AMENTUM, in Roman Antiquity, a thong tied about the middle of a javelin or dart, either to give it rotation, or in order to recover the weapon as soon as it was discharged. The ancients made much use of the amentum, thinking it helped to enforce the blow. It was called ἀγκυλῆ by the Greeks, and the expression Hasta anata probably refers to the same. Amentum sometimes denoted a latchet that bound the sandals.