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'
Athene Guard Us' Greek Hoplite- 5th Century BC
A citizen soldier of the
city state of Athens, owning and maintaining his own arms and equipment.
He would have been reasonably wealthy and answered his city's call to arms
whenever required. Trained to fight hand to hand and armed with spear and
short slashing and stabbing sword made of iron and worn in a bronze
sheath. The spear could have been used in the melee of close combat or
thrown as a javelin.
His body is protected by
a linen cuirass, a body armour made up of multiple layers of linen giving
a light, but effective form of body armour. He wears greaves to protect
his lower legs and a fine Corinthian helmet, both made in bronze. His
round shield or 'hoplon' is also probably of bronze and painted with a
design found on an existing vase from the period. Men such as this faced
the might of the Persian Empire and fought in the bloody civil wars of the
Peleponesian Wars.
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