11-21-2009, 02:29 AM
The real answer is that in Art, down to after the Persian Wars, the Warriors depicted are Gods and Heroes, and hence wear lavish equipment complete with helmet crests and the latest/best body armour.
The reality is somewhat different. An explanation such as that commonly given in the past - they were organic so they didn't survive - just does not hold up under examination. The vast majority found are crestless, and show no trace of crest attachment fittings. ( crests were commonly removable for storage and to prevent "crest flop" - a problem re-enactors commonly encounter).
After the Persian Wars, we start to see real soldiers depicted - the 'Heroes of Marathon' were deemed fit to join the Pantheon of Heroes in iconography, and significantly we start to see Hoplites shown with crestless helmets and no body armour or greaves in iconography. One cannot be certain, but it may be that crests were the preserve of officers/file leaders, or among the wealthiest, which often amounted to the same thing. Thus most would appear in the front rank - which would give a ratio of roughly 1 crested to 8-or-10 crestless. This would be consistent with finds, where the vast majority are crestless. The idea that all, or even a majority of Greek Helmets had crests is a "Greek Myth" , I'm afraid.
D lol:
Certainly if it were a matter of personal taste or wealth, even a removable crest popular with admiring girls in your city's festivals could be a handicap in battle, and might be prudently left behind.
Everybody remembered what happened to Paris in his duel with Menelaus, right? :wink:
The reality is somewhat different. An explanation such as that commonly given in the past - they were organic so they didn't survive - just does not hold up under examination. The vast majority found are crestless, and show no trace of crest attachment fittings. ( crests were commonly removable for storage and to prevent "crest flop" - a problem re-enactors commonly encounter).
After the Persian Wars, we start to see real soldiers depicted - the 'Heroes of Marathon' were deemed fit to join the Pantheon of Heroes in iconography, and significantly we start to see Hoplites shown with crestless helmets and no body armour or greaves in iconography. One cannot be certain, but it may be that crests were the preserve of officers/file leaders, or among the wealthiest, which often amounted to the same thing. Thus most would appear in the front rank - which would give a ratio of roughly 1 crested to 8-or-10 crestless. This would be consistent with finds, where the vast majority are crestless. The idea that all, or even a majority of Greek Helmets had crests is a "Greek Myth" , I'm afraid.
D lol: Certainly if it were a matter of personal taste or wealth, even a removable crest popular with admiring girls in your city's festivals could be a handicap in battle, and might be prudently left behind.
Everybody remembered what happened to Paris in his duel with Menelaus, right? :wink:
"dulce et decorum est pro patria mori " - Horace
(It is a sweet and proper thing to die for ones country)
"No son-of-a-bitch ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country" - George C Scott as General George S. Patton
Paul McDonnell-Staff
(It is a sweet and proper thing to die for ones country)
"No son-of-a-bitch ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country" - George C Scott as General George S. Patton
Paul McDonnell-Staff
