How Much Protection did Helmets Provide

[A_Volpe]

That photo of the Greek helmet with the big hole in it

Keep in mind this hole may have been a Votive/sacrificial offering to honor the wearer who died, likely by some other means.

To the best of my knowledge, Greek warriors would purposely damage a fallen [hero] helmet, theoretically so that noone else could wear that helmet - so it in essence stayed with that warrior for all time. If that helmet belonged to Achilles, who dies in battle, let's say, you wouldn't want Apelles to put it on, as he'd become an imposter, as he's wearing Achilles' helmet.

Although I admit I don't know where the reference for that lays, as that is what I learned from my days working at an armory museum *shrug*

Either way, helmets can provide a lot of protection - a lot has to do with the padding that goes under it, but that it acts as a 'secondary' defense (IMHO). You're not going to run onto the battlefield and challenge someone to hit you on the head as hard as they can. You have a big shield...Use that instead. If something happens to come through, you have some chance of being protected.