Dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

8588 IIASTA. tlASTA.
iwere particularly colebrated as pikemen. (Homn. xi. 1. 3.) This weapon was used by the: recian
II. ii. 543.) 3. It was commonly thrown by the horsemen (Polyb. vi. 23); and by means of' an
hand. The Homeric liero generally went to the appendage to it, which is supposed by Stuart (Ant.
field -vith two spears. (Hom. 11. iii. 18, x. 76, of' Athlens, vol. iii. p. 47; woodcut, fig. 2) to be exxii. 298; Pind. Pyth. iv. 139.) On approaching hibited on the shafts of three spears in an ancimnt
the enemy he first threw either one spear or both, bas-relief, they mounted their horses with greater
and then on coming to close cquarters drew his facility. (Xen -de Re Re qlest. vii. xii.)'sWord. (Hom. 1. iii. 340, xvii. 530, -xx. 27-3 1PilsaRi (U'cOs), the javelin, much thicker and'284.) The spear frequently had a leathern thong stronger than the Grecian lance (Flor. ii. 7), as
tied to the middle of the shaft, which was called may be seen on comparing the woodcnts at pp. 135
*ay/cvdXe by the Greeks, and acmenztzsn by the and 136. Its shaft, often maLde of corlel (Vir.
1oriomns, and which was of assistance in throwing Aen. ix. 698; Ovid, Alet. viii. 408), was four and
the spear. (Pollhx, i. 136; Schol. ad Em2ip. Orest. a half feet (three cubits) long, and the barbed iron
-1477; Xen. Ancti. iv. 2. ~ 28; Virg. Aen. ix. 665; heIld cwas of the same lenoth, but this extended'Ov. AMet. xii. 321; Cic. de Orat. i. 57.) The an- half way down the shaft, to which it waxs attached
ncsed figure, taken from Sir WV. Hamilton's Etrus- with extreme care, so that the whole lelngth of
call Vases (iii. pl. 33), represents the amentum th~ weapon was about six feet nine inches. Each,attached to the spear at the centre of gravity, a soldier carried two. (Polyb. vi. 23.) [ExERCITsUS,
little above the middle. p. 497, a.] It was used either to thiow or to
thrust with; it was peculiar to the Ronmans, andl
gave the nllame of pillcni to the division ot' the arniy
by which it was ad,pted. When,ai]lritis foig'hr.t
cgainst tie Cimbri, he ordered that of the two nails
or piis (7repoveat) by wvhich the head wa's filstened
to the ctaff, one should be of iron and the otlher -of
wrood.' The consecquence was, thlat, wlen the piltln
struck the shields of. the enein, the woodenl nllil
broke, and as the iron head was thus bent, the spear,'owving to the twist in the metal part, still held to tlle'shield and so dragged along the ground. (PlLt.
7A /-( l 7\r7 Mosa'c. 25.)
W 1thilst the heavy.-armed Roman'soldiers borJ- > ^// \^>tthe long lance and the thick and ponderous javelin,
the light-armedl used smaller missiles, wlich,'} i ~(6//7/il;Jthough of different kinds, were included under the
greneral term hastae velitares (Liv. xxxviii.: 20;
Plin. H. N. xxviii. 6). From yporopos; the co,respondino Greek term (Polyb. i. 40; Strabo, iv.
4. ~ 3), the'velites, or light armed, are callled by
Polybius?ypocodXaXoli (vi. 19, 20). Accordinl to
his description the' ypooos- was a darlt, wtith a
shaft about three-feet-long and an inch in:thickness: the iron head -'asa span long, and so tlin
uand acieminated as to be bent by striking a.lrlilist
any:thing, and' thus rendered unfit to be selrt blac-k
aainst the enemy. Fig. 3, in the preceding wovoccut shows one which was found, with necarly four
hundrecli others, -in a' Roman entrenchlmeilt at
5W'e are not informed howv the anmenturn added lMeon Hill, in Gloucestershire. (Skielton's EL/gciuvced
to the effect of throwing the lance; perhaps it was Illustraltionss, vol. i. pl. 45.)
by giving it rotation, and hence a greater degree of The light infantry of the Roman army'used a
steadiness and directness in its flight, as in the similar weapon, called a spit (veris, 7-elstol, Liv.
case of a ball, shot from a rifle gun. This supposi- xxi. 55; eavvisov, Died. Sic. xiv. 27; Festus, s:'.
tion both suits the expressions relative to the in- ScalnZites). It was adopted by them fioin lthe
sertion of the fingers, and accounts for the frequent Sarmnites (Virg. Aen. vii. 665), and -the Vrolsci
use of the verb torquere, to wrhirl, or txwist, in con- (Geeog. ii.'168). Its' shaft was 3- feet long, its
nection with this subject. We also find mention point five inches. (Veget. ii. 15.) Fig. 4, in' thl
in the Latin grammarians of Hastae'ansctace, and preceding woodcut, Iepresents the head of a dart
Elnius speaks of Ansstis concusazlnt -u2ldiq/e telis in the Reo-al Collection at Naples; it may be tacken
(Macrob. Sait. vYi. 1). The aznsct was probably the as a specimen' of the verittuez, and may be consatme as the amentum, and wvas so called as being trasted with fig. 5, which is the head of a lanceiit
the part which the soldier laid hold of in hurling the same collection. The Romans adopted in-like
the spear. mannler the gaeszsn, which was properly a Celtic
Under the general terms loesta anIli lyXoT were -weapon (Liv. xxviii. 45); it was given as a reward
included various kinds of missiles, of which the to any soldier who wounded an enemy.:-(Poiyb.
principal were as follow: vi. 37.) Spc.arts is evidently the same word ivIth
L., cea (k6YX-r,I Festus, s. v. Lae2cea.), the lance, the Englislh spar and specas. It wxas the rudest
a comlparatively slender spear conlmonly used by missile of tihe whole class, and. only used -when
the Greeks; Iphicrates,. who doubled the length better-could not-be obtained. (Virg. Aen. xi. 682,
of the'sw\oord [GLAi'IuS], also added greatly to th3 Serv. in loc.;e Nepos, xv. 9. ~ 1; Sall-astj Cat. 56;'dimensions of the lance. (Dioed.' xv.'4": Nep. Gell.-x. 25.)