Clipeus

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For the insect anatomical structure, see Clypeus

In the military of classical antiquity, a clipeus (ἀσπίς) was a large shield worn by the Greeks and Romans as a piece of defensive armor, which they carried upon the arm, to secure 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.

Pliny the Elder 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-reliefs in a medallion on sarcophagi and in other forms are known as clipeus portraits.[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ James Hall, A History of Ideas and Images in Italian Art, p78, 1983, John Murray, London, ISBN 0719539714

[edit] Further reading

  • William Smith, D.C.L., LL.D. "Clipeus". A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. John Murray, London, 1875.

[edit] See also

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