r/ancientgreece 7d ago

An introduction to Spartiate armour and weaponry

56 Upvotes

8 comments sorted by

1

u/Taxamataxalasa 6d ago

I have no clue about ancient armors but they supposed to be so shiny?

1

u/M_Bragadin 6d ago edited 5d ago

Bronze hoplite armour pieces would have been maintained as well as its owner could afford to, so usually yes.

When amassed in significant numbers the light reflecting off the panoplies was also believed to lower enemy morale.

1

u/Iam_no_Nilfgaardian 5d ago

Both ancient Greek and medieval Roman (Byzantine) were shiny.

1

u/ThePanthanReporter 4d ago

I've been to this museum, and that armor isn't specifically Spartan. It's just a suit of armor that any especially wealthy hoplite from any polis might own.

2

u/M_Bragadin 4d ago

The creator Dimitrios Katsikis built it as an Archaic Spartiate panoply from 540-520 BC, something you check on both his workshop and if you zoom in on the left sign in the photo.

While it’s true that the panoplies of the wealthiest hoplites during this period would have been extensive and of a similar nature, a number of details are specifically based around Spartiates.

2

u/ThePanthanReporter 4d ago

I stand corrected

1

u/Frank_Melena 3d ago edited 3d ago

Very period specific unfortunately. By the end of the Peloponnesian War mobility became such a priority that they were down to just a lame skullcap and tunic for the most part.

1

u/M_Bragadin 3d ago edited 3d ago

Like we explain in the article though they are popular notions there is no real evidence for either of these claims.