Fig. 176.
the place of the original head-covering of skin, was usually of bronze, and, according to the statements of Homer and originals still existing, was of three thicknesses, strongest in the middle, with a thinner layer above and below. The chief part of the helmet fitted close to the head like a cap, and covered forehead and temples; in front it hung down in two separate pieces over the cheeks; there were two openings for the eyes between the nose-piece and cheek-pieces. In ancient times the skull cap and cheek-pieces were made of a single piece, as we see on the ancient Greek helmets from Olympia and Sardinia, represented in Figs. [173] to [175]; these are also provided with nose-pieces, so that not much could be recognised of the warrior who was covered in this way. The helmet acquired an additional protection by a ridge extending over the middle of the skull cap from the back of the head to the forehead, in which the crest was fastened; there were also helmets with two ridges to increase the resisting power, and this then had two crests. Very often the crest, which was of great size, was not fastened directly into the ridge, but connected with it by means of a tall, narrow elevation, so that it towered high above the helmet. The vase painting represented in Fig. [176] shows helmets of this kind belonging to two warriors who are playing draughts; one of them has taken off his helmet and placed it on the shield beside him; the other keeps his on, but has raised the part over the forehead; the shape resembles the originals represented in Figs. [173] to [175]. Sometimes the crest was fastened straight into the skullcap without any ridge, as on Fig. [166], in the helmet belonging to the warrior on the right. In later times, many changes took place in the shape of helmets; the nose-piece and cheek-pieces were sometimes flexible and sometimes stiff, but of a different shape; thus the helmet of Achilles, in Fig. [170], has the stiff forehead and nose-piece, but the cheek-pieces move on a hinge, and for the sake of comfort the hero has turned them upwards. Of the three helmets in Fig. [167], the one on the ground on the right seems also to have movable cheek-pieces, but there is no nose-piece, and only a protection for the forehead, which could probably also be pushed back; the two others have stiff nose-and cheek-pieces in one with the skull cap, but the cheek-pieces are not pointed, as was usually the case in the older kind, but rounded off. (Compare also Figs. [166], [169], and [172].) There was usually also a protecting piece for the neck, as may be seen on many other pictures. Works of art show manifold ways of decorating the helmets. (Compare the helmet of Diomede in Fig. [169].) Sometimes they made them in the shape of a human face, imitating the lines of the forehead, eyebrows, etc., in bronze. Curiously enough, this mask form was sometimes transferred even to the back of the helmet, as may be seen in Fig. [177], representing the death of Memnon, where the long hair of the warrior descends below the helmet, though this may have been due to a mistake on the part of the artist; another point of interest about this helmet is its two crests. Besides these high and usually splendid helmets, the simple cap-shaped helmets were also extant in later times, and these were strengthened by ridges or plates of brass nailed on them; such is the helmet worn by Amphiaraus in Fig. [171]. To prevent excessive pressure on the head, they usually wore a close-fitting cap below it, as we see in the case of Patroclus, in Fig. [170].
Fig. 177.
In the Homeric age, there were two chief kinds of shields: a small circular one, and an oval shield of almost human height. They were made of several layers of bull’s hide, sewn on the top of one another, and covered, as a rule, on the outer side, with bronze. As the diameter of the skins decreased from without to within, and the strength of the metal coverings decreased from the middle to the edge, the result was that the middle of the shield, which had to offer the greatest resistance, was also the strongest part; besides this, a boss or convex bronze plate (ὄμφαλος), was also fixed in the centre of the outer side, but in later times they put the coat of arms in its place. The smaller circular shield seems to have been carried by a double handle, through one part of which, in the middle of the hollow, the arm was thrust, while the other at the edge was clasped by the hand (compare Fig. [169]). This mode of carrying would be impossible for the large shields, and these must have been managed by a single handle, though we must not forget that these very heavy shields were also suspended from the body by straps. In later times, too, we find the round and oval shields still in use, but the latter were considerably diminished in size, which is very natural, since it must have been extremely inconvenient and troublesome in battle to carry these enormous shields. Both kinds were moderately vaulted, and had a somewhat projecting edge; the shields, both round and oval, often had two slits at the sides, the object of which was to enable the warrior to peep at the enemy from behind his shield, and also perhaps to send his spear through the opening; these slits may be recognised in the shields in Fig. [176]. As to the mode in which they were carried, we sometimes find two handles, both at a little distance from the centre, as on the shield in Fig. [171], of which the inner side is visible; sometimes a crossbar extended over the whole inner breadth of the shield, through which the arm was thrust, while there were various straps at the edge which could be easily grasped, and which made it possible to go on using the shield even if one of these handles should have been torn off. There is a rather different contrivance in a shield in Fig. [167], of which we see the inner side; instead of one crossbar used as a diameter of the circle, there are three like radii meeting together in the centre. Here, too, there were probably loops at the edge. Very often the shields were lined inside with coloured materials, and decorated with tassels or cords; on small round shields we sometimes find a broad lappet of leather, or some such material, hanging down, to give the combatant a further protection for the lower part of his body. The coats of arms, which were very various and full of meaning, were either put on in relief like the head of a satyr in the centre of a shield in Fig. [176], or else inlaid of metal of another colour, or nailed on.
Fig. 178.
Fig. 179.
Fig. 180.