hasta

hasta , ae, f.: a spear, 2.50, and freq.; hasta pūra, a headless spear, 6.760; pampinea hasta, a thyrsus, 7.396.

hasta (asta), ae, f. [Sanscr. hastas, hand; cf. Gr. root χαδ- in χανδάνω, pre-hendo], a spear (syn.: hastile, dolo, gaesum, sarisa, sparus, lancea, pilum, spiculum, telum, etc.).

• I Lit.
• • A Most freq. as a military weapon, a lance, pike, javelin (cf. Becker's Antiq. III. 2, p. 242 sq.): nec eminus hastis aut comminus gladiis uteretur, Cic. de Sen. 6, 19: dum transit, striderat hasta, Enn. ap. Prisc. p. 817 P. (Ann. v. 365 Vahl.): Hastati spargunt hastas, id. ap. Macr. S. 6, 1 (Ann. v. 287 ib.): evelli jussit eam, qua erat transfixus, hastam, Cic. Fin. 2, 30, 97: amentatus hastas torquebit, id. de Or. 1, 57, 242; cf. id. Brut. 78, 271; id. Top. 17, 65: hastas vibrare, id. de Or. 2, 80, 325: jactare, id. ib. 2, 78, 316: dirigere in aliquem, Ov. M. 8, 66: contendere, to hurl, Verg. A. 10, 521: protendere aut colligere, Tac. A. 2, 21 al.—As a symbol of war, sent in making a declaration of the same, Gell. 10, 27, 3; Paul. ex Fest. p. 101 Müll., and thrown into the enemy's territory, Liv. 1, 32 fin.; Varr. ap. Serv. Verg. A. 9, 53: pura, i. e. without iron, given to brave soldiers as a mark of distinction, Plin. 7, 28, 29, § 102; Suet. Claud. 28; Inscr. Orell. 3457; cf.Varr. ap. Serv. Verg. A. 6, 760, and Fest. l. l.— As the symbol of legal ownership: festuca uti quasi hastae loco, signo quodam justi dominii, Gai Inst. 4, 16.—
  • • 2 Transf., beyond the milit. sphere: jacet, diffidit, abjecit hastas, i. e. has lost his courage, Cic. Mur. 21, 45.—
  • B A spear stuck in the ground at public auctions or where the tribunals of the centumviri were held (orig. as a sign of booty gained in battle or of magisterial authority): est enim ausus (Sulla) dicere, hasta posita, cum bona in foro venderet et bonorum virorum et locupletium et certe civium praedam se suam vendere, Cic. Off. 2, 8, 27; cf.: hastam in foro ponere et bona civium voci subicere praeconis, id. ib. 2, 23, 83: hasta posita pro aede Jovis Statoris, bona voci acerbissimae subjecta praeconis, id. Phil. 2, 26, 64: quos non illa inflnita hasta satiavit, id. ib. 4, 4, 9: emptio ab hasta, id. Att. 12, 3, 2: comitibus eorum sub hasta venditis, Liv. 23, 38, 7: municipia Italiae splendidissima sub hasta venierunt, Flor. 3, 21, 27: just hastae, Tac. A. 13, 28: cum censores se jam locationibus abstinerent, convenere ad eos, qui hastae hujus generis assueverant, Liv. 24, 18, 10; as a badge of dignity: hunc miratur adhuc centum gravis hasta virorum, Mart. 7, 63, 7.—Hence, transf., the centumviral court: ut centumviralem hastam, quam quaestura functi consuerant cogere, decemviri cogerent, Suet. Aug. 36 fin.—
  • C A little spear with which a bride's hair was parted into locks, Ov. F. 2, 560.—
  • D A spear, as a gymnastic weapon, Plaut. Bacch. 1, 1, 38 (72); 3, 3, 24 (428); id. Most. 1, 2, 73 (156).—
• II Transf.
• • A Of the form of a comet: jubae effigies mutata in hasta est. Plin. 2, 25, 22, § 90.—
  • B I. q. membrum virile, Auct. Priap. 45, 1.

1. hasta, ae, f. (gotisch gazds, Stachel, ahd. gart, Gerte), die Stange, der Stab, Schaft, I) im allg.: hastae gramineae, s. grāmineus: hastae de vitibus, Thyrsusstäbe, Calp. – II) insbes., der Spieß, A) eig.: 1) zum Werfen, der Wurfspieß, der Speer, Plaut., Cic. u.a.: hastae cuspis, Iustin.: aeratae od. acutae od. praeacutae cuspidis hasta, Ov.: hasta amentata, Cic.: ferrata, Liv.: praelonga, Tac.: pura, s. pūrus: velitaris, Liv.: militaris, Suet.: hastā proiectā, Nep.: infestā hastā, Verg.: hastam lacĕre, Verg.: hastam eminus conicere, Verg.: inter bellatoris equi cava tempora conicere hastam, Verg.: eminus hastis aut comminus gladio uti, Cic.: hastam dextrā vibrare, Curt.: hastas vibrare ante pugnam, Cic.: hastam speciosissime contorquere, Quint.: hastam in latus contorquere, Verg.: amentatas hastas torquere oratoris lacertis viribusque (im Bilde), Cic.: praelongas hastas protendere, Tac.: hastam evellere, Cic., e corpore iacentis evellere, Curt.: extrahere e vulnere hastam, Curt.: alqm hastae cuspide in fronte vulnerare, Iustin.: caput alcis praefixum hastae circumferre, Suet.: hastae insistere, auf einem (liegenden) Speer stehen, Aur. Vict. – sprichw., hastas abicere, wie unser sprichw. »die Flinte ins Korn werfen« = den Mut verlieren, Cic. Mur. 45. – 2) zu anderem Gebrauche: a) bei öffentl. Versteigerungen u. Verpachtungen aufgesteckt, zur Bezeichnung des Orts u. der öffentlichen, obrigkeitlichen Gewalt, h. venditionis, Cic.: hasta infinita, endlose Versteigerung, Cic.: hastam pro aede Iovis Statoris ponere (ausstecken), Cic.: sub hasta vendere, Liv., od. hastae subicere, Suet., subhastieren, d.i. öffentlich versteigern: ad hastam publicam accedere, öffentliche Versteigerung von Staatsgefällen, Nep.: ebenso ad hastam suam (= censorum) accedere, Liv.: emere ab hasta, s. emo: emptio ab hasta, Cic.: ius hastae, Versteigerungsrecht, Tac. – b) beim Gericht der centumviri aufgesteckt, Mart. 7, 62, 7: dah. hastam centumviralem cogere, ein Zentumviralgericht einberufen, Suet. Aug. 36. – c) zur Schmückung der Haare der Bräute, indem man damit die Haare voneinander teilte, Ov. fast. 2, 560. – d) statt des Zepters, da die Könige ebenfalls Spieße statt der Zepter trugen, Iustin. 43, 3. § 3. – B) übtr. = das männliche Glied, Priap. 45, 1. – ➳ Schreibung asta (wegen der Ableitung von asto), Varro LL. 5, 115. – Corp. inscr. Lat. 10, 135 ist. hastis puris duodus (st. duabus) Versehen des Steinmetzen.

1 hasta [CL] 1 spear. regem ‥ ense, ~a, igni oppressisti Gildas EB 33; proelia vibratis intentant comminus hastis Frith. 788; genus ‥ aste grandis GlH F 85 (v. falarica 1a); G. Mon. IX 14 (v. celtis); Ailr. SS Hex 3 (v. derigescere 1a); Osb. Glouc. Deriv. 277 (v. hastile); Itin. Ric. IV 33 (v. canneus); salmones ‥ ab imis in summa, quantum ~e longissime est altitudo, saltu mirabili transferuntur Gir. TH II 41; hec ~a, A. spere WW; 1553 de ‥ iiij †haustris apriariis, A. fower bore speres Pat 852 m. 29. 2 staff, pole, shaft; b (for processional cross); c (for candle). asta, quiris, sceaft Ælf. Gl. 142; cereis oculis ceci oculos tangit et ‥ ante sanctissimum corpus adveniens, super ~am que eminebat eosdem oculos ‥ apposuit V. Erkenwaldi 402; 1377 pannum ‥ quadratum ‥ iv ~is ‥ sustentatum Lib. Regal. 5v; 1401 ij ~e pro vexillo S. Cuthberti deputande in processionibus Ac. Durh. 454.  b 1368 crux cum ~a Invent. Norw. 140; a1413 crux argentea ‥ cum j ~a argentea et knoppis argenteis Ac. Durh. 403; Birchington Arch. Cant. 47 (v. cruciferarius); c1500 ~a longa argentea deaurata pro processionibus Fabr. York 220.  c ferentes ~am cum imagine serpentis ‥; ‥ candela ‥ in ore serpentis infixa est RegulC 41; accendatur cereus quem portare in ~a debet secretarius Lanfr. Const. 117; c1190 xxv candelas ‥ super ~am in die Natalis Domini Stat. Linc. II 19; c1230 quodam ‥ cereum illuminandum in ~a ‥ deferente Offic. Sal. 133; diaconum qui astam portabit ad consecrationem novi ignis Cust. Westm. 34; 1315 ~a j cooperta argento ad portandum cereum ad novum ignem Invent. Ch. Ch. 69. 3 handle, shaft (of tool); cf. hafta. b (?) part of windlass. Byrht. V. Ecgwini 393 (v. falcastrum a); 1251 habebit j fasciculum herbe, quantum levare potest super ~am falcis sue ita quod falx ‥ non frangatur Cart. Rams. I 289; s1284 (v. hachetta); 1471 pro xl les shydes de fraxino emptis pro ~is et manubriis instrumentorum carpentariorum et cementariorum Fabr. York 75.  b 1317 ~e et falconis ad vernam KR Ac 468/20 f. 9d. (v. 2 falco 3). 4 stem (of plant). Alph. 38 (v. centinodia a); Ib. 51n (v. dryopteris). 5 (?) pointed toe-piece on shoe. cum ‥ pergeret extra ‥ civitatem ‥ et in longis ~is sotularium suorum ultra modum gloriabatur Spec. Laic. 60. 6 (anat.): a penis. b (?) spine. a nasus longus et grossus significat preputium magnum, et econverso, et super hoc dixit quidam ‥: “ad formam nasi dignoscitur hasta baiardi” M. Scot Phys. 24.  b signa ‥ calide mulieris ‥ sunt ista: recta in ~a, macra in carne M. Scot Phys. 4; statura hominis multum nuntiat de illo: unde si ~a fuerit longa et bene recta, ac plus macra quam pinguis, significat hominem audacem [etc.] Ib. 101. 7 (bot., ~a regia) woodruff. Cf. hastula 3. aqua de flaura vel ~a regia vel herba muscata Gilb. III 149. 2; lavetur facies cum aqua extracta ab herba muscata aut ab ~a regia Gad. 49. 2; ~a regia, matris filia, herba muscata, herba citrina et woderove idem. ista viz. herba est valde specialis ad provendum urinam et valet ad frangendum lapidem Herb. Harl. 3388 f. 80v; asta regia vel aste regia, G. muget, A. woderove Alph. 16; nepta, calamentum majus, ~a regia idem Ib. 125; ~a regia, hastula, woderove PP; Turner Herb. A3 (v. asphodelus).

2 hasta [cf. AN haste] , roast (? spit-load, esp. w. ref. to serjeanties). 1219 Willelmus Aguillun tenet ‥ terram in villa de Adinton [Suss] per serjantiam faciendi ~ias in coquina ‥ regis die coronationis sue, vel aliquis pro eo debet facere ferculum quoddam quod vocatur del girunt, et si apponatur sagimen tunc vocatum malpigernoun Fees 274; 1219 Ricardus de Greinwill’ tenet ij hidas terre in Blechesdun’ [Oxon] per serganteriam faciendi verua ad ~as dignarii ‥ regis Ib. 253; hec †hassa, haste Gl. AN Ox. f. 149va; 1288 per servicium deferendi quandam ~am precii iiij d. ob., sc. unam loynam porci, coram ‥ rege quando venatur in Cornebir’ IPM 46/11 m. 2; 1339 jurati dicunt quod Johanna ‥ tenuit medietatem j messuagii et j carucatam terre in Blechesdone de ‥ rege per servicium deferendi ‥ regi j ~am porci ‥ cum ‥ fugaverit in parco suo de Cornbury Ambrosden II 74.

1 hasta, (8) æ, f. , ¶ 1 [en gén.] arme formée dʼun bâton (hampe munie dʼun fer), lance, pique, javelot : Cic. de Or. 2, 325 ; CM 19 ; Fin. 2, 97 || javeline lancée par le fécial pour déclarer la guerre : Liv. 1, 32, 13 || pilum proprie est hasta Romana Serv. En. 7, 664, le pilum est proprement lʼarme des Romains || [en usage aussi dans les exercices du gymnase] : Pl. Bacch. 71 ; Most. 151 || [fig.] abjicere hastas Cic. Mur. 45, quitter la partie, désespérer de sa cause, jeter le manche après la cognée || hasta pura Plin. 7, 102, javelot sans fer [récompense militaire] ¶ 2 encan, vente publique annoncée par une pique enfoncée en terre : hastam ponere Cic. Off. 2, 83, planter la pique = annoncer une vente ; illa infinita hasta Cic. Phil. 4, 9, cet encan [= ces confiscations] sans fin ; sub hasta venditus Liv. 23, 38, 7, vendu à lʼencan ; jus hastæ Tac. Ann. 13, 28, droit de saisie ; hastæ ejus generis assueverant Liv. 24, 18, 11, ils avaient lʼhabitude de prendre part aux enchères de ce genre ¶ 3 hampe de javelot : a) gramineæ hastæ Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 125, hampes de bambou ; b) hasta pampinea Virg. En. 7, 396 ou hasta seul Virg. B. 5, 31, thyrse [sceptre de Bacchus, porté par les Bacchantes dans les fêtes de ce dieu] ; c) bâton du centumvir : Suet. Aug. 36 ; d) baguette, rappelant la hampe de la javeline, symbole du droit de propriété : Gaius Inst. 4, 16 ; e) baguette recourbée qui sert à boucler la chevelure de la mariée, symbole du pouvoir marital : Ov. F. 2, 560.

hasta , ae. f.
鎗。短槍。— Pompeii 抄朋卑之家。— pura 無鉄槍以赏幼人。無鏃之槍。Hastam abjicere 失望。Hasta posita bona ejus vendere 以其家產入官。 Ad hastam locare 明投賣。

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hasta ae, f

• 1 HAS-, a staff, rod, pole: gramineae, reeds of bamboo: foliis intexere hastas, the thyrsus, V.: foliis praesuta, O.: pura, i. e. without a head, V.—A spear, lance, pike, javelin: eminus hastis uti: evelli iussit hastam: iactare: contendere, to hurl, V.: versā iuvencum Terga fatigamus hastā, i. e. use as a goad, V.: hastam in fines emittere (as a declaration of war), L.—A spear set up as the sign of a public auction(orig. of booty taken in war): praedae partem sub hastā vendidit, L.: hastā positā, cum bona venderet hastā positā pro aede: emptio ab hastā: comiti bus sub hastā venditis, L.: qui hastae huius gene ris adsueverant, i. e. to a public bidding for con tracts, L.: ius hastae, of auctions, Ta.—A littl spear(an ornament in the hair): recurva, O.— Fig., plur: abiecit hastas, i. e. lost courage.

HASTA

HASTA(ἔγχος, παλτόν), a spear. The spear is defined by Homer, δόρυ χαλκῆπες, a pole fitted with bronze (Il. 6.3), and δόρυ χαλκοβάρες, a pole heavy with bronze (Od. 11.531). The bronze, for which iron was afterwards substituted, was indispensable to form the point (αἰχμή, ἀκωκή, Homer; λόγχη, Xenophon; acies, cuspis, spiculum, Ovid. Met. 8.374) of the spear. Each of these two essential parts is often put for the whole, so that a spear is called δόρυ and δοράτιον, αἰχμή, and λόγχη. Even the more especial term μελία, meaning an ash-tree, is used in the same manner, because the pole of the spear was often the stem of a young ash, stripped of its bark and polished. (Il. 19.390, 20.277, 22.328; Od. 22.259; Plin. Nat.16.62; Ovid. Met. 12.369.) In like manner the spear is designated by the term κάμαξ (Aesch. Ag. 66; Eurip. Hec. 1155, Phoen. 1403; Brunck, Anal. 1.191, 226; Antip. Sidon. 34), meaning properly the cane or bamboo, which served also for vine-props and other uses (Hes. Scut. 298). Xenophon says that the δόρυ καμάκινον, apparently the usual lance of cavalry in his time, was both weak and heavy, and recommends in its stead two darts of the tough cornel-wood (τὰ κρανέϊνα δύο παλτά, de Re Eq. 12.12; cf. Theophrast. H. P. 3.12.2).

The butt-end of the spear was furnished with a spiked metal ferule, called by the Ionic writers σαυρωτήρ (Hom. Il. 10.153; Hdt. 7.40, 41; also Plb. 6.23), and οὐρίαχος (Il. 13.443, 16.612, 17.528), and in Attic or common Greek στύραξ (Xen. Hell. 6.2, § 19; Athen. 12. p. 514 b; στυράκιον, Thucyd. 2.4; Aen. Tact. 18). By thrusting this into the ground the spear was fixed erect (Verg. A. 12.130).

It has been suggested that the Homeric σαυρωτὴρ or οὐρίαχος was a knob or lump of metal to balance the weight of the spear-head and insure steadiness in throwing (Leaf, in Journ. Hellen. Soc. 4.301): it may no doubt have served that purpose as well, but the ancient tradition is constant in favour of there having been a second spike. Many of the lancers (δορυφόροι, αἰχμοφόροι, λογχοφόροι, woodcut, p. 353 b) who accompanied the king of Persia had, instead of this spike at the bottom of their spears, an apple or a pomegranate, either gilt or silvered. (Herod., Athen. ll. cc.) With this, or a similar ornament, the spear is often terminated both on Persian and Egyptian monuments. Fig. 1 in the annexed woodcut shows the top and bottom of a spear, which is held by one of the king's guards in the sculptures at Persepolis. (Sir. R. K. Porter's Travels, vol. 1. p. 601.) It may be compared with those in the hand of the Greek warrior at p. 189 b, which have the spike at the lower end. The spike at the bottom of the spear was used in fighting by the Greeks and Romans, when the head was broken off. (Plb. 6.25.)

A well-finished spear was kept in a case (δορατοθήκη), which, on account of its form, is called by Homer a pipe (σύριγξ, Il. 19.387).

The spear was used as a weapon of attack in three different ways:--1. It was thrown from catapults and other engines [TORMENTUM]. 2. It was thrust forward as a pike. In this manner Achilles killed Hector by piercing him with his spear through the neck (Il. 22.326). The Euboeans were particularly celebrated as pike-men (Hom. Il. 2.543). 3. It was commonly thrown by the hand. The Homeric hero generally went to the field with two spears (Hom. Il. 3.18, 10.76-Z2, 12.298-Z2; Pind. P. 4.139). On approaching the enemy he first threw either one spear or both, and then on coming to close quarters drew his sword (Hom. Il. 3.340, xvii, 530, 20.273-284). The Homeric spears are of enormous length. Hector carries one 11 cubits long (Il. 6.319), and when fighting from the ship's deck Ajax wields one of double the length, 22 cubits (Il. 15.678). Rüstow and Köchly consider these purely heroic (cf. the falarica hurled by Turnus, Verg. A. 9.705); but Xenophon (Xen. Anab. 4.7.16) positively tells us that the Chalybes used spears of the portentous length of 15 cubits, and we can only suspend our judgment as to the spears of Homer's time (Leaf, p. 300). The point is commonly supposed to have been attached to the shaft by a hollow socket or ferule (αὐλός, Il. 17.297, with Leaf's note; αἰγανέας δολιχαύλους, i.e. venabula, Od. 9.156); but the lance of Hector has the head fastened on by a golden πόρκης, i. e. κρίκος or ring (Il. 6.320, 15.495). Leaf very justly points out that a gold ring outside a bronze tube would not be of much use, and that the αὐλὸς and πόρκης were probably not employed together. Curiously enough, the spear-heads at Mycenae all have the αὐλός (Schliemann, Mycenae, p. 278), while those found at Hissarlik are attached to the shaft by nails (Ilios, pp. 475-7; Troja, p. 95): in the latter case the ring would come in usefully to prevent the wood from splitting. It is perhaps allowable to suppose that the αὐλὸς was the Greek, the πόρκης the Trojan mode of attachment. The question is more fully discussed by Leaf, l. c.

The spear frequently had a leathern thong tied to the middle of the shaft, which was called ἀγκύλη by the Greeks, and amentum or ammentum by the Romans, and which was of assistance in throwing the spear. The javelin to which the ἀγκύλη was attached was called μεσάγκυλον. (Pollux, 1.136; Schol. ad Eurip. Orest. 1477; Xen. Anab. 4.2, § 28; Verg. A. 9.665; Ov. Met. 12.321; Cic. de Orat. 1.57.242; Brut. 78.271.) The annexed figure, taken from Sir W. Hamilton's Etruscan Vases(iii. pl. 33), represents the amentum attached to the spear at the centre of gravity, a little above the middle.

The amentum added to the effect of throwing the lance by giving it rotation, and hence a greater degree of steadiness and directness in its flight, as in the case of a ball shot from a rifle. This supposition both suits the expressions relative to the insertion of the fingers, and accounts for the frequent use of the verb torquere, to whirl or twist, in connexion with this subject. Two fingers were used, the fore and the middle finger: Ammentum digitis tende prioribus(Senec. Phaedr. 820). We also find mention in the Latin grammarians of Hastae ansatae, and Ennius speaks of Ansatis concurrunt undique telis (ap. Macrob. Sat. 6.1.16). The ansa was probably the same as the amentum, and was so called as being the part which the soldier laid hold of in hurling the spear. (Cf. Saglio, in D. and S., s. v. Amentum.)

Under the general terms hasta and ἔγχος were included various kinds of missiles, of which the principal were as follows:--

Lancea (λόγχη, Festus, s. v. Lancea), the lance, a comparatively slender spear commonly used by the Greeks. Iphicrates, who doubled the length of the sword [GLADIUS], also added greatly to the dimensions of the lance. (Diod. 15.44; Nep. Iphicr. 1.3.) This weapon was used by the Grecian horsemen (Plb. 6.23); and by means of a cross-bar to it, which is supposed by Stuart (Ant. of Athens, vol. 3. p. 47; woodcut, fig. 2) to be exhibited on the shafts of three spears in an ancient bas-relief, they mounted their horses with greater facility. This, however, is a mere conjecture: Xenophon describes the way to mount a horse (de Re Eq. 7) and the proper kind of spears for cavalry (ib. 12), and nowhere alludes to this or any other artificial help in mounting.

Pilum (ὑσσός), the javelin, much thicker and stronger than the Grecian lance (Flor. 2.7, = 1.23, Jeep). Its shaft, often made of cornel (Verg. A. 9.698; Ovid, Ov. Met. 8.408), was 4 1/2 feet (3 cubits) long, and the barbed iron head was of the same length, but this extended half-way down the shaft, to which it was attached with extreme care, so that the whole length of the weapon was about 6 feet 9 inches. Each soldier carried two (Plb. 6.23). It was used either to throw or to thrust with; it was peculiar to the Romans, and gave the name of pilani to the division of the army by which it was adopted. It was, however, carried by different classes of troops at different times, and at last, apparently, by all the legionaries (EXERCITUSpp. 784b, 785a). When Marius fought against the Cimbri, he ordered that of the two nails or pins (περόναι) by which the head was fastened to the staff, one should be of iron and the other of wood. The consequence was that, when the pilum struck the shields of the enemy, the wooden nail broke; and as the iron head was thus bent, the spear, owing to the twist in the metal part, still held to the shield and so dragged along the ground. (Plut. Mar. 25.)

Whilst the heavy-armed Roman soldiers bore the long lance and the thick and ponderous javelin, the light-armed used smaller missiles, which, though of different kinds, were included under the general term hastae velitares (Liv. 26.4, 38.20-Z2; Plin. Nat.7.201, 28.34). From γρόσφος, the corresponding Greek term (Plb. 1.40; Strabo, 4. p. 196), the velites, or light-armed, are called by Polybius γροσφομάχοι (6.19, 20). According to his description the γρόσφος was a dart, with a shaft about 3 feet long and 1 inch in thickness: the iron head was a span long, and so thin and acuminated as to be bent by striking against anything, and thus rendered unfit to be sent back against the enemy. Fig. 3, in the above woodcut, shows one which was found, with nearly four hundred others, in a Roman entrenchment at Meon Hill, in Gloucestershire. (Skelton's Engraved Illustrations, vol. i. pl. 45.)

The light infantry of the Roman army used a similar weapon, called a spit (veru, verutum, Liv. 21.55; σαύνιον, Diod. Sic. 14.27; Festus, s. v. Samnites). It was adopted by them from the Samnites (Verg. A. 7.665) and the Volsci (Georg. 2.168). Its shaft was 3 1/2 feet long, its point 5 inches (Veget. 2.15). Fig. 4, in the above woodcut, represents the head of a dart in the Royal Collection at Naples; it may be taken as a specimen of the verutum, and may be contrasted with fig. 5, which is the head of a lance in the same collection. The Romans adopted in like manner the gaesum, which was properly a Celtic weapon (Liv. 28.45); it was given as a reward to any soldier who wounded an enemy (Plb. 6.37). Sparus is evidently the same word with the English spar and spear. It was the rudest missile of the whole class, and only used when better could not be obtained. (Verg. A. 11.682; Serv. in loc., sparus est rusticum telum in modum pedi recurvum; Nepos, Epam. 9.1; Sallust, ZYYSal. Cat. 56; Gell. 10.25.)

Besides the terms jaculum, spiculum, and venabulum (ἄκων, ἀκόντιον), which probably denoted lighter darts used in hunting as well as in battle (Thucyd. 2.4; Cic. in Verr. 5.3, § 7, ad Fam. 5.12; § 5; Verg. A. 10.52; Serv. in loc.; Ov. Met. 8.410; Flor. l. c.), we find in classical authors the names of various other spears which were characteristic of particular nations. Thus, Servius (on Aen. 7.164) states that, as the pilum was proper to the Romans and the gaesum to the Gauls (cf. Aen. 8.661; Propert. 5.10, 42), so the sarisa was the spear peculiar to the Macedonians. (On the extraordinary length of the sarisa, see EXERCITUSp. 778; Grote, Excursus on ch. 92; on the spelling of the word, L. and S. s. v. σάρισα.) The Thracian ῥομφαία, rhomphaea or rumpia, has been compared to the sarisa on the strength of a passage in Livy (Liv. 31.39), but was really a sword (cf. GLADIUS); whereas the Illyrian σιβύνη is justly described as a venabulum or hunting-spear (σιβύνιον, Plb. 6.23.9; σιγύνη, Hdt. 5.9; Antip. Sidon. 13; sibina, Enn. Annal. 7.115; sibyna, Festus; sibones, Gell. 10.25).

The iron head of the German spear, called framea, was short and narrow, but very sharp. The Germans used it with great effect either for hurling or thrusting: they gave to each youth a framea and a shield on coming of age (Tac. Germ. 6, 13, 18, 24; Juven. 13.79).

The falarica or phalarica was a missile of the largest dimensions, deriving its name from the falae or wooden towers used in sieges (cf. HELEPOLIS), from which it was usually discharged by an engine (Fest., Non. s. v.; Veget. 4.18; Serv. ad Aen. 9.705; Gell. 10.25). Livy (Liv. 21.8) describes one employed by the Saguntines, and impelled by the aid of twisted ropes; it was large and ponderous, having a head of iron 3 feet in length, which carried flaming pitch and tow. This sort was weighed near the top by a circular mass of lead (Isid. Orig. 18.7). We also find a falarica hurled from the hand, mostly, however, in poetry as a feat of gigantic strength (Verg. Aen. l. c.; Lucan (Luc. 6.196; Sil. Ital.; Grat. Falisc. Cyneg. 342), but in real life by a Spanish tribe (Liv. 34.14). The matara, mataris or materis, a Celtic word, denotes a broad-tipped spear used by the Gauls (Auct. ad Herenn. 4.32.43; Caes. B. G. 1.26; Liv. 7.24; μάδαρις, παλτοῦ τι εἶδος, Strab. 4. p. 196; Hesych.); the tragula (in some senses, but perhaps not in this one, derived from traho; see the Dictionaries) was probably barbed, as it required to be cut out of the wound (Sallust. ap. Non. p. 553, 29; Caes. B. G. 5.35; Gell. l. c.).

The careful antiquarian researches of recent years have led to the discovery of many specimens of Roman weapons, especially in Germany and Switzerland; the results of these finds, styled important by Guhl and Koner (p. 772), do not tend to the overthrow of previous established conclusions. A genuine old-German framea has not, it appears, yet been dug up out of its native soil (ib. p. 775).

Among the decorations which the Roman generals bestowed on their soldiers, more especially for saving the life of a fellow-citizen, was a spear without a head, called hasta pura (Verg. A. 6.760; Serv. in loc.; Festus, s. v. Hasta; Sueton. Claud. 28; Tac. Ann. 3.21). The gift of it is sometimes recorded in funeral inscriptions.

The caelibaris hasta (Festus, s. v.) having been fixed into the body of a gladiator lying dead on the arena, was used at marriages to part the hair of the bride (Ov. Fast. 2.559 foll.; Plut. Quaest. Rom. 87).

A spear was erected at auctions [AUCTIO], and when tenders were received for public contracts (locationes). It served both to announce by a conventional sign conspicuous at a distance that a sale was going on, and to show that it was conducted under the authority of the public functionaries (Cic. de Off. 2.8, § 29; Nepos, Att. 6; Festus, s. v. Hasta). Hence an auction was called hasta, and hastarium (Tertull. Apol. 13) is either an auction-room or an auctioneer's catalogue: in modern Italian asta means only an auction, never a spear. It was also the practice to set up a spear in the court of the CENTUMVIRI

The throwing of the spear (ἀκυντισμός) was one of the gymnastic exercises of the Greeks (Krause, Gymnastik und Agonistik, 1.465 ff.; PENTATHLON). On Greek spears in general, cf. Droysen, Kriegsalterth. pp. 17-19 in Hermann-Blümner; Guhl and Koner, ed. 5, pp. 314-318; W. Leaf in Journ. Hell. Soc. 4.299 ff.; on Roman, Marquardt, Staatsverw. 2.328 ff.; Guhl and Koner, pp. 772-775.

[J.Y] [W.W]

Hasta

(ἔγχος, παλτόν). The lance. In the earlier history of the Roman army the first four classes under the Servian constitution, and in later times, the triarii, or hindmost rank, were armed with this weapon. (See legio.) At length, however, the pilum was introduced for the whole infantry of the legion. (See pilum.) To deprive a soldier of his hasta was equivalent to degrading him to the rank of the velites, who were armed with javelins. A blunt hasta with a button at the end (hasta pura) continued to be used in later times as a military decoration. The spear frequently had a leathern thong tied to the middle of the shaft, which was called ἀγκύλη by the Greeks, and amentum or ammentum by the Romans, and which was of assistance in throwing the spear. The javelin to which the ἀγκύλη was attached was called μεσάγκυλον (Poll.i. 136; Xen. Anab. iv. 2. 28; Verg. Aen. ix. 665). The preceding figure, taken from Sir W. Hamilton's Etruscan Vases (iii. pl. 33), represents the amentum attached to the spear at the centre of gravity, a little above the middle. The amentum added to the effect of throwing the lance by giving it rotation, and hence a greater degree of steadiness and directness in its course.

The hasta was employed in many symbolical ceremonies. The fetialis (q. v.), for instance, hurled a blood-stained hasta into the enemy's territory as a token of declaration of war, and if a general devoted his life for his army he stood on a hasta while repeating the necessary formula. The hasta was also set up as a symbol of legal ownership when the censor farmed out the taxes, when state property—booty, for instance—was sold; at private auctions (hence called subhastationes), where it was the ancient equivalent of our red flag, and at the sittings of the court of the centumviri, which had to decide questions of property.