[lit-ideas] Re: Glory [Greek stature]
- From: David Ritchie <ritchierd@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2007 16:22:30 -0800
On Dec 5, 2007, at 6:33 PM, Robert Paul wrote:
What about height of doorways? Body armor? Sandals? There must be
Greek items that indicate the size of the wearers.
Yes, one would have thought that there would be plenty of
information about such things, but I can't find it online. Google
shouldn't care whether it gives me results from archaeology rather
than art history, e.g. As far as I know the Greeks did not use full
body armor à la Sir Galahad and that bunch. The suits of armor
preserved in British and European museums are extremely small.
I'm annoyed that I haven't been able to put my hands on the right
information, but I can at least make things more complicated for
you. There is no "Greek weaponry" or "Greek armor." These things
changed over time and from place to place. The other issue is
whether any weapon or armor put before you is representative. The
reason some medieval armor looks small is that it *was* small--
designed for youths and therefore not worn much in battle. I thought
I might be able to find dimensions in an auction catalog, but haven't
found more than an exact measurement of a dent--which doesn't help us.
I can say that the last Greek helmet I saw personally, in a show at
the Portland Art Museum, suggested a man about five foot tall. But
who knows whether he was enrolled in the Greek equivalent of the
"bantams"?
Well *someone does*. There have surely been enough bones excavated
for us to be able to answer the question. If I had a subscription to
Archeology Today, we'd probably know the answer.
David Ritchie,
Portland, Oregon
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