In the military of

classical antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...

, a ''clipeus'' (;

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

ἀσπίς An ''aspis'' (; : aspides, ) or ''porpax'' shield was the heavy wooden shield used by the infantry in various periods of ancient Greece. Construction An ''aspis'' was deeply dished and made primarily of wood. Some had a thin sheet of bronze ...

) was a large

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...

worn by the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

hoplites Hoplites ( ) ( ) were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Hoplite soldiers used the phalanx formation to be effective in war with fewer soldiers. The formation discouraged the soldi ...

and

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

as a piece of defensive armor, which they carried upon the arm, to protect them from the blows of their enemies. It was round in shape and in the middle was a bolt of iron, or of some other metal, with a sharp point. The ''clipeus'' was more-or-less identical to the earlier ''

aspis An ''aspis'' (; : aspides, ) or ''porpax'' shield was the heavy wooden shield used by the infantry in various periods of ancient Greece. Construction An ''aspis'' was deeply dished and made primarily of wood. Some had a thin sheet of bronze ...

''.

In art

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

also describes the custom of having a bust-portrait of an ancestor painted on a ''clipeus'', and having it hung in a temple or other public place. From this round

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

s in a

medallion A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

sarcophagi A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek σάρξ ' meaning "flesh", and φ� ...

and in other forms are known as ''

imago clipeata ''Imago clipeata'' (Latin: "portrait on a round shield") is a term in the art history of ancient Rome for images of ancestors, famous people or deceased shown as on a round shield (in Latin: ''clipeus''). For other periods similar forms are called ...

'' or "''clipeus'' portraits", a term usually restricted to

Roman art The art of Ancient Rome, and the territories of its Republic and later Empire, includes architecture, painting, sculpture and mosaic work. Luxury objects in metal-work, gem engraving, ivory carvings, and glass are sometimes considered to be m ...

Roman use

The ''clipeus'' was used by Romans during the

Roman Kingdom The Roman Kingdom, also known as the Roman monarchy and the regal period of ancient Rome, was the earliest period of Ancient Rome, Roman history when the city and its territory were King of Rome, ruled by kings. According to tradition, the Roma ...

and

early republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

but was replaced by the legionary ''

scutum The ''scutum'' (; :''scuta'') was a type of shield used among Italic peoples in antiquity, most notably by the army of ancient Rome starting about the fourth century BC. The Romans adopted it when they switched from the military formation of ...

'', a convex rectangular shield, in the later Roman Republic. However, the ''scutum'' disappeared during the

Crisis of the Third Century The Crisis of the Third Century, also known as the Military Anarchy or the Imperial Crisis, was a period in History of Rome, Roman history during which the Roman Empire nearly collapsed under the combined pressure of repeated Barbarian invasions ...

. All troops adopted the auxiliary oval (and sometimes round or hexagonal) shield (''

parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

'' or ''clipeus''). Shields, from examples found at

Dura-Europos Dura-Europos was a Hellenistic, Parthian Empire, Parthian, and Ancient Rome, Roman border city built on an escarpment above the southwestern bank of the Euphrates river. It is located near the village of Al-Salihiyah, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, S ...

and

Nydam Mose The Nydam Mose, also known as Nydam Bog, is an archaeological site located at Øster Sottrup, a town located in Sundeved, from Sønderborg, Denmark. History In the Iron Age, the site of the bog was a sacred place, where the weapons and ships ...

, were of vertical plank construction, the planks glued, and faced inside and out with painted leather. The edges of the shield were bound with stitched rawhide, which shrank as it dried, improving structural cohesion. It was also lighter than the edging of copper alloy used in earlier Roman shields. The ''clipeus virtutis'', Latin for "shield of bravery", was awarded to Augustus for his "courage, clemency, justice and piety" by the senate and displayed in the

Curia Julia The Curia Julia () is the third named ''curia'', or senate house, in the ancient city of Rome. It was built in 44 BC, when Julius Caesar replaced Faustus Cornelius Sulla's reconstructed Curia Cornelia, which itself had replaced the Curia Hostil ...

.(Res Gestae 34)

Notes

References

* * * Hall, James. ''A History of Ideas and Images in Italian Art'', John Murray, London, 1983, , p. 78.

In art

Roman use

See also

Notes

References

Further reading