THE EARLY AGE OF GREECE VOL.I by W.Ridgeway 1901

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THE ROLAND SHIELD. 473
474 THE ROUND SHIELD.
With the disappearance of the central handle at the back
Brunn^ was the first to see that the nearest analogy to the
of the hollow boss, there was no longer any great need for
shield was to be found in the storied situlae of Bologna and
retaining the latter, and the indigenous feeling in favour of
Watsch (p. 450), which according to Reinach are due to
badges revived, or they were reintroduced from the Carians,
Mycenean
who influence.
had probably never abandoned their use. Numerous
The arguments set forth in the present work lead us
examples of such are seen on the shields depicted on black and
inevitably to conclude that Brunn and Reinach were right in
red figured vases, which correspond to the shields borne by the
seeing the close connection between the Shield and the art
Seven who fought against Thebes.
of Carniola and upper Italy.
Such devices were used right down into late classical times.
The discovery of the inlaid dagger blades at Mycenae led
Thus the Arcadian Mantineans bore as their blazon the trident
Milchhofer to conclude that the poet had not before him a
of Poseidon, whilst the Lacedaemonian shield had a A, the
shield wrought in repousse and engraved like the cups of
Messenian M, and the Sicyonian ^. If therefore the passages in
Cyprus, but rather one inlaid and overlaid with various metals,
the Iliad which refer to round shields were interpolated in the
which imparted to it a pictorial
effect. This seems a reasonable
7th cent. B.C. it is indeed strange that the poet or poets when
describing the circular shields of his or their own view, but it is more probable that repousse and engraving were
day, should
also employed in combination with inlaying and incrustation,
not have mentioned the badges, but on the contrary not only
as in Japanese metal work.
omitted all mention of such, but even represent the shields as
We may therefore conclude with tolerable probability,
that
fitted with central bosses.
whilst the shape of the Shield and the style and disposition of
The Shield of Achilles with its wonderful scenes from
its ornament are derived from
human central Europe, its technique
life was formerly held to be the pure outcome of the
discloses the native Mycenean craftsman employing for his
poet's imagination. Helbig
first saw that there was at least a
Achean lords the method seen in the Mycenean daggers.
nucleus of fact round which the poet had lot his fancy play.
It
When is probable then that the poet's description of the shield
vessels of silver wrought in repousse were found in
of Achilles is no mere piece of fancy, but that he had before
Cyprus, at Caere, Pi'aeneste and Nint'veli, which M. Clermont-
his mind one of those bronze Argolic shields such as those
Cianneau held to be Phoenician' in origin, scholars then began
which at the close of the Achean period were in use in Etruria,
to com])are tlx.' shield to the stoiit'(l urns of Cui-ium, Amathus,
where they had been introduced from Argos'^
and (
"aere, more es])eeially
as a Cae'i-e shield showed the same
As the Latins had abandoned their ancient round shield
distribution of subjects in concentric zones as that seen on the
cups. M. Perrot'' thinks that the '
S.
Mycenean artist derived from
Eeinach, Les Celtcx, pp. 2'21 (i.
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Phoenicia this principle of Perrot and Chipiez in their new work {Ld Girrc
arrangement in concentric zones.
dc VKpoprr, pp. 121 80)
regard the shield of Achilles as circular, although thej- profess (pp.
But 258 9) to
the ])retensions
of I'lioenicia to ha\'e exercised an important
iuHuence on Mycenean art, though since revived holds that the shield of Achilles is
follow Reichel's views on Homeric armour. But Kcicliel {Horn. ^\'