Eντος Aμωμητον: An Argive-Type Shield From the Sanctuary of Oisyme

Abstract

In 1987 an Archaic Argive-type shield and shield-band were discovered in the sanctuary on the acropolis of Oisyme. Such shields are found in the cemeteries of the northern Aegean, including those at Sindos and Archontiko. However, the Oisyme shield is as yet the only one to come from a sanctuary – a fact due, at least in part, to the limited exploration of early sanctuaries on the coast of Aegean Thrace. It is also the earliest known example of its type in the north-eastern Aegean. Considered alongside earlier literary evidence, such as Archilochus 5W, it helps to trace the introduction and development of the hoplite panoply in Thasos and its peraea. The shield and shield-band can be dated to c.575–550 bce on the basis of their repoussé decoration. The dies employed may have been imported from Peloponnesian (Argive or Corinthian) workshops or produced locally. They show stylistic influence from the contemporary Peloponnese, yet they have no known exact parallels. Metalworkers from the polis of Thasos and its peraea are likely to have imitated the products of southern workshops in much the same way that Thasian potters based their own early production on Cycladic, Chian and other wares. The deity worshipped in the Oisyme sanctuary was an ergane and/or a kourotrophic goddess, such as Artemis and Athena at nearby Thasos or the ‘Parthenos’ at neighbouring Neapolis. It is unlikely that rites of passage for hoplites were a central feature of the cult, since we lack the extensive corpus of weaponry (miniature and/or functional) typical in such cases. The limited number of weapons recovered from the sanctuary fits the established model for female poliad deities in smaller poleis. The shield was probably a personal gift, dedicated either by a retiring hoplite or as a thank offering after a military victory.