The life of the Greek armoured soldier (hoplite) was a brutal one. Rich enough to afford his own breastplate, leg-guards, helmet, sword and shield (hoplos), he was at least spared the indignities of having to row the long trireme ships used in naval warfare, or from the risks of being a lightly-armed skirmisher. All that being said, the hoplite was at the sharp end of any Greek military campaign. The main military formation, the phalanx, involved standing shoulder to shoulder with your comrades, your shield covering your neighbour’s body more than your own, and holding a large spear over your shoulder with which to jab at your opponent. Encased in the Corinthian helmet – a helmet which covered the crown of the head, the neck, and the cheeks, with only small slits for the eyes and mouth – one could barely hear the orders being shouted down the line. Peripheral vision was virtually non-existent, all you could see was the mass of men charging towards you. As the shields of the two phalanxes clashed, bones were shattered, the front lines were crushed, bronze clashed, and spears pierced. On first contact, front line troops generally lost their spears, the shafts of which splintered in their hands, and were forced to draw their bronze swords, hacking and slashing in a sea of hands and arms and faces. In the ensuing melee, the injuries were brutal, and men often died of their wounds on the battlefield. Hemmed in by the advancing armies on both sides, and interlocked with your compatriots on either side, retreat was not an option.

There were very few military innovations that sought to alleviate this brutality. For the whole of Greek history, beyond Alexander, the military formations remained the same. They had worked, after all, against the 100,000 Persians who invaded the Greek mainland in 499 BC. But, to the relief of many hoplites, a change in helmet did occur. The encompassing Corinthian helmet was replaced across the course of the Sixth and Fifth Centuries BC by the Chalcidian design. The Chalcidian helmet owed much to the Corinthian design, with a high crown (to deflect blows to the head without causing concussion), a flap at the back to protect the neck, cheek flaps and a nose guard. But there was significantly less metalwork around the face. While this sacrificed protection, it increased visibility and audibility of the battlefield around the hoplite. The cheek flaps were hinged, so that the soldier could lift them when not in the heat of battle to receive orders, or simply to cool his face. The hinges also meant that a soldier could pull them tightly to his face for closer protection. This exceptional Chalcidian helmet is a beautifully preserved example of the genre. With a tall ovoid crown, which is delineated by a ridge, it strikes a dramatic silhouette. The brows and nose guard are reinforced by folding the metal over, and the cheek flaps curve to two points. The original hinges are still in place. The rear of the neck flap is curved up to guide glancing blows away from the back. The ear holes are small, but represent a considerable advancement from Corinthian helmets. The quality of the metalworking is high, with the entire crown and neck hammered from a single bronze sheet.

The Chalcidian helmet played an essential role for the heavily armed troops of the major Athenian expeditions of the fifth and fourth centuries, as well as in the Peloponnesian War (though the Spartans favoured the much plainer conical pilos helmet). It was probably this helmet that was on the head of the Macedonians when they came to conquer the Mediterranean World, and it was the Chalcidian helmet that inspired the Attic helmet that was favoured by the Roman generals who dominated the whole of Europe. This one, small, innovation gave a critical advantage on the battlefield, ensuring the success of Hellenic troops both in their own domestic wars and as mercenaries. It was these mercenaries, in their Chalcidian helmets, who held the balance of power in much of the Fourth Century BC, determining the fates of Egypt, Persia, and many others.

References: similar Chalcidian helmets can be found in Baltimore (Walters Art Museum 54.2468), and in Mougins (Museé d’Art Classique de Mougins MMoCA484).