Ancient Greek hoplite Athenian shield. The shield, aspis in Greek, was carried by Greek infantry (hoplites) of various periods and is often referred to as a hoplon. A hoplon shield was a deeply dished shield made of wood. Some shields had a thin sheet of bronze on the outer face, often just around the rim. In some periods, the convention was to decorate the aspis; in others, it was usually left plain. The shield carries the owl in the center, the symbol of the mighty city of Athens (more on ancient Athens…) This is a full sized shield.
