Da Wikipedia
"The linothorax is a modern term conventionally used to describe a type of upper body armor used by the Ancient Greeks, as well as other civilizations, from the Mycenaean Period through the Hellenistic Period. It is based on the Greek λινοθώραξ (in Homer λινοθώρηξ), which strictly is an adjective meaning "wearing a breastplate of linen" (and is not a noun meaning "linen armor" as often stated); the "linothorax" was made of linen, while a "thorax" was made of metal. The earliest attested account of a "linothorax" used for battle is recorded in Book 2 of Homer's Iliad (2.529 and 2.830). It is worn by Ajax the Lesser and is described in brief. Homer, composing long before the great armies of Athens, Thebes, Sparta or Alexander the Great, surely understood what the armor was. But the extent to which it was used can not be fully determined. An educated guess can be made, however, based on its use by Alexander the Great, and its mention by other sources such as Herodotus (2.182, 3.47, 7.63), Livy (4.19.2–20.7) and Strabo (Geography, 3.3.6, 13.1.10), and many others. The linothorax appears to have been used in place of the bronze 'bell cuirass' as the popular choice of armour for Greek hoplites, starting perhaps around the late seventh century and early sixth century B.C. Its high point, if vase paintings, sculptural reliefs and artistic depictions are to be believed, corresponds with the time of the Persian Wars. By the time of the Peloponnesian War it was still used, and continued to seemingly flourish well into the Hellenistic Period."
