Ancient Warfare and arts by charles cerro

This sculpture depicts the famous scene of when Theseus battles the Minotaur in the labyrinth. The hard shiny bronze-like surface embodies my theme and texture I have chosen and I think works well to express a feeling of strength and hardship.

If I had to guess, judging by the shape of the shield I would say this small statue depicts a hoplite of the greek city state of Thespiae. Although color can be argued as a strong point for this, you can once again feel a strong connection to the texture of smooth hardiness.

This Corinthian helmet is a 7th century version of the helmet with a more open face for better peripheral vision and breathing. One can't help but feel the slick, unbreakable surface of the bronze texture that has stood the test of battle as well as time.

This statue shows Hercules a full draw ready to launch an arrow. I would guess this scene is from when he fights and kills the great nemean lion. I enjoy the white marble look of this piece, the strength of the hard rocky texture enhances the scene depicted. Hercules is best known for his superhuman strength.

I have Laconophilia, I love all things ancient Sparta. I originally learned about the Spartans through arguably there greatest hero, the warrior king Leonidas. For this reason I had to go with this piece which proudly shows the Spartan king, and his Corinthian style helmet. The boldness found in this marble like surface works well to express the strong, unflinching bravery that was the Spartans, famous for being the most elite warriors of ancient Greece.

This ancient dagger is a testament to humanities skill in metal crafting, going as far back as 1300 to 1100 BC! From the grooves on the handle for a close fitting grip, to the daggers guard and the thought of balance with its broad blade to its pommel, this piece is awesome. By looking at this piece I can feel the expression of sharpness and strength in its bronze texture.

Of all the helmet designs ever created I love the Corinthian the best. For its time this helmet had so many advantages other helmets could not compete with the only drawback in this particular piece was hearing. It worked to intimidate the enemy, especially with the added crest which made the warrior appear taller than normal. The close fitting design helped redirect enemy strikes that made it past a shield safely away from the face and also protected the neck. You can just feel how hardy and powerful these helmets are by looking at them. If I was going into battle in the ancient times I would feel very safe and secure with one of these on.

I liked this piece because it shows a sort of evolution of helmet design from the earlier versions which covered the ears and more closely covered the face. As time went on more and more designs changed to help the warriors other senses more, sacrificing protection for better hearing, sight and breathing. As with the other helmets, the texture here was a solid unbending defense, that was rounded and smoothed to help deflect weapon strikes.

This statue depicts a wounded warrior falling over to either be finished off or perhaps regain his strength. I hadn't noticed until I examined this extra close, but he is gripping a broken sword, which I really enjoyed. I thought the texture choice to have this piece of art done in marble worked well to really show the faltering strength of the warrior, struggling to keep fighting.

If I was to guess I would say this statue represents an early soldier of the Etruscan league, or perhaps a roman, standing at attention or perhaps on guard. I get a sense of unwavering and unmoving from this piece almost like a great stone.

I believe the scene shown on this amphora is that of Achilles slaying Penthesilea, warrior queen of the amazons. The texture here shows smoothness however I would also argue contrast and movement play big roles in making this artwork an enjoyable piece.

This scene shows two greek hoplite engaged in single combat, although the man on the right seems to be losing or perhaps wounded. Contrast on the warriors to the background on the amphora is very apparent, as is the texture of the smoothed surface.

I liked this helmet because its design looks very unique and I almost felt the impression of high status from it. I immediately recognized this helmet as Celtic, or perhaps Gallic. I would guess a high ranking warrior or cheftain would don this in battle where the regular warriors might have a more simplistic design. Although its a bit more dull now, In its day it would have shone bright and fierce.

I liked the texture of this shield, the surface almost seems a softer type leather, enhanced with bits and pieces of bronze. This shield which was part of the artifacts found at Sutton Hoo would probably have belonged to someone noteworthy or maybe even royal.

I know this helmet as an Illyrian design, used most notably by the warriors of northern Greece, the Illyrians. Where this design differed from others used at the time that covered and enclosed around the entire face such as the Corinthian helmet, this helmet left the face open. This design gave the warrior better vision and breathing sacrificing face protection. I love the hard surface bronze of this helmet, just like with the armor and shields it was built for close quarter phalanx fighting where men in lines would attempt to stab each other in vital areas with spears and swords. A helmet like this would offer good protection against glancing blows.

This style of helmet was used throughout ancient times specifically by Thracian warriors. The texture I felt from this helmet aside from the smooth hard metal was an edginess, specifically on the pointed crest and wings.

Although this weapon is titled as a Falcata, the ancient world would have most likely known it as a Kopis. This sword was famous in its day and used in war from Iberia, all the way to Greece and Persia. This sword was a superb hacking and slashing weapon and also sometimes looked at as a "bad guys weapon." for this reason Athenian artwork often depicts there rivals, the Spartans, using them. I think it goes without saying although time has worn this mighty weapon down, you can still feel its deadly sharpness and cold iron.

I originally was drawn to this piece because of its similarity to that of the bronze armor of the ancient greeks and early peoples of Italy. Although the primary defense of warriors during these ancient days was the shield, armor, (If one could afford it) such as this cuirass would have shown status and prowess. The texture of this armor works as a practical design as all armor should, being rounded and smooth so as to deflect the thrust and slash of enemies weapons.

I liked this shield because the texture showed a hard bumpiness, something uncommon of a practical design. A wise warrior would carry a shield with a rounded hard surface so as to send an opponents weapons glancing away and not to catch on the surface, which would direct the full blow of the strike into the shield arm. I can't imagine the warrior who wielded this shield to have walked away unscathed, perhaps that is why there are so many dents and holes on the surface.