Subject: ὁπλίτης heavy infantry hoplite
Culture: Archaic Greek
Setting: Archaic period, Greece 8th-6thcBC
Object: armor
* Metropolitan Museum of Art
"Bronze cuirass
Greek, late 7th century B.C. ...
This exceptionally well-preserved cuirass is a variant of the standard Archaic bell corselet consisting of a front and rear plate fastened together at the sides and shoulders. Similar examples are known from the island of Crete. The artist has rendered the male anatomy in highly stylized relief: the rib cage by a parabolic curve, the pectoral muscles by inward-spiraling volutes, the shoulder blades by opposing knobbed crescents, and the spine by a vertical groove."
* Metropolitan Museum of Art
"Three bronze mitrai (belly guards)
Cretan, late 7th century B.C. ...
These three mitrai were found on Crete with the two helmets exhibited above. They were suspended from belts to protect the lower abdomen. One, with a depiction of the foreparts of horses, is inscribed 'Synenitos, the son of Euklotas, [took] this.' Another, with the foreparts of winged horses, is inscribed 'Aisonidas, the son of Kloridios, took this.' The third mitra is decorated with two sphinxes. Such heraldic representations of fantastic animals were derived from Near Eastern prototypes."
