Greaves

Greaves were leg armor, typically of bronze, covering the shins from knee to ankle. They protected soldiers in hand-to-hand combat from sword cuts and spear thrusts at the lower leg. In the Old Testament, Goliath the Philistine warrior is specifically noted as wearing greaves of bronze (1 Sam. 17:6), part of the description of his formidable full military equipment that makes David's victory all the more remarkable. Greaves were standard equipment for Greek and Roman heavy infantry (hoplites and legionaries), and the term appears in ancient Near Eastern military catalogs. Paul's description of the believer's spiritual armor in Ephesians 6:10–17 parallels Roman military equipment but does not specifically mention greaves.