Linothorax design/construction

[Sean Manning]

IMHO, Paulus, all you have shown is that the spolas was a type of armour commonly used by hoplites in Xenophon’s day, and that a later author believed they were made from leather. Identifying it with the linothorax is a plausible guess, nothing more. For example, we don’t have any evidence that spolades have pterges. There were more types of armour used in this period that 'linothoraxes' and bronze cuirasses.

And the 'linothorax' was not just a Greek piece of gear. Anatolian art such as the sarcophagus that Laran recently posted often shows troops in ‘linothoraxes’. The very accurate ‘Alexander Mosaic’ and ‘Sidon Sarcophagus’ both show imperial troops in ‘linothoraxes.’ Pieces of art made for the Scythian trade like the Sokha Comb show Scyths in 'linothoraxes'. You can't just say that because Greek writers often refer to foreign linen armour, linen armour was not used by Greeks.

Yes, we have seen that Xenophon refers to thorakes lineoi, but , significantly, not in a greek context. If greek tube-and-yoke coselets were linen, why did he not say that the Chalybes wear corselets'just like ours', for instance?

The Chalybian thorax has one clear difference from a Greek one: it has ropes instead of peterges.

Exactly ! Spolas and Thorakes are different, of course. If you take the meanings I ascribed above, the phrase makes perfect sense.
'Leather tube-and-yoke coselet instead of metal body armour'

There is also the incident when racing the enemy to the summit of a hill, when a Hoplite complains that it's alright for Xenophon, who is mounted, to urge speed, while he has a heavy shield to carry. Xenophon dismounts, takes the man's shield, and rushes forward. He falls behind, because in addition to the shield he is burdened by his heavy 'cavalry' thorakes (breastplate, evidently a bronze muscle cuirass).The man's comrades shame him into taking back his shield.

A 'heavy' cavalry armour could be a metal-reinforced linothorax, or possibly just one cut with less concern for running.

Elsewhere in the Anabasis, when speaking of the raising of the cavalry he says they were equipped with 'spolades kai thorakes' - leather tube-and-yoke corselets and and bronze breast plates, (because cavalry did not have shields, hence needed the body-armour.)

Do you have any evidence for troops wearing both a metal breastplate and a full-weight linothorax? This seems to suggest that a spolas was a light protection more suitable as padding than independent protection.