FIG. 109. BRONZE SWORD
FIG. 110. ARROW-HEADS
Shields were a necessary part of the defensive armor of ancient times, but remains of them are very scanty. Scenes of arming and of combat, however, are so frequent in Greek and Roman art that we are acquainted with their general appearance. Greek shields were usually circular or oval in shape, and made of wooden frames covered with hides and reinforced with bronze. The rim and a large boss in the center were the most essential metal parts, but the entire surface might be covered with bronze, or plates of various forms arranged upon it. The large bronze plates in Case 5 and in Case B in the Second Room seem to have been parts of shields. When using the shield as a defense the warrior thrust his left arm through the Loops in the inside, one of which was close to the rim at the left and another usually near the center of the shield; he held a third, which probably was stouter than the others, in his hand. The loops on the rim are shown in a painting on the amphora which stands on the pedestal in the Fifth Room, as well as the strap extending from side to side by which it was suspended around the wearer’s neck on the march ([fig. 103]). The Dodona warrior carries the so-called Boeotian shield which has depressions in the middle of each side. Various explanations are given of the origin of this form; a probable one is that it results from stretching a hide over an oval frame on which the top and bottom were fastened firmly while the sides were left free and were naturally drawn in by the pull from both ends. Another possibility is that the shield was cut out at the sides to provide peep-holes. Roman shields were rectangular and curved around at the sides to protect the wearer’s body. Only the boss and the rim were made of metal. The shield of the Greek soldier bore the device of his state, as the Koppa of Corinth, which was painted on the shields of her citizen-warriors; and the Roman soldier carried the sign of his legion in the same fashion. Interesting devices, frequently animals’ heads, were adopted like coats of arms by Greek nobles, and many of these can be seen on vases of the sixth century. An amphora on the bottom of Case 4 shows shields decorated with the heads of a bull and a boar.
FIG. 111. AMAZON WITH BATTLE-AXE AND WICKER SHIELD
The ancient warrior’s weapons were the dagger, sword, spear, javelin, bow, and sling. The weapons in the Classical Collection cannot strictly be called Greek or Roman because they were made at a remote period before the Greek and Roman states came into existence, but they are interesting in that they show the types from which later weapons were developed, and often there is very little difference between the early types and their descendants. The oldest cutting weapons are the bronze dagger-blades from Cyprus, and those from Crete in Case D 2 in the First Room. They were fitted into wooden or bone handles. A Cretan dagger-blade with an engraved design still holds the three dowels which fastened the haft. The tangs of the Cypriote blades are prolonged or hooked to prevent the blade from loosening in its socket ([figs. 107-108]). Spear-heads also were at first made to be inserted in the shaft, but later fitted over it. They have a slit on one side of the socket, probably to give elasticity ([figs. 105-106]). The bronze butt-spikes were used to fix the spear in the ground during halts. Examples of these weapons are in Case 4 and the wall-cases in the corridor.
The swords in the collection date from the Bronze or early Iron Age and so are pre-classical. The fine bronze sword (Case 4, No. 1460) belongs to an early Italian type ([fig. 109]), and the sword and sheath (No. 1461 in Case A in the Second Room) is also Italian. An iron sword from Cyprus (No. 1462 in the corridor) preserves the form of the bronze swords of the late Mycenaean period, as the early iron-workers at first imitated the shapes of bronze weapons. The pin in the shape of a sword illustrates the type in use during the fifth century in Greece (Case 4). The machaira which Xenophon often mentions had a curved blade and was especially useful as a cutting weapon for cavalry. A good illustration of this shape may be seen in a painting on an amphora in Case N in the Fourth Room representing a Greek and a Persian fighting. The Persian holds a machaira ready for the down-stroke ([fig. 104]). Roman swords were broad and flat. They were designed for thrusting, and were carried by common soldiers and officers.
The foot-soldier wearing helmet, cuirass, and greaves, and armed with sword, spear, and shield, that is, the familiar hoplite and legionary, formed the most important part of the Greek and Roman armies. Cavalry and light-armed infantry, however, who used the javelin, the bow, or the sling, became gradually more prominent as their importance was perceived in the wars with Eastern peoples and barbarous tribes. The use of the bow and the sling was taught in the palaistra at Athens, as a practical training for warfare, but ability in this direction was not rated very highly. Certain nations were especially skilful with these weapons and served as mercenaries to other states; both Xenophon and Caesar mention the Cretan archers, and Caesar speaks of slingers from the Balearic Isles who served under him in Gaul. The arrow-heads exhibited are Cypriote, but No. 4786 is Hellenic in type (Case 4, [fig. 110]).