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Depictions of hoplites

Hoplites (Οπλίτης) were citizen-soldiers of the Ancient Greek city-states. Primarily armed with long spears (doru) and shields (hoplon or aspis), hoplite soldiers use the phalanx formation in order to be effective in war with fewer soldiers. The formation discouraged…

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Hoplon shield designs

Hoplite shield design was incredibly varied. There seems little evidence of standardisation, at least up to and including the 5th century: each hoplite chose his own shield design. Plutarch tells the story of one Spartan…

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Linothoraxes

The Linothorax  (Greek: λινοθώρακας) was a popular form of body armour in the 5th and 4th century BC, gradually replacing the bronze bell cuirass from the 6th century onwards. It is extensively seen in pottery around the…

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