RARE ANCIENT GREEK HOPLITE BRONZE LANCE HEAD

800 – 600 BC, Greek Hoplite Period. Beautiful bronze lance head comprising a substantial leaf-shaped, lentoid-section blade with raised midrib, incised decoration, and a long socket for increased control. Hoplites were the citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greece, where each city state was fiercely independent and could only be sustained through the military power of its male inhabitants. Hoplites primarily fought using the closed phalanx formation to allow best use of their frequently small numbers, and their principal equipment would have included large, circular (‘Argive’) shields and spears like this one. For more information on Greek hoplite warfare, see Donald Kagan and Gregory F. Viggiano (eds., 2013). Men of Bronze: Hoplite Warfare in Ancient Greece, Princeton University Press. Superb condition, with a beautiful patina. Size: L:555mm / W:50mm ; 317g. Provenance: Property of a North London professional; previously acquire on the UK/European art market in the 1970s;