Spartan Shield Silver Cuff links-Aspis Hoplon bearing the Capital deals Lambda Λ, Symbol of the Lacedaemonians -King Leonidas-Ancient Greece
Spartan Shield Silver Cuff links-Aspis Hoplon bearing the Capital Lambda Λ, Symbol of the Lacedaemonians -King Leonidas-Ancient Greece
Condition: New, Handmade in Greece
Material: Sterling Silver 925
Diameter Size: 23mm
Weight: 14 g(+/- 0.5 g)
Spartan shields were generally created from wood with bronze for its outer layer. The 30-pound shield is small enough to hold with one arm, while still able to guard much of the body.
Inward-looking and self-sufficient, the Spartans were the most feared hoplites (infantrymen) in all Greece. They lived an austere life, despising any sort of luxury, in a city that contained neither walls, nor grand buildings.
Famous quotes and anecdotes associated with the Spartans:
Herodotus reports that just before the Battle of Thermoplyae, a Spartan warrior named Dienekes was told that the Persian archers could blank out the sun with their arrows. He replied "Good, then we shall have our battle in the shade."
A Sybarite, who ate at a public mess, once remarked: "Now I know why the Spartans do not fear death."
Asked what was the greatest benefit Lycurgus conferred on his countryman, King Agesilaus deals replied "Contempt of pleasure."
"Come back with your shield - or on it" (Plutarch, Mor.241) was supposed to be the parting cry of mothers to their sons. Mothers whose sons died in battle openly rejoiced, mothers whose sons survived hung their heads in shame.
Asked why it was dishonorable to return without a shield and not without a helmet, the Spartan king, Demaratos (510 - 491) is said to have replied: "Because the latter they put on for their own protection, but the shield for the common good of all." (Plutarch, Mor.220)
An old man wandering around the Olympic Games looking for a seat was jeered at by the crowd until he reached the seats of the Spartans, whereupon every Spartan younger than him, and some that were older, stood up and offered him their seat. The crowd applauded and the old man turned to them with a sigh, saying "All Greeks know what is right, but only the Spartans do it."
These cuff links are handcrafted with extra care in 925 Sterling Silver. They are made in Greece, diameter size is 23mm and weigh approximately 14 g.(2037)