THE WORLD OF THE GREEKS

Armour and Weapons

SHEFTON MUSEUM

Greeks
Index

About
the Greeks

Greeks in the
Museum

Greek Life

Greek Myths
and Beliefs

Games
and Quizzes

Contact us

Greek cities spent a lot of their time fighting each other. There were a large number of cities in Greece, each of which needed to defend itself from its neighbours. This meant that cities often had to go to war to protect themselves. Greek cities did not have armies of full-time soldiers. Instead, all the men in the city had to fight in the army, and had to pay for all their own armour and weapons.

The Greek poet Homer describes battles in the Trojan War. Greek and Trojan heroes fought each other in chariots, and their servants and the ordinary soldiers fought on foot.

This piece of Mycenaen pottery has picture of a charioteer (you can see the reins and part of the chariot wheel at the bottom of the picture.

These weapons might have been like those used in the Trojan War. The sword blade (top) has a short blade and a spike so that it could be fitted onto a hand-grip. The spear head (bottom) could be fitted onto a wooden shaft.

teacher.jpg (2987 bytes) Later on, Greeks fought in a very different way. Soldiers now fought in a strict battle line, standing in rows. They wore heavy armour which protected them very well when they fought as a group, but not if they were split up. They were called 'hoplites' after the shields they carried (called a 'hoplon').


Corinthian helmet	Illyrian helmet

Here are two different kinds of Greek helmet, made of bronze. One of them covered the whole head, apart from the eyes and mouth.

The other had flaps of bronze to cover the soldier's cheeks and the back of his neck but did not cover his face and ears. The ridge across the top was where the soldier would attach a plume made of horse's hair. There were other types of helmet - some of these are shown on our Arms and Armour pages.

As well as helmets, Greek soldiers also wore breastplates made of bronze to cover their chest and back. Sometimes these would be large enough to completely cover the body of the soldier. Other armour was made of leather, with a small bronze breastplate - like this - stitched onto it. If you look carefully, you can see a line of holes around the edge. These were so that the bronze plates could be stitched to its backing which held the armour together.

Greek soldiers wore bronze leg guards, which protected their legs from the knee down to the ankle. It is shaped to fit the leg - you can see the shape of a knee at the top. It was not fastened behind the leg. It is open down the back and was put on by pulling this opening apart clipping it round the leg. The bronze is springy enough for it to stay in place without a fastening. The Greeks were smaller than modern people, and this leg guard is made for somebody about 5' 4" tall.

Here are some pictures of Greek soldiers.

In one picture, the man is about to leave to go to war, and the woman is handing him his shield. A Greek soldier carried a shield big enough to cover most of his body. Shields were often decorated with pictures. This one is painted with a picture of Pegasus, the mythological winged horse. The other pot is decorated with a picture of three soldiers. They are carrying shields and spears.

dinos.jpg (34442 bytes) This is a picture of a battle. The soldier on foot is carrying a shield and spear and wears a breastplate. The other soldier is driving a chariot.

teacher.jpg (2987 bytes)

Greeks in the Museum