THE BRONZE ARCHER (Athens Archeological Museum)

                              THE BRONZE ARCHER (Athens Archeological Museum)

                                                          

My associate war-historian and researcher Stefanos Skarmintzos sent this fantastic new addition from the Archaeological museum of Athens.

The text refers to the exhibit as : “Bronze plaque with archer depiction-probably Hercules”. 

Well, I don’t want to be too cynical, but without dismissing the Herculean theme, the person(s) who modelled for the bronze plaque definitely wasn’t Hercules.  Anymore than Aphrodite did for the statue of Milos.  

His dress is not Scythian but he could be a Scythian. He is a light archer and he is wearing the classic hellenic tunic, possibly without armour, and a quiver round his shoulder. 

He is pulling the arrow to his chest, something that  is common in many pottery paintings. 

What  is important here is that  his body leans backwards in the kneeling position, and his stand is at the stage before extending his left arm forward  in order to increase the power of the bow. 

The bow is of the Hellenic/Scythian type, quite small but at the same time even if he is only pulling it to his chest, it can be of some power. 

Smaller bows with strong limbs  are harder to pull. Now you may ask, why you make bows that you pull to your chest? 

The answer is, peripheral vision and the ability to change targets very fast. This is only my understanding generated from practice with a small Scythian Grozer bow 60 lbs,  and in the same fashion as the archer in the image. 

THE ARMOURY AT DOGE'S PALACE IN VENICE

THE ARMOURY AT DOGE'S PALACE IN VENICE

Recently, in my visit to Venice I had the pleasure to visit the Doge's Palace and the armoury collection.

Here are some of the weapons and armours, some taken at close range, hopefully to show details of the construction and the craftsmanship of the makers. Mainly 14th - 17th CE.

The rooms of the Armoury contain a valuable historical collection of weapons and armaments from several sources. The core of the collection is already documented as existing in the 14th century; and at the time of the Republic the Armoury, under the control of the Council of Ten, was stocked with weapons that would be readily available for the Palace’s guards. On particularly delicate or important occasions, these guards might be joined by the arsenalotti, the highly-trained workforce from the shipyards of the Arsenale (e.g. when a Doge died, all the gates to the Palace were sealed and placed under the guard of the arsenalotti). Comprising various valuable pieces, the collection of arms was partially dispersed after the fall of the Republic, but it still contains over 2000 exhibits. These include very famous examples of 15th and 16th century suits of armour, along with swords, halberds, quivers and crossbows.

All the photographs follow different categories (i.e. A, B, C,) with illustrations at the beginning of each category identifying the weapons with the exception of category X at the end. 

Y

Category A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

Category B

B

B

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B

B

Category C

C

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C

Category D

D

D

Category E

E

E

E

Category F

F

F

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F

F

Category G

G

X

X

X

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X

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X - Brigandine (inside)

X

X

X - Origins and coats of arms of aristocratic Veneto families, 1476 - 1500

Y

Link: http://palazzoducale.visitmuve.it/en/the-museum/layout-and-collections/armoury/

© GREX LUPORUM