Article ID: CBB001212875

On the Origin of Greek Cavalry Shields in the Hellenistic Period (2009)

unapi

Nefedkin, Alexander K. (Author)


Klio
Volume: 91, no. 2
Issue: 2
Pages: 356-366

A horseman with a shield has some difficulty riding on horseback, because he must control the horse with his left hand, which holds the reins as well as the shield. If he does not use the reins, he must control the horse with his legs. The nomads, horsemen since childhood, could ride well in this manner, but the Greek riders usually had no such horsemanship skills. In the Hellenistic period the Greek cavalry adopted the shield as a main defensive arm. This was of course followed by a change of tactics; however, this article discusses the sources of the adoption. The latter is an example of the intercultural interactions in the ancient Greek warfare of the Hellenistic era. There are no ancient sources which deal specifically with the origin of the Greek cavalry shield; usually the scholars only state the fact of the adoption of the shield without arguing their points of view.2 The aim of this paper is to analyse the different kinds of cavalry shields used and reconsider the origin of the arms accordingly.

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Citation URI
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Authors & Contributors
Formisano, Marco
Cuomo, Serafina
Baier, Christof
Spina, Luigi
Reinisch, Ulrich
Stevens, Kathryn
Concepts
Military technology
Technology and war; technology and the military
Military Art and Science
Science and war; science and the military
Roman Empire
Strategy, military
Time Periods
Ancient
Renaissance
Medieval
Early modern
18th century
15th century
Places
Greece
Hellenistic world
Rome (Italy)
Europe
Asia
Mesopotamia
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