# How did swords change warfare? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 16, 2016, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-swords-change-warfare/754929 "2016-05-16T19:21:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-swords-change-warfare/754929/81 "2016-06-13T15:47:43Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > There’s also things like the macuahuitl: > > [Macuahuitl - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macuahuitl) Heh, I gotta admit, that’s an odd one. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-swords-change-warfare/754929/82 "2016-06-13T16:15:40Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > The same symbolic notion is at work: war club = power of life or death over others = the monarch. A sword often has the same symbolic purpose, as in a “sword of state”. > > I suppose other weapons may be used from time to time with that symbolic meaning, but the club/mace and the sword are the most common. Oh, I agree completely - look at the sacred sword of Japan, etc. Maybe the trident? Double-headed axes (_labrys_) used to be used for their symbolic meaning, way before swords, although there’s argument on whether as weapon of war or sacrificial tool. But given the association with the various Bull Cults (in Anatolia and Crete) and the impracticality of that shape in war, probably the latter. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-swords-change-warfare/754929/83 "2016-06-13T16:31:01Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > There’s also things like the macuahuitl: > > [Macuahuitl - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macuahuitl) Those things are awesome! Wicked weapons! ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-swords-change-warfare/754929/84 "2016-06-13T16:56:23Z")
> [@Chihuahua](#): > > This emphasizes the point that even at the dawn of civilization the sword was considered the back-up weapon. Nobody willingly walked into battle with their sword drawn, and nobody picked the sword over the spear because they expected the battle to break down into a series of slow-motion kung-fu fights. It was, rather, a last resort. I was very amused that Hanson chose to describe the sword with the word “notorious” rather than “awesome.” So today’s pistol does indeed fill almost the exact same role as the sword did in yesteryear, in that it’s not a primary weapon- people use rifles and machine guns for that, but if the shit hits the fan bad enough, it’s something to use on bad guys in close. Which probably explains why officers are often only armed with pistols- their job isn’t necessarily to do the fighting, so the wearing of a pistol is kind of a status symbol, much like wearing a sword once was. Of course for soldiers who may actually use their pistols like say… Delta Force commandos, it’s a necessary tool, much like the sword of a Hoplite would have been. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-swords-change-warfare/754929/85 "2016-06-13T17:57:27Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Oh, I agree completely - look at the sacred sword of Japan, etc. Maybe the trident? > > Double-headed axes (_labrys_) used to be used for their symbolic meaning, way before swords, although there’s argument on whether as weapon of war or sacrificial tool. But given the association with the various Bull Cults (in Anatolia and Crete) and the impracticality of that shape in war, probably the latter. The trident is an interesting one: it is the national symbol of Ukraine, albeit very stylized. No-one knows exactly why, but it is speculated it derived from the Greek symbol for the sea god, inherited from the Greek Black Sea colonies. [Trident](http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CT%5CR%5CTrident.htm) Also interestingly, a modern version of the symbol used by the organization of Ukrainian nationalists incorporates a sword in the trident: > **[Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization_of_Ukrainian_Nationalists#/media/File:Organization_of_Ukrainian_Nationalists-M.svg)** > > The Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN; Ukrainian: Організація українських націоналістів, romanized: Orhanizatsiia ukrainskykh natsionalistiv) was a Ukrainian nationalist organization established in 1929 in Vienna, uniting the Ukrainian Military Organization with smaller, mainly youth, radical nationalist right-wing groups. The OUN was the largest and one of the most important far-right Ukrainian organizations operating in the interwar period on the territory of the Second Polish Repub... ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-swords-change-warfare/754929/86 "2016-06-13T20:55:48Z")
> [@bump](#): > > So today’s pistol does indeed fill almost the exact same role as the sword did in yesteryear, in that it’s not a primary weapon- people use rifles and machine guns for that, but if the shit hits the fan bad enough, it’s something to use on bad guys in close. I think it’s more like the coaxial machine gun on a tank. It’s not the primary weapon, but sometimes it’s the right tool for the job. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-swords-change-warfare/754929.md?page=4)