Hoplites of the Archaic Age

[Duncan Head]

Apologies Duncan......some confusion creeping in here....when I see the words 'cutout' or 'Boeotian' shield, I think of the type depicted on Classical vases, and mentally associate that with classical times. In my mind 'Di-pylon' or 'figure eight' describes the actual Mycenaen shields - perhaps we should agree some definitions.

I thought it was absolutely standard terminology that "dipylon" refers to the shields shown in Geometric art, like the one in the image Paul Bardunias posted. They're different from the Mycenaean type in that they have actual cutouts - "violin" shape in outline rather than the "figure-8" shape of the original Mycenaean shield - and different to the Boiotian in that the diplyon tends to be larger and doesn't have the hoplite-style grip.