Muscle armor
The muscle armor is armor forged from bronze for the trunk, the surface of which is modeled on a naked, muscular body.
description
The muscle armor originated in ancient Greece as a modification of the bell armor worn by hoplites . He gave the impression that the wearer was going into battle with his bare upper body, and at the same time displayed an idealized physique. This made it particularly suitable for representational purposes, whereas its protective properties were inferior. In Roman times the muscle armor was combined with elements of the valve armor and enriched with symbolic and mythological representations (almost always a Gorgon head ). In this form he was the status symbol of the noble staff officers . Presumably the ornaments were covered with different non-ferrous metals and displayed splendidly. Representations of the Roman emperors typically show them in often richly ornamented muscle armor. Due to the incredibly high price of their time, these tanks were mostly reserved for the nobility or high officers. The muscle armor was mostly worn with an undergarment made of leather or lined fabric, otherwise the weight of the armor would have chafed the skin within a short time.
literature
- Arnold Hagemann: The Greek metal armor. Teubner, Leipzig 1913, ( digitized ; Freiburg (Breisgau), university, dissertation, 1912).
- Markus Mode , Jürgen Tubach (Hrsg.): Arms and armor as indicators of cultural transfer. The steppes and the ancient world from Hellenistic times to the early Middle Ages (= nomads and settled people. 4). Reichert, Wiesbaden 2006, ISBN 3-89500-529-0 , pp. 19, 20, 22.