Linothorax vs Spolas

[Ghostmojo]

... There are (few) depictions of hoplites wearing animal skins hunging on their back (thus not acting as a cuirass but as clothing/symbol) but most of the times that hoplites wear them, they wrap them arround the body and only attach them to one shoulder, thus it doesn't fulfil the criteria of the spolas who's "attached to the shoulders"(plural) ...

Perhaps this would be a good time to remind you of an image I posted somewhere on this site a few months back (an helmeted archaic warrior wearing what apears to be a lion or leopard skin):



Which is purported to show a warrior of the Skiritai. Further to this is the fact that animal skins are mentioned as playing some part in the festivals of the Skirophoria. Chrimes summation is basically that the Skiritai warrior (if he is one) is shown midway in his development from Homeric animal-skin clad hurler of whatever happened to come to hand - towards fully fledged hoplite. The name σκίροϛ (skiros) means tough or hard covering (non-metal) often relating to a 'skin'.