c. 800-600 BC, Greek Hoplite Period, A beautiful bronze hoplite spear with a leaf-shaped blade and conical socket. Bronze weaponry production flourished in western Asia, the Aegean, and Mainland Greece from the 2nd millennium BC to about 700 BC, when it was gradually replaced by iron. Weapons such as this sword powerful reminders that authority rested in the hands of those who could earn it, especially the Hoplites. 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. Good condition; beautiful patina; on a custom stand. Size: L:530mm / W:47mm ; 520g ; Provenance: Property of a West London gentleman; previously in a collection formed on the UK/International art market in the 1990s.