Hoplite Shield Designs

[hoplite14gr]

Avete,
17a : Spartan shields. Actual color is uncertain but probably red or black. Shield surface was left natural bronze
Theo

Evidence point to its use after 420 B.C. The red color is likely as being a color for Ares and Spartan martial tradition

Avete,
17b : Club emblem of Thebes. Again probably black on a natural bronze background.
Theo

Color interpretation strictly on attic pottery. Red and white or combination of the above cannot be excluded. I might also be encased in a beotian shield if we trust local coinage.

Avete,
17c through 17k : Typical patterns from Athens where blazon was apparently left to individual choice. These could be painted on the bronze of the shield, attached to a metal sheet of different color or painted on a painted ground. Favorite shield colors were purple, red, and yellow, followed by green, grey, violet, and navy blue.
Theo

Colours were not accidental. 17c might be Kefalenian (under research)
Dolphin was mainly white but backround color denoted city state. White dolphin on red appears in Corinthian aryballoi from 700 B.C.

Avete,
17l : Hoplite shield in section together with method of carrying it.
Theo

Avete,
17m : One type of Macedonian shield pattern. The main variation in these was the number of crescents surrounding the central star.
These varied between 4 and 7 in number, 7 being the most common.
It seems likely that the shield surface was left natural bronze and the emblems on it colored, as we hear of Successor units called Silver Shields and White Shields.
Theo

The cresents appear with the Antigonides in Macedonia and other Hellenistic states had finaces to issue luxurioyw equipment to the elite units.

Kind regards