The Corinthian helmet originated in ancient Greece and took its name from the city-state of Corinth. It was a helmet made of bronze which in its later styles covered the entire head and neck, with slits for the eyes and mouth. A large curved projection protected the nape of the neck.
Out of combat, a Greek hoplite would wear the helmet tipped upward for comfort. This practice gave rise to a series of variant forms in Italy, where the slits were almost closed, since the helmet was no longer pulled over the face but worn cap-like. Although the classical Corinthian helmet fell out of use among the Greeks in favour of more open types, the Italo-Corinthian types remained in use until the 1st century AD, being used, among others, by the Roman army.
Apparently (judging from artistic and archaeological evidence) the most popular helmet during the Archaic and early Classical periods, the style gradually gave way to the more open Thracian helmet, Chalcidian helmet and the much simpler pilos type, which was less expensive to manufacture and did not obstruct the wearer's critical senses of vision and hearing as the Corinthian helmet did. Numerous examples of Corinthian helmets have been excavated, and they are frequently depicted on ancient Greek pottery.[citation needed]
Bust of Pericles with Corinthian helmet, Roman copy after a Greek original from ca. 430 BC
The Corinthian helmet was depicted on more sculpture than any other helmet; it seems the Greeks romantically associated it with glory and the past. The Romans also revered it, from copies of Greek originals to sculpture of their own. Based on the sparse pictorial evidence of the republican Roman army, in Italy the Corinthian helmet evolved into a jockey-cap style helmet called the Italo-Corinthian, Etrusco-Corinthian or Apulo-Corinthian helmet, with the characteristic nose guard and eye slits becoming mere decorations on its face.[1] Given many Roman appropriations of ancient Greek ideas, this change was probably inspired by the "over the forehead" position common in Greek art. This helmet remained in use well into the 1st century AD.[citation needed]
Literary evidenceedit
Herodotus mentions the Corinthian helmet in his Histories when writing of the Machlyes and Auseans, two tribes living along the River Triton in ancient Libya (the portion of ancient Libya he describes is most likely in modern Tunisia). The tribes chose annually two teams of the fairest maidens who fought each other with sticks and stones. They chose the fairest maiden who was dressed in Greek panoply with a Corinthian helmet. The ritual fight was part of a festival honoring the virgin goddess Athena. (Histories, 4.180).
Lendon, J.E., Soldiers and Ghosts, A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity (2005)
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Corinthian helmets.
Herodotus's (4.180.3) account of the Libyan female warriors in Corinthian helmets - via the Perseus Project
Collection of Corinthian helmets from around the world
February 15, 2024
corinthian, helmet, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, july, 2. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Corinthian helmet news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Corinthian helmet originated in ancient Greece and took its name from the city state of Corinth It was a helmet made of bronze which in its later styles covered the entire head and neck with slits for the eyes and mouth A large curved projection protected the nape of the neck Bronze Corinthian helmet c 500 BCE Staatliche Antikensammlungen Inv 4330 Out of combat a Greek hoplite would wear the helmet tipped upward for comfort This practice gave rise to a series of variant forms in Italy where the slits were almost closed since the helmet was no longer pulled over the face but worn cap like Although the classical Corinthian helmet fell out of use among the Greeks in favour of more open types the Italo Corinthian types remained in use until the 1st century AD being used among others by the Roman army Contents 1 Physical evidence 2 Literary evidence 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksPhysical evidence edit nbsp Italo Corinthian helmet Getty VillaApparently judging from artistic and archaeological evidence the most popular helmet during the Archaic and early Classical periods the style gradually gave way to the more open Thracian helmet Chalcidian helmet and the much simpler pilos type which was less expensive to manufacture and did not obstruct the wearer s critical senses of vision and hearing as the Corinthian helmet did Numerous examples of Corinthian helmets have been excavated and they are frequently depicted on ancient Greek pottery citation needed nbsp Bust of Pericles with Corinthian helmet Roman copy after a Greek original from ca 430 BCThe Corinthian helmet was depicted on more sculpture than any other helmet it seems the Greeks romantically associated it with glory and the past The Romans also revered it from copies of Greek originals to sculpture of their own Based on the sparse pictorial evidence of the republican Roman army in Italy the Corinthian helmet evolved into a jockey cap style helmet called the Italo Corinthian Etrusco Corinthian or Apulo Corinthian helmet with the characteristic nose guard and eye slits becoming mere decorations on its face 1 Given many Roman appropriations of ancient Greek ideas this change was probably inspired by the over the forehead position common in Greek art This helmet remained in use well into the 1st century AD citation needed Literary evidence editHerodotus mentions the Corinthian helmet in his Histories when writing of the Machlyes and Auseans two tribes living along the River Triton in ancient Libya the portion of ancient Libya he describes is most likely in modern Tunisia The tribes chose annually two teams of the fairest maidens who fought each other with sticks and stones They chose the fairest maiden who was dressed in Greek panoply with a Corinthian helmet The ritual fight was part of a festival honoring the virgin goddess Athena Histories 4 180 See also editPericles with the Corinthian helmet BarbuteReferences edit Peter Connolly The Roman Army pp 19 and 35 Macdonald amp Company Ltd London 1975 ISBN 0 356 051102 Further reading editLendon J E Soldiers and Ghosts A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity 2005 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Corinthian helmets Herodotus s 4 180 3 account of the Libyan female warriors in Corinthian helmets via the Perseus Project Collection of Corinthian helmets from around the world Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Corinthian helmet amp oldid 1121215719, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
