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+--- Thread: Boar tusk helmet (/showthread.php?tid=11588)
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Boar tusk helmet - Hoplitesmores - 01-24-2008
When was the Boar tusk helmet abandoned?
![[Image: Untitled-1.jpg]](http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s130/olvios300/Maps%20and%20more/quotes/Untitled-1.jpg)
How come Meriones gives Odysseus a boar tusk helm since Homer lived in
the 8th or 7th century bc.
Re: Boar tusk helmet - Drungarios - 01-24-2008
According to Snodgrass' "Arms and Armor of the Greeks," boars' tusk helmets were common during the so-called Shaft-Grave Period of the Mycenaean era, around 1600 BC. Sites containing boars' tusk helmets of a much later age indicate that the style of helmet continued to be popular for decorative or ceremonial use well after the time period during which they were worn in battle. Even after leather and other materials became their preferred medium, the boars' tusk helmet's construction continued to preoccupy helmet makers.
Without consulting an expert on the Iliad I can only conclude that the boars' tusk helmet is mentioned, like other military oddities found in the Iliad, because Homer's poems took shape over the course of tens or even hundreds of years. They describe the warfare of the late Mycenaean world, during which boars' tusk helmets were still worn, if only by the aristocracy. This would explain their inclusion in the poem, though their increasing rarity may have prompted Homer's in-depth description.
Re: Boar tusk helmet - Ioannis - 01-24-2008
The latest burials containing boar tusks (presumably from helmets) date to the LH IIIC (ca. 1100 BC).
"Homer" was aware of their existence through oral tradition.
Re: Boar tusk helmet - Dan Howard - 01-25-2008
Homer went to some trouble to point out that his boar's tusk helm was a curiosity and was not worn any more during the time of the battle he described.
Re: Boar tusk helmet - Hoplitesmores - 01-25-2008
Yeah you are right he makes a big deal out of it.
Re: Boar tusk helmet - Matthew Amt - 01-25-2008
Well, MY boar tusk helmet is still in use, hee hee!
http://www.larp.com/hoplite/scales7.jpg
But yeah, it's pretty clear they were obsolete by the time of the Trojan War.
Khairete,
Matthew
Re: Boar tusk helmet - Gaius Julius Caesar - 01-25-2008
Quote:Well, MY boar tusk helmet is still in use, hee hee!
http://www.larp.com/hoplite/scales7.jpg
But yeah, it's pretty clear they were obsolete by the time of the Trojan War.
Khairete,
Matthew
Looks like Asterix went to ancient Troy :lol: :lol: :lol:
You should do a Gaul Matt, that mustach is soo Vercingetorix!
Great kit! 8)
Re: Boar tusk helmet - Lanista - 02-18-2008
I saw a documentary on telly the other day about the Trojan war - or more exactly, the military technology probably employed during the war. It was really interesting stuff, including a piece on siege warfare machines (that may or may not have given rise to the "Trojan Horse" myth).
But - they had a boars tusk helmet vs a long bow (and not a composite one). The archer loosed at pretty much point-blank range, but it appears that the helmet was far more effective than has been often said.
The bone shattered on a direct hit, but still the arrows barb and not penetrated the armour. Only a direct hit that went between the links penetrated the helmet.
I was really impressed - the boars tusk helmet would appeared to have been a more effective piece than simply a curiosity if this test was anything to go by.
Cheers
Russ
Re: Boar tusk helmet - Matthew Amt - 02-18-2008
If it's the same show I saw, then their "boar tusk helmet" was junk. Here's a thread from the Armour Archive:
http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB2/ ... hp?t=72869
The real ones were made of sliced tusks, of course, not bone, and the pieces overlapped. So there wouldn't be any gaps. When I was cutting tusks on my bandsaw, there were sparks coming off, so tusks are considerably harder than bone! We know from artwork that the boar tusk helmet was THE most popular type during its day, so it had to be effective enough for all the guys wearing it.
Khaire,
Matthew
Re: Boar tusk helmet - Lanista - 02-19-2008
Forgive the terminology. It was a boars tusk helmet, I shouldn't have said "bone". This looked authentic enough to me, Matt and I'm not sure the experiment can be dismissed as junk. The barb hit precicesly where the tusk-pieces linked (or overlapped if you prefer) and went through. It was a lucky shot, and the only one to penetrate the helmet.
Cheers
Russ
Re: Boar tusk helmet - Gaius Julius Caesar - 02-19-2008
I would say that even with the 'reconstruction' inaccuracy of this helmet in the show, the toughness of the tusk is well demonstrated by Russ's comments.
Interesting link Mat, kind of confirms my first impressions after visiting the Athens museum a few years ago, the bronze was wayyyyy beyond anything I had imagined from reading about it in books!
Re: Boar tusk helmet - Giannis K. Hoplite - 02-19-2008
If the boar tusk helmet that was penetrated by one of the shots was the same I saw in the video Matt is talking about,then it deffinately is not a relyable reconstuction.Not only the tusks(are they real tusks?) are not overlapping but they actually leave gaps between them! But again,if most shots were stoped by that helmet,then imagine the strenght of the ral one!
This is from Matt's site http://www.larp.com/hoplite/BAarmor.html
and it's how the real thing was done. You see the overlapping tusks and the inner construction with the leather straps.
![[Image: BThlm12.jpg]](http://www.larp.com/hoplite/BThlm12.jpg)
![[Image: BThlm10.jpg]](http://www.larp.com/hoplite/BThlm10.jpg)
Khairete
Giannis
Re: Boar tusk helmet - Gaius Julius Caesar - 02-19-2008
Yes, that is basically what I meant.....rephrased it a little with the edit feature!
Re: Boar tusk helmet - Eperitus - 03-07-2008
Hi
I'm new to the forum and am doing a bit of research on the armour that would have been worn by Greeks and Trojans during the Trojan War period. I've heard that boar's tusk helmets and the Dendera-style armour suits would already have been outdated by 1200BC, but does anyone have any images of the likely helmets, breastplates, shields, greaves etc that would have been worn? :?
I'd be really grateful for any help I could get. I've read through a few other topics and it looks like there's a real wealth of knowledge amongst the members here.
Thanks,
Glyn
Re: Boar tusk helmet - Tarbicus - 03-07-2008
I'd make a start at Matt Amt's site: http://www.larp.com/hoplite/bronze.html