Gates of Fire

The shield is the physical embodiment of the ethos of self-sacrifice and mutual protection that gives a Greek infantry phalanx its strength. A Greek’s shield is very heavy, but it is a supreme dishonor to allow one’s shield to fall to the ground. Since each man’s shield is used to protect the man to their left, a soldier who allows his shield to fall is viewed as likely to fail in protecting the men beside him.

The different ways that shields are painted are also used by the author to indicate the importance of subsuming one’s own ego and fear when fighting in this fashion. When Xeones describes the semi-competence of the Astakiot phalanx, their lack of coordination is indicated by the family crests painted on their shields. This more individual touch is contrasted with the Spartans, whose shields are uniformly painted with a lambda for Lakedaemon, a mythical king of Laconia.

On the final day of the battle at Thermopylae, the shields of the surviving Greeks are effaced with mud so that it’s impossible to tell the difference between the troops of the different cities. On the first day of fighting,