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{{Short description|Long spear used by Macedonian army}}
{{About| |the Bronze Age Hittite city |Kuşaklı |the moth genus |Sarisa (moth){{!}}''Sarisa'' (moth)}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2024}}
[[File:Makedonische phalanx.png|thumb|upright=1.95|[[Macedonian phalanx]]]]

The '''sarissa''' or '''sarisa'''{{NoteTag|Ancient Greeks used both the {{lang|el|σάρισα}} ({{translit|el|sarisa}}) and the {{lang|el|σάρισσα}} ({{translit|el|sarissa}}) form when spelling the word in [[Koine Greek]].<ref>{{harvnb|Sekunda|2013|pp=78–81}}; Sekunda is citing Alejandro Noguera Borel's ''L'évolution de la phalange macédonienne- le cas de la sarisse'' (1999).</ref>}} was a long [[spear]] or [[Pike (weapon)|pike]] about {{convert|5|to|7|m|ft|sp=us}} in length. It was introduced by [[Philip II of Macedon]] and was used in his [[Macedonian phalanx]]es as a replacement for the earlier [[Dory (spear)|dory]], which was considerably shorter. These longer spears improved the strength of the phalanx by extending the rows of overlapping weapons projecting towards the enemy.  After the conquests of [[Alexander the Great]], the sarissa was a mainstay during the [[Hellenistic era]] (4th&ndash;1st centuries BCE) by the [[Hellenistic armies]] of the [[diadochi]] Greek successor states of Alexander's empire, as well as some of their rivals.

==Composition and utility==
{{clear}}
{{Wide image|Alexander Mosaic - Cropped to Alexander and Darius - Spears.jpg|775px|The [[Alexander Mosaic]], a surviving ancient artistic depiction that probably depicts massed sarissas.{{sfn|Sekunda|2001|pp=16-18}}}}

The sarissa is made of two core parts: a long wooden shaft and a metal tip.  A third part that may have existed for some sarissas was a metal spear-butt at the reverse end.  The metal butt of the sarissa could be used to safely stow it in the ground without damaging the shaft when not in use.{{sfn|Sekunda|2001|pp=30-36}}

Two types of wood are favored as likely candidates for the shaft: [[ash wood]] combines length, flexibility, and being lightweight, while [[cornel wood]] is shorter but stronger.{{sfn|Sekunda|2001|pp=22-30}}{{NoteTag|Both [[ash wood|ash]] and [[Cornus mas|cornel wood]] would have been easily available in Macedonia and the Near East.  The sarissa being made of ash is supported by ancient sources and historians such as [[Edmund Lammert]], [[Anthony Snodgrass]], and [[Nicholas Victor Sekunda]].{{sfn|Sekunda|2001|pp=22-30}}{{sfn|Lammert|1920}}  The other possibility is that resilient cornel (also known as cornelian cherry) was used instead, based on Theophratus's writings, and is favored by historians such as [[Robin Lane Fox]], [[Minor Markle]], and [[Peter Connolly (classical scholar)|Peter Connolly]].  Cornel is stronger and tougher, but doesn't grow as long, suggesting either shorter sarissas or some kind of combination shaft hewed from multiple lumber strands.}}  The shaft was probably slightly [[:wikt:tapered|tapered]], narrowing some toward the end.{{sfn|Connolly|2000|pp=106-107}}  The size of the tip is disputed; much scholarship from 1970&ndash;2000 favored a comparatively large and heavy spearhead shaped like a leaf on the basis of an archaeological find by [[Manolis Andronikos]] of such an implement in a Macedonian tomb at [[Vergina]], {{convert|51|cm|ft|abbr=on}} long.{{sfn|Markle|1977|pp=324-326}}  21st-century scholarship has been more skeptical this was really a sarissa head that was found.{{NoteTag|The leaf-shaped chunk of iron found by Andronikos at Vergina was a hefty {{convert|1.235|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.  Peter Connolly writes that this was more likely a spear butt rather than a spearhead,{{sfn|Connolly|2000|pp=103-106}} while [[Nicholas Victor Sekunda]] suggests that it was a spearhead, but one used only on ceremonial spears meant as a badge of rank (similar to the later use of [[spontoon]]s as symbols of authority), perhaps by royal ''[[somatophylakes]]'' ("bodyguards") given that the wielder apparently merited a tomb.{{sfn|Sekunda|2001|pp=18-22}}  Connolly also writes that smaller spearheads were found at Vergina as well, and that these smaller spearheads should be taken as the default form.{{sfn|Connolly|2000|pp=103-106}}}}  Nicholas Victor Sekunda favors the metal tip being smaller at around {{convert|13.5|cm|in|abbr=on}}, made of iron, and diamond shaped.{{sfn|Sekunda|2001|pp=18-22}}  Ancient writers say that the sarissa was capable of piercing both shield and armor, which suggests to Sekunda the use of a small but focused spearhead rather than a broad one.{{sfn|Sekunda|2001|pp=13-17}}  Additionally, the [[Alexander Mosaic]] seems to show small spearheads, and small spearheads match what later medieval pikemen found to work the best.{{sfn|Connolly|2000|pp=106-107}}

Ancient authorities are unanimous in saying the sarissa was distinguished by its great length, which made it difficult for opposing soldiers to safely engage phalangites.  Exactly how long this length was is less clear, as different authors give varying descriptions, ancient units of measurement were not always consistent nor precise, and the wood used to create the Hellenistic sarissas has long since rotted away making archaeological evidence lacking.  Many historians consider [[Polybius]] the most trustworthy account, as he had actual experience with observing the Hellenistic phalanx and his accounts are accurate elsewhere.  Polybius writes that "the length of the sarissae is sixteen [[cubit]]s according to the original design, which has been reduced in practice to fourteen," presumably referring to the 2nd century BCE [[Antigonid Macedonia]]n sarissa in context.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0234%3Abook%3D18%3Achapter%3D29 |title=The Histories, 18.29 |last=[[Polybius]] }}</ref>  The second most compelling surviving account is from [[Theophrastus]], writing in the late 4th century BCE and early 3rd century BCE, who lived during the time of Alexander the Great.  Theophrastus, in an off-hand remark in ''[[Historia Plantarum (Theophrastus book)|Enquiry into Plants]]'', mentions that the longest sarissa was 12 cubits long.<ref>{{cite book |last=Theophratus |author-link=Theophratus |translator-first=Arthur Fenton |translator-last=Hort |title=Enquiry into Plants |quote=The height of the 'male' tree is at most twelve cubits, the length of the longest Macedonian spear, the stem up to the point where it divides not being very tall. |url=https://archive.org/details/enquiryintoplant01theouoft/page/234/mode/2up |pages=234–235 }}</ref>{{sfn|Campbell|2014}}  Based on this, many historians have assumed that both accounts were basically correct, and that the sarissa grew longer during the post-Alexander Hellenistic era from the 12 cubits Theophrastus reports to the 14 cubits that Polybius observed.  However, other historians have offered different theories; [[Peter Connolly (classical scholar)|Peter Connolly]] suggests that the lengths were basically the same.  Converted to modern units, this would suggest around {{convert|5.8|m|ft|abbr=on}} for the sarissa in the time of Alexander in the 4th century BCE, and around {{convert|6.3|m|ft|abbr=on}} if the 3rd&ndash;1st century BCE sarissas really did become even longer.{{sfn|Connolly|2000|pp=103-106}}{{sfn|Campbell|2014}}<ref name="bar-kochva">{{cite book |last=Bar-Kochva |first=Bezalel |author-link=Bezalel Bar-Kochva |date=1976 |title=The Seleucid Army |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521206679 |pages=54; 65; 161–162}}</ref>

In the scholarship based on Andronikos' discoveries and his and Markle's journal articles, it is thought that the sarissa was heavy for a spear, weighing approximately {{convert|5.5|to|6.5|kg|0|abbr=on}}.{{NoteTag|Although in terms of total equipment weight, a Hellenistic soldier's kit may still have been lighter than a Roman soldier's, which is estimated at not less than {{convert|20|kg|lb|abbr=on}}<ref name="bar-kochva" />}}  Later reconstructions have suggested that this was too heavy&mdash;Peter Connolly was able to reconstruct an infantry spear 5.8 meters long of cherry wood that weighed only {{convert|4.05|kg|0|abbr=on}},{{sfn|Connolly|2000|pp=109-112}} and an ash-wood spear would have been even lighter.

One possibility considered by some scholars is that to make such prodigiously long pikes, two separate tree branches were joined by a metal tube.<!-- Fox says "bronze", but Bret Deveraux writes that Androicos writes that the tube was iron (fer), so this is almost certainly Fox just erring.-->  This theory rested on the identification of such a tube in Andronikos's Vergina finds as perhaps being the middle part of a sarissa, along with cornel wood being difficult to grow out to the longest lengths described.{{sfn|Fox|1973|pp=76-81}}  This theory has largely been discarded, though, as making an unwieldly weapon that is likely to break.

===Shields===
Infantry sarissa wielders in a phalanx generally also used a shield.  An inscription in the [[Lindos Chronicle|Lindian Temple Chronicle]] records a gift of "ten ''peltai'', ten ''sarisai'', and ten helmets"<ref>{{cite book |last=Blinkenberg |first=Christian |author-link=Christian Blinkenberg |last2=Kinch |first2=Karl Frederik |author2-link=Karl Frederik Kinch |date=1941 |title=Lindos. Fouilles de l'Acropole, 1902-1914. Volume 2: Inscriptions. |page=181 |language=fr }}  Cited by {{harvnb|Sekunda|2013|pp=81–85}}.</ref> dedicated to King [[Philip V of Macedon]], suggesting that the Macedonians viewed the sarissa and the bronze [[pelta]] (shield) as a matched set.{{sfn|Sekunda|2013|pp=81-85}}  The bulk and size of the sarissa required soldiers to wield it with both hands, allowing them to carry only a smaller shield.  The pelta was perhaps around {{convert|60|cm|0|abbr=on}} in size in Alexander's era, and perhaps only {{convert|45|cm|0|abbr=on}} by the Hellenistic era if even longer sarissas were really used then.<ref name="bar-kochva" />  To make it easier to carry when both hands were occupied, a neck strap may have been used to help hold the shield and cover the left shoulder.<ref>{{harvnb|Markle|1977|pp=324–326}}, {{harvnb|Connolly|2000|pp=109–112}}.  The main ancient source indicating use of a strap or similar device is Plutarch, ''[[Parallel Lives]]'', in his work on Cleomenes [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Cleomenes*.html 11.2].  The account says [[Cleomenes III]] decided to equip a phalanx in the Macedonian manner, and that the shield was used with a {{lang|grc|ὀχάνης}} ({{translit|grc|ochane}}), which could be literally translated as "handle".</ref>   However, other scholars suggest that larger shields were used in the Macedonian phalanx, ranging from {{convert|65|to|75|cm|0|abbr=on}}.{{sfn|Sekunda|2013|pp=81-85}}  Some light-infantry [[peltast#In the Antigonid army|peltasts in the Antigonid army]] appear to have been closer to a more mobile phalanx than the Alexander-era skirmishers, and they may have used a combination of smaller shields along with smaller sarissas to improve their mobility.{{sfn|Sekunda|2013|pp=94-95}}

===Cavalry version===
[[File:Naousa Tomb painting, K. F. Kinch.png|thumb|right|upright=1.3|A painting of a Macedonian cavalryman possibly wielding the cavalry version of a sarissa (~3rd century BCE; published by [[K. F. Kinch]]).  The depiction shows what is either a metal spear-butt at the end,{{sfn|Connolly|2000|pp=103-106}}{{sfn|Markle|1982|p=91}} or another spear head for a double weapon.{{sfn|Sekunda|2001|pp=37-40}}]]
The Macedonian army of Alexander's time featured a unit of light cavalry (''[[prodromoi]]'') called the [[sarissophoroi]] who also wielded sarissas, albeit somewhat shorter versions.  However, the term "sarissophoroi" eventually stops showing up in literature in the later Hellenistic age.  Most surviving depictions of Macedonian cavalry depict it wielded under-arm, but it probably could have been wielded over-arm as well.{{sfn|Connolly|2000|pp=107-109}}

[[Minor Markle]] thought that based on ancient depictions, the cavalry sarissa would have been about {{convert|4.5|m|ft|abbr=on}}.  He also does not think that the cavalry always equipped themselves with sarissas; for scouting missions, they probably just carried two javelins and a sword instead, reserving the sarissa for use in major battles.{{sfn|Markle|1982|pp=104-105}}   Peter Connolly also researched the matter. Connolly wrote that the cavalry spear was depicted as a primary weapon (rather than a Roman ''[[pilum]]'' which could be thrown once, like a javelin) and thus should be able to be used repeatedly.  Connolly arranged for a modern horse rider to test out reconstructed spears of several of the possible lengths, and found it plausible that a cavalry spear as long as {{convert|4.9|m|ft|abbr=on}} could have been used.  He thought that tactically, the longer (4.5 meters+) version would make for a more devastating initial charge, but that a {{convert|4.0|m|ft|abbr=on}} spear would be easier to use in a prolonged melee.{{sfn|Connolly|2000|pp=107-109}}  Both Markle and Connolly write that the cavalry sarissa, unlike the infantry sarissa, was almost certainly wielded one-handed, as a full heavy two-handed impact would probably knock the sarissa-wielding rider off their own horse.{{sfn|Connolly|2000|pp=107-109}}{{sfn|Markle|1977|p=106}}
<!-- favored a comparatively long cavalry spear only slightly shorter than the infantry version, around {{convert|5.5|m|ft|abbr=on}}.   Peter Connolly was skeptical of this length.
Both Connolly and Markle think that a weapon so bulky would be difficult and time-consuming to retrieve after a kill, but in
 -->

While Hellenistic cavalry frequently wielded spears, whether their weapon is best classed as a shorter version of the sarissa or as a [[xyston]] ({{langx|grc|ξυστόν}}) is disputed.{{sfn|Sekunda|2001|pp=37-40}}  Nicholas Victor Sekunda argues that the Macedonian cavalry spear was more properly classed as a xyston.  The xyston was made of cornel wood, was shorter than an infantry sarissa, and had a larger and wider spearhead than the infantry sarissa.{{sfn|Sekunda|2001|pp=37-40}}  He also notes that Ancient Macedonians may have used the term "sarissa" broadly in the sense of any spear, even if other Greeks meant specifically the Macedonian variety.{{sfn|Sekunda|2013|pp=78-81}}

==Tactics==
The standard Hellenistic army deployment was to have a heavy infantry [[phalanx]] in the center, cavalry on the sides capable of threatening to flank the enemy or to attack weak spots, and light infantry skirmishers such as slingers or javelineers in the front.  Of these, the infantry phalanxes wielded sarissas, and the cavalry wielded somewhat shorter spears of which may or may not have qualified as a "sarissa".{{sfn|Sekunda|2001|pp=25; 37-40}}

While marching and maneuvering, infantry sarissas were held vertically.  Once the sarissas were leveled (that is, pointed horizontally forward for battle), the phalanx could advance straight forward, but turning the phalanx would be more difficult and require training and discipline.  The sarissa was already so long that thrusting them forward likely didn't extend their range much, comparatively &mdash; perhaps around an additional {{convert|0.5|m|ft|abbr=on}}.{{sfn|Connolly|2000|pp=109-112}}

The sarissa-bearing phalanx would usually march to battle in open formation to facilitate movement. Before the charge, it would tighten its files to [[Close order formation|close formation]] or even compact formation (synaspismos). The tight formation of the phalanx created a "wall of pikes", and the pike was so long that there were fully five rows of them projecting in front of the front rank of men&mdash;even if an enemy got past the first row, there were still four more to stop him. The back rows bore their pikes angled upwards in readiness, which served the additional purpose of deflecting incoming [[arrow]]s.<ref>{{Cite book|title=An Invincible Beast: Understanding the Hellenistic Pike Phalanx in Action |last=Matthew |first=Christopher |publisher=Pen and Sword Military |date=2016 |isbn=9781783831104 }}</ref>

The Macedonian phalanx was considered practically invulnerable from the front.  Another phalanx could perhaps wear a phalanx down in a long battle from exhaustion, but this was far from guaranteed.  The best way to defeat one was generally by one of a loss of morale from killing the enemy commander, breaking its formation, or [[flanking|outflanking]] it.  For example, the Romans used a flanking tactic at the [[Battle of Cynoscephalae]] (197 BC) to defeat the Antigonid Macedonians.  A few years later, the Seleucid phalanx held up well at the [[Battle of Thermopylae (191 BC)|Battle of Thermopylae]] (191 BCE); a Roman surprise flanking force caused the army to lose formation and retreat.<ref name="bar-kochva" />  Livy writes on the Roman victory at the [[Battle of Pydna]] (168 BCE) against the Antigonid Macedonian army that:
{{blockquote|Its force, while it is compact and bristling with extended spears, is irresistible; but if, by attacking them separately, you force them to turn about their spears, which, on account of their length and weight, are unwieldy, they are mingled in a confused mass; and, if any disorder arises on the flank or rear, they fall into irretrievable disorder. (...) had [the Romans] advanced with their entire line, straight against the phalanx when in its regular order, just as happened to the Pelignians, who, in the beginning of the battle, incautiously engaged the targeteers; they would have impaled themselves on the spears, and would have been unable to withstand such a firm body.
|author=[[Livy]]
|source=''[[History of Rome (Livy)|The History of Rome]]'', 44.41<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0149%3Abook%3D44%3Achapter%3D41 |last=Livy |author-link=Livy |title=The History of Rome, Book 44 |date=1850 |orig-date=1st century BCE |translator-first=William A. |translator-last=McDevitte}}</ref>
}}

One possible technique that could have been used with a sarissa is planting them directly in the ground if an enemy charge was thought to be imminent.{{sfn|Fox|1973|pp=76-81}}{{sfn|Markle|1977|pp=323-324}}  However, the only source that reports this tactic is the satirist [[Lucian of Samosata]], writing centuries after the sarissa's prominence, so if it was a real technique, it seems to have been a rare one.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lucian |first= |author-link=Lucian of Samosata |date=1905 |orig-date=2nd century |translator-last=Fowler |translator-first=Henry Watson |translator-link=H. W. Fowler |translator2-last=Fowler |translator2-first=Francis George |translator2-link=F. G. Fowler |title=The Works of Lucian of Samosata |chapter=Dialogues of the Dead |chapter-url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/6327/6327-h/6327-h.htm#chap11 |volume=1 |location=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press |at=XXVII |isbn=}}</ref>

Phalangites would carry a backup weapon, generally a [[sword]] or [[dagger]].  If a phalanx broke formation, or if a lone soldier found himself in close combat, the sarissa was nearly useless as a weapon, and the backup weapon would be used instead.{{sfn|Fox|1973|pp=76-81}}
<!-- Complicated training ensured that the sarissophoroi wielded their sarissas in unison, swinging them vertically to wheel about, then lowering them to the horizontal. As an example, the uniform swish of the sarissas daunted the [[Illyrians|Illyrian]] hill tribesmen against whom the young [[Alexander the Great]] fought in [[Alexander's Balkan campaign]] early in his reign.<ref>Fox 1973, pp 84f.</ref> -->
==History of use==
[[File:Ancient Mieza, Macedonian tombs of Lefkadia, The Tomb of Jugdement 926eb424be6db3e06917e5c03ffdfaaa.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.05|3rd century BCE art of a warrior carrying a spear from the [[Tomb of Judgement, Lefkadia]]&mdash;possibly a sarissa]]
{{see also|Ancient Macedonian army|Hellenistic armies|Antigonid Macedonian army|Ptolemaic army|Seleucid army}}
The adoption of the sarissa by the Macedonian infantry is usually credited to [[Philip II of Macedon|Philip II]], father of [[Alexander the Great]].{{sfn|Markle|1978|p=483}}{{sfn|Fox|1973|pp=76-79}} Alexander used the sarissa armed phalanx in [[Wars of Alexander the Great|his wars across Asia]], where he conquered [[Asia Minor]], [[History of Persian Egypt|Persian Egypt]], the [[Persian Empire]]'s homelands in Babylonia and Persia, and the [[Pauravas]] (northwest India). The sarissa-wielding phalanxes were vital in every early battle, including the pivotal [[Battle of Gaugamela]] where the Persian king's [[Scythed chariot|scythe chariots]] were utterly destroyed by the phalanx, supported by the combined use of companion cavalry and [[peltast]]s (javelineers). During his later campaigning, Alexander gradually reduced the importance of the phalanx and the sarissa, as he modified his combined use of arms to incorporate Asian weapons and troops, not specifically trained in Macedonian battle tactics. <!-- [[Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC)]] -->

The sarissa remained the core of [[Hellenistic armies]] of the [[Diadochi]] successor states to Alexander's empire.

The word remained in use throughout the Byzantine years to sometimes describe the long spears of their own infantry.<ref>{{ublcb|''11th century'', Michael Attaleiates, ''The History'', A.1047|''6th century'', Agathias Scholasticus, ''Histories'', B.43}}</ref>  Long [[Pike (weapon)|pikes]] would eventually come back into vogue due to changing circumstances in the [[Late Middle Ages|late medieval]] and [[early modern]] period (~1300&ndash;1700); scholars of military history have used reports of how [[Swiss mercenaries]], German [[Landsknecht]], and English and Irish pikemen fought to analyze how the similar Macedonian sarissa was likely used.<ref>{{harvnb|Markle|1982|p=109}}; {{harvnb|Sekunda|2001|pp=14–18; 22–23}}; {{harvnb|Connolly|2000|pp=103–106}}</ref>  In his 1521 book ''[[The Art of War (Machiavelli book)|The Art of War]]'', [[Niccolo Machiavelli]] wrote that "I conjecture that a Macedonian Phalanx was nothing else than a battalion of Swiss is today, who have all their strength and power in their pikes."<ref>{{cite wikisource |title=The Art of War |wslink=The_Art_of_War_(Neville)/Book_2 |last=Machiavelli |first=Niccolo |authorlink=Niccolo Machiavelli |translator-first=Henry |translator-last=Neville |translator-link=Henry Neville (writer) |date=1675 |orig-date=1521 |publisher= |location= |page= |pages= |scan= |at=Book 2}}</ref>  Preserved English pikes from this period tend to be {{convert|5.6|to|5.9|m|ft|sp=us}} long, and there are reports of pikes as long as {{convert|6.7|m|ft|abbr=on}}.  These reports suggest that usage of such long pikes by the Macedonians was plausible and militarily viable.{{sfn|Connolly|2000|pp=103-106}}

==See also==
* [[Polearm]]

== Notes ==
{{NoteFoot}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite journal| title =How long was the Macedonian sarissa? | journal = Ancient Warfare | volume = VIII | number = 3| pages = 48–52| date=2014 | publisher = Karwansaray Publishers | first = Duncan B. | last = Campbell |author-link=Duncan B. Campbell}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Connolly |first1=Peter |author-link=Peter Connolly (classical scholar) |date=2002 |title=Experiments with the sarissa – the Macedonian pike and cavalry lance – a functional view |url= |journal=Journal of Roman Military Equipment Studies  |volume=11 2000 |issue= |pages=103–112 |doi= |issn=0961-3684 |access-date= |ref={{harvid|Connolly|2000}}}}
* {{cite book |title = Alexander the Great | first = Robin Lane |last = Fox |author-link=Robin Lane Fox |year = 1973 |isbn =0-14-008878-4 |publisher = Penguin}}
* {{cite journal |title=The Macedonian Sarrissa, Spear and Related Armor | journal = American Journal of Archaeology| volume = 81 | number = 3| pages = 323–339|date=1977 | publisher = Archaeological Institute of America| first = Minor M. | last =Markle |author-link=Minor M. Markle III | doi = 10.2307/503007| jstor = 503007| s2cid = 192966553}}
* {{cite journal |last=Markle |first=Minor M. |author-link=Minor M. Markle III |title=Use of the Sarissa by Philip and Alexander of Macedon |journal=[[American Journal of Archaeology]] |date=1978 |volume=82 |number=4 |pages=483–497 |doi=10.2307/504637 |jstor=504637}}
* {{cite book |last=Markle |first=Minor M. |author-link=Minor M. Markle III |editor-first=Beryl |editor-last=Barr-Sharrar |date=1982 |title=Macedonia and Greece in Late Classical and Early Hellenistic Times |chapter=Macedonian Arms and Tactics under Alexander the Great |location=Washington, DC |publisher=[[National Gallery of Art]] |pages=86–111 |series=Studies in the History of Art Symposium Series I |volume=10 |isbn= |jstor=42617923 }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |title=Sarisse |encyclopedia=[[Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft]] |date=1920 |last=Lammert |first=Edmund |author-link=Edmund Lammert |publisher= |location= |id= |url=https://elexikon.ch/RE/IA,2_2517.png |access-date=January 20, 2024 |pages=2515–2530 |volume=IA2 |lang=de}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Sekunda |first1=Nicholas Victor |author-link=Nicholas Victor Sekunda |date=2001 |title=The Sarissa |url=https://czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/archaeo/article/view/17027 |journal=Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Archaeologica |volume=1 |issue=23 |pages=13–41 |doi=10.18778/0208-6034.23.1.02 |doi-access=free }}
* {{cite book |last1=Sekunda |first1=Nicholas Victor |author-link=Nicholas Victor Sekunda |date=2013 |title=The Antigonid Army |location=Gdańsk |publisher=University of Gdańsk |series=Akanthina No. 8 |isbn=978-83-7531-266-9}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080906212429/http://myweb.unomaha.edu/~mreames/Alexander/sarissa_jones.html Photos of Hoplite spear compared to Macedonian sarissa]

{{Polearms|state=expanded}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ancient weapons]]
[[Category:Greek inventions]]
[[Category:Pikes (weapon)]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek military terminology]]
[[Category:Ancient Macedonian military equipment]]
[[Category:Philip II of Macedon]]
[[Category:Phalanx]]