Note 277 — Chapter XXIII
L. Dora Schmitz translation
See Plate XIV., No. 234. This round shield of copper (or bronze?), with its central boss, and the furrow and rim so suitable for holding together a covering of ox-hides, reminds us irresistibly of the seven-fold shield of Ajax:—Iliad, VII. 219-223 (cf. 245-247):—
Αἴας δ’ ἐγγύθεν ἦλθε φέρων σάκος ἠΰτε πύργον,br /> Χάλκεον ἑπταβόειον, ὅ οἱ Τυχίος κάμε τεύχων,br /> Σκυτοτόμων ὄχ’ ἄριστος, Ὕλῃ ἔνι οἰκία ναίων,br /> Ὅς οἱ ἐποίησεν σάκος αἰόλον ἑπταβόειον,br /> Ταύρων ζατρεφέων, ἐπὶ δ’ ὄγδοον ἤλασε χαλκόν.br /> “Ajax approached; before him, as a tower, “His mighty shield he bore, seven-fold, brass-bound, “The work of Tychius, best artificer “That wrought in leather; he in Hyla dwelt. “Of seven-fold hides the ponderous shield was wrought “Of lusty bulls: the eighth was glittering brass.”
It is equally striking to compare the shield of the Treasure with the description of Sarpedon’s shield, with its round plate of hammered copper (or bronze), and its covering of ox-hides, fastened to the inner edge of the rim by gold wires or rivets (Iliad, XII. 294-297):—
Αὐτίκα δ’ ἀσπίδα μὲν πρόσθ’ ἔσχετο πάντοσ’ ἐΐσην Καλὴν χαλκείην ἐξήλατον, ἣν ἄρα χαλκεὺς Ἤλασεν, ἔντοσθεν δὲ βοείας ῥάψε θαμειὰς Χρυσείῃς ῥάβδοισι διηνέκεσιν περὶ κύκλον. “His shield’s broad orb before his breast he bore, Well wrought, of beaten brass, which the armourer’s hand Had beaten out, and lined with stout bull’s hide With golden rods, continuous, all around.”—[Ed.]