TWG-25
John Jenkins Designs
The Achean Greece, or Mycenean civilization was a major Bronze age power alongside Egypt, Assyria, Phoenicia and the Hittites. The rise of this militaristic society, and the development of Greek armour and weapons would eventually grant the Greeks immortality through the literary preservation of their great conflict of the Trojan War.
Normally swords are viewed as ubiquitous military armaments, but were not initially common during the early Bronze Age. Large scale close quarter conflict rarely occurred, and ritualized duels involving armoured warriors may have formed the main part of dispute resolution.
Swords used large amounts of valuable bronze and were also useless for hunting due to a lack of reach. The introduction of the sword as an object designed specifically for use against other humans marks the growth of conflict as a part of society.
Shields have become one of the iconic images of Mycenean Greek armies, due to their size and depictions on frescoes and pottery.
Early Bronze age soldiers seem to have used rectangular tower shields, which are visible on numerous frescoes from 1600 BC, and equipment such as the “Lion Hunt Dagger”. Since these shields were very large, covering most of the body of the warrior, they were therefore believed to be attached to the bearer’s shoulder, by a leather strap.
There were two main types of large shields depicted, the Tower Shield and what is known as the “Figure of Eight Shield”.