was there an iconic CORINTHIAN SHIELD motif ?

[sgzleada71]

I'm looking at doing a squad of Corinthiana Hoplites and I'm wondering if anyone is aware of a specific shield design/ motif that is iconic, or at least commonly used,  in Corinth ?  In the way that we recognise the  ie  Spartan Lambda,  Athenian Owl, Theban club ...

[has.been]

I know one City State used the Trident, don't know
if that was Corinth though.

[tikitang]

Wikipedia says:

The Upper Peirene spring is located within the walls of the acropolis. "The spring, which is behind the temple, they say was the gift of Asopus to Sisyphus. The latter knew, so runs the legend, that Zeus had ravished Aegina, the daughter of Asopus, but refused to give information to the seeker before he had a spring given him on the Acrocorinthus." According to legend, the winged horse Pegasus drank at the spring, and was captured and tamed by the Corinthian hero Bellerophon.

Also, an image from the same article depicts what I think is a coin from the city, showing Pegasus on the tails side:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File%3ARavel_1008.2.jpg

So, how about Pegasus?

[tikitang]

Typing in Corinth Shield into Google Images produced this result, so I think I am on the right track...

[Easy E]

Well, this is a really loaded question.  You see, it really depends on what time period we are talking about?

[Jjonas]

As shown (above) Corinth has an association with the Pegasus so it is a a common patron hero symbol. I use it for some of my Corinthian models.
Other Greek symbols are common as there is no real uniformity- unless you wish to build your units that way. Later on there were episodes of uniform shield colors and designs, but to real idea that personal gear would conform to that. The shield guide below has many common styles used by Corinth.

Below is my "Corinthian" Victrix general.

Roger Payne illustration of Corinth suburbs, just for fun.

Coins of city states as well as vase art gives a clue to the common symbology of a city state. Mantinea used tridents. Argives used octopi and serpents. Thebes had clubs. Athens the owl. None of these symbols would be 'uniform'.

https://www.wildwinds.com/coins/greece/corinth/i.html

Luke Ueda-Sarson's excellent web resource has been inspiring folks for many years:

http://lukeuedasarson.com/Greek_shield_patterns_1.html

My heroes of Greece page slowly evolves and has some city state ideas, although my Aristeus of Corinth page is not complete yet.
https://ancientbattles.com/HeroesOfGreece/HeroesOfGreece_title.html

[Easy E]

Yes, my thought was to not get hung up on it as each Hoplite tended to personalize their own shield emblems, and any uniformity was very late in the period. 

Interesting to note that Corinth was also a very active sea power as well.  Athens gets all the press, but Corinth was no slouch in that department either.

[Jjonas]

I agree. Corinth was a sea power. Maritime symbols and items of commerce would be on my radar for my Corinth brigade.
Dolphins, ships, and stuff like that.
Corinthian hoplites were relatively wealthier than most. That’s another factor to weigh in.

[carlos marighela]

Well, while I don’t like to talk about o timão, there is of course a fairly famous motif.

[VonAkers]

sgzleada71
Mate no one is really sure what the Shield Emblems were.
Having had a Stupid amount of Hoplites recently painted , here are  my thoughts.

Want Corinthian  Hoplites , easy paint up or use shield transfers, and "Theme "the unit by having a couple of Pegasus horses in Front Ranks , couple of Tridents , as a nod to their Maritime heritage.
However dont make them all the same , these were Citizen Hoplites , supplying their own equipment , and they were not uniform , or all had the same shield emblems  , mix it up a bit .
Spartans are the exception here , and look better more uniformed .
Lastly mute the colours down , I have seen wonderfully painted figures , painted so brightly they look like the Walt Disney Hoplites  ... yuck
Hope this helps
Cheers
Ps Only the front 2 ranks really matter as well , cant see more than that

[has.been]

However dont make them all the same , these were Citizen Hoplites , supplying their own equipment

Good point. Think about modern football (soccer) supporters.
They:-
Provide their own 'equipment',
Tend to follow a (Club) theme e.g. Red & White or Blue,

Yet look at a crowd & you will see:-
Wild variation as to the main colours,
some with this seasons shirt design,
some with shirt designs from years ago,
some with the Away coloured shirt &
a few with no colours showing.

[Jjonas]

The re-enactors like things bright and shiny, just like Apollo wants them.
I defer to them and like bright colors mixed with simple black designs on bronze backgrounds.

https://images.app.goo.gl/fYkfy2vtateTJxha8

[Fremitus Borealis]

Good point. Think about modern football (soccer) supporters.
They:-
Provide their own 'equipment',
Tend to follow a (Club) theme e.g. Red & White or Blue,

Yet look at a crowd & you will see:-
Wild variation as to the main colours,
some with this seasons shirt design,
some with shirt designs from years ago,
some with the Away coloured shirt &
a few with no colours showing.

Yep, this is a brilliant analogy!

[sgzleada71]

Thanks all for your  generous input .   I'll use the Pegasus as the 1o logo and a variety of others to keep the historical authenticity decent   

[carlos marighela]

Good point. Think about modern football (soccer) supporters.
They:-
Provide their own 'equipment',
Tend to follow a (Club) theme e.g. Red & White or Blue,

Yet look at a crowd & you will see:-
Wild variation as to the main colours,
some with this seasons shirt design,
some with shirt designs from years ago,
some with the Away coloured shirt &
a few with no colours showing.

Some years ago I wanted to paint up the Portuguese Colonial garrison in Rio de Janeiro circa 1710.  The uniform colours are described by Fragoso but there are no existing examples of their colours or any descriptions thereof. We do know the typical windmill style flag was popular with the Portuguese but there is no definitive source on colour or design. I decided that the simple hack was to use the bandeiras from the various modern day samba schools which mostly use the windmill pattern. Nobody can argue they aren’t correct and they are in keeping with the theme (sort of).

Using that logic, an anchor and oars logo from the football club isn’t that far from the beaten track. At least it isn’t Fluminense. 

By the by I’m nicking that analogy to football supporters, it’s brilliant!