Linothorax

The linothorax was a type of armour used by the Ancient Greeks from the Mycenaean Period through to the Classical Period. The linothorax is first recorded in Homer's Iliad but the extent to which it was used can not be determined. The linothorax appears to have replaced the bronze 'bell cuirass' or 'bell corslet' as the popular choice of armour for Greek hoplites around the late seventh century and early sixth century B.C. Its high point, if vase paintings and artistic depictions can be believed, corresponds with the time of the Persian Wars. By the time of the Peloponnesian War it was still used, but was also superseded by the new style of "light hoplites" increasingly popular at the time. It is well attested in the armies of Alexander the Great. It was used throughout the Hellenistic period—it is attested for instance on Hellenistic reliefs and statues (Amphipolis, Kos, Rhodes, etc.), by the bronze fragments of honorific statues from Dodona, and probably in the Macedonian military regulations—, when it was used along other forms of armour such as the muscled cuirass and scale armour.

Construction

The modern understanding of what a linothorax is in Greek art depictions is armour that has flaps that come over the shoulders from behind and tie down on the chest and a row of pteruges or flaps around the bottom which cover the groin and upper thigh. If this type of armour was called a linothorax by the ancient Greeks is unknown. Many linothorax are shown with the addition of what appears to be metal scales attached to the body of the armour and some (as shown in the picture above) are completely covered with scales but many depictions show no scale just a plain material. What a linothorax was constructed of has not been determined yet as no example has survived from ancient times. The only piece of armour that resembles the linothorax was one discovered in a tomb in Vergina, Northern Greece. This armour was constructed from sheet iron with gold embellishments and appears to be a copy of a linothorax in iron, not made from the same material as the more common linothorax. The actual material that went into the construction of the linothorax is still hotly debated by academics and amateurs alike. The linothorax is believed by many to be built from several layers of linen, between 12 and 20 are commonly expressed numbers. Some have claimed that it was made of leather but there is little evidence to support this. It has also been claimed that the linen layers were glued together by animal glue, or a kind of flexible resin but it is more likely that the layers were quilted together in a similar manner as the medieval padded jack. There was a partial find of a linothorax found during an excavation of an arsenal at Thebes that has yet to be published, also a multi-layered linen fragment was found in a Mycenaean grave shaft which is believed to be part of a greave but lends some weight to the layered linen argument.

ee also

*Hoplite

External links

* [http://www.4hoplites.com/Linothorax.htm Recreating the Linothorax]
* [http://www.larp.com/hoplite/linothor.html Matthew Amt's Linothorax]