This article is largely based on an article in the out-of-copyright Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, which was produced in 1911. It should be brought up to date to reflect subsequent history or scholarship (including the references, if any). When you have completed the review, replace this notice with a simple note on this article's talk page. (June 2020)
A bronze helmet and muscle cuirass of an ancient Greek panoply, on display at the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden

A panoply is a complete suit of armor. The word represents the Ancient Greek πανοπλία (panoplía), where the word πᾶν (pân) means "all", and ὅπλον (hóplon) means "arms". Thus, panoply refers to the full armor of a hoplite or heavily-armed soldier, i.e. the shield, breastplate, helmet, and greaves, together with the sword and spear.[1]

As applied to armor of a later date, panoply did not come into use until the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th century, and was then used of the complete suits of plate armor covering the whole body.[1]

Because a panoply is a complete set of diverse components, the word panoply has come to refer to any complete or impressive collection.

References

  1. ^ a b  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Panoply". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 20 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 681.

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