Linothorax

Origins

Linen armor is ancient. The Iliad already mentions a warrior, Ajax the son of Oileus, wearing a linen corselet, and Herodotus describes linen cuirasses sent as gifts by the Egyptian pharaoh Amasis in the sixth century BC, and linen armor worn by Persian marines. In the Greek world, the linothorax became common from the late sixth century BC, when it appears on vase paintings alongside and gradually replacing the heavy bronze bell cuirass. By the time of the Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian War, it was probably the most common body armor of the Greek hoplite, and it remained standard in the Macedonian army of Philip II and Alexander.

Design & Construction

No linothorax survives — linen does not last in the ground — so its construction has to be worked out from art and texts. Vase paintings and sculpture show a consistent form: a tube wrapped around the torso and closed on the left side, a U-shaped yoke over the back with flaps that came forward over the shoulders and tied down on the chest, and a skirt of stiff strips called pteruges hanging below the waist to protect the groin and thighs. Scholars have long debated whether it was made of linen layers glued together, stitched together, or quilted. A major reconstruction project by Gregory Aldrete and colleagues built linothoraxes from about a dozen to twenty layers of linen laminated with animal glue, and found them about as heavy as a bronze cuirass of similar coverage but more flexible and cooler to wear. Many linothoraxes in art also have metal scales added over the belly and sides for extra protection.

Combat Use

In tests, the reconstructed linen armor stopped most arrows shot at it from close range, supporting ancient accounts of its effectiveness. It was less protective against a heavy spear thrust than bronze, but a hoplite fighting in the phalanx behind his Greek Aspis took most blows on his shield and helmet. The linothorax could be made to fit, did not rust, did not heat up in the sun like bronze, and was cheaper to produce — important as warfare spread to citizens of modest means. On the Alexander Mosaic from Pompeii, Alexander the Great wears a linothorax decorated with a Gorgon head, and his soldiers crossed Asia wearing similar armor.

Legacy

The linothorax is a reminder that ancient armor was not all bronze. Its shape — the tube-and-yoke cuirass with pteruges — was copied in leather and metal and appears in Roman military dress, and the pteruges hanging from the waist became part of the classic image of the ancient soldier. Its modern rediscovery through experimental archaeology is one of the most interesting recent chapters in the study of ancient warfare. It was worn together with helmets such as the Corinthian Helmet and spears like the Hoplite Dory.