The ''Leukaspides'' ( el, Λευκάσπιδες "White Shields") may have made up one of the two probable corps of the

Antigonid The Antigonid dynasty (; grc-gre, Ἀντιγονίδαι) was a Hellenistic dynasty of Dorian Greek provenance, descended from Alexander the Great's general Antigonus I Monophthalmus ("the One-Eyed") that ruled mainly in Macedonia. History ...

Macedonian phalanx The Macedonian phalanx ( gr, Μακεδονική φάλαγξ) was an infantry formation developed by Philip II from the classical Greek phalanx, of which the main innovation was the use of the sarissa, a 6 meter pike. It was famously commande ...

in the

Hellenistic period In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

, with the ''

Chalkaspides The ''Chalkaspides'' ( el, Χαλκάσπιδες "Bronze Shields") made up one of the two probable corps of the Antigonid-era Macedonian phalanx in the Hellenistic period, with the ''Leukaspides'' ("White Shields") forming the other. ''Chalkaspid ...

'' ("Bronze Shields") forming the other. However, this conclusion is contested, as the

Thracians The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...

Pydna Pydna (in Greek: Πύδνα, older transliteration: Pýdna) was a Greek city in ancient Macedon, the most important in Pieria. Modern Pydna is a small town and a former municipality in the northeastern part of Pieria regional unit, Greece. Sinc ...

also had white shields (as did many other Hellenistic

thyreophoroi The ''thyreophoroi'' or ''thureophoroi'' ( el, θυρεοφόροι; singular: ''thureophoros''/''thyreophoros'', θυρεοφόρος) were a type of infantry soldier, common in the 3rd to 1st centuries BC, who carried a large oval shield called a ...

or auxiliary infantry from the period) so the reference may simply refer to these and there may not have been a corps of "white shields" within the phalanx at all. If this theory is correct, then it is likely that the term "bronze shields" applied only to the phalanx part of the Antigonid army. Possible supporting evidence for this claim can be drawn from the fact that the latter term in the 1st century BC Mithridatic army of Pontus is used by Plutarch to define its phalanx component against the other infantry. The ''Leukaspides'' were notably used by

Antigonus Doson Antigonus III Doson ( el, Ἀντίγονος Γ΄ Δώσων, 263–221 BC) was king of Macedon from 229 BC to 221 BC. He was a member of the Antigonid dynasty. Family background Antigonus III Doson was a half-cousin of his predecessor, Demet ...

in his campaign against

Cleomenes III Cleomenes III ( grc, Κλεομένης) was one of the two kings of Sparta from 235 to 222 BC. He was a member of the Agiad dynasty and succeeded his father, Leonidas II. He is known for his attempts to reform the Spartan state. From 229 to ...

Sparta Sparta (Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referred ...

in the 220's BC (Plutarch, Cleom. 23.11), and the shields of the Leukaspides are mentioned as spoils of war after the

Battle of Pydna The Battle of Pydna took place in 168 BC between Rome and Macedon during the Third Macedonian War. The battle saw the further ascendancy of Rome in the Hellenistic world and the end of the Antigonid line of kings, whose power traced back t ...

in 168 BC (Diodorus Siculus, 31.10).

Sources

*Head, Duncan (1982). ''Armies of the Macedonian and Punic Wars''. WRG. * *Sekunda, Nicholas (2012). "The Macedonian Army after Alexander, 323-168 BC". Osprey Publishing Ancient Greek military terminology Military units and formations of the Hellenistic world Infantry units and formations of Macedon Ancient Greek infantry types {{AncientGreece-stub

See also

Sources