This section contains research and evidence of 5th century and clothing, including statues, pottery and artefacts.
Hoplites (Οπλίτης) were citizen-soldiers of the Ancient Greek city-states. Primarily armed with long spears (doru) and shields (hoplon or aspis), hoplite soldiers use the phalanx formation in order to be effective in war with fewer soldiers. The formation discouraged…
This album is a collection of visual evidence of Ancient Greek clothing, mostly from ceramics. As you can see, there is a lot more variety, particularly in terms of edging and patterns, than many modern…
Greaves were one of the more fundamental pieces of hoplite armor, protecting the foot and lower leg that weren’t covered by the shield. They were made from a single piece of bronze, going from the…
Hoplite shield design was incredibly varied. There seems little evidence of standardisation, at least up to and including the 5th century: each hoplite chose his own shield design. Plutarch tells the story of one Spartan…
The Linothorax (Greek: λινοθώρακας) was a popular form of body armour in the 5th and 4th century BC, gradually replacing the bronze bell cuirass from the 6th century onwards. It is extensively seen in pottery around the…
