Boar's tusk helmet
Encyclopedia
Helmets using ivory from boars' tusks were known in the Mycenaean
world from the 17th century BC (Shaft Graves, Mycenae
) to the 10th century BC (Elateia, Central Greece). The helmet was made through the use of slivers of boars tusk
s which were attached to a leather base, padded with felt, in rows. A description of a boar's tusk helmet appears in book ten of Homer
's Iliad
as Odysseus
is armed a night raid to be conducted against the Trojans
.
"Meriones
gave Odysseus a bow, a quiver and a sword, and put a cleverly made leather helmet on his head. On the inside there was a strong lining on interwoven straps, onto which a felt cap had been sewn in. The outside was cleverly adorned all around with rows of white tusks from a shiny-toothed boar, the tusks running in alternate directions in each row." [X, 260-5]
Fragments of ivory which might have come from helmets of this kind have been discovered on Mycenaean sites, and an ivory plaque, also from a Mycenaean site, represents a helmet of this kind. Although they would not provide as good protection as a metal helmet, they may have been worn by some leaders as a status symbol, or a means of identification.
Mycenaean Greece
Mycenaean Greece was a cultural period of Bronze Age Greece taking its name from the archaeological site of Mycenae in northeastern Argolis, in the Peloponnese of southern Greece. Athens, Pylos, Thebes, and Tiryns are also important Mycenaean sites...
world from the 17th century BC (Shaft Graves, Mycenae
Mycenae
Mycenae is an archaeological site in Greece, located about 90 km south-west of Athens, in the north-eastern Peloponnese. Argos is 11 km to the south; Corinth, 48 km to the north...
) to the 10th century BC (Elateia, Central Greece). The helmet was made through the use of slivers of boars tusk
Tusk
Tusks are elongated, continuously growing front teeth, usually but not always in pairs, that protrude well beyond the mouth of certain mammal species. They are most commonly canines, as with warthogs, wild boar, and walruses, or, in the case of elephants and narwhals, elongated incisors...
s which were attached to a leather base, padded with felt, in rows. A description of a boar's tusk helmet appears in book ten of Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
's Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
as Odysseus
Odysseus
Odysseus or Ulysses was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle....
is armed a night raid to be conducted against the Trojans
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
.
"Meriones
Meriones
Meriones may refer to:*Meriones , a hero of the Trojan War.*Meriones , a genus of gerbil that includes the species most commonly kept as a pet....
gave Odysseus a bow, a quiver and a sword, and put a cleverly made leather helmet on his head. On the inside there was a strong lining on interwoven straps, onto which a felt cap had been sewn in. The outside was cleverly adorned all around with rows of white tusks from a shiny-toothed boar, the tusks running in alternate directions in each row." [X, 260-5]
Fragments of ivory which might have come from helmets of this kind have been discovered on Mycenaean sites, and an ivory plaque, also from a Mycenaean site, represents a helmet of this kind. Although they would not provide as good protection as a metal helmet, they may have been worn by some leaders as a status symbol, or a means of identification.