In the military ofclassical antiquity, aclipeus (Latin:[ˈklɪpeʊs̠];Ancient Greek:ἀσπίς) was a largeshield worn by theGreekhoplites andRomans as a piece of defensive armor, which they carried upon the arm, to protect them from the blows of their enemies. It was round in shape and in the middle was a bolt of iron, or of some other metal, with a sharp point.[1] Theclipeus was more-or-less identical to the earlieraspis.
Pliny the Elder also describes the custom of having a bust-portrait of an ancestor painted on aclipeus, and having it hung in a temple or other public place. From this roundbas-reliefs in amedallion onsarcophagi and in other forms are known asimago clipeata or "clipeus portraits",[2] a term usually restricted toRoman art.
Theclipeus was used by Romans during theRoman Kingdom andearly republic but was replaced by the legionaryscutum, a convex rectangular shield, in the later Roman Republic. However, thescutum disappeared during theCrisis of the Third Century. All troops adopted the auxiliary oval (and sometimes round or hexagonal) shield (parma orclipeus).[3] Shields, from examples found atDura-Europos andNydam Mose, were of vertical plank construction, the planks glued, and faced inside and out with painted leather. The edges of the shield were bound with stitched rawhide, which shrank as it dried, improving structural cohesion. It was also lighter than the edging of copper alloy used in earlier Roman shields.[4]
Theclipeus virtutis, Latin for "shield of bravery", was awarded to Augustus for his "courage, clemency, justice and piety" by the senate and displayed in theCuria Julia.[5]
