Cretans - hats and shields

[Erpingham]

A curiosity question rather than one of direct relevance to my interests.  Today, I noticed a picture of some old PB range Cretan archers.  Waves of nostalgia as I had some of them way back.  In those days, Cretans were unarmoured and all wore big floppy sun hats.  I wondered what modern interpretations were like, so I did a bit of googling.

These days, all Cretans carry a pelta, apparently bronze faced.  Some still wear sun hats but most are bare headed (climate change?).  The shields interested me.  Some carry them strapped to the arm, presumably to fend off missiles.  Others wear them attached to the belt and also have swords, so presumably to allow them to fight hand-to-hand with other skirmishers.  Tactically rather different.  Can our Hellenistic experts tell which is the more likely interpretation?

[Duncan Head]

The hats changed because Phil Barker in the original AMPW chose to illustrate his Cretan in a a petasos - why I do not know, there is nothing particularly Cretan about it - and his other psiloi bare-headed, though in fact the petasos is commoner in ancient illustrations of Thessalians, Aitolians, and other people more likely to provide javelin-men.

There are enough stray references to, and illustrations of, Cretans with shields to lead to the suspicion that they may have been standard equipment. Xenophon in particular explicitly mentions a bronze-faced pelte. I think there are only two illustrations; the stele of Stratonikos has the shield carried by an attendant, the stele of Thersagoras, is thought to show one slung on his back but is not easy to interpret; so there is little guidance as to how they were carried.

[Jon Freitag]

Duncan, your depth of knowledge always amazes me.  Thanks for the info.

[Erpingham]

Duncan is one of the strengths of the forum.  In other places my naive query would have been met with an "any idiot knows that, don't waste my time" attitude yet I could trust in a straightforward expert answer from Duncan 

I'd also add I appreciate Duncan's attention to whatever the illustrative equivalent of historiography is.  I find it interesting to know why we imagine certain things in the past as we do. 

[Jon Freitag]

I agree, Anthony!  Not only do we get an answer to the question, but we get evidence and artifacts to back it up.  I appreciate that too.

[RichT]

Seconding (thirding?) appreciation of Duncan's usefulness and generosity!

But can I ask a further question (or maybe this is a nitpick):

I think there are only two illustrations; the stele of Stratonikos has the shield carried by an attendant, the stele of Thersagoras, is thought to show one slung on his back but is not easy to interpret; so there is little guidance as to how they were carried.

The images I know of are the stelai of Thersagoras and of Chaironides - these are the ones discussed by Nick Sekunda (in sadly obscure journals), and Thersagoras exists online too eg here (to me the 'bow' in his hand looks more like a shield than the thing on his back does, but who knows). I can't find Chaironides online. But Stratonikos, if it is the one from Demetrias, doesn't look to depict a shield (or a Cretan).

So are there three Cretan images, or is Stratonikos a slip for Chaironides?

[Imperial Dave]

Cretans, bowmen, hats and shields

hats and shields

(scurries off)

[Duncan Head]

So are there three Cretan images, or is Stratonikos a slip for Chaironides?

Yes, you're quite right  - "Stratonikos" should have read Cha[lkok]edes or Chaironides (depending which reconstruction you prefer).

Incidentally one of Sekunda's obscure articles is available as a pdf here.

[Duncan Head]

The other shielded-Cretan stela is online here ; the name is given as Chalkokedes rather than the Chaironides that Rich cited. The inscription says "Cha....des", so no doubt several readings would be possible.

[RichT]

Ah excellent - thank you. I saw that site but missed that stela, no doubt due to the name.

One thought is that - though I haven't read Sekunda's article on this one, just seen a summary - I think his belief is that the shield blazon - Poseidon figure - is a Macedonian emblem of Demetrius Poliorcetes. As such the shield in question would be Macedonian equipment issued to a Cretan mercenary serving in a Macedonian army unit (or garrison). Cha[...]des was a Cretan, but he might not have been armed as a Cretan.

(This isn't to doubt the basic Cretans with shields argument, for which there is other evidence).

[Erpingham]

Excuse my ignorance but why do we think Cha....des is an archer, other than he comes from Crete?

[RichT]

Well him coming from Crete is often a good reason, as Cretans generally were archers, but the reason we might doubt it in this case is this is a Macedonian garrison (of Demetrias), not an 'allied' unit of Cretans, so I don't think national arms are a given.

That said, after some further digging here's Sekunda's earlier description of this figure:

"Chalkokydes' right arm hangs by the side of his inordinately wide hips, his left arm is raised,
gathering in a fold in his cloak, and his hand grips one end of a bow, painted in light brown, mostly exposed in front of him, but with one end concealed beneath the cloak. According to Reinach, the bow is 'de forme scythique'."

Reinach discussed this image in 1913, when the paint might have been clearer - I can't now see any bow, but if it was there, then that would make him an archer! The attendant is said also to be carrying spears.

Here's Reinach's full description of the bow: ""dans la main droite il tient par le milieu un arc de forme scythique; seule une des cornes de l'arc est figurée dans le champ; le milieu déborde sur le cadre."

So he's an archer (or at least he owned a bow), and a Cretan.