Achaemenid Round Targets

Look out! An archer is hiding in ambush in the bottom of this kylix (wine-cup). If you look closely you can see that his shield has a rim sketched in with pale paint. Around 510-500 BCE, Museum of Fine Art, Boston, object 01.8074 When we think of shields in the ancient Aegean, we usually think of the round Argive shield with its rim and armband, and the crescent-shaped Thracian pelte with its straps. These are the shields which appear in Athenian and Roman art and are mentioned by classical writers like Aristotle. Cognoscenti also know the domed rimless shields used in Thessaly, Illyria, and Macedonia. These had an armband and fist-handle like an Argive shield, but were somewhat smaller. Some Cretans also used a bronze-faced shield which may have been like the Illyrian shields, or may have been like a small aspis with a rim.1 A helpful post by Max Tucker on the International Hoplite Discussion social media group2 reminded me of a fourth type. Art from the Achaemenid empire often shows…