Dagger
Cultural symbolism

The dagger is symbolically ambiguous. For some cultures and military organizations the dagger symbolizes courage and daring in combat.

However, daggers may be associated with deception or treachery due to the ease of concealment and surprise that the user could inflict upon an unsuspecting victim. Indeed, many assassinations have been carried out with the use of a dagger, including that of Julius Caesar. A cloak and dagger attack is one in which a deceitful, traitorous, or concealed enemy attacks a person. Some have noted a phallic association between daggers and the succession of royal dynasties in British literature.

In European artwork, daggers were sometimes associated with Hecate, the Ancient Greek goddess of witchcraft.

The social stigma of the dagger originates in its periodic use in the commission of disreputable and murderous attacks, from the 44 BC assassination of Julius Caesar to the use of the stiletto dagger by the Black Hand of early 20th century America. Consequently, it developed a public association with surprise assaults by criminals and murderers intent on stabbing unsuspecting victims. To this day, criminal codes of many nations and some US states specifically ban the carrying of the dagger as a prohibited weapon.
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