Boar tooth helmet

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Boar tooth helmet from Mycenae
(14th century BC)

A boar tooth helmet is a helmet studded with numerous boar teeth , which was used in the Aegean region during the Minoan and Mycenaean cultures . The Eberzähne were on a leather fixed dome, the inside with felt was bolstered. The time of occurrence ranges from at least 1650 to about 1150 BC. The type of helmet is relatively well documented by archaeological finds, numerous illustrations, for example on frescoes, and a description by Homer .

introduction

In the Iliad, Homer describes in detail Odysseus' helmet with boar teeth . Canto 10, verses 260 to 271, says:

Μηριόνης δ 'Ὀδυσῆι δίδου βιὸν ἠδὲ φαρέτρην
καὶ ξίφος, ἀμφὶ .DELTA..di-elect cons οἱ κυνέην κεφαλῆφιν ἔθηκε
ῥινοῦ ποιητήν · πολέσιν δ' ἔντοσθεν ἱμᾶσιν
ἐντέτατο στερεῶς · ἔκτοσθε .DELTA..di-elect cons λευκοὶ ὀδόντες
ἀργιόδοντος ὑὸς θαμέες ἔχον ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα
εὖ καὶ ἐπισταμένως · μέσσῃ δ 'ἐνὶ πῖλος ἀρήρει.
τήν ῥά ποτ 'Ἐλεῶνος Ἀμύντορος Ὀρμενίδαο ἐξ
ἐξέλετ' Αὐτόλυκος πυκινὸν δόμον ἀντιτορήσας,
Σκάνδειαν δ 'ἄρα δῶκε Κυθηρίῳ Ἀμφιδάμαντι ·
Ἀμφιδάμας δὲ Μόλῳ δῶκε ξεινήιον εἶναι,
αὐτὰρ ὃ Μηριόνῃ δῶκεν ᾧ παιδὶ φορῆναι ·
δὴ τότ' Ὀδυσσῆος πύκασεν κάρη ἀμφιτεθεῖσα.

But Meriones gave Odysseus bow and quiver,
velvet for the sword, and covered the king's head with the helmet,
also made of leather; inside with frequent straps it
arches, tightly spanned; and outside the tusks of
the white-toothed pig appeared and stared this way and that,
beautiful and artificially lined up; and a felt was attached inside.
Once from Eleon 'Autolykos had captured this,
storming the strong palace of the Hormenid Amyntor;
The latter gave it to the Cyther Amphidamas at Scandeia;
But Amphidamas gave it to Molos as a present;
He gave it to Meriones, the son, to carry;
And now he hid Odysseus' head around for protection.

The description was well known in science, but until the 19th century it was only considered a legend and therefore was not given great importance. Only Heinrich Schliemann , the discoverer of Hisarlık , the alleged Troy, changed this view. Schliemann considered Homer's description to be an almost literal description of facts, and when he found boar tooth plates during excavations in Mycenae, he recognized the connection between the description and the finds.

Boar tooth helmets were used until around 1150 BC. Used. Homer, who lived around the 8th century BC. BC, mentions a helmet that seems to have fallen out of use over 300 years before him. It is believed, however, that Homer held such an ancient helmet in his hands.

Appearance

The variety of boar tooth helmets with regard to the arrangement of the boar tooth plates or the helmet jewelry is great. There are basically two forms: the early form with loosely arranged horizontally arranged platelets and the later form with closely arranged vertically arranged platelets.

The characteristic of the early form is the loose arrangement of the platelets in different groupings. Most of the time, the plates are mounted horizontally and form gaps. In the gaps, the plates become shorter from bottom to top, which gives the gap the shape of an isosceles trapezoid . The early form was found in Aegina , Eleusis , Argos, and Thebes .

In the later form, described by Homer and handed down through illustrations, the platelets are arranged vertically without gaps, so that a typical row is created. There are two to five of these rows; The naturally curved platelets are usually arranged alternately in adjacent rows. The platelets are 5–8 cm long, depending on the number of rows. Important finds of this type were z. Made in Sparta , near Athens , Armeni on Crete, Mycenae , Kallithea or Knossos .

The conical shape made it easier for bullets to ricochet off. Many helmets had cheek flaps on which boar tooth plates were usually also attached. In later helmets from around 1450 BC. A neck protection was common, which either consisted only of leather straps or was additionally provided with boar tooth plates. A chin strap was provided to stabilize the helmet.

The helmets had various decorations. The oldest images from Thera (Santorini), around 1500 BC. , Chr., Show a helmet plume. Other illustrations show various types of horns and wreaths.

Akrotiri boar tusk helmet.png
Fresco fragment from Akrotiri on Santorini (around 1600 BC)
Two Mycenaean chariot warriors on a fresco from Pylos about 1350 BC.jpg
Fresco fragment from Pylos
(around 1350 BC)
Boar tooth helmet Heraklion.jpg
Boar tooth helmet (1450–1400 BC) from Knossos , Heraklion Archaeological Museum
Orchomenos boar tusk helmets.jpg
Fresco fragment from Orchomenos
(13th century BC)

Manufacture and construction

The two lower tusks of the boar were used to make the boar tooth plates. These have an average length of 20 cm. The two upper tusks are significantly smaller and do not have the required shape because of their greater curvature. After drying, which made the material more brittle, the tusks could be split lengthways. Depending on the size and shape, up to four plates can be made from a boar tooth. For a complete helmet, an average of 40 to 50 boars had to be hunted, for particularly decorative specimens even more than 140.

Lower (long) and upper tusks (short) of a boar

There are different types of holes in the plates to attach them to the base:

  • Drilling from front to back,
  • Holes from the side and from the back, each meeting at right angles,
  • Piercing from one side to the other.

The holes were made in the corners or in the middle on the long side. The plates were attached to the base with a thread that was passed through the bores. In the variant with a hole on the front, the seam was exposed and was therefore prone to damage. The variants with the more complex drill holes were developed to protect the seam.

There is no archaeological evidence of the base on which the tiles were attached; even the platelets themselves are often poorly preserved. Here only the description of Homer gives further indications. There have been various attempts at reconstruction for the early and late forms.

The reconstruction of the early form consists of six leather wedges sewn together to form a hood. The boar tooth plates are loosened across the seams and protect them.

The late form was reconstructed by Peter Connolly . The main part was therefore a cylindrical sheet of leather, the upper part of which was cut into straps. The leather straps were woven and tied at the top. The helmet was given a conical shape and could better cushion blows from above. The inside was lined with felt, which made it comfortable to wear, offered additional protection and kept the upper layer of straps taut. The boar teeth attached to the leather provided additional armor. The fastening thread is little protected from front to back when drilling. Peter Connolly covered it with leather strips and thus came close to the representations, which show narrow strips between the rows of plates. This hiding of the edges of the platelets, regardless of the protection of the seam, also had the advantage that an opposing blade would not get caught in the platelet so easily.

Origin and Distribution

Aegean Sea Satellite Image

The origin of the helmet lies in the Aegean region in the Middle Helladic . There are various assessments of the time of origin, from the 18th to the middle of the 16th century BC. Chr. Range.

In this form, the helmet is an independent Greek development. However, it is possible that there is a connection to finds near Mariupol on the Black Sea (today's Ukraine ); boar teeth were found there and were found on 2000 BC. BC, which probably served as a helmet reinforcement or ornament.

The boar tooth helmet was used on mainland Greece, the surrounding islands and Crete, as evidenced by over 50 finds, mainly from graves. However, individual finds of boar tooth plates do not indicate a boar tooth helmet in every case, as an attachment e.g. B. is possible as arm protection. There are fewer finds in Crete, probably because there was no wild boar population there. Another explanation sees the reason in different funeral rites of the Minoan culture.

Warriors with boar tooth helmets on a fresco from Akrotiri (around 1600 BC)
Detail from the upper fresco

Besides the question of the time of origin, it is not scientifically clear whether the boar tooth helmet was first used on the Greek mainland or on Crete. It is certain that the Minoans and the Mycenaeans used this type of helmet. The earliest finds come from Kolonna on the island of Aegina and, depending on the source, date back to around 1800 BC. Or to 1600 BC Dated. The island is close to mainland Greece, but had contacts with the Minoan culture at that time. The Minoans established the earliest advanced civilization in Europe on Crete and influenced the surrounding areas, including mainland Greece. On the island of Thera (now Santorini ), which was under former Minoan influence, frescoes with images of boar's tooth helmets were found in Akrotiri . The frescoes are dated to 1600 BC. Chr. Is not finally certain, since the theories about the time of the Minoan eruption (volcanic eruption) on Thera differ by about 100 years. Also one to 1700–1450 BC. Labrys (Cretominoic double ax) with a picture of a boar's tooth helmet, dated to BC, documents an early use of the helmet in Crete. Around 1430 BC The Mycenaeans conquered Crete, and the two cultures merged over time.

There are also finds outside of the Mycenaean culture. In Enkomi , Cyprus and Sardinia , figurines made of ivory depicting warrior heads wearing boar-toothed helmets have been found. They are probably imports from the Aegean region, local production is also possible in Cyprus. A papyrus from Amarna in Egypt, dated around 1450 BC. BC, shows Mycenaean invaders or mercenaries armed with boar tooth helmets. A pottery shard from Hattuša , the capital of the Hittite Empire (in today's Turkey), shows Mycenaean warriors with helmets in zigzag lines, which are seen as boar tooth plates. This illustration from the late 15th to 14th centuries BC BC possibly represents a confrontation of the two cultures. In Beycesultan (near today's Çivril ), which was also under the influence of the Hittites, fragments of a boar's tooth helmet were found.

The end of the Mycenaean palace period , around 1180 BC. BC, was marked by far-reaching political and cultural upheavals; the "dark centuries" followed . The changes also affected the military, and the boar tooth helmet disappeared. The last known remains of a boar tooth helmet come from Kallithea and are dated to about 1150 BC. Dated.

meaning

Although bronze was available in the Aegean region during the Bronze Age , boar teeth were used as armor. This fact is explained with technical difficulties and the cultural significance of the boar's teeth. Swords and spearheads were already cast from bronze, but flat bronze, as needed for helmet bells, was difficult to manufacture because of the brittle material of the time. For this, the bronze would have to be strong enough on the one hand to develop a protective effect, but on the other hand light enough so as not to excessively obstruct the wearer.

Wild boar hunting; Fresco from Tiryns

Wild boar hunting seems to occupy an important place in the Mycenaean warrior culture. The boar teeth on the helmets were intended as a hunting trophy to testify to the courage and skill of the wearer. The hunt for boars was considered the supreme discipline of the hunt, which only the most skilled and courageous hunters could pass. Even in historical times, mythical boar hunts, such as the Erymanthian boar or the Calydonian boar , were anchored in cultural memory. Over time, a purely display of hunting trophies developed into a functional helmet. The boar teeth provided a protective effect because they are made of a very solid material.

The boar tooth helmet was precious and indicated a high social status of the wearer. It was probably passed on to the next generation as a family heirloom and increased its value through a famous bearer. In this sense Homer describes the way the helmet passed through several hands: the helmet originally belonged to Amyntor , was then stolen from Autolycus , the grandfather of Odysseus, and finally passed into the possession of Odysseus via Amphidamas , Molos and Meriones . The fact that the boar tooth helmet was still anchored in the consciousness of the population in Homeric times, although such helmets had not been made for centuries, is an indication that helmets remained as family heirlooms beyond their production times.

Goddess of war with boar tooth helmet

Some boar-tooth helmets were used as precious burial objects by warriors at honorable burials . The high status of the helmet can also be guessed at a fresco from Mycenae; there he adorns the head of a war goddess .

When bronze became available for helmets, boar teeth were still held on. Pictures and archaeological finds from Mycenae suggest that there were helmets that combined boar tooth plates and bronze discs. The famous Dendra armor (around 1424 BC) includes a boar tooth helmet with bronze cheek flaps. Sometimes boar teeth were imitated, for example by means of glass attached to the helmet or an engraving of a bronze helmet depicting the arches and rows of boar tooth plates. From around 1400 BC Bronze helmets appear; the oldest was found in Knossos. Back then, bronze helmets were still rare, the boar tooth helmets were still used.

Despite the many representations and finds of boar tooth helmets - compared to other helmet shapes - it can be assumed that not every Greek warrior was equipped with a boar tooth helmet. The number of animals required for this could probably not be shot. Presumably there were also simple helmets made of felt and leather, which had the row design of the boar tooth helmets and are therefore called "zone helmets", but had no further reinforcements. However, there is no archaeological evidence of these, and it is unclear whether some of the few images that come into question are simply simplified depictions of helmets with boar tooth plates or bronze discs.

The boar tooth helmets are - apart from fragments of a linen armor - the only archaeological finds of protective weapons of the early Minoan and Mycenaean cultures.

literature

  • Ewart Oakeshott : The Archeology of Weapons. Arms and Armor from Prehistory to the Age of Chivalry. Lutterworth, London 1960, pp. 47-48.
  • Jürgen Borchhardt : Homeric helmets. Zabern, Mainz 1963.
  • Hans-Günter Buchholz , Joseph Wiesner : protective weapons and defense structures (= Archaeologia Homerica. The monuments and the early Greek epic. Chapter E: Warfare. Part 1). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1977, ISBN 3-525-25404-0 .
  • Peter Connolly : The Ancient Greece of Odysseus. Oxford University Press, Oxford u. a. 1998, ISBN 0-19-910532-4 , pp. 28-29 .
  • Ulrich Sinn : Hunting trophies as armor. In: Derselbe, Irma Wehgartner : Encounter with antiquity. Evidence from four millennia of Mediterranean culture in the Martin von Wagner Museum at the University of Würzburg. Ergon, Würzburg 2001, ISBN 3-935556-72-1 , pp. 22-23.
  • Tim Everson: Warfare in Ancient Greece. Arms and Armor form the Heroes of Homer to Alexander the Great. Sutton Publishing, Stroud et al. a. 2004, ISBN 0-7509-3318-6 .
  • Nic Fields: Mycenaean Citadels c. 1350-1200 BC (= Fortress. Vol. 22). Osprey Publishing, Oxford 2004, ISBN 1-84176-762-X , p. 54 .
  • Nicolas Grguric: The Mycenaeans. C. 1650-1100 BC (= Elite. Vol. 130). Osprey Publishing, Oxford et al. a. 2005, ISBN 1-84176-897-9 , pp. 12-14 .
  • Joan Aruz, Kim Benzel, Jean M. Evans (Eds.): Beyond Babylon. Art, Trade, and Diplomacy in the Second Millennium BC Metropolitan Museum of Art u. a., New York NY u. a. 2008, ISBN 1-58839-295-3 , pp. 440-443 .
  • Christian Vonhoff: Representations of struggle and war in the Minoan and Mycenaean culture. Verlag Marie Leidorf, Rahden 2008, ISBN 978-3-89646-454-5 , pp. 178-179. 204-207.
  • Angelos Papadopoulos: The Distribution of Late Helladic IIIA-B Ivory Helmeted Heads. In: Talanta. Proceedings of the Dutch Archaeological and Historical Society. Vol. 40/41, 2008/09, ISSN  0165-2486 , pp. 7-24 (PDF; 772 KB) .
  • Raffaele D'Amato, Andrea Salimbeti: Early Aegean Warrior, 5000-1450 BC (= Osprey Military. Warrior Series. Volume 167). Osprey Publishing, Oxford et al. a. 2013, ISBN 978-1-78096-860-5 , p. 77 .

Web links

Commons : Boar Tooth Helmet  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Homer : ΙΛΙΑΔΟΣ - Δολώνεια. www.gottwein.de, accessed on February 24, 2014 (ancient Greek original of the 10th Canto of the Iliad, verses 260–271).
  2. ↑ Homer : Iliad - Dolonie . ( online [accessed on February 24, 2014] Greek: ΙΛΙΑΔΟΣ - Δολώνεια . Translated by Johann Heinrich Voss , German translation of the 10th Canto of the Iliad, verses 260-271).
  3. ^ Oakeshott: The Archeology of Weapons. 1996, pp. 47-48.
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Everson: Warfare in Ancient Greece. 2004, p. 7.
  5. ↑ Laschinski: A fabulous headgear. 2006, pp. 4-5.
  6. ↑ a b c d e Everson: Warfare in Ancient Greece. 2004, p. 5.
  7. ^ Everson: Warfare in Ancient Greece. 2004, pp. 7-8.
  8. ↑ a b Fields: Mycenaean Citadels c. 1350-1200 BC. 2004, p. 54.
  9. ↑ a b c Laschinski: A fabulous headgear. 2006, p. 6.
  10. ^ A b Everson: Warfare in Ancient Greece. 2004, p. 9.
  11. ↑ Laschinski: A fabulous headgear. 2006, pp. 7-8.
  12. ^ Everson: Warfare in Ancient Greece. 2004, p. 11.
  13. ↑ Laschinski: A fabulous headgear. 2006, p. 9.
  14. ↑ Hans-Günter Buchholz (Ed.): Archaeologia Homerica. The monuments and the early Greek epic. Chapter E: Warfare. Part 3: Hans-Günter Buchholz: Additions and summary. With the template of an unknown ancient Aegean bronze helmet. With the collaboration of Helmut Matthäus and Malcolm Wiener. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2010, ISBN 978-3-525-25442-4 , p. 192 ff .: h) Helmchronologie and Homer. here p. 193 . Retrieved March 1, 2014.
  15. ^ A b c D'Amato, Salimbeti: Early Aegean Warrior, 5000-1450 BC. 2013, p. 77.
  16. ↑ Laschinski: A fabulous headgear. 2006, pp. 5-6.
  17. ^ Everson: Warfare in Ancient Greece. 2004, pp. 5, 9.
  18. ↑ a b Laschinski: A fabulous headgear. 2006, p. 13.
  19. ↑ Jeremy B. Rutter: The Site of Kolonna on Aegina. In: Aegean Prehistoric Archeology. Dartmouth College , accessed February 27, 2014 .
  20. ↑ Grguric: The Mycenaeans. C. 1650-1100 BC. 2005, pp. 12-13.
  21. ↑ Mario Benz: Dodecanese - Italy - Europe. Rediscovering Some Long Known Objects. In: Annuario della Scuola Archeologica Italiana di Atene e delle Missioni italiane in Oriente. Vol. 87 = Series 3, Vol. 9, 1, 2009, ISSN  0067-0081 , pp. 157-164, here p. 163, digitized version .
  22. ↑ Angelos Papadopoulos: The Distribution of Late Helladic IIIA-B Ivory Helmeted Heads. In: Talanta. Proceedings of the Dutch Archaeological and Historical Society. Vol. 40/41, 2008/2009, ISSN  0165-2486 , pp. 7-24 (PDF; 772 KB) .
  23. ^ Gert Jan van Wijngaarden: Use and Appreciation of Mycenaean Pottery in the Levant, Cyprus and Italy (1600-1200 BC) (= Amsterdam Archaeological Studies. Vol. 8). Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam 2002, ISBN 90-5356-482-9 , p. 157 , (Simultaneously: Amsterdam, Universität, Dissertation, 1999: Use and appreciation of Mycenaean pottery outside Greece. ).
  24. ^ Everson: Warfare in Ancient Greece. 2004, pp. 9-10.
  25. ↑ Aruz, Benzel, Evans: Beyond Babylon. 2008, p. 442.
  26. ^ Naoise Mac Sweeney: Community Identity and Archeology. Dynamic Communities at Aphrodisias and Beycesultan. University of Michigan Press, Anne Arbor MI 2011, ISBN 978-0-472-11786-4 , p. 117 .
  27. ^ Everson: Warfare in Ancient Greece. 2004, p. 37.
  28. ↑ a b Ulrich Sinn: Hunting trophies as armor. In: Derselbe, Irma Wehgartner: Encounter with antiquity. Evidence from four millennia of Mediterranean culture in the Martin von Wagner Museum at the University of Würzburg. Ergon, Würzburg 2001, ISBN 3-935556-72-1 , p. 22
  29. ^ A b Everson: Warfare in Ancient Greece. 2004, p. 10.
  30. ^ Louise Schofield: The Mycenaeans. J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles CA 2007, ISBN 978-0-89236-867-9 , p. 45.
  31. ↑ Homer, Iliad 10: 260-271.
  32. ^ Louise Schofield: The Mycenaeans. J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles CA 2007, ISBN 978-0-89236-867-9 , pp. 30, 44-45.
  33. ↑ Jeffrey M. Hurwit: The Athenian Acropolis. History, Mythology, and Archeology from the Neolithic Era to the Present. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge u. a. 1999, ISBN 0-521-41786-4 , p. 14 .
  34. ↑ Michael Gagarin (Ed.): The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome. Volume 1: Academy - Bible. Oxford University Press, Oxford u. a. 2010, ISBN 978-0-19-517072-6 , p. 303 .
  35. ↑ Christie's : Aegan or Balkan bronze helmet , from auction on December 18, 1998.
  36. ^ Everson: Warfare in Ancient Greece. 2004, pp. 10-11.
  37. ^ Everson: Warfare in Ancient Greece. 2004, p. 11.
  38. ^ Everson: Warfare in Ancient Greece. 2004, pp. 14, 16.
This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on March 27, 2014 .