It is commonly believed that the ancients tried to harden the horse’s heels though natural process as they had observed wild horses to negotiate rough terrain. Even Xenophon in his work “On Horsemanship” never talks of the horseshoeing procedures. The grave stele of unarmored cavalrymen charging opponents are rather idealized and do not give the true picture of the deceased aristocratic fighter on horseback.Īccording to ancient literary sources there were no horseshoes in Antiquity, as we know them today. The academic viewpoint collides with the logic of combatants who exposed to risk seek maximum protection. It is also curious that the armored horsemen appearing on Attic pottery carry semicircular shields of Thracian type and are also without hesitation described as Thracians. Votive shield from Corinth Museum depicting a dismounting «hoplite». The Attic vase shows round shield probably assisted with a baldric and the Corinthian bas-relief depicts «a hoplite» dismounting holding his shield – something that can’t be done with the heavy hoplite shield as the weight will be dragging him down. An Attic Cup from the Amsterdam Museum and a bas-relief from the Museum of Corinth seem to not agree with the prevailing theory that Ancient Greek Cavalry did not carry shields. Modern Experimental Archaeology has shown that the hoplite type shield has great difficulty in its use by a mounted fighter but nothing proves that shields of the 7th century BC «mounted hoplites» are the Greek heavy infantry shields, but rather lighter shields suitable for use by the cavalry. Though terracotta at the Kanellopoulou Museum portrays a horseman of the 6th century BC, carrying a shield the size of a Macedonian pikeman’s shield of the 4th century BC and therefore contradicts the prevailing theory. Geometric Era amphora from Paros Museum depicting horsemen with round shields. And this need was not eradicated at later periods but the academics characterize all shield bearing horsemen that appear in the art of the Archaic Era as «soldiers approaching the battlefield on horseback». The protection provided was valuable to the horsemen as they had to face light troops armed with missile weapons.

Horsemen are depicted carrying round shields in pottery and sculpture of the Geometric Period. Many times riders carried the shield on their backs attached with a baldric. The crescent-shaped shield seems to have been quite widespread but during the archaic period the «boeotian shield» type was prominent if we trust contemporary depictions. The horsemen of the Geometric Era and the classical Greeks, after their contact with the Thracian and Scythian horsemen used it. The shield appears to have been widespread despite claims to the contrary. The Greeks were influenced by the Scythians and Thracians in matters of horse riding and horse trappings. Archaic bronze statue depicting an armored Greek horseman.

Boeotian shield vs. hoplite shield