06-22-2010, 11:17 AM
Quote:Furthermore, as the Aemilius Paullus frieze illustration posted by Paul B. shows,(beating me to it!) in fact a porpax was used with the ‘Macedonian’ shield.
That this shield was not an ‘Argive’ aspis is shown by three things:
1. It is clearly rimless
2. Whatever time the infantry use of the ‘Argive’aspis ended, it was almost certainly long before 168 BC
3. Nowhere in the accounts of Pydna are there any references to Macedonian infantry who could be armed with an ‘argive’ aspis.
That shield, held as shown, could not be used as Connolly suggests. It is being held exactly as aspides, Argive or otherwise, have been held for centuries, with the hand well inside the curvature of the shield, not near the rim, and not so that the hand passes through the antilabe as Connelly did. There are many images of aspides in the classical period that show shields with greatly reduced rims.
But for porpaxes on peltae, see below from Ephesus:
Paul M. Bardunias
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A Spartan, being asked a question, answered "No." And when the questioner said, "You lie," the Spartan said, "You see, then, that it is stupid of you to ask questions to which you already know the answer!"
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A Spartan, being asked a question, answered "No." And when the questioner said, "You lie," the Spartan said, "You see, then, that it is stupid of you to ask questions to which you already know the answer!"
