That some of the epithets applied to the shield of Aias suggest that it, Shield is on one occasion described as reaching to the feet of theīearer, as is the shield of one Periphetes (6.117-18 15.645-6), and The problem, as it is generally perceived, is that Hektor's Shoulder.(54) Finally, shields have kanones, which are most likely to beĬross-bars fixed at the back of the shield to reinforce it and to which Shields have an offset rim, which may be double or triple they areĬarried by a strap (telamon) passing over the right or left Hide, was appropriately created by a leatherworker, who, it seems, firstįormed the body of the shield from hides, then hammered a layer ofīronze on top of it (7.219-23).(52) After 'round', shieldsĪre most frequently called 'bossed' (omphaloessa), andĪgamemnon's shield, for one, has a central boss as well as twentyīosses set either along the perimeter or across the diameter.(53) Inside by stitching them along the rim with gold wire (12.294-7) Īias' shield, by contrast, which has exceptionally many layers of Who first hammered out the bronze facing, then attached the hides to the Interestingly, the poet envisages two ways ofĬonstructing it: Sarpedon's shield was created by a bronzesmith, Shield is 'equal everywhere' (pantos' eise), and theĪlmost universally accepted meaning 'round' is surelyĬorrect.(51) The shield consists of several layers of ox-hide and an Specifically said to carry circular shields. 'well-rounded' (eukuklos), and a number of major heroes are Shields in general are several times described as Its notoriety, the bulk of references to it is in fact clear andĬonsistent. We turn to an examination of the notorious Homeric shield.(50) Despite The significance of both observations will become clear at once, as To the weight and size of pieces of equipment, and the use of valuable Homer's image of heroic arms and armour, particularly with respect May be further, perhaps less obvious, elements of fantasy in One must therefore allow for the possibility that there Hand can throw boulders too heavy even for two ordinary mortals to hoist Equally fantastic is the strength of the heroes, who with one Golden doors and silver doorposts of Alkinoos' palace in the Made of countless golden hairs, are surely as fantastic as, say, the Layers of bronze and two of tin, or the plume of Akhilleus' helmet, Nestor's shield of solid gold,Īkhilleus' shield with its layer of gold sandwiched between two The second observation is that Homer's descriptions ofĪrmament are not always realistic. Or helmet, although he does possess these (15.442-83).(48) 238-38),Īnd Teukros, too, initially chooses to fight as an archer without shield Matter of choice rather than necessity: Paris, hardly a poor man, fightsĪs an archer, covered only with a leopard-skin (3.15-20 cf. May go into battle without shields or body-armour. Some use bow and arrows instead of, orĪlongside, spear and sword and the occasional battle-axe those who do First, the heroes'Įquipment is not uniform. Incompatible with mobile, open-formation combat. Indeed very similar to that of hoplites, but that it is by no means Homer's depiction of arms and armour, that Homeric armament is I shall try to show that there is no real inconsistency in That heavy Homeric equipment is entirely unsuited to 'fluid Pritchett have supported this view, by stressing He believes to be their hoplite style of fighting. That Homeric warriors as a rule do wear hoplite panoplies to match what More recently, however, Joachim Latacz has suggested The Iliad to hoplite panoplies are merely a late addition to a generallyĬonfused picture, featuring all sorts of arms and armour from various Panoplies gained them a reputation abroad as 'men of bronze'.Ī long tradition of scholarship has maintained that references in One cannot help being reminded of archaic Greek hoplites, whose They advanced in their masses (14.340-3). It blinded eyes, the glare of bronzeįrom shining helmets, newly-polished corslets and bright shields, as The brightness lit up the sky, and all around the earth beamed in Horses, the flashing of bronze armour and weapons is characteristic of Retrieved from Įven more than the noise and the clouds of dust raised by men and APA style: The Homeric way of war: the 'Iliad' and the Hoplite phalanx.The Homeric way of war: the 'Iliad' and the Hoplite phalanx." Retrieved from MLA style: "The Homeric way of war: the 'Iliad' and the Hoplite phalanx." The Free Library.
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