lengths for the diff erent ranks. Th e longest of these spears
measured 17 feet and had a leaf-shaped iron tip, a change
from the straight-sided tips of earlier hoplite spears. To off set
the weight of these long spears, and refl ecting the added un-
likelihood of enemies penetrating the bristling hedge of iron
points that the phalanx presented, the shield was reduced
from a large, full-body-size rectangle to a smaller, more ma-
neuverable disk. Th e supremacy of Macedonian tactics, which
combined this newly re-formed phalanx with peltasts and
cavalry, appeared most dramatically at the battle of Chaero-
nea in 338 b.c.e., when Philip’s army defeated the forces of
Athens and Th ebes, and even more dramatically during Al-exander the Great’s campaigns against the Persian Empire in
the last years of the 330s b.c.e.
By the Hellenistic Period, the period aft er the death of
Alexander in 323 b.c.e., Greek armor had become light and
tactics more fl uid. Soldiers abandoned greaves and increas-
ingly adopted a helmet with a more open face, the so-called
pylos helmet instead of the older, more closed Corinthian
style. Th e new helmets increased the soldier’s fi eld of vision,
made breathing easier, and weighed less, and these advantages
seem to have outweighed the reduced protection aff orded by
the open face. Th e old Corinthian style continued to appear
on vase paintings, however, and seems to have been an iconic
symbol of the warrior tradition extending back through the
Classical Period to Homeric times.ROME
BY MICHAEL M. SAGE
Little can be said about Roman arms, armor, and other mili-
tary equipment before the middle of the sixth century b.c.e.
Literary sources off er scant evidence, and the site of Rome has
provided few archaeological fi nds of a military nature. Th ere
are a few fragmentary pieces of metal protective equipment
and a number of spearheads, which point to the importance
of the javelin.
Th e middle of the seventh century b.c.e. saw a profound
change in military equipment in central Italy, especially to
the north of Rome in Etruria. Again, there is little evidence at
Rome, but given the close cultural ties of Rome and Etruria,
there is every reason to suppose that the same developments
took place at Rome. Greek heavy infantry equipment of the
hoplite type appears in Etruria, probably under the infl uence
of the Greek colonies of southern Italy. Th is hoplite equip-
ment consisted of a metal helmet, a metal cuirass (body ar-
mor) made up of back and front plates, and the hoplite shield.
Th e hoplite shield was usually a convex circular device, 3 feet
in diameter, made of a wooden core with metal facing, usu-
ally of bronze. Th e arm was inserted through a curved metal
band, and the hand gripped a strap on the rim of the shield.
Th is holding mechanism distributed the weight of the heavy
shield along the length of the arm, allowing the shield to be
held for long periods. Th e usual off ensive weapon of the hop-
lite was a heavy thrusting spear with a short slashing sword
as a secondary weapon.
By 550 b.c.e. the literary sources show that the hoplite
style of fi ghting had been adopted at Rome. Despite the arti-
fi cial character of the descriptions that survive, it is clear that
at Rome, as elsewhere in central Italy, there was a greater vari-
ety of equipment than in Greece. Especially important is the
reference to a type of shield later known as the scutum. Th e
construction of this shield is described in detail by the Greek
historian Polybius (ca. 200–ca. 118 b.c.e.). It was 4 feet long
and 2.5 feet wide, made of two wooden boards glued to each
other. Its convex outer surface was covered in linen topped by
leather. It was rimmed with iron and had a central iron spineA common feature of ancient Greek heroic poetry
was the “arming scene,” a description of the hero
putting on his armor and gathering his weapons be-
fore entering battle. The Homeric Iliad has many such
scenes. Book 3 of the poem describes the Trojan Paris
arming for single combat with the Greek Menelaus.
According to this description, Paris fi rst “covered his
legs with greave of good make and fi tted with ankle-
clasps of silver; after this he donned the breastplate
of his brother Lykaon, and fi tted it to his own body.”
Then “he hung his silver-studded sword of bronze
about his shoulders, and then his mighty shield. On
his comely head he set his helmet, well-wrought, with
a crest of horse-hair that nodded menacingly above
it, and he grasped a redoubtable spear that suited
his hands.”
The poet’s vivid descriptions of the opulence of
the metal and often of the history of the various pieces
indicate a hero of elevated status—these heroes are
rich and from illustrious families. The descriptions
serve to build tension in the narrative as well: The
weapons hold potential for death and destruction,
but only battle itself would reveal the outcome. In
the Iliad the arms of a hero hold talismanic powers,
and fi erce battles rage over the bodies of fallen war-
riors, with each side trying to strip the dead hero of
his weapons.
The narrative technique of including an arm-
ing scene before battle, used to such good effect by
Homer, is not unique to Greek poetry but appears
throughout literature and art, from antiquity to the
present. They range from the somewhat comic scene
of King Saul arming David before his battle with Go-
liath (I Samuel 17: 38–40 in the Bible) through me-
dieval epics such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight to
modern depictions of historical battles in literature
and fi lm.ARMING SCENES
weaponry and armor: Rome 11690895-1194_Soc&Culturev4(s-z).i1169 1169 10/10/07 2:31:19 PM