Illyrian type helmet

Bronze helmet of Illyrian type, Argolis (6th–5th centuries BC).

The Illyrian type helmet, or simply Illyrian helmet,[note 1] is a style of bronze helmet, which in its later variations covered the entire head and neck, and was open-faced in all of its forms.[5] It is thought to have originated in the Peloponnese, ancient Greece,[6] and was developed during the 8th and 7th centuries BC (700–640 BC).[5][7][8] Accurate representations on Corinthian vases are sufficient to indicate that the Illyrian type helmet was developed before 600 BC.[9]

The Illyrian type helmet became popular in the western Balkans by the 5th and 4th centuries BC. It received its archaeological name due to the concentration of finds in the region of Illyria.[10] It was used by a variety of ancient peoples, including the ancient Greeks, the Illyrians, with whom it is most associated, and the ancient Macedonians; its use has also been documented among the Scythians and the Etruscans.

Archaeology

According to archaeological evidence, the Illyrian type helmet evolved from the Kegelhelm (or Kegel type) of the Archaic Period found in Argos.[5] The earliest Illyrian type helmets were developed in a workshop located in the northwestern Peloponnese (possibly Olympia), although the first Type II Illyrian helmets were created in Corinthian workshops.[7] The first Type III helmets were created in workshops situated somewhere on the Illyrian coast of the Adriatic.[11] The Illyrian type helmet did not obstruct the wearer's critical senses of vision though the first two varieties hampered hearing. There were four types of these helmets and all were open faced:

  • Type I (c. 700–640 BC) left the neck unprotected and hampered hearing.
  • Type II (c. 600 BC) offered neck protection and again hampered hearing.
  • Type III (c. 550 BC) offered neck protection and allowed better hearing.
  • Type IV (c. 500 BC) was similar to Type III but hearing was not impaired at all.

Usage

The Illyrian helmet was used by a variety of ancient peoples, including the ancient Greeks, the Illyrians, with whom it is most associated, and the ancient Macedonians.[13][14] Its use has also been documented among the Scythians and the Etruscans.[15][16] The helmet is thought to have originated in the Peloponnese during the 8th-7th century BC and later spread to Illyria and other non-Greek regions.[2][17]

According to Rastko Vasić, during the second phase of the helmets, spanning from the late 7th to much of the 6th century BC, they spread to Macedonia, where they were produced in large quantities. The transitional period, in the late 6th and early 5th centuries BC, was characterized by important diversification in form, with the helmets remaining common in Macedonia. In their late phase, during the 5th century BC, Illyrian helmets reached the height of their production and popularity, being widely used in Macedonia and in the western Balkans. During their final developmental phase, in the 4th century BC, they also occurred in significant numbers in the western Balkans.[13]

According to Hermann Pflug and Vasić, the workshops which produced these helmets for the western Balkans were in the Greek colonies on the Adriatic, such as the Corinthian–Corcyraean colonies of Epidamnos and Apollonia;[13][18] or either in Greece according to Pflug.[18] Vasić questioned whether these two workshops could have met the growing demand during the second half of the 5th and the 4th centuries BC, and hypothesized that other workshops may have been involved. He refers to Diodorus' account of Dionysius I of Syracuse sending 500 panoplies to the Illyrians in 385 BC in return for their military assistance against Greek cities. Although Diodorus does not specify the type of helmets included, Vasić considers it possible that some of them were probably of Illyrian type, suggesting that Syracuse served as a potential South Italian workshop. Pflug suggested a similar hypothesis, however, both Pflug and Vasić concluded that more evidence was needed.[13] According to Andreas Lippert and Joachim Matzinger, the variants of helmet type III may have been produced in the workshops of Epidamnos and Apollonia, where they may have been adapted to the preferences of the local tribes or local elite warrior groups. They observe that the decorated variants III A 1 and III A 2 occur predominantly in Dalmatia, while the morphologically distinct types III B and III A 3 are mainly represented in Albania and Macedonia. However, they emphasize that direct archaeological evidence for weapon workshops producing the Illyrian helmets is still lacking.[19] According to Jason R. Abdale, it is unclear whether the Illyrians imported these helmets or manufactured them natively, and suggests that both practices occurred.[14]

A variety of the helm had also spread to Italy based on its appearance on ivory reliefs and on a silver bowl at the "Bernardini" tomb at Praeneste.[9] The helmet became obsolete in most parts of Greece in the early 5th century BC. Its use in Illyria had ended by the 4th century BC.[20]

Although examples have been discovered across southeastern Europe and on both sides of the Danube, the later variants of the Illyrian type helmet are particularly well represented in the region that later became the Roman province of Illyricum. This distribution suggests that the helmet underwent important regional development there, and it also came to serve as a marker of elite status and high social rank.[21]

References

Notes

  1. ↑ There are various names which scholars have given to this type of helmet. Besides the widespread "Illyrian"[1] or "Illyrian type", the terms "Greco-Illyrian", "Greek-Illyrian" or "Macedonian-Illyrian" have also been used.[2] There were also proposals for alternative names, such as "Greek-Macedonian" by Pasko Kuzman (2006), and "Paionian" by Viktorija Sokolovska (1997).[3] Rastko Vasić argues that the term Illyrian is the most widely used designation and considers it the most suitable. He notes that it is concise, practical, and leaves no ambiguity as to the type of helmet being discussed.[4]

Citations

  1. ↑ Vasić 2010, p. 37: "There are various names, which scholars have given to this type of helmet. The term "Illyrian" is most widespread and I think it is the most suitable. It is short, practical and there is no doubt which shape is in question. On the other hand, all scholars more acquainted with the problem know very well that the Greeks and not the Illyrians invented this helmet and that it was in use in Greece as well as in Macedonia and in Illyrian lands."
  2. 1 2 Barnett 2014, p. 19: "The indigenous groups of the eastern Adriatic appropriated a range of Greek goods, including what have come to be known as 'Greco-Illyrian' (or just 'Illyrian') helmets."
  3. ↑ Blečić 2007, p. 74: "Thanks to new finds and new data, knowledge about the Illyrian helmet has been growing in the last twenty years and its definition is gaining in precision. However, rather a lot of time was needed for scholars, although not all of them, to accept this name predominantly as a territorial designation and less as one specifying a particular ethnicity (...). It must, however, be pointed out that the different terminology reflects the chronological development of knowledge about and analysis of this kind of helmet, changing from Greek-Illyrian, Macedonian-Illyrian, down to Illyrian helmet. On the other hand, outdated terminology is still being used and there are even proposals for a completely new name such as the Paionian (...) or the Greek-Macedonian type of helmet (...)."
  4. ↑ Vasić 2010, p. 37.
  5. 1 2 3 Connolly 1998, p. 60.
  6. ↑ Bardunias & Ray 2016, p. 41: "The basic form of the early kegelhelm did not disappear. A helmet type labeled 'Illyrian' (though actually originating in the Peloponnese) was in continuous use alongside the Corinthian [...]"
  7. 1 2 Treister 1996, pp. 59–62.
  8. ↑ Wilkes 1995, p. 108; Pearce et al. 1998, p. 242.
  9. 1 2 Snodgrass 1964, p. 20.
  10. ↑ Snodgrass 1999, pp. 76, 95: "is the so-called 'Illyrian' helmet, in fact a purely Greek type which perhaps originated somewhere in the Peloponnese in the earlier seventh century" Sekunda 1998, p. 53: "Figure D2, based on a Lakonian warrior statuette from Dodona, wears a helmet of the Illyrian type, so-named because many early finds came from Illyria. However, it is now clear that it was also extremely popular in the Peloponnese, which is the most probable area of origin."
  11. ↑ Treister 1996, p. 65: "The earliest variants of type 3 of the Illyrian helmet, dating primarily to the second half of the 6th century B.C., belong to the production of the workshops situated somewhere on the Illyrian coast of the Adriatic."
  12. ↑ Lippert & Matzinger 2022, p. 66.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Vasić 2010, p. 41.
  14. 1 2 Abdale 2019, p. 52: "However, the helmet most associated with the Illyrians is called, not surprisingly, the Illyrian Helmet ... These helmets first appeared during the seventh century BC and were used until the second century BC ... This helmet design was used throughout the ancient region of Dalmatia. It is unclear if the Illyrians imported these helmets or if they were natively manufactured, but I'm leaning towards the idea that they did both."
  15. ↑ Cernenko, McBride & Gorelik 1983, p. 45.
  16. ↑ Richardson 1983, p. 165: "[...] Etruria to adopt Greek armor, the Cretan or Illyrian helmet and the hoplite shield [...]"
  17. ↑ Snodgrass 1999, p. 52: "Another common form, superficially similar to the 'Insular', is the so-called 'Illyrian' helmet, in fact a purely Greek type which perhaps originated somewhere in the Peloponnese in the earlier seventh century, and only centuries later found its way to Illyria and other barbarian lands."; p. 76
  18. 1 2 Pflug, Hermann (1988). "Illyrische Helme". Antike Helme (in German). Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie. p. 57. ISBN 978-3-88467-019-4.
  19. ↑ Lippert & Matzinger 2022, pp. 66–67.
  20. ↑ Wilkes 1995, p. 241.
  21. ↑ Barnett 2014, p. 19.

Sources

  • Wikimedia Commons logo Media related to Category:Ancient helmets at Wikimedia Commons
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