There were many wars in the History of Ancient Greece. The weapons of Ancient Greece that the Greeks used in fighting these wars were varied, powerful, and sophisticated. Some of the weapons that the Ancient Greeks used were the spear, sword, armor, shield, phalanx, ballista, and warship.
Spear and Sword
The spear, also known as the dory, was a very important weapon for an Ancient Greek warrior or hoplite. Spears were 6 to 8 feet long and were made out of a sharp iron head, a wooden shaft, and a bronze butt at the other end which was used in case the iron head broke. Hoplites also carried and used swords in battle. Most swords were double edged and they were effective at slashing and stabbing. Considered a secondary weapon, swords were only used after the spear was thrown or after the spear broke.
Armor and Shield
The Armor of an Ancient Greek soldier protected the soldier from the spears, arrows, and other weapons of the enemy and weighed about 60 to 65 pounds. The shield was used to smash the spears of the enemy and to protect Greek soldiers from the attacks of the enemy. Ancient Greek soldiers also wore helmets to protect their heads during battle.
A military formation that was developed by the Ancient Greeks and used heavily by Alexander the Great. The phalanx consisted of a tight formation of soldiers armed with spears and carrying concave shields. The phalanx protected soldiers from the arrows and attacks of the enemy. The spears of the soldiers in the front rows of the phalanx were projected forwards to attack the enemy while the spears of the soldiers in the rear ranks were projected upwards to defend the phalanx from arrows and projectiles.
The Ballista was an ancient type of crossbow and was one of the most powerful weapons of Ancient Greece. The Ballista could fire many long range arrows at the same time and it was a weapon that was useful in attacking forts during sieges.
Warships were important to Ancient Greek warfare because of the geography of Greece. Greece is surrounded by water. The earliest Ancient Greek warships were called pentekontors. They were long, narrow ships designed to go fast to overtake other ships and attack them. Pentekontors had twenty five oarsmen on each side to row the ship. Faster warships, triremes, were developed Around 500 BC that had seventy five oarsmen on each side and could go as fast as 14 knots in good weather.
Ancient Greeks were very good at warfare. They fought many wars both amongst themselves and against other countries. Some important weapons of Ancient Greece were the spear, sword, phalanx, ballista, and warship. The weapons that the Ancient Greeks used in battle were very sophisticated and greatly influenced the weapons technology of later years.
- Weapons Universe: Ancient Greek Weapons, http://www.weapons-universe.com/Swords/Ancient_Greek_Weapons.shtml
- Hellenica: Ancient Greek Military Technology, http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/WarTech.htm
- Ancient Greek Bronze Helmet by Claire H. under CC BY 2.0
- Kidipede: Greek Warships, http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/science/sailing/warships.htm
- Greek Phalanx by under CC BY 2.0
- NaveGreca by Poecus under CC BY 2.0
- Facts Monk: Ancient Greek Weapons, http://www.factsmonk.com/ancient_greek_weapons
- Mycenaean Swords 2 by Janmad under CC BY 2.0