Question about the origin of the Greek hoplite shield

[Dithrambus]

I am interested in the origin of the aspes, Herodotus credits the Carians for teaching the ancient Greeks to use handles instead of a leather strap (Her. 1.171) along with shield devices and the helmet crest. Apollodorus in: 'The library of Greek mythology' credits the Argives for having invented the Greek shield, I have read other references to the 'Argive buckler'.

Sir Richard F. Burton in his work: 'The Book Of The Sword', seems to believe that all swords, shields and armor have their origins in Egypt and were simply modified by various cultures as their use spread through trade and migration etc. A shield for defence and decoration of weapons, armor and even the warrior's body seem to be shared by many cultures, which is not suprising considering that to defend oneself and to decorate surfaces is simply human nature, with that in mind I will limit my question to the origin of the typical 3' diameter x 5" bowl (approx) Greek hoplite's shield. When does this example first appear in the monumental or literary record?

Comments and opinions on the origin of the shield in general are also welcome.


Thanks

Mark H.

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

The classical Greeks were reffering to it as the Argive shield and attributed it's creation to a specific inventor,so this solves all our questions. Round shields existed since always, double grip shields existed elsewhere too,hollow shields as well. Rimmed shields not excluded. But there can be thousands of designs that bear those characteristics and the invention of the Argive shields can't be traced through a longs period of evolution. Once,and Argive army,or better,a part of an Argive army was equipped with a round,hollow,rimmed shield that its form only slightly changed for many centuries. What was it made of is hard to tell. Perhaps leather covered wicker. Perhaps laminated stripes of wood. We don't know. Heck,we don't know exactly how they were made in classical times! The shield though appeared in the 8th century, a time when we see both single and double gripped shields. and the "Argive" shield was just a strange innovation. In the Chigi vase which dates in the 7th century,we see two fully equiped armies all with argive shields that don't seem primitive at all! They seem bronze covered and they have blazons of the same type as the classical shields. It seems that the shield became popular very quickly and this must be telling of its success. To me,it also means a radical change on the way of fighting,and this is what has been very successful,as the shield itself even in its advanced form has a number of dissadvantages compared with other,even earlier shields.
Khaire
Giannis

[Dithrambus]

The classical Greeks were reffering to it as the Argive shield and attributed it's creation to a specific inventor,so this solves all our questions. Round shields existed since always, double grip shields existed elsewhere too,hollow shields as well. Rimmed shields not excluded. But there can be thousands of designs that bear those characteristics and the invention of the Argive shields can't be traced through a longs period of evolution. Once,and Argive army,or better,a part of an Argive army was equipped with a round,hollow,rimmed shield that its form only slightly changed for many centuries. What was it made of is hard to tell. Perhaps leather covered wicker. Perhaps laminated stripes of wood. We don't know. Heck,we don't know exactly how they were made in classical times! The shield though appeared in the 8th century, a time when we see both single and double gripped shields. and the "Argive" shield was just a strange innovation. In the Chigi vase which dates in the 7th century,we see two fully equiped armies all with argive shields that don't seem primitive at all! They seem bronze covered and they have blazons of the same type as the classical shields. It seems that the shield became popular very quickly and this must be telling of its success. To me,it also means a radical change on the way of fighting,and this is what has been very successful,as the shield itself even in its advanced form has a number of dissadvantages compared with other,even earlier shields.
Khaire
Giannis

So it would seem that by the seventh century, the aspes had fully developed into the common form and the phalanx had evolved into the rigid cohesive unit along with it?

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

Well,the aspis did have a quite distinctive for throughout its life,but this doesn't mean it has always been constructed the same way. Nor that different times didn't favor some minor chnages on the preferred size,depth etc.
As for the phalanx,this also passed through many stages or better said,it must have been under constant evollution,and we can't know exactly how it worked at any specific period. I do believe though that the aspis favored a generally more rigid formation,and this formation favored the aspis. its a round arguement.
Khaire
Giannis

[hoplite14gr]

All cultures developed shields independently from the neolithic period
By mid century B.C the shields had shield bosses or telamon (leather bauldric).
Herodotus credits the Carians with invention of porpax and antilave.
King Pheidon of Argos is credited to transformed the simple shield wall of the Homeric times into
a group of "offensive spearmen" moving in a block and crashing all in its path.
Then it kept evolving tillthe introduction of the sarissa.

Kind regards

[Dithrambus]

Well,the aspis did have a quite distinctive for throughout its life,but this doesn't mean it has always been constructed the same way. Nor that different times didn't favor some minor chnages on the preferred size,depth etc.
As for the phalanx,this also passed through many stages or better said,it must have been under constant evollution,and we can't know exactly how it worked at any specific period. I do believe though that the aspis favored a generally more rigid formation,and this formation favored the aspis. its a round arguement.
Khaire
Giannis

A bit of the 'chicken or the egg' syndrome? :wink:

Seriously though, I was working around to the question of the phalanx as it is understood, it would seem that weaponry, techniques and formations would have evolved simultaneously, with one innovation leading to another.

[PMBardunias]

Snodgrass wrote a paper on the "Carian tradition" in which he denied their precedence, largely because crested helms were known in Greece at dates earlier than we have anything from Caria. I agree but there is some room for nuance. There was a Mycenaean enclave near Miletos and others along the coast on anatolia, so Greek contact goes back before the Ionians arrive. Western Anatolians figure prominantly in the founding mythology of Peloponesean groups- hence the name. Some have gone too far and attributed the whole panoply of the hoplite to Caria. Big round shields that re convex, though more conical in profile, are common in Assyria and shields very like the aspis in appearance, though not structure are found in Urartu (see the thread on them)

The three features that are traditionally linked are the helmet crest, the shield blazon, and the arm band for the shield- the sources do not call it Porpax, but:
????-?? , to/, (??? A)
A. holder of a shield, i.e. a bar or band fastened crosswise on the under side of the shield, through which the bearer passed his arm, Anacr.91, Hdt.2.141, Aen.Tact.29.12; invented by the Carians acc. to Hdt.1.171.

I happen to have many of the refernces at hand on this topic for something I'm writing, so I thought I'd share them:

Strabo 4.27]
Of the numerous accounts of the Carians, the one that is generally agreed upon is this, that the Carians were subject to the rule of Minos, being called Leleges at that time, and lived in the islands; then, having migrated to the mainland, they took possession of much of the coast and of the interior, taking it away from its previous possessors, who for the most part were Leleges and Pelasgians. In turn these were deprived of a part of their country by the Greeks, I mean Ionians and Dorians. As evidences of their zeal for military affairs, writers adduce shield-holders, shield-emblems, and crests, for all these are called "Carian." At least Anacreon says,“Come, put thine arm through the shield-holder, work of the Carians.
”And Alcaeus says,“shaking the Carian crest."

Hdt.1. 171.
[4] They invented three things in which they were followed by the Greeks: it was the Carians who originated wearing crests on their helmets and devices on their shields, and who first made grips for their shields; until then all who used shields carried them without these grips, and guided them with leather belts which they slung round the neck and over the left shoulder.1

For an Assyrian force with the same grips as above:

Hdt.2.141.
[5] Their enemies came there, too, and during the night were overrun by a horde of field mice2 that gnawed quivers and bows and the handles of shields, with the result that many were killed fleeing unarmed the next day.

One explanation may be that Herodotus and others were interviewing barbarians and the Carians as famous mercenaries in the 7th and 6th century may have in fact "introduced" these elements to the world at large.

Polyaenus, Strat. 7.3
Psammeticus [King of Egypt], who had as a companion Pigres the Carian, having learned from him that the Carians had been the first to fix crests on their helmets..

It might not hurt that they were spreading their own press at a time when mercenaries in a hoplite panoply were in high demand. Thye were famously known as "cocks" due to the crests on their helmets.

Below is a probable Carian, but if anyone knows for sure, let me know.

One last point: The tradition of Egyptians using double grip shields (from Xenophon's Cyropaedia) might be due to greek influence, but there is a shield type that has been thought to have been introduced to the Assyrians by the Egyptians. It is a bit like a cross between an old-style Egyptian shield with a rounded top and a squared bottom with a barrel shaped roman scutum (see below). I have assumed that like the later scutum it had a single grip. This may not be the case, the shield actually bears some resemblance to scaled down Mycenaean body shields held by a strap or telamon. If the ancestor of this shield was held by a telamon, then a switch to a double grip system without a change in the shape to a rounded aspis could account for the tradition and mean that it had very little to do with the aspis. This should perhaps not suprise us, for its unlikely that the Thracians got this grip from the Greek aspis for their peltae.

[Dithrambus]

Thank you Paul,

You've given me quite a lot to consider, I had read about Greek mercenaries in Egyptian service, but these are the first images that I have seen.


Thanks again!

[Dithrambus]

All cultures developed shields independently from the neolithic period
By mid century B.C the shields had shield bosses or telamon (leather bauldric).
Herodotus credits the Carians with invention of porpax and antilave.
King Pheidon of Argos is credited to transformed the simple shield wall of the Homeric times into
a group of "offensive spearmen" moving in a block and crashing all in its path.
Then it kept evolving tillthe introduction of the sarissa.

Kind regards

Thank you Stefanos, interesting that the origin of the hoplite phalanx is attributed to Argive invention.

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

Paul,thanks for posting these.
When did Anacreon write? Together with Alcaeus they must be the earliest sources mentioning the carian crest and grip. However,both of them can be interpreted differently, not that the crest and shield band's invention originate in Caria,but simply that they have been manufactured there! If later sources,like Herodotus, have used the same quotes,i wonder if is possible that Caria has been attributed the inventon of these things just because there has been a strong trade of them.

[immortal]

The figures with feathers around their heads are usually identified as Persians in Assyrian service. They are shown as spearmen and archers after the conquest of Elam. I have not seen them wearing a crested helmet under the garlands before though. This style of helmet is usually worn by those from the Neo-Hittite states. The tall shield is a common feature of near eastern armies, but its origin is thought to be Egypt. Reed banks were planted along the Tigris to facilitate their construction.

The crested helmet is common in the Kisir Shuarruti (standing army) of Assyria. These could well just be a combination of Assyrian and native head gear. Another explanation is that the Garlands are ceremonial; they are usually only depicted on victorious soldiers on Parade.

The second figure is usually identified as a Ghandarian or eastern Iranian. He wears Iranian footwear and is accompanied by a humped bull, which suggests an eastern origin. Other members of the delegation carry two spears and no shield.

[immortal]

Ive just asked Nigel Talis about this (curator of the Near Eastern wing in the British Museum) and he says the identification is incorrect. They are soldiers and priests taking part in a victory parade. They are not Ionian or Carian as they were never part of the Assyrian army.

[PMBardunias]

They are not Ionian or Carian as they were never part of the Assyrian army.

Excellent! I took that from an old paper and wondered about the designation. My understanding is that the crested helmet was adopted in Assyrian service as you say from Neo-hittites, perhaps from Greece by way of Caria/Lycia? But I am always wary of assuming cultural transfer for something so obvious and easy to make as a helmet crest. It is exceedingly unlikely that the Hawaiians were inspired by Greeks for example :wink: Why are the priests wearing such seemingly compound helmets? It reminds me of the compound helmet symbolizing the upper and lower nile worn by Egyptian kings.

By the way, the paper I lifted the image from was attempting to link that image and the Carians to the origin of the Philistines.

Perhaps more interesting is the other image. If it is really from modern Pakistan, then the large, rimmed, aspis-like shield becomes quite interesting. Any other images of these Ghandarians? Perhaps the artist simply used an aspis as a model because the Ghandarians were little known to him but he knew they had round shields.

[immortal]

Excellent! I took that from an old paper and wondered about the designation. My understanding is that the crested helmet was adopted in Assyrian service as you say from Neo-hittites, perhaps from Greece by way of Caria/Lycia? But I am always wary of assuming cultural transfer for something so obvious and easy to make as a helmet crest. It is exceedingly unlikely that the Hawaiians were inspired by Greeks for example :wink: Why are the priests wearing such seemingly compound helmets? It reminds me of the compound helmet symbolizing the upper and lower nile worn by Egyptian kings.

By the way, the paper I lifted the image from was attempting to link that image and the Carians to the origin of the Philistines.

Perhaps more interesting is the other image. If it is really from modern Pakistan, then the large, rimmed, aspis-like shield becomes quite interesting. Any other images of these Ghandarians? Perhaps the artist simply used an aspis as a model because the Ghandarians were little known to him but he knew they had round shields.

The priest is the guy at the front, the others I believe are soldiers on a victory parade. Apparently there is a fragment with the king in his chariot wearing the garland too. I have another line drawing showing a group of archers and a group of spearmen wearing the garlands of feathers too. I'll upload it for you.
Uratu had some crested helmets, but the majority are from the Neo-Hittite states. One in particular looks very Greek... I shall upload that one too!

I often wonder about the Sea Peoples and the Greeks. I found the armour in AW Vol III: issue 3 article "seven against Thebes" very similar to the armour depicted as being worn by the Sea Peoples.

I have been confused by the figure at Persepolis, he is sometimes identified as a Sarangian, not Gangarian. He does wear Mede leggins, tunic and shoes. The Gandarians do also have (bigger) round shields and spears. It is widely believed that the artists knew what their subjects looked like quite well. It is interesting to point out that other than the Medes, these are the only figures that are shown with defensive equipment.
I'll post some images up tonight for you.

[Dithrambus]

Immortal wrote: I have been confused by the figure at Persepolis, he is sometimes identified as a Sarangian, not Gangarian. He does wear Mede leggins, tunic and shoes. The Gandarians do also have (bigger) round shields and spears. It is widely believed that the artists knew what their subjects looked like quite well. It is interesting to point out that other than the Medes, these are the only figures that are shown with defensive equipment.
I'll post some images up tonight for you.

This is getting very interesting!

Stephen, thank you for your input on this thread, looking forward to more images!

Mark H.