roaringlion got me an early birthday gift in the form of an amazing Spartan shield.

It's the most realistic reproduction I've yet encountered. I don't even want to think about how much he spent on it.

You can tell how large it is and keep in mind the average ancient Greek was about 5'5". I'm 5'10".

Another interesting note, actual hoplite shields were not indestructible. They were made of oak wood with a thin layer of bronze on the face. Tough yes, but the bronze was more to prevent the shield from weathering.

My goal is to get a complete set of hoplite panoply and a fursuit, which I hope will end up looking like this:http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4082080