05-28-2013, 12:22 PM
Nice find Condottiero Magno.
It seems to take a rather mild and middle of the road view regarding armor, focusing primarily on the absence of an aspis as why the Persians were deemed 'naked' compared to the Greeks. Personally I feel like it's not all that controversial since like antiochus said I can't recall anyone beyond older sources or jingoistic ones that consider the Persians were entirely unarmored. The author doesn't seem to be making the case that they all wore armor, just that it could be comparable to the lack of uniformity in armor among the Greeks.
Was it Herodotus who noted the Persians 'adopted' the linen/fabric armor from the Egyptians? I've thought one could expect to have seen a similar quantity (or even a bit more) of quilted/fabric armor among the Persians as you would have seen Spolases/Linothoraxes among the Greeks. We're certainly not for wont of depictions that resemble it - I'm thinking of the vase pictures with the Persians wearing those boxes with studs (if memory serves with pteurges, so it's clear it's some sort of armor) or even an Achaemenid depiction of a Persian with a clear neck protection like you see with the Spolas.
It seems to take a rather mild and middle of the road view regarding armor, focusing primarily on the absence of an aspis as why the Persians were deemed 'naked' compared to the Greeks. Personally I feel like it's not all that controversial since like antiochus said I can't recall anyone beyond older sources or jingoistic ones that consider the Persians were entirely unarmored. The author doesn't seem to be making the case that they all wore armor, just that it could be comparable to the lack of uniformity in armor among the Greeks.
Was it Herodotus who noted the Persians 'adopted' the linen/fabric armor from the Egyptians? I've thought one could expect to have seen a similar quantity (or even a bit more) of quilted/fabric armor among the Persians as you would have seen Spolases/Linothoraxes among the Greeks. We're certainly not for wont of depictions that resemble it - I'm thinking of the vase pictures with the Persians wearing those boxes with studs (if memory serves with pteurges, so it's clear it's some sort of armor) or even an Achaemenid depiction of a Persian with a clear neck protection like you see with the Spolas.
