Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, "Armour Plates" to "Arundel, Earls of"

that described in the Homeric poems, except when we come to the reforms of the Macedonians. The hoplites, who formed the main army, wore helmet, body armour, greaves and shield, and fought with pike and sword. The helmets were (1) the Corinthian, which covered the face to the chin, with slits for the eyes, and often had no plume or crest; (2) the Athenian, which did not cover the face (though sometimes it had cheek-plates which could be turned up if necessary), had crests, sometimes triple, with plumes of feathers, horsehair or leather; (3) a steel cap ([Greek: pilos]) without crest, plumes or cheek-plates. The last seems to have been most common in the Spartan army. The body armour consisted of breast and back plates fastened together by thongs or straps and buckles; sometimes poverty compelled a man to be content with a leather jerkin ([Greek: spolas]) partly strengthened by metal plates, or even a quilted linen or stuffed shirt. Greaves were of pliant bronze fastened at the back above the ankle and below the knee. Shields were of the small round or oval type, adapted to the new conditions in which the bow and arrow had given place to hand-to-hand fighting. They were held by means of two handles ([Greek: ochana]), the left hand being thrust through the first and grasping the second. In the 5th and 4th centuries the shield bore a device or initial representing the state and also the individual's own crest. The hoplite's pike, about 8 ft. long, unlike the Homeric weapon, was hardly ever thrown. In the Macedonian phalanx a pike ([Greek: sarissa]), certainly 18 ft., and perhaps later in the 3rd and and 2nd centuries even 24 ft. long, was introduced. The sword was straight, sharp-pointed, short, sometimes less than 20 in., and rarely more than 2 ft. long. It was double-edged and used for both cut and thrust. A less common type was the [Greek: machaira] or curved sabre used by the Spartans, with one sharp edge. The hoplite had no other offensive weapons. The cavalry were heavy-armed like the hoplites except that they carried a smaller shield, or, more usually, none at all. They were armed with a lance which they wielded freely (i.e. not "in rest") and occasionally threw. The Macedonian cavalry had a [Greek: sarissa]. The light-armed ([Greek: gymnaetes, psiloi]) were (1) [Greek: akontistai], armed with a javelin (3 to 5 ft. long) and a small shield; (2) [Greek: toxotai], archers; and (3) [Greek: sphendonaetai], slingers, whose missiles were balls of lead, stones and hardened clay pellets. Between the heavy and the light armed were the peltasts. The _pelta_, from which they took the name, was a light shield or target, made of skin or leather on a wooden or wickerwork frame. The Athenian Iphicrates armed them with linen corslet and a larger spear and sword than those of the hoplites; he also invented a new footgear (called after him _iphicratides_) to replace the older greaves.