Hoplite Shield Designs

[Theodosius the Great]

Avete,

I hope someone finds this useful especially since so many of the links on this thread are now broken or otherwise dead.
(see attachment)

From Phil Barker (1976)

17a : Spartan shields. Actual color is uncertain but probably red or black. Shield surface was left natural bronze.
17b : Club emblem of Thebes. Again probably black on a natural bronze background.
17c through 17k : Typical patterns from Athens where blazon was apparently left to individual choice. These could be painted on the bronze of the shield, attached to a metal sheet of different color or painted on a painted ground. Favorite shield colors were purple, red, and yellow, followed by green, grey, violet, and navy blue.
17l : Hoplite shield in section together with method of carrying it.
17m : One type of Macedonian shield pattern. The main variation in these was the number of crescents surrounding the central star.
These varied between 4 and 7 in number, 7 being the most common.
It seems likely that the shield surface was left natural bronze and the emblems on it colored, as we hear of Successor units called Silver Shields and White Shields.

~Theo