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🎨 Bronze Shieldband from Olympia (Olympia B1654)

Date (ca. 575–550 BCE:) DAD. Mythical scenes identified: b) Aias rapes Cassandra at the Palladion; c) Aias dies by suicide with perhaps Odysseus, Diomedes and either Phoinix or Nestor; d) Clytaimnestra kills Agamemnon with the aid of Aigisthos; e) Theseus fights the Minotaur; f) Priam ransoms Hector's body from Achilles as Hermes watches; g) Heracles with sword fights the Nemean Lion. Scene on central attachment: Adrastos (name inscribed) mediates fight between Lycourgos and Amphiaraos (partial name inscribed), with more warriors around them: see Kunze, OF, 174-5; LIMC Amphiaraos 33. 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
Middle Archaic (ca. 620-560 BCE) Late Archaic (ca. 560-479 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
B1654
Other identifiers
SB8, OF8
Artifact URL
https://dad.ug.edu.pl/decorated_armour/SB8
LIMC catalog references
Amphiaraos 33
Digital LIMC URL
https://ark.dasch.swiss/ark:/72163/1/080E/Dn92tco0UjSLQHjwn3O5EAr.20160506T011528Z
Has depictions of
👤 Aias (the lesser) son of Oileus, leader of the Locrian contingent at Troy, 'the lesser'👤 Cassandra a prophet never believed, daughter of Priam and Hecabe🏺 the Palladion (statue) statue of Athena protecting Troy👤 Aias (the greater) son of Telamon, leader of the Salamis contingent at Troy, 'the greater'👤 Diomedes (Argive I) son of Tydeus, leader of the Argos contingent at Troy👤 Nestor son of Neleus, leader of the Pylos contingent at Troy👤 Odysseus king of Ithaca, leader of the Cephallenian contingent at Troy👤 Agamemnon commander of all Greek forces at Troy👤 Aigisthos son of Thyestes👤 Clytaimnestra wife of Agamemnon👤 Theseus Athenian hero👤 the Minotaur killed by Theseus👤 Achilles greatest Greek hero at Troy, leader of the Myrmidon contingent👤 Hector (Trojan) Trojan hero, son of Priam👤 Hermes Olympian god👤 Priam king of Troy👤 Heracles greatest Greek hero👤 the Nemean Lion invulnerable lion🏺 the Sword of Heracles weapon of Heracles👤 Phoinix (Dolopian) son of Amyntor, raises Achilles👤 Amphiaraos prophet, Calydonian boar hunter, Argonaut, one of the Seven against Thebes👤 Lycourgos (Argive) son of Pronax👤 Adrastos (Argive I) son of Talaos, one of Seven against Thebes👥 the Seven against Thebes who attack Thebes from Argos
Commentary
Date (ca. 575–550 BCE:) DAD. Mythical scenes identified: b) Aias rapes Cassandra at the Palladion; c) Aias dies by suicide with perhaps Odysseus, Diomedes and either Phoinix or Nestor; d) Clytaimnestra kills Agamemnon with the aid of Aigisthos; e) Theseus fights the Minotaur; f) Priam ransoms Hector's body from Achilles as Hermes watches; g) Heracles with sword fights the Nemean Lion. Scene on central attachment: Adrastos (name inscribed) mediates fight between Lycourgos and Amphiaraos (partial name inscribed), with more warriors around them: see Kunze, OF, 174-5; LIMC Amphiaraos 33. 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 B1654)', MANTO, https://resource.manto.unh.edu/11324476 [last modified: 21 05 2025]
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