the hoplite shield is held by putting the forearm thru a small loop and gripping the handle at the end, making the forearm the support for the shield.

sooo...the scutum is held by a horizontal grip in the center and thats it? sounds tiring....did the scutum have, like a shoulder strap or something??? it seems that to hold that really big shield with one hand with no forearm support or strap would wear you out pretty quick.

or those legionaries were just badass and the weight of the shield was nothing to them. Clarify this for me plz??

-thanx guys i didnt think there would be so much time spent on this topic. good stuff!!