10-17-2009, 10:21 PM
Quote:Even among Alexander's Macedonian Infantry, other types of helmet are found....think of the Phrygian types found in Macedonian tombs and on the "Alexander Sarcophagus" for example...
I myself am dubious of their claim that during most of Alexander's campaigns the konos/pilos was standard issue. However, based on this overlooked statement from Julius Africanus, they make a convincing case for such a shift later in Alexander's life, but more likely shortly following his death:
Quote:Kestoi[/i] 1.1.45-50":1tuo16fg]Some modifications were made to this military equipment [that of the Greeks, whom he describes before] by the Macedonian epigonoi, who due to the varying character of war, created unique armaments for the battles they waged among themselves and against the barbarians. For instance, they unobstructed the combatant's eyes through the introduction of the Laconian pilos. They say that this was a matter of the soldier king. For Alexander himself ordered the soldiers....
The content of the last line is irrelevant save for the fact that it is clear that the soldier king (tou stratiotou basileos) of the previous line is clearly Alexander. Julius Africanus was an early 3rd c. Christian philosopher, and his Kestoi (the kestos was the magical crossed belt worn by Aphrodite) contained a variety of facts and anecdotes, including a lot of military information. It has been noted that portions of his testimony are echoed in other extant sources (such as Philo of Byzantium and Arrian), which implies that his information was taken directly from older sources.
I do not have a problem accepting the notion that from the time of the Diadochoi, the rank and file phalangites (and perhaps the peltasts, too) were equipped with standard, state-issued piloi. As for some officers or other elite troops, they very well may have worn different types of helmets.
Ruben
He had with him the selfsame rifle you see with him now, all mounted in german silver and the name that he\'d give it set with silver wire under the checkpiece in latin: Et In Arcadia Ego. Common enough for a man to name his gun. His is the first and only ever I seen with an inscription from the classics. - Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
He had with him the selfsame rifle you see with him now, all mounted in german silver and the name that he\'d give it set with silver wire under the checkpiece in latin: Et In Arcadia Ego. Common enough for a man to name his gun. His is the first and only ever I seen with an inscription from the classics. - Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
