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The Greek "kopis" is i) an especially interesting sword because it seems to have made the transition from bronze to
iron without changing its appearance, and ii) lived on as falcata in Spain and around there for quite a while . Neither of the two statements is trivial.
A bronze kopis could be cast in one piece, an iron kopis had to be forged; not an easy thing to do. Then we have an unclear
relationship in space and time between the Greek kopis and the falcata in Spain. We also might ask why the Romans didn't
go for the kopis? |
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Unfortunately, what one finds with respect to this topic is not much, and what
there is tends to be very confusing. There is, however, a good paper from Janet Lang of the British Museum that gives details
including some metallurgy 1). First lets look at two (allegedly) Greek
Kopis', photographed in the NYC Metropolitan Museum: |
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Greek Kopis' (photographed from different angles) in the Metropolitan. Obviously iron, allegedly from the 4th - 5th century
BC |
Source: General Internet source without reliable reference to the origin of thes pictures
that was obviously taken in a museum. |
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The Metropolitan
offers one picture, evidently the front one of the two shown above: |
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Iron machaira (sword)
Period: Classical Date: 5th4th century B.C. Culture: Greek |
Source: Metropolitan, Internet |
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In June 2016 a kind of kopis came up in an auction: |
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"Greek Iron Kopis Dagger, Ex-J. Piscopo" |
Source: liveauctioneers; Internet, June 2016 |
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The text given is:
Greece, ca. 5th century BCE. This is the iron blade of a Greek dagger, known as a kopis. It has decorative
inscribed lines along one curved edge of its blade and includes a slight guard and extended tang. The word kopis comes from
the Greek "to cut, to strike" and describes a heavy knife with a forward-curving blade. It was used for the ritual
slaughter of animal sacrifices. Size: 9.8" L x 1.2" W (24.9 cm x 3 cm). Provenance: Ex-Estate of John Piscopo.
Mr. Piscopo was one of the largest collectors of ancient weapons in the US with a collection that spanned all cultures,
all ages. Ex-Andrew Bistak. |
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Then we have a well-preserved Kopis / falcata in the "Neues
Museum", Berlin, all but identical in shape to the Metropolitan ones. The Neues Museum counts this sword just under:
"Weapons from Spain; 3rd - 5th century BC": |
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Large picture |
Source: Photographed 2015 in the "Neues Museum", Berlin |
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The National Museum in Budapest, Hungary, has a well-hidden falcata in its collections.
It is kept in the dark and partially behind other stuff. With luck, a picture shows mire than you con see in-situ. It is
described as "iron sword from Penc". |
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Large picture |
Source: Photographed 2015 in the National Museum, Budapest, Hungary |
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Finallly , there is a good kopis / machaira on a gold vessel showing a scene from
the "Seven against Thebae" myth: |
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Figural fries, amphora - rhyton; gold. 2nd half of the 4th century BC; Plovdiv, Museum
of Archaeology. |
Source: "Thracian treasures from Bulgaria"; Maria Reho, Pavluna Ilieva, Bulgarian
Academy of Science (ISBN 954-500-162-3); p. 111 |
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© H. Föll (Iron, Steel and Swords script)