The
dory or
Doru (; ) is a
spear that was the chief armament of
hoplites (heavy infantry) in
Ancient Greece. The word "
dory" was first attested by
Homer with the meanings of "wood" and "spear". Homeric heroes hold two
dorata (Il. 11,43, Od. 1, 256). In the Homeric epics and in the classical period the dory was a symbol of military power, possibly more important than the sword, as can be deducted from expressions like "Troy conquered by dory" (Il. 16,708) and words like "
doryktetos" (spear-won) and "
doryalotos" (spear-taken).