Dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

AEGIS. AEGIS. 2L
Another mode of wearing this garment, also of
peaceful expression, is seen in a statue of Athena
at Dresden, of still higher antiquity than that last
referred to, and in the very ancient image of the It is remarkable that although the aegis prosame goddess from the temple of Zeus at Aegina. perly belonged to Ze, yet we seldom find it as
In both of these the aegis covers the right as well ern attribute of Zeus in w s of art. There it as
as the left shoulder, the breast, and the back, fall- however, in the museum at Leyden, a marble statu
ing behind so as almost to reach the feet. Schomn t
of Zeus, found at Utica, in which the aegis hangs
thein Borttiginer's Amal theai.215) considers this over his left shoulder. The annexed figure is taken
the original figure of speech, omer uses the term from an ancient cameo. Zeus is here represented
By a figure of speech, Homer uses the term the aegis wrap
aegis to denote not only the goat-skin, which it with t round the fore part of his
properly signified, but together with it the shield left ar The shield is placed underneath it at
to which it belonged. By thus understanding the
word, it is easy to comprehend both why Athena
is said to throw her father's aegis around her
shoulders (II. v. 738, xviii. 204), and why on one
occasion Apollo is said to hold it in his hand and
to shake it so as to terrify and confound the
Greeks (II. xv. 229. 307 —321), and on another
occasion to cover with it the dead body of Hector
in order to protect it from insult (xxiv. 20). In
these passages we must suppose the aegis to mean
the shield, together with the large expanded skin
or belt by which it was suspended from the right
shoulder.
As the Greeks prided themselves greatly on the
rich and splendid ornaments of their shields, they
supposed the aegis to be adorned in a style corresponding to the might and majesty of the father
of the gods. In the middle of it was fixed the
appalling Gorgon's head (11. v. 741), and its
border was surrounded with golden tassels
(uso-aeoi), each of which was worth a hecatoinb
(ii. 446-449). In the figures above exhibited,
the serpents of the Gorgon's head are transferred
to the border of the skin.
By the later poets and artists, the original conception of the aegis appears to have. been forgotten or disregarded. They represent it as a The Roman emperors also assumed the aegis,
breast-plate covered with metal in the form of intending thereby to exhibit themselves in the
scales, not used to support the shield, but extend- character of Jupiter. Of this the armed statue of
ilg equally on both sides from shoulder to Hadrian in the British Museum presents an exshoulder; as in the annexed figure, taken from a ample. In these cases the more recent Roman
statue at Florence. conception of the aegis is of course followed, ccWith this appearance the descriptions of the inciding with the remark of Servius (Aen. viii,
aegis by the Latin poets generally correspond. 435), that this breast-armour was called aegis
(Virg. Aen. viii. 435-438; Val. Flacc. vi. 174; when worn by a god; lorica, when worn by a man.
Sid. Apoll. Carm. 15; Sil. Ital. ix. 442.) (Conlp. Mart. vii. 1.) [J. Y.]
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