06-12-2007, 03:00 AM
Somehow I missed that post you made before the elephant post Paul...
I did have my doubts about whether that cuirass on the Chemtou relief portrayed mail. The armor itself has no distiguishing details on it while the fittings and a pteruges are carved with high level of detail and the shield next to it has scales carved on the little snakes decorating the shield face. If the artist was merely trying to capture the feel of Hellenistic equipment then the appearence of the cuirass makes sense.
Pikes, it would seem, are also not an option.
Actually, based on what you've written Hannibal's Carthaginian and Lybi-phoenetian troops might very well have looked more Roman than Hellenistic right from the start...maybe...
It also seems like the most accurate way to portray one of Hannibal's Carthaginians would be to choose a time after Trasimene and Trebia and make use of Republican Roman equipment since we know for certain that is what they were using. You would have to make it clear that you were a Carthaginian by standing next to a Carthaginian standard or an elephant or, to fall back on Monty Python again, an "outrageous accent"...
Perhaps paint the thueros white?
Prior to that though...through their merhcant fleet, Carthage had contact with just about everyone in the Mediterranean so the best we can say is that they probably looked somewhat Hellenistic. If I am not mistaken, the Carthaginian native troops were citizen-soldiers who most likely supplied their own equipment, there might be a chance that they did not have a uniform appearence. They could have quite literally been wearing anything that any other Hellenistic army was wearing...if that is the case then you almost can't go wrong in choosing equipment...
This is as much fun as researching the Bronze Age! :lol:
I did have my doubts about whether that cuirass on the Chemtou relief portrayed mail. The armor itself has no distiguishing details on it while the fittings and a pteruges are carved with high level of detail and the shield next to it has scales carved on the little snakes decorating the shield face. If the artist was merely trying to capture the feel of Hellenistic equipment then the appearence of the cuirass makes sense.
Pikes, it would seem, are also not an option.
Actually, based on what you've written Hannibal's Carthaginian and Lybi-phoenetian troops might very well have looked more Roman than Hellenistic right from the start...maybe...
It also seems like the most accurate way to portray one of Hannibal's Carthaginians would be to choose a time after Trasimene and Trebia and make use of Republican Roman equipment since we know for certain that is what they were using. You would have to make it clear that you were a Carthaginian by standing next to a Carthaginian standard or an elephant or, to fall back on Monty Python again, an "outrageous accent"...
Perhaps paint the thueros white?
Prior to that though...through their merhcant fleet, Carthage had contact with just about everyone in the Mediterranean so the best we can say is that they probably looked somewhat Hellenistic. If I am not mistaken, the Carthaginian native troops were citizen-soldiers who most likely supplied their own equipment, there might be a chance that they did not have a uniform appearence. They could have quite literally been wearing anything that any other Hellenistic army was wearing...if that is the case then you almost can't go wrong in choosing equipment...
This is as much fun as researching the Bronze Age! :lol:
Dan Zeidler
Legio XX
Legio XX
