CORINTHIAN HELMET (IR80632)
KEY FEATURES: * High carbon steel * Replicates an original * Perfect for the collector or reenactor
MEASUREMENTS: DIMENSIONS: 23" x 9" x 8" CIRCUMFERENCE: 26.5 WEIGHT: 6 lbs

THE CORINTHIAN HELMET
The design of the helmets used in Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece varied through time. The Corinthian helmet was at first standardised and was a very successful design. The Corinthian helmet originated in ancient Greece and took its name from the city-state of Corinth. Out of combat, a Greek hoplite would wear the helmet tipped upward for comfort. This practice gave rise to a series of variant forms in Italy, where the slits were almost closed, since the helmet was no longer pulled over the face but worn cap-like. Although the classical Corinthian helmet fell out of use among the Greeks in favour of more open types, the Italo-Corinthian types remained in use until the 1st century AD, being used, among others, by the Roman army.

The Corinthian helmet was depicted on more sculpture than any other helmet; it seems the Greeks romantically associated it with glory and the past. The Romans also revered it, from copies of Greek originals to sculpture of their own. Later variants included the Chalcidian helmet, a lightened version of the Corinthian helmet, and the very simple Pilos helmet worn by the later Spartan hoplites. The crests on the helmet differed for each city-state. The Thracian helmet had a huge visor to further increase protection. In later periods, linen breastplates called linothorax were used, as they were tougher and cheaper to make.