The lines of the phalanx would stand shoulder to shoulder shields leading the way. Rarely thrown, the spear, between 7 and 9 feet long, was held onto providing great reach to the enemy. Their main weapon, not the sword as many books and movies would have you believe, was the spear ( 600074). Finally, a helmet ( 881002), usually a Corinthian style made of bronze, protected the head and completed the armor of a hoplite. A bronze breastplate, similar to our breastplate from The Eagle ( 888014), was worn as additional protection for the vital areas. Footwear was restricted to sandals ( 100958) and often times the feet of an enemy were sought after for a crippling blow. Bronze or leather greaves ( 881006, 200854) were worn to protect the lower legs as they were not covered by the shield. Legend says that a Spartan warrior was given his shield by his mother and instructed to “come back with it…or on it.” This meant come back in victory with your shield or dead and carried on it.Īs a shield covered a hoplite from the chin all the way to the knee, other armor was sparse. The shield was so important that the Spartans implemented a system where any Spartan warrior who lost his shield was severely punished and often killed. Because of this, the shield became a symbol of unity as each man both defended others and relied on others for defense. Worn on the left arm, it provided some protection for the owner while at the same time offering additional protection to the man to the left of the owner. Each shield was round and approximately 36” to 38” in diameter. This gave it incredible strength while at the same time not making it so heavy that it became unusable. The shield was made of overlapping planks of wood covered in leather, with the face of the shield covered completely in a thin sheet of bronze. A hoplite’s most important piece of equipment, and what gave the hoplite its name, is the hoplon, the shield ( 881004).
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