The Powerful Weapons of Ancient Greece: Swords, Spears, Bows & More

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Exploring the armaments of the ancient Greek military

Co-authored by Glenn Carreau

Last Updated: September 29, 2025 References

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Close Combat Weapons

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Ranged Weapons

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Shields & Armor

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War Machines

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The civilization of ancient Greece has captured the fascination of many, and for good reason! There are so many things to learn about ancient Greece, including its vast array of weaponry, from melee and ranged weapons to primitive war machines. You might have a vague idea of what a stereotypical, grizzled Spartan warrior looks like, but what weapons and tools did they really use? Keep reading, and we’ll give you an in-depth introduction to the major weapons, armor, and other equipment used by warriors in ancient Greece.

Common Ancient Greek Weapons

Doru (dory) - A spear with a leaf-shaped blade on one end and a spike on the other.
Sarissa - A long, two-handed spear used to strengthen a phalanx (shield wall).
Xiphos - A straight, double-edged short sword used for very close combat.
Kopis - A curved, heavier sword usually used by hoplites mounted on horseback.
Javelin - A light spear with a bronze tip and wooden shaft that was thrown at enemies.
Toxotai - A short, lightweight bow made with wood and reinforced with sinew.
Scythian bow - A composite bow made from wood, animal horn, tendons, and glue.

Section 1 of 4:

Ancient Greek Close Combat Weapons

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Doru spear The doru—also called the dory—was a type of spear most commonly used by Greek hoplites (heavy infantry soldiers); they were considered a primary weapon for use in battle. Doru weren’t thrown, but used as one-handed weapons, with a shield in the other hand for defense. Doru typically had leaf-shaped blades on one end, attached to a long shaft, and a short spike on the other end.^{[1]
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- The doru was around 2 to 3 m (6 to 9 ft) long, and its spearhead was most often made with bronze or iron.
- The short spike attached to doru was called the sauroter (meaning “lizard killer”). It was likely used to finish off injured enemies already on the ground.
- Mounted cavalry actually didn’t use a doru, but rather a thinner, longer type of thrusting spear called a xyston.
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Sarissa spear The sarissa spear was introduced by Philip II of Macedon to replace the dory, as the sarissa was significantly longer at 5 to 7 meters (16 to 23 ft). Sarissa spears could strengthen a phalanx (military formation with a shield wall) because soldiers could hold them outward, overlapped, toward an oncoming enemy to prevent them from getting close. The sarissa mainly consisted of a long wooden shaft and a metal spear tip.^{[2]
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- Sarissa wielders could also hold a shield, though it had to be small, because unlike the doru, a sarissa required both hands to hold it.
- Alexander the Great’s Macedonian army used a shorter version of sarissae, possibly around 4.5 to 5 m (15 to 16 ft) long.
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Xiphos sword Bladed weapons in ancient Greece took many forms, the most popular of which were the xiphos and kopis swords. The xiphos was a straight, double-edged short sword typically around 45 to 60 cm (18 - 24 in) long. This type of sword was designed specifically for use in very close combat. Hoplites in a tight phalanx would use a xiphos, although the xiphos was normally considered a secondary weapon to the spear.^{[3]
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- During the Greco-Persian wars, Spartan soldiers may even have used xiphos swords as short as 30 cm (12 in) long!
- While popular belief says that xiphos were once made from bronze, this is unverified. Only xiphos made from iron have ever been discovered.
- Earlier, in the Bronze Age, Mycenaeans (the civilization in ancient Greece from around 1600 to 1100 BCE) did forge bronze swords, but those were precursors to the xiphos and kopis.
  - For instance, one Mycenaean sword forged with bronze in its early days (and later iron) was called the Naue II.
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Kopis sword Compared to the xiphos, the kopis (which means “chopper” in Greek) was heavier with a forward-curving blade. Kopis was actually the term for any heavy, curved knife used for cutting meat, but it also referred to the single-edged “cut and thrust” sword used in battle. The one-handed kopis blade usually measured 50 to 70 cm (20 to 27 in) long and was most often used by hoplites mounted on horseback.^{[4]
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- Later examples of the kopis from Macedonia were actually on the shorter side, measuring around 48 cm (19 in) long.

Section 2 of 4:

Ancient Greek Ranged Weapons

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Javelin In ancient Greece, people had to pay for their own panoply (complete suit of armor and weapons), which was expensive. Poorer citizens called psiloi would usually use ranged weapons because they were more affordable, including the bow, sling, and javelin. Javelins were essentially light spears comprised of a wooden shaft and a bronze spearhead, and they were thrown rather than wielded like a heavier traditional spear.^{[5]
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- Javelins were also known as akontia, and javelin wielders were called akontistai/ Ranged weapon-wielders as a whole were known as peltasts.
- Most javelins were around 1.5 m (5 ft) long, and thrown using an amentum (a type of leather strap that, when attached, could help soldiers throw their javelins further).
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Bow Bows were fairly uncommon in ancient Greece compared to other ranged weapons due to their limited range. One type of ancient Greek bow was called toxotai; they were short, light, and very simple in design, made with wood and sometimes reinforced with sinew. The other type was a stronger composite or double bow, crafted from wood, animal horn, animal tendons, and glue.^{[6]
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- Toxotai were normally made from a single piece of wood that curved outward.
- Meanwhile, composite bows could be made from multiple pieces of wood and tended to have a more complex shape, with each half of the bow curving and coming to a point in the middle.
- Composite bows of the time were also called the “Scythian” or “Parthian” bow, as both empires’ soldiers used them.
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Sling Also called the sfendonai, the sling was one of the oldest and simplest of the weapons used by Greek soldiers. It only consisted of a pouch (or small cradle) in the middle of two cords (called retention cords) made from leather, wool, or plant fiber. Soldiers could swing their sfendonai and use them to hurl stones and lead pellets at enemies; while that may not sound like much, slings could effectively hamper enemy formations.
- Of all the ranged weapons, slings were also the most portable—easy for soldiers to carry around.
- Some soldiers didn’t even bother with slings and threw rocks at enemies by hand!

Section 3 of 4:

Ancient Greek Shields & Armor

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Linothorax The linothorax was a type of linen fabric upper body armor in ancient Greece. The details of how linen armor was made are murky; it’s possible the linothorax comprised quilted pieces stitched together, or was made from a tough weave called “twining.” Regardless, the linothorax was the most common armor in ancient Greece—it was light, cheap, and much cooler to wear than metal.^{[7]
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- The term linothorax roughly translates to “wearing a breastplate of linen.”
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Bronze cuirass The main alternative to a linothorax was some form of bronze breastplate or cuirass, which is essentially just a piece of armor covering the torso. Early cuirasses were bell-shaped and, in time, made to mimic the male human physique, with sculpted muscles as part of the design. These were called a “muscle cuirass,” “heroic cuirass,” or “bell cuirass.”^{[8]
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- The bronze cuirass was traditionally made from a hammered bronze plate, sometimes with boiled leather used as well.
- In battle, a cavalry soldier or high-ranking official was more likely to wear a cuirass because it left their arms totally free, not weighed down by any metal or cloth.
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Greaves Greaves were a type of shin armor designed to protect the tibia (shinbone) in battle. If that sounds really specific, it’s because the tibia is extremely close to the skin, making the bone more vulnerable—and if a soldier’s leg took damage, it would leave them struggling to move. Greaves were typically worn by hoplites as well as the mounted cavalry.^{[9]
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Helmets Greek soldiers used an array of helmets, including the Corinthian, and later the Phrygian and Chalcidian helmets. The Corinthian helmet, developed around 600 BCE, looked a lot like your stereotypical idea of a Greek helmet: bronze, covering the entire head with openings for the eyes and a slit for the mouth. The Phrygian and Chalcidian helmets were lighter, and it was easier to see while wearing them.^{[10]
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- The Phrygian helmet looked more like a cap than a traditional helmet, covering the top of the head and coming to a point.
- The Chalcidian helmet was an evolution of the Corinthian, with less metal covering the face (just a dome atop the head, cheek pieces, and a nasal bar).
- Beyond greaves, torso armor, and a helmet, ancient Greeks didn’t actually wear a lot of armor. This gave them greater freedom but left them vulnerable to attack in several areas (including the neck and bladder).
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Shields Ancient Greek soldiers used the aspis (or hoplon), a type of large, rounded shield. The aspis was made from layered bronze, wood, and leather, usually measuring about a meter (3 ft) in diameter. This made aspis shields quite heavy as well, weighing around 7.3 kg (16 lbs), so soldiers couldn’t comfortably hold them for a long time—but they were absolutely vital for fending off enemy spear and sword attacks.^{[11]
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- Peltasts (ranged weapon-wielders) instead used a type of wicker shield called a pelte. Pelte shields weren’t as strong as the aspis, but allowed for more freedom of movement.
- While a pelte shield couldn’t hold off a melee attack from a spear, it could at least deflect a javelin thrown by an enemy peltast.

Section 4 of 4:

Ancient War Machines & Greek Fire

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Catapults We’ve covered the personal weapons and armor that made up a Greek soldier’s panoply, but there was even more in many an army’s arsenal. In fact, the ancient Greeks are recognized for greatly developing siegecraft and warfare techniques. Greek catapults were developed around the 4th century BCE, and operated similarly to a crossbow, with a mechanism that could fire arrows at enemies.^{[12]
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- Greeks then moved on to torsion catapults, which used torsion springs to throw arrows and later stones.
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Biochemical weapons Yes, the ancient Greeks really did have their own primitive version of biochemical warfare. This included the use of poisoned weapons (arrows and spears tipped with snake venom or other toxic substances), the contamination of besieged towns’ water supplies, and even the use of smoke bombs, poison gas, and deadly pathogens to eliminate an enemy.^{[13]
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- Many theories about ancient Greek biochemical warfare were covered in Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs, a book by historian Adrienne Mayor.^{[14]
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Greek fire By the 7th century CE, Byzantine Greeks invented a legendary mixture called “Greek fire,” which was used even in naval battles because it couldn’t be extinguished with water. The recipe for Greek fire was such a well-protected secret that it was actually lost with the fall of the Byzantine Empire, though historians believe it was likely a petroleum-based mixture.^{[15]
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- Greek fire was thrown in pots and even released from tubes that were mounted on the prows of Greek ships, turning the ships into makeshift flamethrowers.
- The fire was notoriously deadly in naval combat, capable of destroying ships and wreaking havoc on fleets; it’s believed that the Byzantine Empire may have survived as long as it did because of weapons like Greek fire.