This has to be one of the deadliest slings ever made. Unlike the standard stone tossing slings of the Stone Age, the Kestros was sharp, and capable of penetrating light armor when thrown hard enough. The sharpened and weighted tip can do serious damage to an enemy on the battle field if not deflected by metallic armor. In motion the Kestros looks more like a double sling with straps around an iron tipped dart. The dart was usually around a foot in length or maybe a little more and built similar to an arrow. The entire tip is metal and purposely weighs more than the rest of the dart. This forces the tip to face front while airborne, and allows the shaft and feathers, or something similar, to guide it in a straight path.
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| The Kestros Art by TL Jeffcoat |
Macedonian troops (a nation of ancient Greece) under the rule of King Perseus around 150 BC were known to train and use the Kestros in a few battles. It wasn’t used for a very long time, as technology quickly turned to more reliable ranged weapons. The Kestros was a light weight and easy weapon to carry with a quiver of darts that can be slung over a shoulder. The only downside of this deadly sling weapon is the winding up throw. Just like the sling, it was eventually replaced with weapons that didn’t require spinning it before attacking or used lighter ammo.
