Lagobolon

Pan holding a lagobolon in his right hand and resting his left elbow on the rock.

A lagobolon (Ancient Greek: λαγωβόλον or λαγωοβόλον) is a weapon which was used in Ancient Greece for hunting hares or birds.

Description

In ancient depictions the lagobolon is usually a short staff or stick with a bend in it, suitable for throwing, similar to a boomerang. It is described as being used for hunting as well as herding.

According to scholar John Anderson, the lagobolon originated in Magna Graecia, the Greek-speaking region of southern Italy.

Symbolism

According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus, a lagobola was the symbol of the founding of Rome. He says that Romulus used a lagobola to mark out the areas for taking omens before the founding of the city.

References

  1. ↑ "Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, λα^γώβολ-ον". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Nefëdkin, Aleksandr Konstantinovič (2009). "Lagobolon : a hunting weapon of the ancient Greeks depicted on Pharsalian coins of the fourth century BC". Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of Polish Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 13 August 2026.
  3. ↑ "ΛΑΓΩΒΟΛΟΝ – ΕΝΑ ΙΔΙΟΜΟΡΦΟ ΚΥΝΗΓΕΤΙΚΟ ΟΠΛΟ". 1 December 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  4. ↑ Olson, Douglas (2023). "PHILOLOGICAL NOTES ON THE LETTER LAMBDA IN A NEW GREEK-ENGLISH DICTIONARY" (PDF). Hyperboreus 29: 1 (2023), DOI: 10.25990/hyperboreus.9kfd-7752 Hyperboreus 29: 1 (2023): 149. Archived from the original on 2025-03-18. Retrieved 2026-01-05.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ↑ Steer, Francis W. (1965). "Further Notes on Shepherd's Staves" (PDF). The Agricultural History Review. XIII (1): 47–49. Retrieved 14 August 2026.
  6. ↑ [ The Agricultural History Review, volume xiii, 1965, p. 47]
  7. ↑ "Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, κα^λαῦροψ". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  8. ↑ Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities, 14.2.2 - English

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