Thethyreophoroi orthureophoroi (Greek:θυρεοφόροι;sg.:thureophoros/thyreophoros, θυρεοφόρος)[1] were a type ofinfantrysoldier, common in the 3rd to 1st centuries BC, who carried a large oval shield called athyreos which had a type of metal strip boss and a central spine. They were armed with a long thrusting spear, javelins and a sword. They also usually wore an iron or bronzeMacedonian helmet.
Thethureos was probably originally an adapted form of aCeltic shield.Thracian andIllyrian infantry probably adopted the shield before theGreeks. However, it has been suggested that thethureos was brought to Greece afterPyrrhus of Epirus' campaigns in Italy, as his Oscan allies and Roman enemies used thescutum.
Thyreophoroi are usually distinguished from bothskirmishers and thephalanx 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 topeltasts. Thethyreophoroi were well suited to the tactical needs for smaller states, mainly border defense. They were mobile and could rapidly advance over varied terrain. According toPlutarch, they could fight as skirmishers and then fall back, assume spears and tighten the ranks, forming a phalanx.[2]
In the 4th century BC, the main type ofmercenary infantry was thepeltast, to the extent that this became a synonym for mercenaries in general. A few illustrations of the early 3rd century BC still show a small roundpelte shield in use but by the mid-3rd century BC it has been replaced by thethyreos. Thethyreos was adopted by theAchaean League and by theBoeotians in the 270s BC.Plutarch describes Achaean citizens equipped with thethureos as skirmishing at a distance like peltasts but also as having spears for hand-to-hand combat. Despite their spears, we are told that thethyreophoroi were not reliable in hand-to-hand fighting owing to their nature as light troops.
Mercenarythyreophoroi were not only Greek but could be from other areas such asAnatolia. Alongside this form of fighting, thethyreomachia, fighting with swords and thethyreos, was developed into an athletic event in many Greek competitions. The Achaean League underPhilopoemen abandoned thethyreos around 208–207 BC in favor of the heavierMacedonian phalanx,[3][4] although the citizens ofMegalopolis, an Achaean city, had adopted the Macedonian style in 222 BC afterAntigonus III Doson gave the city bronze shields to form a contingent ofepilektoi armed aschalkaspides ('Bronze-Shields'). By the end of the 3rd century BC thethyreophoros was no longer the dominant troop type in the smaller Greek states, having been replaced by the Macedonian-style phalanx. A related troop type was thethorakites, which were generally heavier and woremail armor.
Thyreophoroi are frequently illustrated in grave paintings fromAlexandria andSidon. They can also be seen interracottas fromSeleucia on the Tigris.