It is commonly stated that ancient Greek hoplites are named after the kind of large, round, wooden shield they carried, which was supposedly known as a hoplon. This is not correct, however. In reality, the word hoplon refers not only to the hoplite’s shield, but to all his equipment collectively.
The misconception
The assertion that Greek hoplites derive their name from their shields seems to be less common in works written for adults, but it is extremely widespread in works written for children. For instance, an article on the website History for Kids titled “Ancient Greek Warriors” claims:
“The Greek soldier that was a foot soldier was called a hoplite. These warriors would carry long shields and spears. They got their name because the shield that they carried was called a hoplon.”
Likewise, an article on the website Ducksters titled “Ancient Greece: Soldiers and War” claims:
“The main Greek soldier was the foot soldier called a ‘hoplite.’ Hoplites carried large shields and long spears. The name ‘hoplite’ comes from their shield which they called the ‘hoplon.’”
Unfortunately, despite being widely repeated, this claim is not true.
ABOVE: Detail of the Chigi Vase, dated to the seventh century BC, depicting Greek hoplite warriors
The true etymology
The English word hoplite is derived from the Greek first-declension masculine noun ὁπλίτης (hoplítēs), which is, in turn, derived from the Greek second-declension neuter noun ὅπλον (hóplon).
It is often claimed that ὅπλον means “shield,” but it is actually an extremely vague term that literally just means “tool” or “piece of equipment.” This word can be used in Greek to refer to any kind of shield, armor, or weapon, but it can also refer to tools used for other things, like sailing a ship. It can even, in some contexts, be used to refer to a penis.
The normal Greek word for the kind of large, round, wooden shield that was usually carried by hoplites is actually ἀσπίς (aspís), which, obviously, sounds nothing like the word ὁπλίτης.
As J. F. Lazenby and David Whitehead convincingly argue in their 1996 article “The Myth of the Hoplite’s Hoplon,” the word ὁπλίτης comes not solely from the hoplite’s shield, but rather from his entire panoply, including his armor, his shield, and his spear. Thus, the word literally means “one who bears equipment.”
ABOVE: Tondo from an Attic red-figure kylix dated to between c. 500 and c. 475 BC showing a Greek hoplite with his armor, his spear, and his shield
The origin of the false etymology
Lazenby and Whitehead note in their article that the claim that hoplites took their name from their shield seems to originate from the Greek historian Diodoros Sikeliotes (lived c. 90 – c. 30 BC), who writes in his Library 15.44, as translated by C. H. Oldfather:
“For instance, the Greeks were using shields which were large and consequently difficult to handle; these he discarded and made small oval ones of moderate size, thus successfully achieving both objects, to furnish the body with adequate cover and to enable the user of the small shield, on account of its lightness, to be completely free in his movements. After a trial of the new shield its easy manipulation secured its adoption, and the infantry who had formerly been called ‘hoplites’ because of their heavy shield, then had their name changed to ‘peltasts’ from the light pelta they carried.”
What Diodoros says here, however, is clearly wrong, considering how the word ὅπλον is actually used in Classical Greek. Indeed, the word that Diodoros himself uses to refer to a hoplite’s shield is ἀσπίς, not ὅπλον. At best, what Diodoros says here may be considered a folk etymology.
