the Corinthian helmet a marvel of
ancient Greek history ancient Greece the
Corinthian helmet is one of the most
iconic designs from ancient Greece
taking its name from the city-state of
Corinth it was the most popular helmet
widely used by Greek hoplites all over
Greece from the eighth century BC to the
early fifth century BC Corinth located
in the Peloponnesian region of Greece
was occupied as early as 3000 BC the
city-state was known in ancient times
for his rivalry with Athens both
politically and militarily this rivalry
was particularly apparent during the
Peloponnesian War from 431 to 400 BC
during which corinth joined forces with
sparta to fight against the athenians
Greek soldiers including Corinthian
soldiers were known as hoplites hoplites
were heavily armored foot soldiers who
were normally aged between 18 and 20 and
were ordinary Greek citizens this meant
that they lacked the military training
of professional soldiers such as those
in the Roman army however they made up
for the lack of professional military
training with their war formations
weapons and armor the most unique piece
of armor in their panoply ax or suit of
armor was their helmet known as the
Corinthian helmet through references
used by the ancient Greek author and
poet Homer the Corinthian helmet was
critical to the survival of the hoplites
in battle crafted just using a single
sheet of solid bronze by Greek artisans
the helmet itself covered almost the
entire head most commonly only leaving
gaps for the eyes nose and mouth
which formed a t-shaped aperture
this combined with its heaviness made
wearing it in the heat of spring and
summer months extremely uncomfortable
even though there were holes for the
eyes because of the design of the helmet
vision and hearing was restricted while
this would have been inconvenient and
possibly even a death sentence for a
normal soldier hoplites operated in a
phalanx the phalanx is tight formation
made the Corinthian helmet effective as
the hoplite was supported on all sides
by the other soldiers leaning hearing
and peripheral vision could be
restricted when not in battle the helmet
was worn raised on the crown of the head
something that was so well established
that it became a decorative feature an
Italian Corinthian helmets later on
Corinthian helmets were often decorated
with crests made from horsehair and
these were dyed different colors this
would increase the sensation of ferocity
and aggressiveness intimidating the
enemy it can also help absorb strikes
from the enemy but it made the overall
helmet more unstable the helmets could
also be decorated with geometric
engravings and paint as well as this the
helmet interior was sometimes padded
with leather felt or sponge for the
comfort of the hoplite as the
Corinthians improved their military
strength the Corinthian helmet was
further developed to be more effective
in all types of combat situations the
newly improved helmet featured a more
open design with improved eyesight and
ear holes for hearing the cheek guards
were elongated so now they protected the
neck and throat due to the expense of
the Greek armor and the fact that most
soldiers were average citizens most
hoplites only had Corinthian helmets and
shields to protect themselves from the
5th century BC onward the Corinthian
helmet gave way to new designs such as
the Thracian helmet the Cal Citian
helmet and the pilos these designs
emphasized better vision and hearing
over the protective features of the
Corinthian design
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