Republican Greaves

[tiberius aemilius naso]

Hi! I've been thinking/researching about the use of greaves during the Republic. What we know for real? I think, not much.
First of all, we have to consider the description of the roman milites during the Punic Wars from Polibyus. Generally it has been advocated the use of one greave in the left leg. Here arises my first doubt. The text from Polybius has been generally translated like this:

“In addition to these they have two pila, a brass helmet and greaves.” (Polibyus, Histories, 6, 23).

So it has been generally translated "greaves", in plural (also in my Spanish edition). So... why has been said that legionaries from this time used just one, protecting their left leg? Nick Sekunda says that in the original in greek says greave, singular. Someone with knowledge of greek to confirm this?

In fact, there isn't any representation of legionaries from the Republican era showing only one greave in the left leg. The oldest relief is probably the Aemilius Paulus monument (168 BC), showing legionaries without greaves, and the Domitius Ahenobarbus Altar, where legionaries are also showed without greaves and the tribune wears two.
The other relief that i know where we can really see greaves in use (and not like trophies) is the Estepa relief (sometimes named Urso or Osuna relief), from Cesarean times. Again, two greaves.

So... can we trust Polybius? What is the real translation of this text?

[S. Marcer]

Ciao Eduardo,
Polybius in the original Greek text uses the singular form of προκνημ-ίς [-ῖδος, ἡ](proknemis) (Polyb, 6, 23, 8 ), and in my Italian edition the translation is correct: “una gambiera”.
From the text appears that in practice only one greave was worn, and also others publications agree with this hypothesis (vd. Bishop and Coulston 1993, p. 60; Walbank 1957, p. 705; Daly 2002, p. 69).
The problem is that (to my knowledge) there are no sure archaeological examples of Republican greaves, the Latin translates the word greave with two words: ocrea (to protect the shin) or cnemis (to protect the shin and the knee), common in the world of the gladiatorial games.
Using the words of Daly:
If this was indeed the case [of one greave], the greave was worn on the left leg, for according to Arrian it was worn on that shin which was thrust forward in fighting and in gladiatorial combat, and therefore presumably in battle (Arr., Tact. 5.3).

I hope this will be useful

Best
S.M.

[Draconis]

I was picturing a legionary in fighting stance, and I'm thinking feet at 90 degrees to each other a bit like a reverse fencing stance only considering the legs.Shield on the left arm the position would give good defensive strength to withstand a charge crashing against the shield. The left shin would be just beneath the shield and would be in the most danger of injury. The right leg angled away at a right angle, would be very hard for an enemy to hit. It might have been considered by the average legionary, that it was just more weight to lug around with little purpose for defense. Maybe they started with two greaves and maybe wore two for parade or marching, but generally, left one in camp if they didn't toss it. Maybe wearing two greaves was the sign of a rookie, or other people who might not expect to be on the shield wall. Just conjecture, but I can see why they might have just worn one.

[tiberius aemilius naso]

Thanks a lot for your answers, Stefano and Tom.
That was just what i was looking for, to confirm that in the original in greek, the word greave is clearly used in singular. Your explanation is great, Stefano. What is shocking is that despite this, we don't have any relief showing roman miles from the Republic using an only greave. But we have them showing the use of two, or any, both Roman and Etruscan reliefs. I don't know if there are samnite statues or reliefs with warriors using one greave, does someone know? I know that the evidence is scarce, but i sometimes think we trust Polybius too much.
Stefano, do you know how are the greaves used in classic greek called... in greek? Do they use also "proknemis"? My knowledge of greek panoply is really bad, but i thing this greaves protect shin and knee.

[S. Marcer]

tiberius aemilius naso wrote:

Stefano, do you know how are the greaves used in classic greek called... in greek? Do they use also "proknemis"?

Ciao Eduardo!
in answer to your question...the Greek most used word to mean greave (since Homero) is κνημίς [-ῖδος, ἡ] (sing. fem. nom.).
I enclose here the definition of this word taken by the Liddell–Scott–Jones (LSJ) Greek–English Lexicon.
A. greave, legging, “κνημῖδας μὲν πρῶτα περὶ κνήμῃσιν ἔθηκε ἀργυρέοισινἐπισφυρίοις ἀραρυίας” Il.19.369; “τεῦξε δέ οἱ κνημῖδας . . κασσιτέροιο” 18.613; “κ. ὀρειχάλκοιο φαεινοῦ” Hes.Sc.122; βόειαι κ. oxhide leggings, Od.24.229, cf.Plb.11.9.4; sg., Il.21.592, Luc.Rh.Pr. 18.
The word’s origins are in the the Greek word κνημη, that simply means “leg, tibia”. The word used by Polybius (and also in Ascl.Tact.1.2, Ael.Tact.2.8, Polyaen.6.4.3) derives from this word and the preposition πρό, that also means "in front of".

Very Best!
S.M.

[M. Caecilius]

What is shocking is that despite this, we don't have any relief showing roman miles from the Republic using an only greave. But we have them showing the use of two, or any, both Roman and Etruscan reliefs. I don't know if there are samnite statues or reliefs with warriors using one greave, does someone know? I know that the evidence is scarce, but i sometimes think we trust Polybius too much.

Polybius was an eyewitness, which is relatively rare in the Roman world, especially for this period. Naturally, he wrote about a rather narrow span, and the Roman soldiers may have used two greaves in the Second Punic War while only using one during the time of the conquest of Greece which Polybius witnessed.

How much pictorial evidence do we have for Republican soldiers of this period anyway - giving a later date to the Altar of Ahaenobarbus - is there anything beside the Aemilius Paullus monument? And if so, might greaves be something that was painted on, rather than sculpted?

Another question - and expanding on Tom's reasoning - would be whether it was cost-effective to wear both greaves, especially if only one was needed. Considering the cost of the panoply, soldiers might have tried to save where they could: several seem to have gone without mail and protected themselves only with the pectorale, so perhaps it's not too far-fetched to assume they would overload themselves with unnecessary and pricey metal.

By the way... have there ever been serious excavations at ancient battle sites that might have been left relatively unperturbed? I'm thinking mostly whether there is anything left of the soldiers who try to flee into Lake Trasimene. Bronze does corrode, but as far as I know, should stand some chance of survival.

[S. Marcer]

tiberius aemilius naso wrote:

I don't know if there are samnite statues or reliefs with warriors using one greave, does someone know?

just to complete the matter about the greaves, I insert a few images of figurines and frescos that (probably) represent Samnitian warriors.
1-Affresco pesante, Tomba del Guerriero , end V – beginning IV century BC, Paestum (Naples, Museo Nazionale)
2-Guerriero sannita, pittura murale, IV century BC (Capua)
3-Guerriero Sannita, IV-III century BC (Paris, Louvre)

Best!
S.M.

[Draconis]

Looking at the images, they seem to have placed a much higher priority on protecting their shins than most of the rest of their bodies. Maybe they assumed nobody would hit them anywhere else? :-P One greave or two might have come down to individual choices and preferences. Maybe they gambled the second greave in a dice game? I personally would prefer to have two, but a case could be made for why a person might be ok with one on the left leg.

[Titvs Statilivs Castvs]

If you have a shield, it's "only" your head and shins which are exposed.. Hence the importance for these people to protect them. Also, the left one is most important, as your left leg stands in front when fighting.

[tiberius aemilius naso]

Great pictures, Stefano! But two greaves in all of them :wink: In every example covering shin and knee. Great lesson of old greek too!
Some more images, for the record:

The Estepa Relief, around 45 a.c. (commemorating the Battle of Munda, the capture of Urso by Cesar, or something that happened in Astapa or Ostippo) (Museo Arqueológico de Sevilla):



The Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus:



Reliefs in the church of San Domenico, Sura (1st century B.C.)



Max, finds in old battlefields are quite uncommon, as it has sometimes been explained in the forum. But who knows what drowned legionaries have left us at the bottom of lake Trasimene... Concerning what Tom said, the cost-effectiveness of using just one greave... i don't think the weight of a greave could be an issue. Two greaves had been used extensively, and sometime in the first century B.C. (Estepa Relief), they were also in use among roman legionaries.

[Draconis]

What I've been saying has only been speculation based on the original post. I have no idea if they used one or two greaves. If it were me, I would definitely wear two, but if for some reason some legionaries used one, I was speculating on why they might. In battle, I would think the left leg would be more at risk from enemy weapons than the right and you might concievably be ok with just the left one. Again, I like both legs and would cover them up. It would appear that they used two, though who knows if this was 100%? Maybe if there were a shotage of armor around, you might just get one? People like symetry, two legs, two greaves makes sense to me.