MAGNA GRAECIA, CLASSICAL TO HELLENISTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 400-200 B.C.

This helmet is adorned with an open-worked leaf-shaped finial, which has also been hypothesized to be a sun-ray crest, possibly connecting it to Helios, from whom the warrior was seeking protection in battle. Flanking the finial are curving bull horns, a zoomorphic feature meant to project virility and power. All people in agrarian societies would be familiar with the strength of a bull and how painful it could be to be charged by one, so its presence was intended to frighten the opponent. Above the carinated flaring rim on each side is a four-spoke wheel applique, possibly a reference to death and the underworld or alternatively to speed and force (p. 152 in A. Bottini, et al., Antike Helme; p. 222-224 in Hixenbaugh, op. cit.).