# Aspis > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Aspis > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Aspis.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspis > Source revision: 1326006865 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Shield used by Ancient Greek hoplites This article is about the shield. For other uses, see [Aspis (disambiguation)](/source/Aspis_(disambiguation)). Not to be confused with [Apsis](/source/Apsis) or [Aspic](/source/Aspic). This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Aspis" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (March 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message) *[Hoplitodromos](/source/Hoplitodromos)* with *aspis* and full body [armour](/source/Armour) depicted in a Greek vase dated to 550 BC. An ***aspis*** ([Ancient Greek](/source/Ancient_Greek_language): [ἀσπίς](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E1%BC%80%CF%83%CF%80%CE%AF%CF%82); pl.: aspides, ἀσπίδες) or ***porpax* shield** was the heavy wooden [shield](/source/Shield) used by the infantry in various periods of [ancient Greece](/source/Ancient_Greece).[1] ## Construction An *aspis* was deeply dished and made primarily of wood. Some had a thin sheet of [bronze](/source/Bronze) on the outer face, often just around the rim. The convention was to decorate the shield. The *aspis* often exceeded 0.9 metres (3 ft) in diameter, typically weighed about 7 kilograms (16 lb), and was about 2+1⁄2–4 centimetres (1–1+1⁄2 in) thick.[2] This large shield was made possible partly by its shape, which allowed it to be supported comfortably on the shoulder. The revolutionary part of the shield was, in fact, the grip. Known as an *[argive](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/argive)* grip, it placed the handle at the edge of the shield and was supported by a leather or bronze fastening for the forearm at the center, known as the porpax. This allowed hoplites more mobility with the shield, as well as the ability to capitalize on their offensive capabilities and better support the [phalanx](/source/Phalanx). The shield rested on a man's shoulders, stretching down to the knees; and it had a convex face, like that of a shallow bowl.[3] It was theorized they were designed for a mass of hoplites to push forward into the opposing army, a move called *[othismos](/source/Hoplite)*. The convex face would allow the bearers to continue breathing (and therefor pushing) while being crushed from ahead and behind. An enemy soldier without this innovation would suffocate, then faint or panic; though this is a disputed theory.[4][5] The "Bomarzo" or "Vatican" shield Such shields did not tend to survive the passage of time very well, and only one *aspis* has survived into modernity with sufficient preservation to allow us to determine the details of its construction: this shield is called the "Bomarzo" or "Vatican" shield, and it is currently located in the [Vatican](/source/Vatican_City), within the [Museo Gregoriano Etrusco](/source/Vatican_Museums). It was discovered in 1830 near Bomarzo in [Lazio](/source/Lazio), central Italy.[6] ## See also - [Ancient Greek warfare](/source/Ancient_Greek_warfare) - *[Clipeus](/source/Clipeus)* – a similar shield used by the Romans - *[Peltast](/source/Peltast)* – a [light infantryman](/source/Light_infantry) using a lighter *pelte* shield - *[Thyreophoroi](/source/Thyreophoroi)* and *[thorakitai](/source/Thorakitai)* – medium infantrymen using *[thyreos](/source/Thyreos)* shields ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Cartwright, Mark (9 February 2013). ["Hoplite"](https://www.worldhistory.org/hoplite/). *World History Encyclopedia*. Retrieved 2022-08-14. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Zimmel, Jonathan; Girard, Todd. ["Hoplites Arms and Armor"](https://web.archive.org/web/20171026213835/http://faculty.fairfield.edu/rosivach/cl115/military/hoplites.htm). Archived from [the original](http://faculty.fairfield.edu/rosivach/cl115/military/hoplites.htm) on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2014. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Grotowski2010_3-0)** Piotr Grotowski (2010). [*Arms and Armour of the Warrior Saints: Tradition and Innovation in Byzantine Iconography (843–1261)*](https://books.google.com/books?id=k2spzj0jNVsC&pg=PA215). BRILL. p. 215. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-90-04-18548-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-90-04-18548-7). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Goldsworthy, Adrian K. (1997). *The Othismos, Myths and Heresies: The Nature of Hoplite Battle*. Sage Publications. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Sage, Michael M. (1996). *Warfare in Ancient Greece: A Sourcebook*. London: Routledge. p. 281. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Travis2014_6-0)** John and Hilary Travis (3 July 2014). [*Roman Shields*](https://books.google.com/books?id=--EOBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA33). Amberley Publishing Limited. p. 33. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-4456-3843-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4456-3843-0). ## External links - [Classical Greek Shield Patterns](http://www.ne.jp/asahi/luke/ueda-sarson/Greek_shield_patterns_1.html) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Aspis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspis) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspis?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.