The Corinthian Helmet

The Corinthian Helmet

by Sydney Greaves

Imagine the intimidating sight of an ancient Greek warrior peering back through the cutouts of this bronze helmet!

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Hammered from a single piece of bronze, the Corinthian helmet takes its name from the Greek city of Corinth, whose metalworkers developed the technique by about 900 BCE.  It is a type of close-fitting helmet, custom-made to fit an individual soldier, covering the whole head and part of the neck and leaving only the eyes and mouth exposed. Like most metal helmets, ours was likely fitted with a leather lining, sewn into place and anchored by the small holes that appear around the edges of the helmet. Although the warrior’s vision and hearing were seriously restricted, the Corinthian helmet, with its almond-shaped eye cut-outs, squared cheek pieces, and spoon-shaped nose guard, represents the most popular helmet type in the Greek world until after the 400s BCE, when lighter, more open-faced types replaced it.

       

The Greek word for “helmet” is kranos, the source of the English word “cranium.” Corinthian helmets weighed two to four pounds.  Helmets consist of multiple parts, not all of which appear on every example.  The Gallery’s Corinthian helmet does feature the cap, which conforms to the shape of the head; the cheekpieces; the neckpiece, which protects the back of the neck; and the visor, or face-covering (in this case, with openings for eyes and mouth). Later helmet visors were attached separately and hinged to shift up out of the way:  the helmet of the Brunswick Armor is a perfect example of this. 

        To put on a Corinthian helmet, the wearer simply pulled it down onto the head from above, over the face.  Coin images and sculptures of various persons wearing the Corinthian helmet, including the goddess Athena and the Classical Greek hero-statesman Pericles, usually show the helmet pushed back on the head, so the cheekpieces fit around the forehead.

The Gallery’s Corinthian helmet has been dated to the Greek Archaic Period. At this time, the Greek world consisted of independent city-states on the Greek mainland as well as settlements and colonies along the coastlines from Spain and Italy to North Africa and Turkey.  Although there was no “nation” or central administration, the culture united around a common Greek language and religious practices, with regular festivals and games at major sanctuaries and temple sites such as Olympia and Delphi.  The city-states skirmished constantly with each other for prominence. Each trained its own citizens as warriors, recruiting from the upper classes which had the economic means to supply the required arms and equipment. These heavily-armed foot soldiers came to be known as hoplites (HOP-lights).

      

 Although named for their round hoplos (HOP-loss) shield, the hoplites came to be characterized by the distinctive shape of the Corinthian helmet.  In addition to the shield and helmet, the hoplite’s equipment, known as the panoply (PAN-oh-plee), included a breastplate worn over a short linen tunic, bronze shin-guards known as greaves, a 7- to 9-foot-long spear, and a short sword.  The cost could be considerable: in about 600 BCE the complete panoply could cost 30 drachmae, the same as a quality team of six oxen.

 Most ancient Greek vase paintings depict warriors wearing helmets with impressive horsehair crests, as with our Kylix with Warriors

Mars

 in Battle (29.91) and the Etruscan bronze figure of The God Mars as a Warrior (53.41). The depictions in art of warriors with crested helmets may represent idealized gods and legendary heroes. A few Corinthian helmets, sometimes characterized as Italic versions, feature a central ridge and holes for supporting rods, evidence of having been

fitted with a crest. These more costly versions may have been worn only by officers or leaders; however, no crests actually survive.  Scholars believe that most helmets did not incorporate a crest at all until the Roman period

        The subtle details of our helmet identify it as a popular “economy” type produced from about 700 to after 600 BCE to outfit the thousands of “hoplite-farmers,” less wealthy citizen-soldiers recruited to bolster the ranks of the Greek citizen-armies during this period. Hoplites were organized into a highly structured unit known as a phalanx (FAY-lanks) for camaraderie, training, and battle tactics. While considered a cheaper alternative to crested and decorated helmets as depicted in art and perhaps worn by the nobility, this helmet is still evidence of a highly-skilled bronzeworker. Notice the ever-so-slight concave flexing at the ear level, allowing the lower edge, particularly at the nape of the neck, to flare out slightly to protect the neck. See how the lacing holes on the noseguard are arranged in a staggered pattern so as not to weaken the narrow metal piece any further. Our helmet is unusual, in that it has never been restored, and has only one minimal repair to the noseguard.

Prior to the Archaic Period, the helmet and the rest of a Greek warrior’s panoply likely accompanied their deceased owner to his grave. However, very fine helmets and shields are commonly found at temple sites, in the form of votive offerings to the gods. Some of these might represent a soldier’s own equipment given as a thank offering for a god’s support in victory -- not just Ares, the Greek god of war, but any and all of the gods and goddesses, each of whom favored different cities or clans. For example, Temple of Zeus at Olympia received estimated dedications averaging one thousand helmets per year between 700 and 500 BCE.  Records also tell of the occasional aged warrior giving up the soldier’s life and offering his war-worn arms to the gods.  There is little evidence for replica arms being produced for dedication, other than highly-decorative examples in marble, gold or silver. Written sources indicate that these dedications mainly represent the captured panoply of defeated enemies.

        The value of captured arms and armor, as evidence of valor as well as their intrinsic cost, made them popular and common thank offerings, visually stunning when conspicuously displayed and particularly appropriate as gifts for the gods. The best, most choice pieces were set aside for votive dedication, in a similar manner as the harvest celebrations set aside the “first fruits” for thank offerings.  Armor and weaponry, often inscribed, would be displayed on wooden supports, hung on walls and over doorways, and piled in storerooms. As the dedications piled up and began to deteriorate over time, the temple appointed men to go through the accumulated wealth and dispose of some of it.  War trophies remained on view as long as possible, but eventually the pieces were sorted into like-types and buried in trenches on the temple grounds. At some sites, particularly Olympia, the arms and armor are rendered useless, effectively “killed” by damage or distortion, before being disposed of.  Helmets are often found with cheekpieces and noseguards bent up and outwards. The excellent condition of our Corinthian helmet, with very little battle or other damage evident, suggests its role as a temple dedication.