So the series of articles on the weapons of the era of the Trojan War has come to an end and … somehow even unusually a little. Something seems to be missing? At one time I wanted to write a book about it all - why, by the way, the cycle was born so quickly that much was already ready, but in one of the most famous publishers I was told that "the topic is narrow, and the book will be expensive." Therefore, it makes no sense to print. But, thanks to VO, she nevertheless found her reader, although … and in a rather crude form. As I worked on the materials for the cycle, I myself learned a lot, met interesting people, so this work was not only interesting, but also useful. Someone even asked me if it was possible to make a Ph. D. thesis on this material. You can, but not worth it! But the graduate work for a student of history can be done quite well.
A duel of two warriors with a spear and a "mace with a hook". Photo by Andreas Smaragdis.
At the end of any monograph, a list of references is usually placed. There will be difficulties with this, because much was taken not from books, but from sites, including Greek and English ones. One of the articles named the last books of the Osprey publishing house. Whoever needs it - he can easily find them on the website of this publishing house and order. But it’s impossible without literature.
Drawings of warriors by artist J. Rava with all their advantages and disadvantages.
Therefore, here is a list of books that British historians recommend on this topic. From this list, I happened to read books numbered 3, 4, 6, 10 and 11 and I can say that they, especially Connolly's book, were not recommended in vain. So if someone decided to devote himself to the study of this topic, then … the foundation for this he has a solid plus links to the sites of the society "Corivantes" and Matt Poitras. They have great photos that they are always ready to share. You can also write to Corivantes and offer them your article on a related topic. For example, "Bronze Weapon of Kerch", "Colchis of the Ancient Kolkhs", "Warriors of the Golden Fleece". True, you need to write in English. You can also translate through Google translator, but then be sure to re-read and correct mistakes, because they will be in every sentence !!! You can get acquainted with our domestic archaeological material on this topic, in addition to the already named 20-volume edition, in the journals "Soviet Archeology" and "Archeology of Russia", as well as in the journal "Rodina".
Mycenaean warriors of the XII century. BC. c. Artist J. Rava.
But there is a lot of work to be done and this topic cannot be taken up with a "cavalry swoop". However, we are people, we love difficulties, so if someone is suddenly "tempted", then I am always "for". Well, and the books - here they are - read:
1. Astrom, Paul. The Cuirass Tomb and Other Finds at Dendra, Part I: The Chamber Tombs. Studies in Mediterranean Archeology, Vol. IV. Goteborg, Sweden, 1977. ISBN 91 85058 03 3. (Astrom, Paul. Tomb of the Cuirass and Other Finds at Dendra. Part I: Chamber Tombs. Research in Mediterranean Archeology. Volume IV. Gothenburg, Sweden, 1977. ISBN 85058 03 3. Excellent photographs of every piece of armor, including many close-ups, drawings, and descriptions. Not to mention all the pottery and other items found in Dendra's tombs!)
2. Avila, Robert A. J. Bronzene Lanzen- und Pfeilspitzen der Griechischen Spaetbronzezeit (Praehistorische Bronzefunde, Abteilung V, Band 1). Munich: C. H. Beck'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung. Text in German. https://www.antikmakler.de/catalog/index.php. (The series is not cheap and can be difficult to find, but there are scaled blueprints for weapons and more.)
2. Barber, Martyn. Bronze and the Bronze Age: Metalwork and Society in Britain c. 2500-800 BC. Stroud: Tempus Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0-7524-2507-2. (Barber Martyn. Bronze and Bronze Age: Metalwork and British Society 2500-800 BC Strode. Tempus Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0-7524-2507-2.
3. Connolly, Peter. The Ancient Greece of Odysseus. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-19-910532-4. (Connolly, Peter. An Ancient Greece Odyssey. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN number 0-19-910532-4. Full of excellent information, richly illustrated. Price $ 12!
4. Dickinson, Oliver. The Aegean Bronze Age. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994. ISBN 0 521 45664 9. Not exactly a light read, but a good overview of the subject. (Dickinson, Oliver. Aegean Bronze Age. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994. ISBN number 0 521 45664 9. It is difficult to read, but it gives a qualitative overview of the topic).
5. Drews, Robert. The End of the Bronze Age: Changes in Warfare and the Catastrophe of 1200 B. C. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993. ISBN 0-691-04811-8. (Dreis Robert. The End of the Bronze Age: Changes in the Art of Martial and the Catastrophe of 1200 BC Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton University Press, 1993. ISBN 0-691-04811-8. The author draws attention to the many flaws of modern science, but many English historians consider it superficial. Obviously, this is a kind of British Fomenko, and those who criticize him are "traditional conspirators").
6. Grguric, Nicolas. The Mycenaeans, c. 1650-1100 BC. Osprey Elite Series # 130. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2005. ISBN 1-84176-897-9. (Grgurik, Nicholas. The Mycenaeans, 1650-1100 BC. Osprey. Elite Series # 130. Oxford. 2005. ISBN 1-84176-897-9. Illustrator Angus McBride. Like all Osprey books, it is too short. But there are beautiful illustrations, interesting photos.
7. Harding, A. F. European Societies in the Bronze Age. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. ISBN 0 521 36729 8 (Harding, A. A. European Societies in the Bronze Age. Caembridge, Cambridge University Press, 2000. ISBN 0 521 36729 8)
8. James, Peter. Centuries of Darkness. London: Jonathan Cape, 1991. ISBN 0-224-02647-X. (James, Peter. Ages of Darkness. London: Jonathan Cape, 1991. ISBN 0-224-02647-X. Another British Fomenko! Now do you understand where our ears grow? and that the chronology of the three continents is clearly “spoiled” by Manetho's Egyptian “royal list.” Now, all dates up to 950 BC can be reduced by at least 250 years. 2500 …)
9. Osgood, RIchard; Monks, Sarah; and Toms, Judith. Bronze Age Warfare. Sutton Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-7509-2363-6.
10. Wood, Michael. In Search of the Trojan War. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998. ISBN 0-520-21599-0. (Wood, Michael. In Search of the Trojan War. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998. ISBN 0-520-21599-0. An excellent, balanced story of the discovery of Troy and the debate about truth and legend.)
11. Yadin, Yigael. The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1963. (Yadin, Yigael. The Art of War in Biblical Lands. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1963. Two-volume edition focused on the Middle East and Egypt, but also applies to other cultures, beginning in the Neolithic Filled with illustrations, fascinating analysis of old texts. But the book is interesting not only because of this, but also because everyone has forgotten it, so it is especially interesting to use it as a source).
One of the site visitors (I apologize, but there is no time to search for who exactly from the comments) expressed a desire to find out about Achaean axes and other types of their exotic weapons. At that time, answering his comment, I did not find this information, but now the matter is different. Here is information from the website of the Corivantes society about the weapon they themselves consider exotic.
“There is a stereotype that Homeric heroes are well-armored warriors with swords and spears, fighting among themselves in duels or in formations similar to primitive phalanxes. Some of them were exceptional archers using compound bows, such as Paris and Odysseus, but the arsenal of warriors at the time was much richer. Archaeological finds in Egypt, the territories of the Mitanni, Hittites and Sumerians allow us to imagine a wide variety of "exotic" types of weapons, such as: ball-top maces, disc-top maces, sickle swords, two-pronged spears, etc. Well, first of all, these are the axes, which the Mycenaeans used quite widely. Axes in the shape of a crescent were widespread, and axes with a blade in the shape of a platypus beak were also known.
The Minoans were also familiar with double axes (and in the cult film "Troy" it is even shown how one such ax is loaded onto a cart with weapons), but there are a lot of arguments that these axes are ritual and not combat ones. Using a battleaxe (either with one hand or with two hands) requires a lot of swing, and it is clear that plate armor such as the "Dendra Armor" was designed to withstand them. And, by the way, axes were also widely used against Byzantine cataphracts and Western European medieval knights.
The Menelaus is fully armed.
It is a fact that Homer very briefly (and rarely) describes some unusual (and less noble) weapons like axes and maces (Iliad 7.138). Meanwhile, it is known that a variety of materials (iron, bronze, stone) were used for their manufacture, depending on the social status and financial capabilities of the warrior.
Homer makes an excellent reference to weapons like the aksini. It was used by the soldier of Troy, who attacked Menelaus, who, however, killed this soldier (Iliad 13, 613). The word axini is used even today in modern Greek to describe an agricultural tool like a pickaxe. But we can assume that such tools were used as weapons by poor warriors, and this assumption can be fully accepted, since it is better to have such weapons than none. Interestingly, the Kanellopoulos Museum in Athens displays an interesting artifact dating from the 9th century. BC. It is a heavy hammer with a long "horn", just like a pickaxe. If it were a weapon of that era, then it was clearly designed to pierce heavy armor or grab the enemy by clothing.
Double ax by Katsikis Dimitrios.
Another weapon was a heavy, double-tipped spear. There is an assumption that it was a device for hunting large sea animals, for example, dolphins or swordfish, but, of course, they could easily pierce a person!"
Ax in a leather case, the work of Katsikis Dimitrios.
This concludes our cycle on weapons and armor of the era of the Trojan War, which can be considered complete: "the last song of the poem" is over.
Members of the Corivantes Association in their robes and armor.
The author would like to thank Katsikis Dimitrios (https://www.hellenicarmors.gr) and the Greek Koryvantes Association (koryvantes.org) for providing photographs of their reconstructions and information.
Warrior with a "mace with a hook". Greek History Association "Korivantes".
