The Most Popular Ancient Greek Helmets

If you are looking to be a Greek soldier for an adult Halloween costume party, or are in to SCA combat or reenactments, or just need a costume for a play or movie production, then you the Greek helmet is one of the most important parts of the whole set. This article discusses the different types of Greek helmets and which ones might the best choice for you. While brick and mortar stores don't carry a whole lot of replica helmets, there are many specialty online retail stores that do.

What do you think of when someone says "Greek Helmet"? The first thing that pops into your head is a picture of a Spartan soldier, complete with a red cape, round, bronze shield, long spear, and a bronze or brass helmet with the ever-so popular plume. Fortunately, stores have recognized this fact and this type of helmet is widely carried online and in brick-and-mortar stores. Commonly names as the Italic Corinthian helmet or just plainly a Spartan helmet, this replica will be a great addition to your collection. What you'll most likely see are three types of helmets: a brass helmet with tan or red plume, a black helmet with a tan plume, or a silver (plain metal) helmet with a tan plume.

Each of these will work just fine as a Spartan or Greek helmet. However, you may be surprised to hear that none of these was historically the actual helmet common Spartan soldiers wore. Most Spartans wore helmets that were quite plain and had no plume. They were characterized by two long cheek guards and a slit in between them for breathing. Though they were historically made out of bronze or brass, today's replicas will be made out of steel or brass.

Another popular Greek helmet is the Hoplite helmet. The Hoplite was a common soldier for the Greek armor and they carried the recognizable white round shield and a long spear. They were excellent for repelling cavalry and charges by soldiers. However, being not very maneuverable, they were vulnerable to attacks in the rear. The hoplite helmet usually has a tan or whitish color plume. Often times it was made into a braided pony tail at the end of the plume.

The main thing to remember when looking at Greek helmets is that many of them look very similar. This is most likely a good thing when you are doing your historical research or are looking for a helmet to purchase. Even if you accidently buy a helmet that is not quite historically accurate, your helmet will look similar enough to the others that the general populace will not know the difference.

All in all, finding the classic Greek helmet is a matter of research and visiting many web stores and history sites. Many of the helms you'll find are about the same design, so you'll get the general idea as to what the different types of Greek helmets are. Of course, some of the best ways to research Greek history is reading articles and news snippets on major websites and in encyclopedias. After that you may try visiting web stores to find the most historically accurate Greek Helmet.

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Comments

Sat, 2 May 2009 at 5:27 AM, by Lorrie
The author may know his history but he is a horrible businessman. I bought a helmet and had trouble getting a refund when I returned it because it didn't look like the photograph I never received my shipping expenses. I wouldn't go to their website again.

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