Linothorax

Thelinothorax(/ˈliːnoʊθɔːræks/,from theAncient Greek:λινοθώραξ,Ancient Greek:[linotʰɔ̌ːraːks]) is a type of upper body armor that was used throughout the ancient Mediterranean world. The termlinothoraxis a modern term based on the Greekλινοθώραξ,which means "wearing a breastplate oflinen";a number of ancient Greek and Latin texts from the 6th century BC to the third century AD mentionθώρακες λίνεοι(thorakes lineoi) (Greek) orloricae linteae(Latin) which means 'linen body armour'. These are usually equated with some of the armour shown in sculptures and paintings from Italy and Greece from 575 BC onwards. Very little is known about how ancient linen armour was made. Linen armour in other cultures was usually quilted and stuffed with loose fibre or stitched together many layers thick, but it could also have been made with a special weave called twining which creates a thick, tough fabric.The theory that it was made of layers of linen glued together comes from a mistranslation of a summary of a description of medieval armour in 1869.

AchilleshealsPatroclus,since he learned the arts of medicine from his tutor,Chiron.Both men are believed to be wearinglinothoraxes.atticred-figurekylix,signed by Sosias,c. 500BC,Antikensammlung Berlin(F 2278)

By the late 6th century BC, many paintings and sculptures showhoplitesand other warriors in the Aegean wearing thelinothoraxinstead of a bronze cuirass. This could have been due to the lower price, lesser weight, or cooler material. Artists continue to show it in theHellenistic periodafter the death of Alexander the Great. The Roman emperorCaracallaequipped a "Macedonian phalanx" with linen armour around 200 AD (Cassius Dio 78.7).

History

Some scholars believe that Homer refers to alinothoraxwhen he describesAjax the Lesseras "linen-breasted" (Iliad2.529 and 2.830). Other scholars believe that this refers to a linen tunic or smooth glossy skin.

The first clear reference to linen armour in any ancient language is a line by the poetAlcaeus,who lived around 650–550 BC.From the fifth century BC to the first century AD, Greek and Roman writers mention soldiers from many nations wearing linen armour, but they rarely describe it in detail. These writers includeHerodotus(2.182, 3.47, 7.63),Livy(4.19.2–20.7),Strabo(Geography, 3.3.6, 13.1.10), Suetonius (Galba19.1), andPausanias.The philosopher Plutarch says that Alexander the Great wore a "double linen breastplate" at the battle of Gaugamela (Plutarch,Life of Alexander32.8–12). References to linen armour become much rarer in the Roman imperial period. It seems likely that as the Roman army developed cheap forms of iron armour such as the lorica hamata, there was less demand for linen armour.

TheAlexander Mosaicof Pompeii, depictingAlexander the Great,king ofMacedon,wearing thelinothorax

Beginning around 575 BC, artists in the Aegean often show a distinctive style of armour with a smooth piece wrapped around the chest, two flaps over the shoulders, and a skirt of flaps covering the hips and belly.By the 4th century BC, armour with a similar shape appears in wall paintings in Italy, sealstones in Persia, gold combs in Crimea, and stone carvings in Gaul. Because only a few examples of armour shaped like this survive, researchers such as Peter Connolly identify the lost armour with the linen armour in texts. Linen would decay and so leave little archaeological evidence. On theAlexander SarcophagusandAlexander Mosaic,Alexander the Greatand his soldiers wear this type of armour. Artists of the Roman imperial period rarely show this type of armour. The extant armour with this shape are made of iron plate, iron scales, or iron mail, and so the armour which decayed was likely made of more than one material.

Depictions

Painted depiction of a soldier wearing thelinothorax,from theTomb of JudgementinMiezainImathia,Greece, 4th/3rd century BC

Since this armour is only known through texts, paintings, and sculptures, rather than archaeological finds, modern scholars can only guess at its makeup and design. Artistic depictions show armor that has a top piece which covers the shoulders and is tied down on the chest, a main body piece wrapping around the wearer and covering the chest from the waist up, and a row ofpterugesor flaps around the bottom which cover the belly and hips. Vase paintings from Athens often show scales covering part of the armour. A team of researchers at theUniversity of Wisconsin–Green Bayled by Professor EmeritusGregory S. Aldretehave catalogued art from Italy and the Aegean which shows this armour.Five extant pieces of armour shaped like the armour in Athenian vase paintings survive from sites in south-eastern Europe from the 4th century BC to the 1st century AD.Two are of iron plate, one is of iron scales on a leather foundation, and two are of mail interwoven with scales. Some of the linen armour in ancient texts was probably shaped the same way, but how this ancient linen armour was made is unknown.

Research

Modern researchers have had difficulty studying ancient linen armour because linen isbiodegradableand leaves few remains for archeologists to discover. In recent times, many cultures from India to Scotland to South America made linen armour by quilting many layers of fabric together or stuffing them with loose fibres such as cotton.The type stuffed with loose fibres often looks bumpy and unlike the ancient art, but the type of many layers of cloth can be smooth. Textile archaeologistHero Granger-Taylorproposes that ancient linen armour was woven using a special technique called twining.Twined textiles were used in military contexts in Bronze Age Egypt, Roman Syria, and Maori New Zealand, so it is plausible that they were also used in Classical Greece and Italy before the Roman conquest.

In the 1970s, Peter Connolly built alinothoraxby gluing layers of linen cloth together and cutting them to shape.His reconstruction inspired many others,including one by Professor EmeritusGregory S. Aldreteand his student Scott Bartell atUniversity of Wisconsin-Green Bay.This project was present at the jointAmerican Philological Association/Archaeological Institute of AmericaConvention held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in January 2009, and published in a book from Johns Hopkins University Press in 2013.The project received considerable media attention after Aldrete tested his construction by shooting an arrow at Bartell with cameras rolling.But Peter Connolly's reconstruction was based on a misremembered, twice-translated summary of a Byzantine chronicle which did not mention glue, not on an ancient text, artifact, or depiction.No culture before the 20th century is known to have made linen armor in this way.

See also

• Gambeson
• Kevlar
• Muscle cuirass
• Ichcahuipilli

External links

• University of Wisconsin-Green Bay: Linothorax Projectat theWayback Machine(archived 14 May 2020)
• Testing the Linothorax Video with Dr. Aldrete and Mr. BartellonYouTube
• Recreating the Linothorax
• Linothorax reconstructed by the "Koryvantes Association",Greeceat theWayback Machine(archived 21 February 2012) (in Greek)
• A heavy type of Linothorax by the "Koryvantes Association"at theWayback Machine(archived 21 February 2012) (in Greek)