Xiphos

The xiphos ( ; plural xiphe, ) is a double-edged, one-handed Iron Age straight shortsword used by the ancient Greeks. It was a secondary battlefield weapon for the Greek armies after the dory or javelin. The classic blade was generally about long, although the Spartans supposedly preferred to use blades as short as around the era of the Greco-Persian Wars. The xiphos sometimes has a midrib, and is diamond or lenticular in cross-section. It was a rather light weapon, with a weight around 450 to 900 grams or 1-2 lbs. It was generally hung from a baldric under the left arm. The xiphos was generally used only when the spear was broken, taken by the enemy, or discarded for close combat. Very few xiphe are known to have survived.
The xiphos' leaf-shaped design lent itself to both cutting and thrusting. The origin of the design goes back to the Bronze age; the blade of the xiphos looks almost identical to the blade of the Mycenean naue 2 sword, which itself transitioned from having a blade of bronze into a blade made of iron during the Archaic period. It is likely that the xiphos is the natural evolution of the iron version of the naue 2 but with a more sophisticated handle design.
The early Celtic La Tène short sword, contemporary with the xiphos, had a virtually identical blade design as the xiphos.
The leaf-shaped short swords were not limited to Greece, as mentioned, but can be found throughout Europe in the late Bronze Age under various names.
Myths.
Contrary to popular belief, no examples of bronze xiphe have been found; researchers lack a clear answer as to where this myth first originated. They speculate it could be caused by a confusion of bronze weapons as xiphe or ornaments. For information regarding Greek weapons during the Bronze Age refer to the Aegean section in Bronze Age sword.
Several whole or partial xiphe blade samples have been found in places such as Olympia, Macedonia and South Italy. All samples found and classified as Xiphe are all made exclusively out of iron. Xiphos-like swords started to appear centuries after typical bronze age designs such as the Naue II and others transitioned from bronze to iron. This fact serves as further evidence that Xiphe were never made out of bronze.
Etymology.
Stone's "Glossary" has "xiphos" being a name used by Homer for a sword. The entry in the book says that the sword had a double-edged blade widest at about two-thirds of its length from the point, and ending in a very long point. The name "xiphos" apparently means something in the way of "penetrating light" according to researcher and swordsmith Peter Johnsson.
The word is attested in Mycenaean Greek Linear B form as , "". A relation to Arabic "saifun" and Egyptian "sēfet" has been suggested, although this does not explain the presence of a labiovelar in Mycenaean. One suggestion connects Ossetic "äxsirf" "sickle", which would point to a virtual Indo-European "*kwsibhro-".
Construction.
Most xiphe handles followed a two-piece construction (similar to a knife) using either native woods or for more exotic imports like ebony and animal bone. The two slabs were attached to the tang of the sword, secured via two or three pins and then made smooth via filing giving the characteristic oval shape of a xiphos grip. Hand guards usually followed a "bridge" shape and were either also of organic material or iron or a combination of both, also secured via pins on each point. Some swords found in Italy or Macedonia tended to have an iron extension/reinforcement running along the handle (see picture of modern reconstruction of a xiphos made by Manning Imperial above).
There have been finds of xiphe with hilts decorated with gold foil. These swords were most likely ceremonial since they are always found in burial sites.
Surviving xiphe are relatively rare, but appear alongside in burial sites, indicating both a household status, and continued use into the Iron Age.
The period between the Classical and Iron Ages is often referred to as a 'Dark Age', but it featured important developments and innovations in metal casting, alloy construction, and procurement as widespread use of metallurgy slowly spread out of Iberia.