The cast No. 184 is taken from a mould in the Terracotta Room (No. E 79) for the central panel of a large lamp. Its chief figure is a successful charioteer, crowned with a bulky wreath.
(178) Cat. of Vases, II., B 144; (179) Cat. of Terracottas, D 627; (181) Cat. of Lamps, 626; (182) ibid., 788; (183) ibid., 671; (184) ibid., 1398.
For the circus in general see Daremberg and Saglio, s.v.
Two interesting sarcophagus reliefs, with scenes in the circus, are shown in the Roman Gallery (Cat. of Sculpture, III., 2318, 2319).
[37:] El. 680 ff.
[38:] Cat. of Casts, No. 94.
[39:] Cat. of Sculpture, II., Nos. 1036, 1037.
IX.—ARMS AND ARMOUR.
(Wall-Cases 111-119, and Table-Case E.)
The arms and armour of the ancients are contained in Wall-Cases 111-119, and in Table-Case E. The weapons of attack date from the beginning of the use of metal, in the prehistoric period, but all the defensive armour belongs to the historical age.
Armour.—There is not much literary evidence for the armour of antiquity, but military subjects are very commonly represented in works of art, and these, with the actual remains of armour, give a good idea of the ancient panoply. The armour of the prehellenic civilisations of Greece, as described by Homer, is a subject of dispute, and as this collection possesses no specimen of such remnants as have been found, there is no need here to discuss the question. It is enough to say that the armour of the inhabitants of Greece of the Mycenaean or Bronze Age was entirely different from that of the Hellenic period, which began with the introduction of iron in the place of bronze, and that the heroes of the Homeric poems, who are so frequently portrayed in classical art, are represented in the armour not of their own day, but of that of the artist. The earliest Greek fashion is seen in a small bronze figure of a soldier from Dodona, a cast of which is exhibited in Case 113 (No. 185; fig. 66). The original is in the Antiquarium at Berlin. Its date is about 500 B.C. The man was striking with a spear; he carries a shield on his left arm, and wears a metal helmet, cuirass and greaves. These three pieces of body-armour were worn throughout classical times, being adopted from the Greeks by the Romans. All are represented in this collection.
Helmet.—The earliest type of helmet is known as Corinthian, because it is worn by the goddess Athena in the well-known coin-type of Corinth (fig. 12e). It was a complete metal casing of the head and neck, open only in front of the eyes and mouth; the nose was protected by a vertical strip which was left between the eyes, and the rest of the face was covered as by a mask (fig. 66). In the earliest specimens (No. 186) the metal is everywhere of the same thickness, the cheek-pieces large and clumsy, the nose-piece straight, and little attempt is made to curve the back so as to fit the neck. Later helmets were more gracefully designed: the nasal and cheek-pieces are shaped and curved, the crown is distinguished from the lower part, the neck has a natural contour, and is set off from the rest of the helmet by a notch on each side of the bottom rim (No. 187; fig. 67). The lines of hair and eyebrows are often indicated in embossed and engraved patterns (Nos. 188, 189; fig. 78).