Iron Greek helms

[Dan Diffendale]

From what I've seen of ancient artwork, I'm beginning to wonder if blue was used as a "code" for bronze. Just a hunch and not a solid one! But a few things have cropped up in the last few months that really ought to have been made of bronze but were colored blue...

I think the explanation is that the blue was possibly a base coat for something metallic. I really don't know enough about ancient paints to say that they had metallic ones (though today as any modeller knows, you paint a dark color as base for metal). I *do* know that metal elements were used in friezes and other sculpture, for instance for spears and other weapons.

I have some pictures of decorated helmets around here somewhere, gimme a day or two...

If you're doing Peloponnesian War, you really can't go wrong with a Pilos helmet.