FIG. 101. ITALIC CUIRASS
The Corinthian helmet had the great disadvantage of covering the ears and its shape probably caused it to be easily displaced. An improved form known as the Attic appears during the sixth century. This helmet, of which No. 1535 in Case 4 is an early example, was lighter than the Corinthian, fitted the head better, and had openings for the ears (see [tail-piece, p. 88]). The cheek-pieces were often provided with hinges and could be turned upwards and away from the face; on the large amphora on a pedestal in the Fifth Room a young warrior is holding a beautiful Attic helmet with cheek-pieces which seem to be hinged (see [fig. 103]). An example with immovable cheek-pieces in the form of rams’ heads is in Case C 2 in the Sixth Room. Both the Corinthian and the Attic helmet continued in use at the same time, but the Attic type gradually superseded the other. Two helmets (Case 4 and Case C 2 in the Sixth Room) shaped like the pilos or felt cap worn by workmen show a Greek type of the fifth and fourth centuries. One of them (No. 1541) has holes for attaching a crest ([fig. 96]). The other helmets in the collection are Italic or Etruscan. An Italian helmet reinforced by bands in relief (No. 1558 in Case N in the Seventh Room) is of the same type as those in the British Museum which were found on the battle-field of Cannae (figs. 94, 95, 97).
FIG. 102. GREEK CUIRASS OF THE V CENTURY
FIG. 103. WARRIOR CARRYING A SHIELD
The earliest Greek cuirass consisted of two curved bronze plates laced together at the sides. It reached to the waist and turned up around the edges so as not to hurt the wearer. The Dodona statuette shows this cuirass, and an Italic example in Case A in the Second Room belongs to the same general type, though it is longer and the lower part is slightly curved out to follow the line of the hips ([fig. 101]). This heavy and uncomfortable piece of armor was superseded in Greece in the fifth century by a cuirass made of leather or cloth upon which bronze scales were sewn. It was provided with shoulder-straps and a cloth or leather kilt reinforced with strips of metal hung below the corselet proper. A warrior on a krater on the bottom of Case S in the Fourth Room shows this type well ([fig. 102]). The earlier cuirass continued to be used in Italy, but in an improved form; the bronze plates, being moulded to follow the curves of the body, made a more comfortable as well as a beautiful piece of armor. Two examples, one with the lower part broken away, are in Case C 2 in the Sixth Room. In some parts of Italy a substitute for the cuirass was found in the use of a breastplate made of leather on which bronze disks were sewn. An armored belt accompanied the breastplate. On a krater from South Italy in Case Q in the Sixth Room is a warrior wearing such a belt, and an example is shown in Case 4. The small holes along the edges are for sewing in a lining ([fig. 99]).
Greaves were characteristic features of a Greek soldier’s equipment. The pair of greaves in Case J in the Third Room will show how their shape and elasticity caused them to stay in place on the leg ([fig. 100]). The greave in Case 4 has holes along the edges for sewing in a lining. On the upper part of a loutrophoros in Case J in the Fourth Room is a warrior wearing greaves of which the lining can be seen in a ridge around the foot.
FIG. 104. PERSIAN FIGHTING WITH A MACHAIRA