Living shields were protective shields consisting of visibly encapsulated living beings (usually slaves) that were fitted to warships as deterrents against enemy combatants harboring varying degrees of what might be termed 'moral conscience'—by which a combatant force felt compelled to refrain from attack, by virtue of certain core philosophies or beliefs (often taking the form of codified moral law) that were inextricably bound to its general world culture and which, therefore, could not be breached or violated. It follows that a culture that actually employed such shields as defensive measures in warfare did not themselves possess any such restrictive moral codes or philosophies, nor were they in any degree bound by them.