=Greaves.=--The third part of the Greek body armour is the greaves. Metal greaves may have been worn towards the close of the Mycenaean Age (the pair from Enkomi in Cyprus dates from about 1100 B.C.), but their general use was due, like that of the metal cuirass, to the adoption of the small shield, which necessitated a better covering of the body and legs. The poet Alcaeos says that the greave was a protection against missiles. It was a thin sheet of bronze, shaped to fit the leg, which it clasped and held of its own elasticity. Only the greaves from Enkomi (No. =221=) are laced with bronze wire. Warriors putting on their greaves are often represented on the Attic vases. Fig. 86 is from the same scene as fig. 82. An ankle-pad was worn to keep the bottom edge from chafing. There is little difference of shape or decoration in the existing specimens. Some reach only to the knee, and some extend above it to cover part of the thigh (Nos. =222=, =225=). With the exception of the pair from Enkomi, all these date from the sixth to the third century B.C. Two of the finest (No. =223=; fig. 87) from Ruvo in South Italy, are decorated on the knee with a figure of a Gorgon. The tongue and eyes were made of ivory. The style points to Ionia as the place, and the sixth century as the time of manufacture. Rather later is the pair with incised palmettes above the knees (No. =224=). The only other decoration is the expression of the muscles of the leg to correspond with the similar representation of the body on the breastplate. As in the belt and helmet, there is usually a row of holes along the rim for the attachment of a lining. In the Roman army the greave was worn from early times, but under the Empire it became a mark of distinction for the centurions. [Illustration: FIG. 86.--A SOLDIER PUTTING ON HIS GREAVES.] [Illustration: FIG. 87.--PAIR OF BRONZE GREAVES DECORATED WITH FIGURES OF GORGONS (NO. 223). 1:6.]