Ancient Greek Royal Bodyguard Macedonian shield bearing the Sun of Vergina, the emblem of the Macedonian Empire. (more on Macedonian Art of War…) The Royal Bodyguards of the Macedonian kings carried large hoplite shields decorated with the Macedonian Royal symbol. This shield is a reproduction of the shields carried by the personal bodyguard of Demetrius I Poliorcetes. 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. This is a full sized shield, made of resin coated with a bronze finish.
