"Syrian / Maccabean Shield Design?" Topic

Looking for Pre-Islam Syrian and Maccabean shield designs.

Ideas?

I'd be inclined to go with plain, though possibly bronze faced shields. Very few thureos type shields in art show decoration other than Celtic. There are exceptions, like those in the tomb of the erotes, but these may be fanciful. Those shown carried by soldiers are more often plain.
The War Scroll is full of a lot of fanciful stuff but may have some germ of truth about Judean practice. While the weapons are supposed to be very ornate with lots of inscriptions, the shields are rather simple by comparison – the rim seems to be the most decorated.
"All of them shall bear shields of bronze, polished like a face mirror. The shield shall be bound with a border of plaited work and a design of loops, the work of a skillful workman; gold, silver, and bronze bound together and jewels; a multicolored brocade. It is the work of a skillful workman, artistically done."
There is reference to bronze faced shields in one of the other texts with a bit more historical basis. I forget which one at the moment though Gurkhan may be along to say which :)

I collect ancient coins – including Seleucid and Judaean coins – and I've always thought that coins were a good source of shield designs, as they were both used as a form of propoganda and for identity.

The seleucids in Syria(like the Macedonians before) actually had coins with shields on them as part of their design. Usually the shields had either a medusa head (Depicting the aegis of Athena ) or the seleucid anchor as the central device. Other images used on Greek Syrian coins included plumed helmets, elephants, horses and an eagle on a thunderbolt. The Gods depicted were usually Athena, Zeus or Apollo.One coin has a chariot pulled by elephants.

As the Maccabees were observant Jews I assume they wouldn't have tolerated 'graven images' on their shields, but again they may have used the same designs as on their coins – which included cornucopias, the seleucid anchor, an 8 rayed star, pomegranates and vine leaves.

It's Josephus, "Antiquities" Bk 13.12.5, describing Alexander Yannai's men, "He had however eight thousand in the first rank, which he styled Hecatontomachi, having shields (thyreois) of brass".

Interestingly there are some coins of Herod with Macedonian shields on the reverse – one at link Whether that means that any of his troops carried them, or whether it had just become a symbol of status, I don't know.