SKINS, 351

“So saying, the hero went, and as he strode,
The dudi-ekin border of his bossy shield
Smote on his heels and on his neck behind.”

This must have been a very large shield, and probably
answered to the ¢zinnah of the Hebrews, for the making of
which, Solomon appropriated six hundred shekels of gold;
whilst the magen, mentioned in Genesis xv., was only half the
size; and the size, as well as the material, is again illustrated
by a reference to Homer.

“The best and broadest bucklers of the hoet,

And brightest helmets put we on, and arm’d
With largest spears advance.
: Ye, then, who feel your "hearts
Undaunted, but are arm’d with smaller shields,
Them give to those who fear, and in exchange,
Their stronger shields and broader take yourselves.”
And again :—

“With many a stroke

The bull-hide shields and lighter targes rang.”

The Hebrews, besides the two already named, used a
variety of shields, which are mentioned in various parts of
the Scripture, as the sosairad, which, from the etymology,
seems to have been of a circular form, and the shelet, which
appears to have differed but slightly from the magen, as in