Copis
κοπίς
Copis (κοπίς), a curved sword, like a falx, and therefore a kind of scimitar (Xen. Eq. 12.1. 1: copidas vocabant gladios leviter curvatos, falcibus similes,
Curt. 8.14.29). It was used by the Thessalians (Eur. Elect. 837) and by the eastern nations (Xen. Cyr. 2.1, § 9, 6.2.10; Curt. l.c.).
Copis was also the name of a knife used in cutting the flesh of animals in sacrifices and the kitchen (Poll. 10.104; Athen. 4.169 b; Plut. Lyc. 2). It is used as an adjective with μάχαιρα by Euripides (Eur. Cycl. 241).
From William Smith (ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. Text provided under a CC BY-SA license by Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Tufts University. Data accessed from https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-pdlrefwk/ on 17 October 2026.