"Spartan Weapons?" Topic

When it comes to history I am much more of WWII guy than Ancients, but due to interest in history I've been put in charge of a non-Wargaming project. I am needing some information on Spartan weapons.

Since the movie 300 came out Spartans have been VERY popular, but I know better than to simply trust Hollywood's depiction.

I was hoping those of you with more ancient historical knowledge could direct me to some good reference pictures of historically accurate Spartan weapons.

Specifically I am looking to find out:

What was the correct sword style (hilt, handle, blade, etc…).

What was the correct spear tip/head.

What was the correct shield (which way was "up", and what was the rim like?).

Did they use other weapons that might have been of interest?

The sword varied, but kopis is common, a doru type hoplite spear and an aspis shield.

If you Google the above terms, you will get a lot of expert comment… most of it good.

as for Spartan swords, they are mentioned by Xenophon but never described.Spear tips? if we don't know about swords then spear tips might be in the too hard basket as well .And which way is the right way up when you hold a round shield? As for rim I cannot imagine them being different to other Greeks.The Spatans were social engineers rather than innovators of weaponry. Other weapons? I can t recollect then having anything other than spear, side arm, shield. Hoplite warfare was pretty much the pinnacle of a conservative mind set and Spartans pretty much the pinnacle of that..Unless you of course include the mysterious

troops emplyed by Brasidas at Amphipolis

The Spartan Lakonian or sword was made for very close infighting, the blade was from 12-to-15 inches no more!

The Spartans were kitted out much like other Hoplites, but over time they developed their own styles of helmet and equipment variants.

The trend was for lighter equipment rather than the heavy breastplate/doru/greaves and Corinthian style helmet which protected the face, but made hearing quite hard. So they adopted the Pylos helmet and tended to do away with the armour. There are tales that some Spartans (and others) fought naked, but the extent this happened is debatable.

The weapons were the classic Hoplite with a second spike on the back.

The Kopis was seen as a "bad boy" weapon, the equivalent of Clint Eastwood's .44 Magnum. It could inflict some pretty nasty wounds as it was effective enough to chop through helmets and armour, but in the close melee, they seemed to prefer a short, leaf-bladed sword, heavy enough to chop with if required and very effective in close range stabbing.

The shield was very heavy, concave affair made from layered wood, sometimes backed with an outer layer of bronze, it had one central hole to put your arm through and an outside cord to grip. Some believe the rim would be used to hang the shield onto the shoulder to better distribute the weight. One theory is that the shield was concave because Hoplites tended to squeeze into one another like a rugby scrum and the hollow space prevented you from suffocating.

link

A well equipped Spartan hoplite or officer:

The more austere regular Spartan hoplite of the period of the Peloponnesian wars:

link

During the Persian wars Spartans would look mostly like any other hoplite, with the distinction of their crimson cloaks.

The lambda shield device is later than Thermopylae in origin:
link

(Note no serifs on the Greek lambda symbol).

Spartan (xiphos) swords were commonly described as being shorter than others-- so they could fight at closer range:

The hoplite spear (dory) is commonly shown from seven to nine feet in length and has a bronze butt spike:

The spear can be wielded over hand, or side armed:

@ JJ Artist

Talk about a comprehensive answer!

Many thanks.

Yes, thank you very much!

osprey publishing has a book on Spartans

link