mrsracooney:   Pandaros of Lykia, son of Lykaon, leader of the Zeleian Lykians on the side

mrsracooney:

   Pandaros of Lykia, son of Lykaon, leader of the Zeleian Lykians on the side of the Trojans

“Pandarus, where now are your bow and your winged arrows and your fame? Therein may no man of this land vie with you, nor any in Lykia declare himself to be better than you.“

- Aeneas, in the Iliad

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Ah, man. I may have gone overboard with the amount of pictures. But I couldn’t decide while testing @elliemaysims‘ archer poses!

   Please excuse me @maladi777​, I liked your question so much that I will elaborate.

   Firstly, the use of bows in warfare seems to have been of more importance in Anatolia than in Greece. So it would make sense for the Dardanian Aeneas to praise Pandaros’ skills as an archer while the Mycenaeans and their allies could see Paris, another Trojan archer, as a coward for using the bow. Some “Greeks” like Odysseus or Teukros gain a certain amount of respect for their archery skills. However, in fight they either change to another weapon or hide “like a child” behind another hero’s shield.

   Pandaros would have used a composite bow consisting from several different materials, making it stronger, smaller, more flexible and allowing more accurate aiming.
   The Iliad says that his bow was made of ibex horn and it would as well have included some wood component, tendons and sinew. It was also supposed to have tips of gold.

   On the shape - hard to say with only so much time for research. Apparently, several shapes were in use in the Minoan and Mycenaean culture. From the simple curved shape to the double convex shape (resembles the bow up there but with the ends tilted inward). In Anatolia, bows were in use that had a triangular shape.

   Please, if anyone knows more or has corrections - feel free to comment and answer!