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Spartan ArmorTheir shields consisted of wood and leather with the face completely covered in a thin sheet of stressed bronze (881004), which was enough to strengthen the shield, but did not add so much weight as to make it useless. Each shield was round and approx 36 - 38 according to some unearthed examples. Legend says that a warrior was given his shield by his mother and instructed to come back with it or on it. The shield was considered th...

Taking place during the Persian-Greek Wars around 480 BC, there is probably no better known battle from the era. Thanks to fanciful re-tellings, especially lately from many sources including books like Steven Pressfield's Gates of Fire and Frank Miller's 300 it seems any student of militaria knows Leonidas and Xerxes very well indeed. As usual, the gruesome reality was not romantic at all. That said, it was just as heroic. Thermopylae was a geog...

The evolution of the political system in ancient Greece was closely mimicked by the evolution of war itself. When most people think of ancient Greece they think of their philosophy, theater, democracy, the hoplite soldier and so on. What most don't realize, however, is this view of ancient Greece only applies to a certain period: the Classical Age of Greece. The Classical Age is when Greek influence truly began to spread along with Greek culture....