Replica hoplite shield1/14/2024 At first, it had an oval shape and later it changed to rectangular. The word “scutum” literally meant “a shield” for the ancient Romans. It was because of its weight, which made the escape much more difficult. ![]() ![]() Some poleis tried to follow the Spartans, while in the other armies it was a shield to be dropped at once in the case of a retreat. What is more, the lack of a shield was even punished with death penalty, while returning without a spear or a helmet did not cause any outrage. The significance of a shield in Sparta can be illustrated by the words usually repeated by a mother who was saying goodbye to her son before a battle: “come back with the shield or on the shield”, namely as a winner or dead. At the time of the phalanx, such heroes as Achilles would not be appreciated, but just the opposite, they would be criticized for breaking the solid formation. The poet Tyrtaeus wrote songs praising the virtues of the Greek phalanx and he emphasized that the key aspect of it was to fight shoulder to shoulder with colleagues, without any individual daring exploits. The blows were inflicted obliquely downwards, aiming particularly at the torso, arms and face. By creating such a "wall" of shields, the warriors attacked their enemies with the blades of spears, which have measured up to 2-2.5 meters. The squeeze was so tight, that it made it impossible to fight with a sword. Since the formation required the maximum tightening, only one type of weapon could be used, namely a spear. The troops formed in this way moved in slightly slanted rows. As a result, the nearest soldiers were moving a bit back and to the left. The soldier was supposed to stand in a line, very close to the other hoplites, so that his shield overlapped the one held by his colleague on the left side, at the same time hiding under the edge of the shield carried by a warrior on the right side. In the Spartan army, hoplons (aspides) constituted the basis for the Greek phalanx, which was a special technique of fighting in a formation. ![]() The oldest initial discovered so far is "Λ" (Lacedaemon – Sparta), from 560 BC most probably. Moreover, the characteristic decorations were usually put on the outside, in the form of an individual figure mark (the most common theme was the head of Medusa), an ideogram or a specific initial of the particular polis (city-state), for example an owl in the case of Athens. To the outside part, leather (usually of a bull) was also added, as well as bronze, with particular attention to the edges. It was produced from the oak wood, with leather applied to the inside part. It was used for protection by the Greek soldiers, especially the heavy Spartan infantry, who were called hoplites, namely because of their shields. Painting depicting Hoplite with shield HoplonĪ hoplon, also referred to as an aspis, is a round shield from the period between the seventh and third centuries BC.
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