ANCIENT GREEK ARMIES fought mainly with the spear. Roman legions fought mostly with the sword. Persians fought largely with the bow and arrow. The mythical warrior Herakles (or Hercules) wielded a knobby wooden club. All these weapons, and many others, feature prominently on ancient coins. War was a central preoccupation of most ancient states, and rulers and magistrates who commissioned engravers to create coin designs wanted accurate depictions of their weapons and the weapons carried by their gods, heroes, and foes.