Note 839 — Chapter XI · THE SWORD IN ANCIENT GREECE: HOMER; HESIOD AND HERODOTUS: MYCENÆ.
Reading edition
In the Iliad (iv. 185) we find the ζωστὴρ and the ζῶμα different. Menelaus wears the former outside, the Sword below it, and a μίτρα or metal plate on the breast. The ζωστὴρ was probably a broad girdle strengthened with metal, and considered part of the ὅπλα: thus ζώννυσθαι, to ‘gird one’s loins,’ is to prepare for battle.