Corinthian helmet
At the beginning of the 7th century BC The Corinthian helmet , which originated in BC, was known in the ancient world as a helmet type far beyond the borders of Greece . It shapes today's image of a Greek helmet.
In ancient times, various types of helmets named after their place of discovery or distribution areas were created. Herodotus mentioned a helmet shape that is attributed to the trading city of Corinth . It is believed that the type known today as the Corinthian helmet is meant. The Corinthian helmet probably also has its manufacturing origins in Corinth. The Corinthian helmet was made in a similar way to the bronze vessels of the time . Its production was complex and shows a high level of craftsmanship.
Development history
A. First stage of the Corinthian helmet
This helmet shape goes back to the time of the geometric cone helmet . The earliest examples can be found in vase painting .
1. One-piece helmets
Two original helmets from the time they were made were found in Delphi and Olympia . The older one, from Olympia, has a short nasal umbrella . There are holes along the edge that were for headpins to attach the lining.
Often the helmet was decorated with a horse's mane, which was attached lengthways or crossways and could be colored.
2. Two-piece helmets
It was a much simpler production method when the helmet consisted of two driven metal sheets. This technique started with the cone helmets and later continued with the Illyrian helmets .
B. Second stage of the Corinthian helmet
In the first half of the 7th century, the Corinthian helmet became an integral part of the Greek hoplite armor . Gradually, its shape was adapted to the physical conditions.
At the same time, two types of side cutouts developed that moved further towards the middle of the helmet: a flat cutout with rounded corners and a pointed gusset.
In the second half of the 7th century, the appearance of the helmets changed, especially the front section. The helmet grew forward, the length of the forehead and the nose shield increased, they became heavier and more massive than the rear.
C. Third tier of the Corinthian helmet
The shape traditions of the helmet types remained in the second half of the 6th century BC. Exist. All that was added was the dome heel , which shaped this type of helmets to the end.
Due to the advanced metallurgical development, these helmets were made with very thin walls and were considerably more advantageous due to their lower weight.
In order to obtain a protective effect, the crown ridge was introduced and the helmet was reinforced with ridges, heels and edging.
Further course
The Corinthian helmet was strongly adapted to the shape of the skull and protected in the classical form, which was especially popular in the 5th century BC. BC was worn by hoplites in Greece, with cheek shields and nasal shield a large part of the face. In numerous depictions warriors can be seen who, outside of combat, pushed their helmets behind their necks in order to have their face and thus their view completely free. Images in which the helmet is folded up in the middle of a fight stem from the artistic need to be able to depict the individual faces of the warriors.
Due to the influence of the Greek colonies on the Italian coast, the Corinthian helmet type also reached Italy. Variants of the so-called Apulian-Corinthian helmet (also Etrusco-Corinthian helmet) are known from southern Italy , in which the cheek pieces are connected so that only a small cutout for the eyes and below the nosepiece remained free. As a result, the helmet was no longer suitable for its original way of wearing (i.e. covering the whole head) and was worn more like a cap on the head, similar to the turned-back way of wearing just mentioned. The helmet was used as one of the most common types in the army of the Roman Republic .
In the 5th century BC BC one often went over to versions that were not so close to the head at the top of the helmet shell, which increased the protective effect. Helmets with round cutouts and pointed side gussets were used. Also in the 5th century BC Another type of helmet appeared, which exposed more of the face and thus enlarged the field of vision and made breathing easier, the Chalcidian helmet . In the 4th century BC This was replaced by the Attic helmet .
In addition, there was the Pilos helmet , the Boeotian helmet and the Phrygian helmet in the Hellenistic period .
The spread of the Corinthian helmet
Even if you know that there are only 40 helmet finds in Greece itself, you can assume that it originated there. The small number of finds is due to the fact that it was not customary in Greece to equip the dead with protective weapons , in contrast to Italy , where a large part of the finds are grave finds ; in Greece it is a matter of consecration . One example is the helmet of the winner of Marathon Miltiades , which was found in Olympia in 1940 during excavations by the German Archaeological Institute in Athens . It bears the inscription: MILTIADES ANETHEKEN TOI DI (Miltiades has dedicated ... to Zeus ).
Other sites suggest that the Corinthian helmet was known throughout the Mediterranean. Finds from Egypt can be explained by the fact that mercenaries were recruited from Greece. The Corinthian helmet is also often found on Greek coins. The city of Mesembria used the Corinthian helmet not only as an accessory in the side image of a head, but as the sole motif in frontal view on its smaller silver coins (diobol).
literature
- Angelo Bottini, Markus Egg , Friedrich-Wilhelm von Hase , Hermann Pflug , Ulrich Schaaff, Peter Schauer , Götz Waurick: Antique helmets. Collection Lipperheide and other holdings of the Antique Museum Berlin (= Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum, research institute for prehistory and early history. Monographs 14). Publishing house of the Roman-Germanic Central Museum, Mainz 1988, ISBN 3-88467-019-0 .
