05-19-2009, 06:27 AM
With respect, I disagree, at least in part with what Paulus Scipio just wrote. Having read all ten pages of postings, it appears to me that a great deal has been postulated but little actually established.
What is certain is that there was a form of flexible armor widely depicted in Greek art.
The objections to laminated linen armor seem to be that there is little literary or archaeological evidence to confirm it and that it would be impractical in any event.
Its my understanding that we have a very imperfect knowledge of what ancient Greeks actually called things and terms etymologically similar to “linothorax” are, in fact, used in at least four known instances by three writers. Not a large sampling but acceptable given the relatively small number of ancient writings commonly available. Likewise, little linen survives in any context from that era., although a convincing sample was described a few postings ago.
Postings which have concentrated on the impracticality of laminated linen armor have talked about the inability of linen to withstand combat and glue failure due to heat and sweat. I don’t buy those arguments. The physical properties of the relevant materials available to the Greeks were not the same as those of the materials easily available to us. Research is needed before anything authoritative can be said on that account. That is what I was getting at.
Further, just because the tube and yoke style is not seen until Archaic times, doesn't mean that there was no continuity in armor construction from Mycenean times. It would seem odd if they had fogotten everything their ancestors knew about making armor.
I would not dismiss laminated linen armor out of hand as many in this thread have.
There is also no evidence from the sources quoted that the spolas was anything other than the poncho-like garment made of animal hide depicted on several vase paintings. Such garments fit the written description of the spolas perfectly and can be very affective against weapons. Buffalo and bearskin coats have been known to repel bullets!
I don’t know how this flexible armor was made but the evidence that it was made of linen in some form of construction seems at least as good as the evidence that it was made from leather.
What is certain is that there was a form of flexible armor widely depicted in Greek art.
The objections to laminated linen armor seem to be that there is little literary or archaeological evidence to confirm it and that it would be impractical in any event.
Its my understanding that we have a very imperfect knowledge of what ancient Greeks actually called things and terms etymologically similar to “linothorax” are, in fact, used in at least four known instances by three writers. Not a large sampling but acceptable given the relatively small number of ancient writings commonly available. Likewise, little linen survives in any context from that era., although a convincing sample was described a few postings ago.
Postings which have concentrated on the impracticality of laminated linen armor have talked about the inability of linen to withstand combat and glue failure due to heat and sweat. I don’t buy those arguments. The physical properties of the relevant materials available to the Greeks were not the same as those of the materials easily available to us. Research is needed before anything authoritative can be said on that account. That is what I was getting at.
Further, just because the tube and yoke style is not seen until Archaic times, doesn't mean that there was no continuity in armor construction from Mycenean times. It would seem odd if they had fogotten everything their ancestors knew about making armor.
I would not dismiss laminated linen armor out of hand as many in this thread have.
There is also no evidence from the sources quoted that the spolas was anything other than the poncho-like garment made of animal hide depicted on several vase paintings. Such garments fit the written description of the spolas perfectly and can be very affective against weapons. Buffalo and bearskin coats have been known to repel bullets!
I don’t know how this flexible armor was made but the evidence that it was made of linen in some form of construction seems at least as good as the evidence that it was made from leather.
