Greek shields

thumb|The aegis on the so-called Athena Lemnia, a Roman statue type often identified as a copy of a work by the Classical Greek sculptor [[Pheidias (Dresden Skulpturensammlung)]]

thumb|Clipeus of Iupiter-Ammon, conserved at the National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona|Museu Nacional Arqueològic de Tarragona thumb|A Victorian depiction of a hoplite with a clipeus In the military of classical antiquity, a clipeus (; Ancient Greek: ἀσπίς) was a large shield worn by the Greek hoplites and Romans 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.

thumb|Hoplitodromos with aspis and full body [[armour depicted in a Greek vase dated to 550 BC.]] An aspis (; : aspides, ) or '''porpax shield''' was the heavy wooden shield used by the infantry in various periods of ancient Greece.

Greek epic attributed to Hesiod

decorated shield described in the Iliad

thumb|upright|Fresco of an Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|ancient Macedonian soldier bearing a thyreos shield. Archeological museum in Istanbul. A thyreos or thureos () was a large oval shield which was commonly used in Hellenistic armies from the 3rd century BC onwards. It was adopted from the Galatians, probably first by the Illyrians, then by the Thracians before becoming common in ancient Greece. Troops who carried it were known as thyreophoroi. It was made of wood covered with leather and had a spined boss. It was carried using a central handgrip. Some variants of the shield were nearly rect