PELTA

A Smaller Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities · 1884 · p. 25

( πέλτη ), a small shield. I phi crates, observing that the ancient Clipeus was cumbrous and inconvenient, introduced among the Greeks a much smaller and lighter shield, from which those who bore it took the name of peltastae . It consisted principally of a frame of wood or wicker-work, covered with skin or leather.