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Bronze muscle cuirass, Italy, c. 350–300 BC. Partial plate armour, made out of bronze, which protected the chest and the lower limbs, was used by the ancient Greeks, as early as the late Bronze Age.
The Dendra panoply or Dendra armour is an example of Mycenaean-era panoply (full-body armor) made of bronze plates uncovered in the village of Dendra in the Argolid, Greece. It is currently on display at the Archaeological Museum of Nafplion .
Linothorax armor made out of linen fabric was the most common form of infantry torso armor, being cheap and relatively light. Bronze breastplate armor was also used, in forms such as a bell cuirass. Little other armor was worn, and fatal blows to unprotected areas (such as the bladder or neck) are recorded in ancient art and poetry. [12]
A panoply is a complete suit of armor. The word represents the Ancient Greek πανοπλία (panoplía), where the word πᾶν (pân) means "all", and ὅπλον (hóplon) means "arms". Thus, panoply refers to the full armor of a hoplite or heavily-armed soldier, i.e. the shield, breastplate, helmet, and greaves, together with the sword and ...
A representative piece of Mycenaean armor is the Dendra panoply (c. 1450–1400 BC) which consisted of a cuirass of a complete set made up of several elements of bronze. [26] It was flexible and comfortable enough to be used for fighting on foot, [27] while the total weight of the armor is around 18 kg (about 40 lb). [28]
Plates protecting the torso reappeared in the 1220s as plates directly attached to a knightly garment known as the surcoat. [2] [1] Around 1250 this developed into the coat of plates which continued to be in use for about a century. [3] [1] True breastplates reappear in Europe in 1340 first composed of wrought iron and later of steel.
The armour was made from small plates of iron or bronze. Due to the semi-rigid nature of the armour, the Scythian variety was made as breast- and back-plates, with separate shoulder pieces. Some finds indicate partial armour, where a leather shirt or similar garment has sewn-on scales in places, particularly around the neck and upper chest.
In later variants dating from around 75–80 C.E., the fastenings of the armor were simplified. Bronze hinges were removed in favor of simple rivets, belt fastenings used small hooks, and the lowest two girdle plates were replaced by one broad plate. The component parts of the lorica segmentata moved in synchronization with the other parts. [1]