# Kotthybos

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{{Short description|Type of ancient Greek body armour}}
[[File:Agios Athanasios 1 fresco.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Fresco of Macedonian soldiers, the two on the left wear purple armour with rows of [pteruges](/source/pteruges), possibly depictions of the kotthybos. Tomb of Agios Athanasios, Thessaloniki, Greece, 4th century BC]]
'''Kotthybos''' ({{langx|el|κότθυβος}}) was a type of [Macedon](/source/Macedon)ian body armour.

==Etymology==
The name originally referred to a metallic cooking pot used by [ancient Macedonian soldiers](/source/Ancient_Macedonian_army) to prepare their own food.<ref>Hammond, p.34</ref> The term appears to be a variant of terms such as ''kossymbos'' and ''kosymbe''.<ref>Heckel and Jones, p. 24</ref>

==Use and possible construction==
Ancient sources are unclear as to the form of the ''kotthybos'', but the context of references to it indicates that it was a form of armour associated with the 'Foot Companions' (''[Pezhetairoi](/source/Pezhetairoi)'') who formed the Macedonian phalanx. It is recorded that the fine of 2 [obols](/source/Obol_(coin)) imposed on a soldier for losing a ''kotthybos'', was the same as for the ''[konos](/source/konos)'', a simple, conical, bronze helmet, and less than for the ''[sarissa](/source/sarissa)'', a long pike.<ref>Crawford and Whitehead, p. 596</ref>

Modern scholars are divided as to what the ''kotthybos'' was; some consider it a padded garment worn under other forms of armour, whilst the majority regard it an alternative term for the ''spolas'' or'' [linothorax](/source/linothorax)'' (neologism), the typical Hellenic and Hellenistic armour made of glued or stitched layers of linen, or a combination of layers of linen and leather. It is likely that the old armours that [Alexander the Great](/source/Alexander_the_Great) ordered to be burnt, and were therefore non-metallic, were examples of the ''kotthybos''.<ref>Matthew, pp. 116, 119-120 and note 134</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*Crawford, M.H, and Whitehead, D. (1983) ''Archaic and Classical Greece: A Selection of Ancient Sources in Translation'', Cambridge University Press.
*Hammond, N.G.l. (1989) ''Alexander the Great, King, Commander, and Statesman'', Bloomsbury Academic. {{ISBN|1-85399-068-X}}
*Heckel, W. and Jones, R. (2006) ''Macedonian Warrior Alexander's elite infantryman'', Osprey. {{ISBN|978-1-84176-950-9}}
*Matthew, C. (2015) ''An Invincible Beast: Understanding the Hellenistic Pike Phalanx in Action'', Pen and Sword.

==See also==

* [Konos](/source/Konos)

Category:Ancient Greek military terminology
Category:Ancient Macedonian military equipment

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Kotthybos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotthybos) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotthybos?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.