ἀσπίς: Difference between revisions

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|auten=ίδος: [[shield]].—(1) the larger, [[oval]] [[shield]], termed [[ἀμφιβρότη]], [[ποδηνεκής]]. It is [[more]] [[than]] 2 ft. [[broad]], 4 1/2 ft. [[high]], and weighed [[about]] 40 lbs. (For [[Agamemnon]]'s [[shield]], see Il. 11.32-40). The [[large]] [[shield]] [[was]] held [[over]] the [[left]] [[shoulder]], sustained by the [[τελαμών]] and by the [[πόρπαξ]], or [[ring]] on the [[inside]].— (2) the smaller, [[circular]] [[shield]], πάντοσ' [[ἐίση]] (see [[cut]]), [[with]] only [[two]] handles, or [[with]] [[one]] [[central]] [[handle]] [[for]] the [[arm]] and [[several]] [[for]] the [[hand]] (see [[cut]] No. 12). It [[was]] of [[about]] [[half]] the [[size]] and [[weight]] of the larger [[ἀσπίς]], cf. the [[description]] of Sarpēdon's [[shield]], Il. 12.294 ff. The [[shield]] consisted [[generally]] of [[from]] 4 to 7 layers of ox-[[hide]] (ῥῖνοί, Il. 13.804); these were [[covered]] by a [[plate]] of [[metal]], and the [[whole]] [[was]] [[firmly]] united by rivets, [[which]] projected on the [[outer]], [[convex]] [[side]]. The [[head]] of the [[central]] [[rivet]], larger [[than]] the [[rest]], [[was]] the [[ὀμφαλός]] or [[boss]], and [[was]] [[usually]] fashioned [[into]] the [[form]] of a [[head]]. Instead of the [[plate]] [[above]] mentioned, concentric [[metal]] rings (δινωτής, [[εὔκυκλος]]) were [[sometimes]] substituted. The [[rim]] [[was]] called [[ἄντυξ]], and the [[convex]] [[surface]] of the [[shield]] [[bore]] [[some]] [[device]] [[analogous]] to an heraldic [[coat]] of [[arms]], Il. 5.182, Il. 11.36, cf. Il. 5.739. The [[shield]] of [[Achilles]] (Il. 18.478-608), in describing [[which]] the [[poet]] [[naturally]] did [[not]] [[choose]] to [[confine]] [[himself]] to realities, does [[not]] [[correspond]] [[exactly]] to [[either]] of the [[two]] ἀσπίδες described [[above]].

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