previous next


The Egyptians, perhaps in consequence of their recent revolt (ch. 1), were not employed as land-troops till after Salamis; cf. ix. 32. 2. They are most effective (viii. 17) as marines, perhaps on account of their heavy armour, ‘boarding-pikes and pole-axes.’

χηλευτά = πλεκτά (ch. 79. 1), ‘plaited.’

ἀσπίδας. The Egyptians in the earliest times carried gigantic shields; in the time of the Theban empire moderate sized bucklers rounded at the top were substituted, but a concave shape or a large rim of metal is rare. Shield and lance are to Plato (Tim. 24 B) their national weapons.

δόρατα ναύμαχα: boarding-spears are represented in the sea-fight of Rameses III (monument at Medînet Habu).

τύχους: a pole-axe, with a single head and a shaft 2 to 2 1/2 feet long, was often borne by officers.

θωρηκοφόροι: probably wearing quilted cuirasses; scale armour is, however, represented in the tomb of Rameses III at Thebes.

μαχαίρας ... μεγάλας: large trowel-shaped daggers are borne by the troops of Rameses II.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.

hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: