[Illustration: FIG. 103.--WEAPONS FROM THE BATTLEFIELD OF MARATHON (NO. 266). Ca. 1:3.] Another common type of Greek sword is the heavy knife-like sabre with a hilt in the shape of a bird's head (No. =267=; fig. 104_c_). Its original appearance may be seen on the Athenian bowl already mentioned on page 80 (fig. 105). The classical name was _machaira_. Xenophon recommends it as a cavalry weapon, because of its heavy down-stroke. This example comes from Spain, where many similar swords have been found, but the origin of the type is Greek or even Oriental. The dagger with a cylindrical bronze hilt of which the pommel is a lynx-head, appears from the style of the decoration to be Graeco-Roman (No. =268=). Some models in terracotta from Naukratis give the types of the Hellenistic period (No. =269=). [Illustration: FIG. 104.--GREEK IRON SWORDS (NOS. 265, 267). 1:5.] [Illustration: FIG. 105.--THE _Machaira_, WITH HILT IN THE SHAPE OF A BIRD.] [Illustration: FIG. 106.--GREEK SPEARHEADS (NOS. 272-3, 275). About 1:4.] =Greek and Roman spears.=--Classical spears are represented by a variety of heads both in bronze and iron. The earliest Greek type is an iron head found with pottery of the tenth or ninth century B.C. in a grave at Assarlik in Asia Minor (No. =271=). Those with three and four blades are a small class, examples of which came to light at Olympia, and suggest as a date the end of the sixth century B.C. (No. =272=; fig. 106_a_). To the same date may belong the decoratively modelled bronze spear from Kameiros, and another of plainer design from the same place (No. =273=; fig. 106_b_, _c_), with two from Olympia, and a large iron one (No. =274=) found with the fine Attic helmet (p. 78) in Macedonia. A curious spearhead, or perhaps a butt, from Olympia is shown among the Greek Inscriptions (p. 9, No. =14=, fig. 8). Spearbutts are not uncommon. Some are plain tapered ferrules (No. =279=; fig. 107), others end in two-pronged forks (Nos. =280=, =281=; fig. 107). The bronze forks are from Egypt, the iron one (fig. 107, bottom centre) was found on the bank of the Tiber with the spearheads mentioned below. The unusually long iron head, which was found in Spain with the iron _machaira_, is probably a later Greek form (No. =275=; fig. 106_d_). This example exhibits in a high degree the superiority of iron to bronze. Other iron spearheads are from Italy; some are from the Tiber (No. =276=). Three specimens, one with remains of the wooden shaft and the lashing of wire, were found near the village of Talamone on the west coast of Italy (No. =277=; fig. 108), where in 225 B.C. the Romans won a decisive victory over the Gauls, who had marched successfully to within a few days of Rome, and were returning home with their plunder. Like the helmets from Kyme and Cannae, and the arms from Marathon, these spears are relics of one of the famous battles of antiquity. The Roman soldiers of later times carried spears of a different kind.