#HOPLITE SHIELD WORLD HISTORY DEFINITION FULL#
#HOPLITE SHIELD WORLD HISTORY DEFINITION PROFESSIONAL#

Confronted with the need to provide for their security and defense, these evolving poleis typically adopted a system which required military service from their adult male citizenry.

#HOPLITE SHIELD WORLD HISTORY DEFINITION PROFESSIONAL#

These independent and self-governing communities generally lacked the ability to maintain and/or support a professional army.

From the shadows of the Geometric Dark Age and through the later half of the 7th century BCE numerous Greek poleis (city-states) were founded. For additional, see From Warrior to Raiders (Dec. Were the weapons and tactics utilized by Ancient Greek hoplites static or dynamic, conservative or innovative?įollowing the collapse of the Mycenaean and Minoan civilizations the nature of warfare within Greece changed dramatically: large armies had been transformed into bands of ship-borne raiders. They persisted during the middle ages as the buckler and the last use of a shield in battle by westerners was the Scottish Highlander targe which was a small round shield.Corinthian-style Bronze Helmet c.

#HOPLITE SHIELD WORLD HISTORY DEFINITION FULL#

Whatever the reason, the shield came full circle by the end of the western Roman Empire and round shields became the norm again. It also needs to be considered that finances played a role in ancient battles as much as today and attempts to keep costs down were undertaken so some societies only had a greave on the left leg as that was the leg most likely to be forward. Something else to consider is that a common method of fighting was the spear held over the head and used in a downward stabbing motion, the legs wouldn't be in much danger in mass combat. How that influenced the famous Greek shield we can only speculate.Įlongated or oval shields did become very common during the iron age and the Greeks themselves adopted a type they called the thyreos which they possibly copied from the Romans.

The bronze age saw the dominance of geometric art which was squares, lozenges, zigzags and also concentric circles.

Smaller flatter round shields do appear in other parts of Europe during the bronze age and it could be something as simple as you can trace the outline of a shield with a simple compass made of a scribe attached to a piece of string. It can't be answered with any certainty as it likely had a cultural reason, the same way the earlier figure of 8 shields used by the Mycenaeans might seem an odd choice. The gladius' short reach, combined with the necessity to get up close and personal to use the shield as a primary weapon, means a larger shield (curved to fit around the body, works better. The gladius is strictly a thrusting weapon, so restriction of arm movements is no longer of significance. The opponent is mauled by the shield, it's top edge and boss in particular used to wear an opponent down until his guard drops and the gladius can be slipped under his ribs. The greater reach of the spear also keeps the opponent at bay, so less defensive coverage is necessary.įor Roman Legionnaires of the classic period, the shield is actually the primary weapon, the gladius (short sword) secondary. Because of the many different ways in which a spear was used by a hoplite in offence, in and out of formation, a lighter round shield was more suitable by providing less interference with the spear use.

For a hoplite, the spear is the primary weapon and the shield only a secondary weapon, being primarily defensive.

Hoplite shield world history definition