SCUTUM
SCUTUM (
θυρεός), the Roman shield
worn by the heavy-armed infantry after 340 B.C.,
instead of being round like the Greek
CLIPEUS was adapted to the form of the human body, by being made
either oval or of the shape of a door (
θύρα), which it also resembled in being made of wood or
wicker-work, and from which consequently its Greek name was derived. Two of
its forms are shown in the woodcut at p. 80. That which is here exhibited is
also of frequent
occurrence, and is given on the same authority: in this case the
shield is curved so as in part to encircle the body. The terms
clipeus and
scutum are
often confounded; but that they properly denoted different kinds of shields
is manifest from the passages of several ancient writers (
Liv. 8.8;
Plut. Rom. 21). In like
manner Plutarch distinguishes the Roman
θυρεὸς from the Greek
ἀσπὶς in
his life of T. Flaminius (p. 688, ed. Steph.). In
Eph. 6.16
St. Paul uses the term
θυρεὸς rather than
(
ἀσπὶς or
σάκος, because he is describing the equipment of a Roman
soldier. These Roman shields are called
scuta
longa (
Verg. A. 8.662; Ovid,
Ov. Fast. 6.392). Polybius (
6.23) says their dimensions were 4 feet by 2 1/2 ,
or slightly more. The shield was held on the left arm by means of a handle,
and covered the left shoulder.
[
J.Y] [
A.H.S]
