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| Peltast with peltarion (5th century BCE) | |
| Soldier with a peltarion and a modified sickle | |
A peltarion, pelta or pelte (Ancient Greek: πέλτη) was a crescent-shaped wicker shield commonly used in the ancient world before the 3rd century BCE and gradually replaced in some cases with the thureos. Xenophon describes the shield as "round" but such round shields are rare in contemporary art. It could either be carried with a central hand-grip or a double grip similar to an aspis. It also usually had a carrying strap to allow it to be slung from the back. According to Aristotle it was rimless and covered with goat or sheep skin. The shield was carried by many troops of period including the light Ancient Greek infantry known as peltasts. Some Persian and other Eastern troops used shields similar to the pelte such as Later Achaemenid takabara. It can also be seen in Scythian art. It seems however that the shield used in Greece had its origins in Thrace and central Europe.
The small round shield carried by the phallangites of the Macedonian phalanx was also called a pelte, due to its size.
