Turning to the topic of reconstructing the weapons of bronze warriors, it is easy to see that … here historians and reenactors, one might say, were very lucky that the people of that time were pagans and put everything that surrounded them in this world to their dead in their graves. Here the Christian knights were buried dressed in a shroud, and what can we say about what kind of weapons they had in the relatively early Middle Ages? The chain mail was torn, the swords were reforged to new, modern designs, so we have to use only miniatures and effigies. From a later time, the armor itself, and their images on miniatures, and the same effigies and brass (flat engravings on copper and brass), which confirm each other, have come down to us, but with the early Middle Ages there is a problem.
But the Bronze Age is much easier to reconstruct. There are a lot of finds here, and the degree of their preservation is very high. And besides, there are many iconographic monuments. And this helps to reconstruct the appearance of the warriors of that era, first to artists, and then to “applied craftsmen”.
"The duel of the Achaean and Trojan warriors." Artist J. Rava.
For example, a drawing by the artist Giuseppe Rava "The Duel of the Achaean and Trojan Warriors." You can argue as much as you like that they could not be barefoot ("the sand is burning"), although the Masai warriors, the bushmen in the Kalahari desert, the Dayaks - "bounty hunters" in Borneo, walk barefoot and somehow manage. But everything else is what it is, what we see and what we can hold on to. Swords, such as the one holding the warrior on the left, are found all over Europe, from Ireland to Bulgaria, and beyond in Palestine, Syria and Egypt. They both found helmets on their heads. Their images were found. Images of shields are available. There is also armor (as many as three!), Like the one worn by the warrior on the right.
"Fresco from Paestum".
The bronze armor of the Samnite warriors from Paestum in Lucania is also clearly visible. It is believed that this fresco can be dated to the 4th century. BC. The warriors wear muscular cuirasses, helmets with cheek pads and butt-pads, and greaves. The helmets are decorated with feathers, the shield is round, the rider has no saddle, no stirrups, no shoes, but he wears an ankle bracelet. The average warrior has loops on the spears - therefore, they were used for throwing.
Achaean armor and helmet (c. 1400 BC). Nafplion Museum. Greece.
Therefore, when the Greek restorer of armor and weapons Katsikis Dimitrios decided to repeat this armor, he had no particular problems. It was enough to go to the Nafplion Museum …
As a result, he got two impressive Mycenaean "warriors" in ancient armor. One in the "armor of Dendra". The other is in the typical "Sea Peoples" weaponry. And both of these sets are very similar to the later knightly armor. However, there is nothing surprising here. Anatomically, humans have not changed. Two arms, two legs, a neck … and how to protect all this to the maximum? The only way!
Impressive "armor" and impressive work!
Compare and see their almost complete authenticity.
But he did not make a helmet for the "armor from Dendra" from boar's tusks, but made it out of leather and covered it with bronze plaques. He himself writes about this helmet as follows: “This is a complex helmet with a tapered cross section. The helmet consists of a bronze dome-shaped rim, on which a shell made of organic materials is firmly attached. The shell is made of linen fabric and covered with leather on top. Eleven bronze discs of various diameters are arranged symmetrically above this organic dome.
Leather helmet for "Dendra armor".
At the top of the helmet is a tapered wooden ponytail bushing. The inside of the helmet has a thick wool lining for better fixation on the head and to effectively absorb the force of blows. In such helmets, their strength and protective abilities are striking, despite the fact that there is no single metal shell on them."
The Helmet of Menelaus is simpler and consists of three bronze plates riveted together. The four horns are painted wood. They give it a frightening appearance, but like knightly "horns" they were fixed loosely so that the blow struck on them could not be transmitted to the cervical vertebrae.
It is interesting that no less interesting armor and helmets are made on the other side of the planet, namely in the USA. Among the reenactors there is Matt Poitras of Austin, Texas. He has been reconstructing armor for 16 years. Among his diverse works, there is also the theme of the Trojan War.
Here, for example, how he, in accordance with the description in the Iliad, recreated the helmet of Odysseus from boar tusks. The base of the helmet is made of leather straps connected at the top. On top of it, there are fangs, drilled and sewn together with a "boot piece". Bronze cuffs and back with fur lining.
This is how it looks from the outside …
And so from the inside
Well, these are all parts of it.
He dressed the most cunning Odysseus in leather armor with metal plates sewn on them and armed with a spear, sword, and equipped with a shield of a characteristic shape.
This photo clearly shows the thickness of the skin of this armor, and the way in which bronze plates are sewn onto the skin.
Matt's sword with a bone hilt is in a sheath trimmed with fur.
And we see the same fur lining for the arm on his shield.
With this shield Matt equipped his "Achilles", whom he dressed in equally solid armor and also in a "maned" Achaean helmet with horns. His cuirass is made according to the type of cuirasses of the "peoples of the sea". Here he did not particularly fantasize, unlike the reconstruction of the armor of Odysseus.
The maned and horned "helmet of Achilles" is very simple in design. It is a bronze hemisphere elongated in the shape of a skull with a riveted crown plate and hinged cheek pads. Horns, of course, although "scary", but also "toy", for beauty.
According to Matt, the armor of that era was multi-layered and it is difficult to argue against this, because it is quite obvious that two or three layers of leather protect better than one, and they do not add much in weight.
As for helmets, they could be made both by casting and forging and also in mixed technology. So, back in Soviet times, a helmet was found in Central Asia, cast entirely of bronze and with walls 3 mm thick. It was noted that it is heavy, but its protective properties are exceptionally great. The Mycenaean armourers could do the same, and even decorating the top of his head with a horse's tail is so obvious that it is clear even without Homer that this could well be!
It should be noted here that Matt's armor was filmed several times in films, although the accuracy of the reconstruction (and above all the material and weight!) In this case did not play any role. The main thing is the appearance, and what is made of what is the tenth thing!
And here, by the way, one can only regret that he was not the one who dressed the participants of the most famous movie about the Trojan War - "Troy" with Brad Pitt in the title role. I will not talk about the movie itself - the critics have already figured it out and expressed their opinions as a work of cinematography. But with regard to armor, it should be noted that they are completely unhistorical and why it is so is unknown. After all, the creators of Troy had two absolutely win-win options: the first was to make a film with the costumes depicted on Greek vases, that is, in the 6th-5th centuries. BC. This would also not be historical, but for many it is recognizable and familiar. The second is to use costumes in the style of the same Matt Poitras, known for vases and frescoes of the Mycenaean era - with characteristic horns, and everything else, which, by the way, could be very effectively beaten. For example, making a helmet for the same Odyssey.
However, the third option was chosen. A certain hybrid has been created with an incomprehensible abundance of small details completely uncharacteristic for that era. Somewhere on another planet … it would be just right, but not on Earth at a time well known to us. Moreover, it is not clear what material they are all made of, because on the screen they are almost all black! The only moment when Achilles' armor looks like copper is a short scene on the ship just before Troad disembarks on land. True, in some episodes lined with "copper shields" flicker, but there are few of them, although the polished copper should have shone there completely.
A still from the movie "Troy". What is it, why, and from what? Why are there so many small and completely unnecessary details? Raise the price of making armor? After all, it’s clear that it’s a “fairy tale”, but you still need to know when to stop.
After all, it was customary to clean copper and bronze armor so that it shone. "Helmet-flashing Hector" - that's how Homer speaks of him! And here there are helmets, armor, and shields (the latter are at least somehow similar to ancient samples, and even then not all of them!), All for some reason are black. And both the Greeks and the Trojans! The main color is dark, there is no shine. But, for example, armor and shields in the Italian film "The exploits of Hercules" (1958). Let it be a fairy tale, but … it looks more real than the "fairy tale" about Troy, filmed in 2004 with completely different possibilities. And … most importantly, the actors still need to be dressed in something, so why not immediately dress them as it should be ?!
A still from the movie "Troy". Achilles' armor was cleaned, but for some reason forgotten?
The author would like to thank Katsikis Dimitrios (https://www.hellenicarmors.gr) and Matt Poitras for the opportunity to use the photographs of the armor they provided (https://www.mpfilmcraft.com/mpfilmcraft/Home.html), as well as the Greek Association Corivantes”(Koryvantes.org), who provided photographs of their reconstructions.
