Spartan helmets: a brief history, different types and their description

Many of us admire the way people lived in Ancient Greece. We like their myths and legends, heroes and wars, in which they participated. We all heard stories about the mighty and invincible Hercules, the long and heroic Trojan War, the bold and clever hero of Theseus and the legendary 300 Spartans. Such admiration for this culture was largely promoted by modern cinema, which removes chic films based on the stories of the Ancient World. Most of us thanks to such cinematographic works can have a clear idea of how the warriors of those times looked. But, unfortunately, not everyone knows why the soldiers of Ancient Greece dressed exactly in this way, for which this or that equipment was intended, why the ancient Greek military headgear was called "Spartan helmets". This is exactly what will be discussed in this article.

Ancient Sparta

Sparta is a militant state that existed on the territory of modern Greece in the period to 146 BC. And was located in the southern part of this country. The basis of the state system was the principle of absolute equality and unity. The main support and economic power of Sparta was its army, which in ancient times was the most battle-worthy in the world.

All men were experienced warriors and served from youth to old age. Sparta did not deal with the economy of the man, because it was considered a black work, which was performed by slaves instead of them. It should be noted that with the latter in this country was particularly cruel treatment: they did not have any rights at all. Interesting is the fact that the slaves of Sparta were only Greeks from the conquered territories, and each of them belonged to the entire Spartan society.

Spartan Warriors

We all have heard the story of King Leonid and his 300 Spartans more than once. On this topic, even filmed several feature films. I want to note that this is, indeed, a reliable historical fact. The courage of the warriors of ancient Sparta went down in history and is known to everyone. Any boy born in this country, from an early age, was subject to strict military education. Such treatment with children further contributed to their physical development, courage and dexterity in battles.

Inaccurate fact

There is a misconception that the Spartan warriors did not have protective clothing. It spread due to the Hollywood film "300 Spartans". In fact, this is not true: each warrior was very well equipped not only with weapons, but also with an impressive protective outfit.

The basis of the Spartan army was the heavily armed infantry - hoplites. Their weapons consisted of a spear, a short sword, a round Spartan shield, which is well recognized all over the world thanks to the Latin letter "lambda" on it. In addition, the soldiers donned armor, leggings and characteristic Spartan helmets. The description of this equipment will be interesting to learn to many, and it will be discussed a little later. In addition to hoplites, the Spartan army also included auxiliary cavalry - the so-called riders, who had no practical significance, as well as archers.

Spartan helmets: characteristic differences of different species

Spartans are one of the first in history to create heavy uniforms for their soldiers, since the main component of their army - hoplites - it was vital. The second place in importance (after, of course, the shields) with confidence took the Spartan helmets. The importance of this element of armor for warriors is difficult to overestimate, because it protects such a vulnerable place as the head. A real spartan helmet was not made by oneself: even at that time, special technologies existed for this.

Throughout Greece, including in Sparta, the Corinthian helmet was distributed.

He perfectly coped with his main task - he protected his head from a spear during equestrian battles, but at the same time such a Spartan helmet, the photo of which can be seen in the article, had its drawbacks. He partially limited vision, which narrowed the review of the soldiers and, closing his ears, significantly lowered their hearing. By the end of the VI century BC. E. There was a Chalcidic type of helmets, in which there was no nasolnik, and in the area of the ears there were special holes. It is worth noting that the strength of this species was inferior to Corinthian helmets, because because they were not solid, the products were easily bent.

Pylos - Spartan helmets

At the same time as the techniques of combat progressed and developed, the uniforms of soldiers naturally changed. When popularity began to gain Lakon tactics of warfare, the soldiers needed to hear the trumpet, the buzzer of which marked the beginning of the battle. Acute vision and good hearing were extremely important. That is why the helmets were mutated. In place of the Corinthian pilots came helmet. This prototype was a hat, which was made of felt material and had a conical shape.

Over time, a bronze helmet appeared that completely repeated the shape of the felt cap, but from some ancient Greek records, it can be concluded that this species did not quite cope with its protective function because it was not very strong.

The most beautiful spartans helmets

The most spectacular and beautiful Spartan helmets are those that were decorated with feathers or crests of horse or human hair. The first image of such a Spartan helmet was depicted on ancient Greek vases, which date back to the VI century. BC. These helmets are most often shown in thematic films.