Sauroter (spear-foot)

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Inventory number

ΕΑΜ Χ 6848

Category

Weaponry

Period

Classical Period

Date

Beginning of 5th cent. BC

Dimensions

Height: 0.3 m

Material

Bronze and lead

Location

First Floor Case 15, Νο 3

Description
Bibliography

Intact sauroter (spear- foot) with tubular socket and pointy end. Its lowest part is adorned with a lead ornament in the form of a flower capsule.

Sauroters were part of the weaponry used by hoplites. They capped the end opposite to the spearhead as a counterweight and could be used to stand the spear up. If the shaft was broken, then the sauroter could be used as a weapon in its own right. The wooden shaft of the spear would fit into the hollow of the sauroter socket, the aulos.

De Ridder, A., Bronzes Trouvés sur l' Acropole d'Athènes, Paris, 1896, σελ. 99, εικ. 63, αρ.κατ. 291
Weber, H., Her aus Gegeben, Olympische Forschungen 1, Berlin, 1944, σελ. 156, εικ. 45c
Jacobsthal, P., Greek pins and their connections with Europe and Asia, Oxford, 1956, σελ. 195, εικ. 627
Baitinger, H., Die Augriffswaffen aus Olympia, Olympische Forschungen 29, Berlin, 2001, σελ. 57 υποσημ. 516