Questions (linothorax, sandals, Spartan moustache)

[Zenodoros]

'Elo, back from a brief holiday.

My dear Stefanos, EVERY SINGLE statue from Laconia/Lacedaimon, representing a Hoplite, having a "Bell-type" cuirass! We DON'T have TOO MANY examples - very few statues had been discover - but ALL of them showing the warrior wearing a "Bell-type" cuirass... That's "all" the references we have...

Not true. There is at least one excavated miniature replica of a bronze muscle cuirass. This might seem like very little but all our knowledge of the appearance of the short Spartan sword during the Peloponesso-Athenian wars is based on a miniature figurine as well. The muscle cuirass figure is interesting and almost looks a bit like a modern tee-shirt!

b. no footwear at all

I won't argue with this. The only reason people seem to complain to suggest that Spartans wore sandals is either to protect skin from sharp discarded weapons, or that the body armour is too much pressure on their barefeet without any protection. But in the first case - if you're going to wear sandals, the weapon will STILL cut through and puncture the skin (if it's not that sharp, then I don't see any reason to wear sandals anyway). For the second, according to a friend, it is actually quite comfortable to go barefeet while wearing a bronze cuirass - in fact, it's actually wearing sandals that can cause the traction.

c. beard without moustache (the old-fashion Hellenic style)

Little evidence of this... Plutarch mentions that each government year the Spartiates would shave their moustaches to obey the law, but this seems only to apply once during the year. Elsewhere it would be choice - a thin, almost 'oriental' moustache seems to have been common as well (if we are to trust the helot artists). It seems that many 'new' Spartiates coming out of the agoge shaved their moustache and beard, too.

d. long-long hair (braid-style and bundled in the top of the head and the edges under the helmet - a nice trick to protect the head from the helmet)

I'm fairly sure that Spartiates wore pilos caps just like the rest of the hoplites. They grew their hair long to appear more aristocratic (at least this is one of the possibilities).

e. red wool cloaks (NEVER during in battle of course!)

True... there were at least two different kinds of cloak, as well.

f. red wool tunics

Again true.

g. "one-piece" (without straps) bronze greaves

I don't see why they wouldn't use straps at times.

h. sword, of course (with "Telamona" soulder-strap; no belts of course!)

Early Spartans wore belts.

i. spear

Of course.

j. "Hoplon" shield

Not necessarily, hoplon could mean any single piece of weapon or armour... you could call a 'xiphos' a 'hoplon' if you wanted. The correct term for the round shield is the 'aspis'.

THAT statue of the "so-called" 'King Leonidas', for MY opinion - among with others - DOESN'T representing a SPARTAN warrior.
Why? The helmet, my lady, the helmet... That helmet IS NOT a Spartan helmet of 5th century...
If you study it CLOSELY ("tete-a-tete"), you will notice that you watching an ATTIC helmet, with the "flapping" cheek-protections... In the many books that I have for Hoplite Warfare, NONE of them says ANYTHING about THAT type of helmet, used in Sparta during the Persian Wars...
Also... in ANY (from the VERY FEW!) small bronze idol of Spartan warriors, you can EASILY see, the long-curl-hairs.
In this statue of 'King Leonidas', you DON'T!

I agree! But I thought that the helmet could possibly be Chalkidian and the nose guard deteriated, the flapping cheek protections could still mean a Chalkidian helmet. I think the Spartans only used a Chalkidian without any cheek-protection flaps. In any case, the Attic came in too late for it to be a picture of Leonidas or any Spartan.

By the way Lupus, you're involved with the Rome Total War mod Hegemonia: City States, correct? Can't wait!