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🎨 Bronze Shieldband from Olympia (Olympia B1912; LIMC Achilleus 377)

  • Date (ca. 625–600 BCE) DAD. Mythical scenes identified: b) Achilles fighting Troilos; c) Zeus with thunderbolt fighting Typhon; d) Bride abduction; e) Unidentifiable warrior. Kunze, OF pp. 170-1, tentatively suggests that the "bride abduction" might be Helen and Paris, or Theseus and Ariadne, or Jason and Medeia. 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
    Early Archaic (ca. 700-620 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
    Inventory number
    B1912
    Other identifiers
    SB26, OF26
    Artifact URL
    https://dad.ug.edu.pl/decorated_armour/SB26/
    LIMC catalog references
    Achilleus 377
    Digital LIMC URL
    https://ark.dasch.swiss/ark:/72163/1/080E/bkN6HC=pUsK5SIlsxXpwDAP.20160506T021529Z
    Has depictions of
    👤 Achilles greatest Greek hero at Troy, leader of the Myrmidon contingent👤 Troilos son of Priam or Apollo and Hecabe🏛️ the Temple of Apollo Thymbraios at Thymbra (Troad)👤 Alexander (Trojan) Trojan hero, abducts Helen👤 Helen Helen of Troy👤 Typhon son of Ge👤 Zeus (Olympian) Olympian god🏺 the Thunderbolt of Zeus👤 Ariadne daughter of Minos👤 Theseus Athenian hero👤 Jason (Argonaut) leader of the Argonauts👤 Medeia wife of Jason, kills her own children
    Commentary
    Date (ca. 625–600 BCE) DAD. Mythical scenes identified: b) Achilles fighting Troilos; c) Zeus with thunderbolt fighting Typhon; d) Bride abduction; e) Unidentifiable warrior. Kunze, OF pp. 170-1, tentatively suggests that the "bride abduction" might be Helen and Paris, or Theseus and Ariadne, or Jason and Medeia. 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 B1912; LIMC Achilleus 377)', MANTO, https://resource.manto.unh.edu/11324470 [last modified: 21 05 2025]
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