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Makhaira ((ギリシア語:μάχαιρα) (''mákhaira'', plural ''mákhairai''), also transliterated ''machaira'' or ''machaera''; a Greek word, related to (''mákhē'') "a battle", (''mákhesthai'') "to fight", from PIE *''magh-'') is a term used by modern scholars to describe a type of ancient bladed weapon, generally a large knife or sword with a single cutting edge. ==Characteristics== Homer mentions the makhaira, but as a domestic knife of no great size.〔Gordon, p. 24〕 In period texts, μάχαιρα has a variety of meanings, and can refer to virtually any knife or sword (taking the meaning of today's Greek μαχαίρι), even a surgeon's scalpel, but in a martial context it frequently refers to a type of one-edged sword; a sword designed primarily to cut rather than thrust.〔For a good summary of the evidence, see F. Quesada Sanz: "''Máchaira'', ''kopís'', falcata" in ''Homenaje a Francisco Torrent'', Madrid, 1994, pp. 75-94.〕 Modern scholars distinguish the makhaira from the kopis (an ancient term of similar meaning) based on whether the blade is forward curved (kopis), or not (makhaira).〔Tarassuk & Blair, s.v. "kopis," ''The Complete Encyclopedia of Arms and Weapons'', 1979.〕 These weapons were of various sizes and shapes, being regional, and not exclusively Greek. Greek art shows the Lacedaemonian and Persian armies employing swords with a single cutting edge, but Persian records show that their primary infantry sword was two edged and straight, similar to the Greek xiphos (cf. acinaces). Greek vase painting begins to show makhairai very infrequently from c. 530 BC, though their depiction is increasingly common on 'red figure' ceramics from c. 5I0 B.C. onwards. The makhaira depicted in artworks was single-edged, having an expanded convex portion to the cutting part of the blade towards its tip. This concentrated weight, and therefore momentum, to this part of the blade allowing a forceful cut. Despite their relatively frequent depictions in art, archaeological remains of this type of sword are rare.〔Gordon, p. 24〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「makhaira」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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