Thyreophoroi
(Redirected from
Thureophoros
)thureos
shield; 3rd century BCThe thyreophoroi or thureophoroi (
Macedonian
helmet.
The thureos was probably originally an adapted form of a
scutum
.
Role
Thyreophoroi are usually distinguished from both
phalanx and seem to have operated in a role intermediate between the two types. They often supported light troops and seemed to be capable of operating in a similar manner to peltasts. The thyreophoroi were well suited to the tactical needs for smaller states, mainly border defense. They were mobile and could rapidly advance over varied terrain. According to Plutarch, they could fight as skirmishers and then fall back, assume spears and tighten the ranks, forming a phalanx.[2]
Development
In the 4th century BC, the main type of
pelte shield in use but by the mid-3rd century BC it has been replaced by the thyreos. The thyreos was adopted by the Achaean League and by the Boeotians in the 270s BC. Plutarch
describes Achaean citizens equipped with the thureos as skirmishing at a distance like peltasts but also as having spears for hand-to-hand combat. Despite their spears, we are told that the thyreophoroi were not reliable in hand-to-hand fighting owing to their nature as light troops.
Mercenary thyreophoroi were not only Greek but could be from other areas such as
mail
armor.
Illustrations
Thyreophoroi are frequently illustrated in grave paintings from
Seleucia on the Tigris
.
See also
References
Sources
- Head, Duncan (1982). Armies of the Macedonian and Punic Wars. WRG.
- Sabin, Philip & van Wees, Hans & Whitby, Michael (eds.) (2007). "The Cambridge History of Greek and Roman Warfare: Volume 1, Greece, The Hellenistic World and the Rise of Rome". Cambridge University Press