Many of us are fascinated by the way people lived in Ancient Greece. We like their myths and legends, heroes and wars in which they participated. We have all heard stories about the mighty and invincible Hercules, the long and heroic Trojan War, the brave and intelligent hero Theseus, and the legendary 300 Spartans. Such admiration for this culture was largely facilitated by modern cinema, which shoots chic films based on the stories of the Ancient World. Most of us, thanks to such cinematic works, can have a visual idea of how exactly the warriors of those times looked. But, unfortunately, not everyone knows why the soldiers of Ancient Greece dressed in this way, what this or that equipment was intended for, why the ancient Greek military headgear was called “Spartan helmets”. This is exactly what will be discussed in this article.
Ancient Sparta
Sparta is a warlike state that existed onthe territory of modern Greece in the period up to 146 BC. and was located in the southern part of this country. The basis of the state system was the principle of absolute equality and unity. The main support and economic power of Sparta was its army, which in ancient times was the most combat-ready in the world.
All men were experienced warriors and served from youth to old age. The men of Sparta were not involved in the household, since it was considered a menial job that was performed by slaves instead of them. It is worth noting that the latter were treated particularly cruelly in this country: they did not have any rights at all. An interesting fact is that only Greeks from the conquered territories were the slaves of Sparta, and each of them belonged to the entire Spartan society.
Spartan Warriors
We have all heard the story of King Leonidas and his 300 Spartans more than once. Several feature films have even been made on this topic. I would like to note that this is indeed a reliable historical fact. The courage of the warriors of ancient Sparta went down in history and is known to everyone. Any boy born in this country was subject to a tough military upbringing from an early age. Such treatment of children further contributed to their physical development, courage and dexterity in battle.
False fact
There is a misconception that Spartan warriors did not have protective clothing. It spread thanks to the Hollywood movie "300 Spartans". In fact, this is not true: each warrior was very well equipped not only with weapons, but alsoquite impressive protective gear.
The basis of the Spartan army was heavily armed foot soldiers - hoplites. Their weapons consisted of a spear, a short sword, a round Spartan shield, which is well recognized all over the world thanks to the Latin letter "lambda" on it. In addition, the soldiers put on armor, greaves and characteristic Spartan helmets. A description of this equipment will be of interest to many, and this will be discussed a little later. In addition to the hoplites, the Spartan army also included auxiliary cavalry - the so-called horsemen, who had no practical value, as well as archers.
Spartan helmets: characteristic differences of different types
The Spartans were among the first in history to create heavy equipment for their warriors, since the main component of their army - the hoplites - was vital. The second place in importance (after, of course, shields) was confidently taken by Spartan helmets. The importance of this element of armor for warriors is hard to overestimate, because it protects such a vulnerable place as the head. It was impossible to make a real Spartan helmet with your own hands: even at that distant time, there were special technologies for this.
The Corinthian helmet was distributed throughout Greece, including in Sparta.
He did an excellent job with his main task - he protected his head from a spear during horse fights, but at the same time such a Spartan helmet, the photo of which can be seen in the article, had its ownlimitations. He partially limited vision, which narrowed the view of the soldiers and, closing their ears, significantly reduced their hearing. By the end of the VI century BC. e. the Chalkid type of helmets appeared, which did not have a nasal, and there were special holes in the area of \u200b\u200bthe ears. It is worth noting that the strength of this type was inferior to the Corinthian helmets, because due to the fact that they were not solid, the products bent quite easily.
Pylos - Spartan helmets
Together with the progress and development of combat techniques, the uniforms of warriors naturally changed. When the Laconian tactics of warfare began to gain popularity, the soldiers needed to hear the trumpet, the beep of which marked the beginning of the battle. Sharp eyesight and good hearing were extremely important. That is why the helmets were modified. The pilos helmet replaced the Corinthian. This hat was a prototype, which was made of felt material and had a conical shape.
Over time, a bronze pilos helmet appeared, which completely repeated the shape of a felt hat, but based on some ancient Greek records, we can conclude that this type did not quite cope with its protective function, since it was not very durable.
The most beautiful Spartan helmets
The most spectacular and beautiful Spartan helmets are those that were decorated with feathers or combs from horse or human hair.
The first image of such a Spartan helmet was depicted on ancient Greekvases that date back to the 6th century. BC. It is these helmets that are most often shown in thematic films.
