Pteruges

Alexander the Great in battle. Pteruges of leather or stiffened linen are depicted at the shoulders and hips, emerging from beneath his cuirass. Detail of the Alexander Mosaic, a Roman copy of a Hellenistic painting.

Pteruges (also spelled pteryges; from Ancient Greek πτέρυγες (ptéruges) 'feathers') refers to strip-like defences for the upper parts of limbs attached to armor in the Greco-Roman world.