Shake Right Hands, but Keep a Firm Grip on the Weapon in Your Other Hand

For at least two thousand years, the clasping of right hands (dexiosis) has generally taken place close to a weapon held in the other hand. In ancient iconography, the handshake was associated above all with images of Mithras, the god of light and the keeping of covenants. Mithras was also a warrior god. This aspect of making a pact and displaying the attributes of one’s own power can be seen perfectly in the relief from Mount Nemrut (Turkey, Arsameia). Mithridates I Callinicus, ruler of the Kingdom of Commagene, makes a pact with Heracles. The significance of the pact is bound up with the reality of the threat.