02-27-2009, 07:12 AM
Quote:I have reason to believe that they are all simply aspises. Does anyone have the original greek of the three versions of this passage from Aelian, Arrian, And Asclepiodotus:
"The macedonian shield, made of brass, is the best. It must not be too hollow and must be 8 hands in diameter" Aelian Taktika XII
I'm interested in the nuances of translation, specifically if it can be read that the best of the shields are not too hollow- commenting on the quality of not too hollow shields- as opposed to the best of the various types of shields that can be used by sarissaphoroi being that which was not too hollow. Which is how it is usually translated and a functional explanation of the flattening aiding in holding the sarissa proposed.
I do not have the original Greek from Aelian or Arrian, but the Greek from Asclepiodotus reads:
"The best shield (aspis) for use in the phalanx is the Macedonian, of bronze, eight palms in diameter, and not too concave" (Asclepiodotus 5.1)
Which sounds exactly like Aelian's statement. I don't think the Greek is clear enough to be able to distinctly judge one way or the other, but I certainly think that interpreting it in the latter way - that is, that this statement refers to the concave shields as being the best shields of all that were employed by phalangites, rather than the shields best suited for phalangites of any in use by any troops whatsoever. This way we can account for the various types of shields in use by phalangites in Asclepiodotus' prescriptive statement, in the same way that Xenophon's statement about kopides being employed by cavalry in "On Horsemanship" implies that while such a sword was preferable to others in his eyes, they were clearly not the only kind in use.
As for your statement that they all simply aspides, what do you mean? Aspis could have such a general meaning that when Asclepiodotus says that this is a shield, he is simply describing it without the baggage of the term pelte, in the same way that an author writing for a general audience might simply call a howitzer a gun, for instance, rather than using a specific term. (He also calls phalangites hoplites, for instance.)
But if you mean to say that you think they are all simply hoplite shields, then I would strongly disagree based on a lot of evidence.
Ruben
He had with him the selfsame rifle you see with him now, all mounted in german silver and the name that he\'d give it set with silver wire under the checkpiece in latin: Et In Arcadia Ego. Common enough for a man to name his gun. His is the first and only ever I seen with an inscription from the classics. - Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
He had with him the selfsame rifle you see with him now, all mounted in german silver and the name that he\'d give it set with silver wire under the checkpiece in latin: Et In Arcadia Ego. Common enough for a man to name his gun. His is the first and only ever I seen with an inscription from the classics. - Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
