The hoplites of ancient Greece, the brave citizen foot soldiers best known for fighting in a phalanx formation and wielding a spear (dory) and a large round shield (aspis or hoplon), are commonly depicted with a secondary weapon attached to their side. One of these secondary battlefield weapons, a relatively short, straight sword with a double-edged blade called a xiphos, was quite popular with Greek armies (including the famous Spartans). Designed for both slashing and thrusting, it was used primarily by infantry as a backup weapon for close combat or when the spear had been broken, lost, or taken away in the fray.
Although surviving examples are extremely rare, historical illustrations can be found in many works of art from ancient Greece, especially ceramic paintings that have withstood the test of time.