The Corinthian helmet is probably the most famous Greek helmet type.
It was built at the beginning of the 7th century B.C. and was forged from a single bronze plate. The Corinthian helmet was strongly oriented towards the human skull shape and protected a large part of the head with its cheek pieces and the nose part. Like most Greek helmets, it was often decorated with a horse mane (Lophos).
While the varieties of Corinthian helmets were varied, the decorative ornaments were even more numerous and imaginative. Animal depictions were particularly popular. Alexander the Great protected himself with a helmet designed as the head of a lion, the Spartan king Leonidas, leader of the 300 Hoplites at Thermopylae, led two rams as decoration on the cheeks covering parts of his helmet.
From the Corinthian helmet the Chalkidic and the Attic helmet developed, which left a larger field of vision to its wearer. All these types of helmets could easily be pulled back to the forehead to allow unrestricted vision and unhindered breathing during a break in combat.
The great Athenian statesman Pericles is often depicted with a Corinthian helmet pushed back.
The Corinthian helmet was in use in the whole Mediterranean area, its production was not limited only to Greece, but took place also in central and lower Italy.
The Corinthian helmet had an astonishing similarity to the Barbuta worn in Italy in the 14th and 15th centuries.
Smaller replica made of ceramine (high-strength special gypsum) in bronze finish.
