Lead slingshots discovered on Cretan sites carry considerable weight regarding the nature of warfare on the island in the Late Classical, Hellenistic and, even, Roman periods. Text on slingshots was conceived of, and cast as, an integral component of the weapon, thereby representing a fundamental aspect of the weapon’s design. Such messages, albeit brief by nature, have interesting implications for general levels of literacy within the troops as the personal names, insulting imperatives and irony all demand a degree of scriptive comprehension in order to achieve an effective delivery. In the broader field, slingshot inscriptions frequently denote a personal name, usually that of the squadron general; however, the presence of city names on slingshots, while relatively rare, have been ascribed to civic armies of Knossos, Gortyna and Phalasarna.
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