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The termkopis (Ancient Greek:Κόπις) in Ancient Greece could describe a heavy knife with a forward-curving blade, primarily used as a tool for cutting meat, forritual slaughter andanimal sacrifice,[citation needed] or refer to a single edged cutting or "cut and thrust"sword with a similarly shaped blade.
The term derives from theGreek word κοπίς (kopis), pluralkopides[1] from κόπτω –koptō, "to cut, to strike".[2] Alternatively a derivation from theAncient Egyptian termkhopesh for a cutting sword has been postulated.[3]
The kopis sword was a one-handed weapon. Early examples had a blade length of up to 65 cm (25.6 inches), making it almost equal in size to thespatha. Later examples of the kopis fromMacedonia tended to be shorter with a blade length of about 48 cm (18.9 inches). The kopis had a single-edged blade that pitched forward towards the point, the edge being concave on the part of the sword nearest thehilt, but swelling to convexity towards the tip. This shape, often termed "recurved", distributes the weight in such a way that the kopis was capable of delivering a blow with the momentum of an axe, whilst maintaining the long cutting edge of a sword and some facility to execute a thrust. Some scholars have claimed anEtruscan origin for the sword, as such swords have been found as early as the 7th century BC inEtruria.[4]
Thekopis is often compared to the contemporaryIberianfalcata and the more recent, and shorter,Nepalesekukri. The word itself is aGreek feminine singular noun. The difference in meaning between kopis andmakhaira (μάχαιρα, anotherGreek word, meaning "chopper" or "short sword", "dagger") is not entirely clear in ancient texts,[5] but modern specialists tend to discriminate between single-edged cutting swords, those with a forward curve being classed askopides, those without asmakhairai.[6]
The Ancient Greeks often used single-edged blades in warfare, as attested to by art and literature; however, the double-edged, straight, and more martially versatilexiphos is more widely represented. Greek heavy infantryhoplites favored straight swords, but the downward curve of the kopis made it especially suited tomounted warfare. The general and writerXenophon recommended the single edged kopis sword (which he did not distinguish from themakhaira) forcavalry use in his workOn Horsemanship; saying, "I recommend akopis rather than axiphos, because from the height of a horse’s back the cut of amachaira will serve you better than the thrust of axiphos".[7] The precise wording of Xenophon's description suggests the possibility that the kopis was regarded as a specific variant within a more general class, with the term makhaira denoting any single-edged cutting sword.
Greek art showsPersian soldiers wielding the kopis or an axe rather than the straight-bladed Persianakinakes.
It has been suggested that theyatagan, used in the Balkans and Anatolia during the Ottoman Period, was a direct descendant of the kopis.[8]
