Ancient Greek life size Spartan shield of King Leonidas, leader of the famous 300 Spartans who made their heroic stand at the battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC. (find out more about Leonidas…) 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. Probably the most famous aspis decoration is that of Sparta: a capital lambda. (more on Spartan Art of War…)
