On the Origin of Greek Cavalry Shields in the Hellenistic Period
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Alexander K. Nefedkin
Abstract
There are two main hypotheses about the adoption of the shield by the Hellenistic cavalry. Some scholars think that the Greeks borrowed the shield from Italy via Pyrrhus’ army, others suppose that it was borrowed from the Galatians. However, the hypotheses are theoretical, without proven arguments. According to the iconography, in the Hellenistic epoch the majority of Greek mounted shield-bearers were armed with large round shields of four various kinds, and a few of them carried oblong shields. The round shield was untypical for the Celts and therefore the Greeks borrowed it not from them but from Italy. As the dates of monuments depicting the cavalrymen have not been precisely determined, one can say only that the adoption happened during the third century BC. The Graeco-Macedonian cavalry had been using oblong shields of the Celtic type since the 270s BC. However, as far as we know, this type of shield was not widespread among the Hellenistic cavalry.
© by Akademie Verlag, St. Petersburg, Germany
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- Literaturanzeigen; Liste der eingegangenen Literatur
Articles in the same Issue
- Wilusa: Reconsidering the Evidence
- ‚Incestuous’ Marriage in Achaemenid Iran: Myths and Realities
- The Regulation Helmet of the Phalanx and the Introduction of the Concept of Uniform in the Macedonian Army at the End of the Reign of Alexander the Great
- On the Origin of Greek Cavalry Shields in the Hellenistic Period
- Il termine ἐπίγονοι nella storiografia sull’ellenismo
- Mithridates II and Antiochos Hierax
- Auseinandertreten, wenn alle einer Meinung sind – Überlegungen zur discessio
- Pompeius’ Career from 79 to 70 BCE: Constitutional, Political and Historical Considerations
- Caesars Griff nach Gallien
- Algunas consideraciones sobre la ambiguitas religiosa en el s. IV d. C. los discursos de Claudio Mamertino y Pacato
- Die Vita et passio Cypriani: Aussageabsicht und historischer Hintergrund
- Un canon africano concerniente a las obligaciones de los hijos de los eclesiásticos durante la Antigüedad Tardía
- Besprechungen
- Literaturanzeigen; Liste der eingegangenen Literatur
