Xiphos

A short, leaf-bladed double-edged sword used across the ancient Greek world, likely carried by the Cilician pirates who, according to Plutarch, dominated the eastern Mediterranean with a thousand ships before their suppression by Pompey in 67-66 BCE. Its compact size suited close combat aboard the light, fast galleys the Cilicians favored. It was a standard secondary weapon behind the spear in Hellenistic-era combat.