Ancient Greek Armors
Pair of Greaves from Montagno di Marzo ( Magna Graecia)
4th century BC
This pair of greaves (“κνημίδες” – ” – knemides in Greek – stems from the word “κνήμη” or shin) was found almost intact in a grave in the region of Montagno di Marzo in Sicily. It is characterized by high plasticity and muscularity.Greaves were an essential component of hoplite panoplies during the Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic period providing a measure of protection from the knee caps down to the lower part of the legs.
They have been raised from two bronze sheets exclusively through traditional techniques (hot raising). The basic technical elements of the leg guards emphasize masculinity, elaborate kneecaps and small holes along the rims of the bronze sheet. The inner sides have been padded with thick wool and linen fabric, a purple leather has been folded around the rims of the greaves hand stitched directly to the metal body
The entire item was manufactured by hammering a single bronze sheet(1,2 mm), without any other structural additions, the end result resembling the shin of a bronze sculpture.
