The Helmet (Kranos), Crest, and Lining

By Andrew Yamato

Along with the aspis and the dory, a bronze kranos completes the triumvirate of essential Greek panoply. Greaves, armor, sword, sandals — perhaps even clothing itself — was optional, but without these three fundamental elements, a hoplite simply wasn’t a hoplite.

*A “Hermione” Corinthian with a woven leather crest made by Daniyal Steel Craft (DSC) based on a prototype by Giannis Kadoglou.*

*An Archaic Corinthian made by Adam Maziar with a woven leather crest made by me (instructions below).*

*An Illyrian made by Adam Maziar with a woven leather crest made by me (instructions below).*

How to Buy a Greek Helmet

Purchasing a Greek helmet can be intimidating. A wide variety of helmets were worn over the centuries of hoplite warfare that we portray, each with a specific timeline (and occasionally, a specific geography) that must be consistent with one’s larger impression. Once a historical helmet type has been chosen, the challenge than becomes finding a quality maker. There are a very few western artisans who produce beautiful custom work, but their prices are high and wait times are long. A number of manufacturers have arisen in Meerut, India to meet the demand for more affordable helmets and armor, including Daniyal Steel Craft (DSC), Lyba Steel Craft, Genius Steel Craft, Historical Recreation Art, and Al Hammd Trading Post. All of these makers are capable of producing quality custom products at excellent prices, but they generally require firm and patient guidance to do so. A number of “standard” off-the-shelf helmets have emerged (e.g. DSC’s Corinthian) which minimize risk, but you’ll want to check measurements very closely, as they tend to run very large.

It is highly recommended that you post about what you’re looking for on the IHOP before commissioning anything. There is a wealth of experience there to assist you in making the right choices. Do NOT purchase anything on eBay or Etsy as many of the sellers there use stolen photos to advertise garbage.

The Corinthian Helmet

The iconic Corinthian is by far the most common helmet type, both in terms of artistic representation and surviving artifacts. It is likely that its ancient popularity derived from its enclosed shape, but then as now, its appeal surely ran deeper than mere protection; it was also a mask, stoically transforming the wearer’s fear into his opponent’s terror.

The Corinthian evolved over centuries of use, from crudely riveted 8th century examples to sinuously refined works of 5th century art hammered from a single sheet of bronze. It appears to have declined in popularity following The Persian Wars (490-479 BCE), although it remained an artistic motif and an icon of tradition famously worn by later leaders like Pericles. The same enclosed shape that made it protective also rendered it expensively difficult to make, not to mention uncomfortable — restricting sight, hearing, speaking, and even breathing — which accounts for the frequency with which it is portrayed in artwork pushed back on the head. This was clearly an acceptable tradeoff for Archaic hoplites eager to display their personal wealth through elaborate panoplies, and accustomed to fighting in loosely organized, amateur phalanxes which did not require commands to be given nor heeded. As hoplite armies gradually expanded and professionalized in the Classical era through the 4th century BCE, demand grew for cheaper, more easily produced helmets with more open faces which allowed for better command and control.

We recommend beginners get one as their first helmet because the closed design affords excellent protection in combat sparring. Good quality off-the-shelf replicas of the iconic “Hermione” type (in both bronze and brass) are made by Daniyal Steel Craft (DSC) and others and sold by many vendors. We recommend getting the smaller of the two stock DSC sizes, and in the “A” rather than “B” shape. Please note that the older “Corinthians” made by Deepeeka are NOT acceptable (although they can be modified into acceptable Chalchidians). There are currently no good Archaic style Corinthians on the off-the-shelf market.

The Illyrian Helmet

Approximately one quarter of all surviving Greek helmets are of this open-faced type, and it perhaps saw a even longer span of use than the Corinthian, making it very underrepresented in the hobby. Originally produced in the Peloponnese and Attica, it appears to have been widely exported to the “barbarian” regions north of Greece (including Macedonia, which started producing the type domestically). Good quality reproductions are made by DSC and sold by other vendors, including Res Bellica.

The Chalchidian Helmet

Originally developed as a more open-faced version of the Corinthian, the Chalchidian was the first helmet type to featured hinged cheekplates, making it a very practical helmet that remained popular into the Hellenistic era.

The Attic Helmet

A variant of the Chachidian generally distinguished by a lack of a nasal and an embossed “visor” terminating in swirls on each side. It is important to note that most Greek helmet classifications are modern inventions, and criteria varies; the features of “Attic” helmets often overlap with those of “Thracian” helmets, and there is a quite different type of iron Hellenistic helmet also known as Attic.

The Phrygian Helmet

Taking its form from the Phrygian felt hat of the same shape, this 4th century helmet usually carried hinged cheek guards with repoussed beard detail. Although we have evidence of it being worn in southern Greece, finds have all been in Thrace and Asia Minor.

The Pilos Helmet

“Pilos” translates to “felt” in Ancient Greek, and this helmet takes its form from the conical felt hat that was ubiquitous in Greece and is still worn today. Famously adopted by Spartan hoplites in the 5th C, it was an inexpensive and practical helmet that had become very common by the Peloponnesian War.

Helmet Liners

Greek helmets were all made as bronze shells requiring some sort of lining for comfort and minimal shock absorption. Earlier styles fit especially tight to the skull, leaving room for perhaps no more than a leather or felt lining or arming cap. The shape of later “Herminone” Corinthians and other helmets suggests that such thin padding had been found insufficient; their expanded cranial domes were almost certainly intended to accommodate a more substantially padded lining.

The nature of such a lining is largely speculative. Roman helmets have been found with thick felt linings, and sea sponge helmet liners have also been referenced. We have no evidence that leather liners were known to the ancients. The best evidence we have for helmet liners in the Classical era are two examples, one made of woven grass and one of woven willow, both discovered in situ in what appear to be simple helmets, recently found in Greek shipwrecks dated to c. 500BCE.

*An Etruscan helmet featuring the remains of a goatskin-covered coiled grass liner.*

Inspired by these finds (and following the excellent example of Giannis Kadoglou), I made our helmet liners from raffia using the ancient method of coiled grass basket weaving. This technique produces thick and sturdy linings which fit very well in the expanded cranium of our late Archaic Corinthians (a wool-stuffed leather pillow is necessary to fill the void in the crown of the helmet). They can be lined with soft leather for comfort, but I preferred to showcase my handiwork. I fully lined the helmet below the cranial ridge with soft leather, padding the cheek pieces with some loose wool batting for shock absorption.

Woven Leather Helmet Crest Instructions

Way back in 2014, Promethean hoplite reenactor Giannis Kadoglou published his prototype for a woven leather helmet crestbox that brilliantly provided a practical purpose to the checkerboard crestboxes we so often see in art. I had DSC make a passable copy of Gianni’s original swan crest for my first Corinthian, and I’ve since reverse-engineered a slightly different construction technique which I’ll demonstrate here, first on John Bracken’s Illyrian and later on my Archaic Corinthian.

The first step is to make an exact template of the (approximately) semicircular curve of your helmet at the centerline from the points you want your crestbox to begin and end. This is best done with tagboard or cardboard that you trim away until you have a flush line.

Transfer this curve template onto another larger piece of cardboard, which will become your actual pattern. Use the reverse of the template to complete a circle/oval, but before you draw the second half, add a distance between the two curves equal to the desired width of your crestbox. (I made John’s crestbox 1” wide, but you could do ¾” or even ½”.) This will give you a roughly oval shape.

Add an outer curve at a distance equal to the crest box height you want; this is where you need to decide how many rows of checkered blocks you want, and how big. (For John’s crestbox we went with two ½” tall rows. Adding ½” of height above and below the bands gave an overall high of 2”.)

Add an inner curve to the template at a distance equal to ½ the width of your crest (e.g. ½” on John’s). Split into equidistant tabs (approximately ¾” long, but best to divide by eye). If you’re fitting to an Illyrian, leave longer tabs in the center that will contain holes for securing over the helmet’s studs.

Cut out the pattern and fold it into a three-sided U, being careful to leave the crestbox width/base flat in the middle. (This U can be wet-formed into a crisper square shape if desired.) The tabs should fold flush together along the base/bottom of the crest. Check the fit against your helmet, then transfer your pattern to thick veg-tanned leather and cut it out.

Draw in the radial slots through which you’ll be weaving the checkerboard. They should be approximately the same distance apart as the checkers are tall (on John’s, ½” halfway up). Do NOT cut slots at the front and back ends of the crest box. Each slot should be approximately ⅛” wide; punch both ends with a leather hole punch and cut them out with a blade.

Fold the leather just as you did the pattern, and sew the bottom tabs together tightly with waxed linen thread. The crest box would be fairly rigid at this point. If you want to paint it, now is the time (I recommend milk paint mixed with an adhesion booster and sealed with finishing creme, all available from The Real Milk Paint Company).

At this point I attached John's crest to his helmet with the fore and aft tabs. On other types I'd recommend attaching with pitch as the vase majority of Greek helmets show no holes or other intrinsic crest attachment point (see below for instructions on how to do this).

After cutting the hair to the desired length, I made John’s horsehair hanks by tying ¾” wide bunches together with twine about 1” from the end, dipping the loose ends in diluted Gorilla glue, rolling the twine down to the end, and dipping them again. (Lay on the glue REALLY heavy at this point; because John’s hanks were so thick and luxurious, my glueing didn’t prove enough to hold all the hair securely in combat, and he’s had to retouch his crest with superglue to keep loose hairs from shedding.)

The weaving is done with long straps cut from thin veg-tanned leather, pre-painted on both sides with the desired color. (You can get an idea of how much length you’ll need by running a tape measure through the slots; I had to splice on additional straps with glue.) Start at the front by glueing in each strap end to the inside of the crestbox end, one high and the other low, feeding through opposite slits. Liberally spread each hank end with glue, press it securely into the bottom of the crest box, and weave the straps tightly around it. Continue to the back of the helmet.

To achieve a gracefully tapering tail, you’ll need to leave several hanks of gradually longer length at the back. Before you attempt to shape the tail, I highly recommend weaving in one or two continuous saddle stitches of waxed linen thread, knotted tightly after every hank (another of Giannis’ inspirations!); this will help keep the crest relatively straight and upright. Trimming the tail is an art rather than a science; do it with the helmet upright as you’re basically refining the droop that gravity puts in. Work slowly on one hank at a time, cut at a slant to achieve a graceful curve, and be careful not to cut too much off.

My Archiac Corinthian was made from tin bronze by Adam Maziar, based on photos I sent him of a Corinthian on permanent display at the MET (in the same case as the model for my muscle cuirass!). Opting to not copy the crudely punched holes we determined were later modifications to the original, we went instead with the decorative border and flourishes as seen on the famous "battle-damaged" Corinthian in the British Museum. Both helmets are of such specific and similar design that they may originate in the same workshop.

For this helmet’s crestbox, I made a few changes to my construction technique. The main structural improvement is that each hank of horsehair is now folded in half and sewn into the base. This completely eliminates the need for glue and the shedding of horsehair.

*The sewn crestbox. The holes outside the stitching are for securing the folded hanks of horsehair.*

Because like most artifacts my helmet lacks holes or loops for attaching a crest, I needed to find a way to adhesively affix the crest. After experimenting a bit with pitch, I decided that while the ancients surely knew reliable recipes to balance strength with flexibility, I myself do not, so I opted for the safe option of heavy duty contact cement. I know it's cowardly, but I really don't want to be screwing around with a detached crest at events.

The system I devised was based on my interpretation of artistic and sculptural evidence combined with practical functionality: first, a wet-formed U-shaped channel of thick vegetable tanned is securely glued onto the helmet itself glued the rounded base of the crest-box itself into the groove, making this vulnerable point a strong leather-to-leather bond.

My final innovation built on Giannis’ crest binding with the addition of wooden beads, which I believe are suggested vase art. The addition of beads between hanks allows the linen thread binding to be more tightly and securely drawn without distorting the radial shape of the crest, and I've already found that they're quite useful for manually "tuning" the crest's posture.