Pilum

Throw This First

The pilum was a Roman heavy javelin: a wooden shaft joined to a long, narrow iron shank ending in a small hardened tip. It looked strange next to an ordinary spear, but the shape had a purpose.

A soldier threw his pilum just before the two sides met. Its weight and iron point could punch through a shield — or convince the man behind it that holding that shield had become a much worse idea.

You may have heard the pilum was designed to bend on impact so the enemy couldn’t throw it back. It’s a famous story, but the real history is messier. A pilum could bend, but that probably wasn’t the point.

Whatever happened afterward, the basic idea was simple:

Throw the pilum first. Then get out the gladius. If you need the pilum again, you can worry about finding it later.