Cretan Helmet

[Josef]

I found this helmet on a site found it kinda interesting never seen anything like it from that age.



some info from the site :

Museum Quality Replica of Cretan Full size Helmet Ancient Greek life size helmet from the island of Crete, dated 1100 B.C., the Minoan era. Height : 9 1/2 in. (24 cm) Material : 100 % bronze. Weight : 12 lbs (5 1/2 kg).

If anyone knows more , share your info pls

[hoplite14gr]

1100 BC :?: :!: hock: hock: hock: Was the author on drugs or something?

There are 2 known Corinthian helmets s minus nose-guard found in Crete.
One in Herakleion and one in New York and they are dated roughly 7th century B.C.


Kind regards

[Gaius Decius Aquilius]

I just got a hard to find copy of Early Cretan Armorers, 1972, by Herbert Hoffmann. It has 60 high quality plates. Five helmets are detailed. Four of the type resembling a Corinthian, and one described below. Most examples come from Afrati in south central Crete, and are found associated with "mitra" abdominal plates. The one you show above is loosely based on "The Axos Helmet", which seems to date to 640, as do the Afrati finds. The actual construction is in three pieces; a right and left side, and a brow plate. The embossing of the Pegasus, in the Axos case, and other embossed designs in all the others, is mainly accomplished by the fact that the helmet is made in two halves. The brow plate protects the seam going down the middle. The Axos helmet brow plate has an almost nordic serpent inscribed on it, that matches one inscribed on an Argos type breastplate of the same date, the serpent following the line dividing the pectoral muscles from the abdomen. The lower edge of this type helmet type seems always to have a an inscribed lower edge of a ship motif with the lower part resembling a scale. The Axos helmet has a twisted cable design on the edge of the face aperture. Others only have a outward rolled edge.

Hoffman regards the resemblance to the Corinthian as superficial. The bronze is thinner than the Corinthian but is harder, and more expertly worked. The construction is robust and articulate despite being made in two halves. The design and decorative elements seem to be unique to manufacture in Crete, despite examples found at Olympus. The lower rim is almost always flat, and the chin terminals project further forward from the brow plate in all noted cases. Most if not all examples have rossets on the brow plate ends and on the chin terminals. An unpublished example was found in the southern Peleponnesus and seems to be associated with the second Messenian War. A figure of Athena from Kythera shows a similar helmet.

Also, Hoffman believes a contemporary second Cretan helmet type, the "Insular" is one developed first from from Cyprus, and ultimately from Urartu. This is the same point of influence that the Argos helmet (Kegelhelm) seems to originate from also. The Second Cretan type is made in two parts with an integral very high crest, and open rimed face and seems to be an early stylistic relative to the "Illyrian". Both Snodgrass and Hoffman think these designs were influenced from originally from Cyprus, and the Corinthian was native to the Argolid. One partial "Insular" has so far been found and is illustrated in Connolly. A second appeared in a 2005 Southby's auction, and a crest of a third in a 2000 excavation in eastern Crete. There is a thread a while back on Cretan armor that has a lot of images of these helmets. (I am having one made for me BTW, by Manning Imperial. Due in July.) The one you show is cast in two pieces, and then welded before final polish and antiqued, and I think is way to heavy. The style does seem to last form maybe 700 to 600. The 1100 date is way off as Hoplite14gr notes.

Gaius Decius Aquilius (Roman mood)
or
LYKAON (Greek mood)
otherwise
Ralph Izard

[Josef]

ok interesting i will look up those other cretan armors too , i found this helmet interesting because it looks a bit before its time

[DanM]

this is the minoan era?

[Paullus]

this is the minoan era?

A little more recent than that, I'm afraid, by about 900 to 1000 years, well into the Archaic Period. There is a website that features some old Minoan helmets, with art created by a member of the Bronze Age Center forum.

Here you go: http://www.salimbeti.com/micenei/

[Arthes]

On the site that Paullus posted the link for, there are similar kranoi classed as MMIII, which is around 1600bce...maybe where the comparison came from..
Helms about 2/3 down..

[Josef]

there must have been allot of boars in greece back then since they seem too include boar tusks in every armament

[hoplite14gr]

100% Tusks were probably given to the nobility.
Rank and file might have used processed carved boar bones.
All preserved example come from "upper-class" burials.

And you are right flora and fauna was substantially different.
Kind regards

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

Josef,I think the helmet you posted was from the Hellenic Art site?Don't trust them,as Stefanos said,similar helmets are from around 7th c.Also,the helmet is cast and extremely heavy,if you thought of buying it.This is a corinthian without nasal,it's a hoplite's helmet(well this particular is nothing actually :lol: )
Khaire
Giannis

[Josef]

Hi Gianni nah i never thought of buying it , it just looked cool i found it on this site http://www.aurorahistoryboutique.com