Ancient Greek life size Spartan 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. This is a full sized shield. Probably the most famous aspis decoration is that of Sparta: a capital lambda. (more on Spartan Art of War…)
