdian ''kynʼk'') is a type of dagger or xiphos (short sword) used mainly in the first millennium BCE in the eastern Mediterranean Basin, especia ...

). Greek vase painting begins to show makhairai very infrequently from , though their depiction is increasingly common on 'red figure' ceramics from onwards. The makhaira depicted in artworks was single-edged, having an expanded convex portion to the cutting part of the blade towards its tip. This concentrated weight, therefore momentum, to this part of the blade; facilitating particularly forceful cuts. The shape of the blade allowed the makhaira the potential to cut through bone. Despite their relatively frequent depictions in art, archaeological remains of this type of sword are rare.

Use

While

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; grc, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Greek mercenary armies o ...

states that the xiphos was the conventional sword used by the Greek soldier of his time, he recommended the makhaira for cavalry. "I recommend a ''kopis'' rather than a ''xiphos'', because from the height of a horse's back the cut of a ''machaira'' will serve you better than the thrust of a ''xiphos.''" (Xenophon, 12:11). Archeological evidence suggests that the makhaira was more predominant in areas that were not so focused on using the

phalanx The phalanx ( grc, φάλαγξ; plural phalanxes or phalanges, , ) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar pole weapons. The term is particularly ...

, and instead focused more on cavalry. His reasoning concurs with the general practice of arming cavalry with cutting swords through the ages. Greek art along with Xenophon's further commentary suggests that the sword he intended for the cavalry was wider than the more modern

sabre A sabre ( French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...

; more akin to the

falchion A falchion (; Old French: ''fauchon''; Latin: ''falx'', "sickle") is a one-handed, single-edged sword of European origin. Falchions are found in different forms from around the 13th century up to and including the 16th century. In some version ...

or even

machete Older machete from Latin America Gerber machete/saw combo Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas, Oaxaca">San_Agustín_de_las_Juntas.html" ;"title="Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas">Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San ...

Animals

There are examples of animals that have ''makhaira'' or ''machaira'' in their names. * ''

Machairoceratops ''Machairoceratops'' (meaning "bent sword horned face"), previously known as the "Wahweap centrosaurine B", is an extinct genus of centrosaurine ceratopsian dinosaur known from the Late Cretaceous Wahweap Formation (late Campanian stage) of Gr ...

'' * '' Machairasaurus'' * Machairodontinae *

Makhaira The makhaira is a type of Ancient Greek bladed weapon, generally a large knife or sword with a single cutting edge. Terminology The Greek word μάχαιρα (''mákhaira'', plural ''mákhairai''), also transliterated ''machaira'' or ''mac ...

* ''

Makaira ''Makaira'' (Latin via Greek language, Greek: ''μαχαίρα'' "sword") is a genus of marlin in the family Istiophoridae. It includes the Atlantic blue marlin, Atlantic blue, and Indo-Pacific blue marlin, Indo-Pacific blue marlins. In the past ...

References

Bibliography

*Gordon, D.H. (1958) ''Scimitars, Sabres and Falchions.''in Man, Vol 58, Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. *Liddell & Scott. ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', 9th edition, 1996. *

, ''On Horsemanship''. * F. Quesada, Machaira, kopis, falcata= https://web.archive.org/web/20090219135233/http://www.ffil.uam.es/equus/warmas/online/machairakopisfalcata.pdf {{Swords by region Ancient European swords Single-edged swords Ancient Greek military terminology Ancient Greek military equipment New Testament Greek words and phrases

Terminology

Characteristics

Use

See also

Animals

References

Bibliography