Ancient Greek military personal equipment to hold for long periods. Peltasts were armed with wicker shields called "pelte", which were much lighter, allowing for greater movement on the battlefield. These were designed to defend against in-coming javelins from opposing peltasts, not necessarily to fend off the thrust of a spear or sword.The shield was used in every battle, the soldiers didn't go on battle without it. It weighed approx. 7.3kg Helmets for the infantry came in various types . The earliest standard hoplite helmet was the Corinthian helmet, developed around 600BC. Later, this was replaced by the Phrygian helmet and Chalcidian helmet, which were lighter
Spartan army peltasts became a much more common sight on the Greek battlefield and themselves became more heavily armed. In response to Iphicrates' victory over Sparta in 392 BC, Spartan hoplites started abandoning body armour and eventually wore almost no armour apart from a shield, leg greaves, bracelets, helmet and a robe. In later periods Spartans did start to readopt armour, but on a much lesser scale than during the Archaic period. Finally during 227 BC, Cleomenes' reforms introduced updated equipment to Sparta, including the Macedonian "sarissa" (pike). However pike-men armed with the "sarissa" never outnumbered troops equipped in the hoplite style.