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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...

A hoplites most important piece of equipment, and what gave the hoplite its name, is the hoplon, the shield (881004). The shield was made of overlapping planks of wood covered in leather, with the face of the shield covered completely in a thin sheet of bronze. This gave it incredible strength while at the same time not making it so heavy that it became unusable. Each shield was round and approximately 36 to 38 in diameter. Worn on the left arm,...

A warrior would have had a helmet (300386) and sometimes a mail shirt (300170), but always a large round shield (801108). This was most often slung on the back when fighting with a spear or two hand axes (600642). The form of fighting with a shield was very open and swift and anything was fair play. Thought of as a defensive tool, it was actually used as an offensive weapon with devastating effectiveness. When holding the sword and shield an indi...