Date (ca. 575-550 BCE): DAD. Mythical scenes identified: c) Zeus with thunderbolt fights Typhon; d) Theseus fights the Minotaur with Ariadne holding crown. A shieldband is a strip of bronze that runs vertically through the interior of a hoplite shield, covering the central armband. They are often decorated with sequences of stamped reliefs (“metopes”). Many have been excavated at Olympia in contexts that suggest they were used as fill material. These were most likely made in Argos or Corinth and dedicated at the sanctuary. Data for shieldbands from Olympia in MANTO is largely based on the Gdańsk Decorated Armour Database (DAD); two volumes from the Olympische Forschungen series (Kunze, Archaische Schildbander (Berlin, 1950), and Bol, Argivische Schilde (Berlin, 1989); and LIMC. “SB” denotes the DAD catalog, “OF” denotes Kunze’s catalog, and “H” denotes Bol’s additions to Kunze’s catalog.
Source subtype
Weaponry
Period
Late Archaic (ca. 560-479 BCE)Middle Archaic (ca. 620-560 BCE)
Place of creation
🌍 Corinth (Argolid) 🌍 Argos (city)
Place of recovery
🌍 Olympia (Elis)
UNESCO status
In a collection or on the market prior to ratification
Collection
Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο Ολυμπίας / Archaeological Museum, Olympia
👤 Typhon son of Ge👤 Zeus (Olympian) Olympian god🏺 the Thunderbolt of Zeus👤 the Minotaur killed by Theseus👤 Ariadne daughter of Minos👤 Theseus Athenian hero🏺 the Sword of Aigeus inherited by Theseus🏺 the Crown of Ariadne
Commentary
Date (ca. 575-550 BCE): DAD. Mythical scenes identified: c) Zeus with thunderbolt fights Typhon; d) Theseus fights the Minotaur with Ariadne holding crown. A shieldband is a strip of bronze that runs vertically through the interior of a hoplite shield, covering the central armband. They are often decorated with sequences of stamped reliefs (“metopes”). Many have been excavated at Olympia in contexts that suggest they were used as fill material. These were most likely made in Argos or Corinth and dedicated at the sanctuary. Data for shieldbands from Olympia in MANTO is largely based on the Gdańsk Decorated Armour Database (DAD); two volumes from the Olympische Forschungen series (Kunze, Archaische Schildbander (Berlin, 1950), and Bol, Argivische Schilde (Berlin, 1989); and LIMC. “SB” denotes the DAD catalog, “OF” denotes Kunze’s catalog, and “H” denotes Bol’s additions to Kunze’s catalog.
MANTO aggregates data about ancient artifacts from information made available through publications, collections records, and other repositories. More details about the sources we have used frequently appear in Commentary. If you notice any omissions or inaccuracies, please contact us.
Cite as: '🎨 Bronze Shieldband from Olympia (Olympia B1643)', MANTO, https://resource.manto.unh.edu/11324469 [last modified: 21 05 2025] Sharing and remixing permitted under terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (CC-BY-NC)