PROWESS AND PROTECTION

PREHISTORY TO 600CE

In some parts of the ancient world, men spent much of their lives away from home on active military service.

What they wore depended to a large extent on money and rank.

Men who dressed in armor were likely to have paid for it themselves - like the hoplites (Greek foot soldiers) in the 5th century BCE, who drawn from the middle classes and could afford to provide their own body protection.

Early armor in cluded metal plates, scales, hardened leather, and padded linen.

The invention of mail shirts, made from individually forged interlocking rings, is attributed to the Celts in about 300BCE.

Chain was expensive to produce, and was probably restricted to the highest ranking warriors.

A mail shirt allowed more limb movement than some other forms of protection, but at 30LB (15kg) it weighed the wearer down.

Battle - dress styles sometimes depended on attitude - the fearless Spartans marched to war in red capes to disguise bloodstains.

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PROTECTIVE FEATHERS

Getting closer to the gods and gaining protection from evil by wearing plumes, or representations of birds, is common in many cultures, from Egypt to Peru.

Feathers are inherently powerful, being light, yet flexible and tough.

In the pre - Columbian Amazonian and Andean cultures, headdresses and ceremonial garments were adorned with feathers - especially the contour plumes of wing and tail that aided flight.

In Ancient Egypt, after death, the spirit's "heart" was weighed on a golden scale against Ma'at, the feather of truth.

If the heart was the lighter, the spirit went directly to the heavenly afterlife.

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ARMOR

Other than the helmet, the cuirass was one of the most protective elements of a suit of armor.

It covered the front of the torso, and was usually connected to a back piece for all - around protection.

The so - called muscle or heroic cuirass of the classical world was cast to the wearer's body, and was designed to mimic an idealized human physique.

Greek and Roman art often depicts generals and emperoros wearing the heroic cuirass, but real soldiers would have used much simpler armor in battle.

-- 《THE DEFINITIVE HISTORY OF COSTUME AND STYLE》

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进攻与防卫

史前 - 公元600年

在古代世界的某些地区，男性花费大部分的时间离开家投入到军事活动中。

穿着什么很大程度上取决于他们的财富和军衔等级。

穿着盔甲的男人很可能需要为此付出生命 - 就像公元前5世纪的古希腊重装备步兵，他们从中产阶级抽身出来并且有能力购买保护自己的身体防护装备。

早期盔甲款式有金属板，鳞片，硬化皮革或带衬垫的麻布。

锁子甲的发明，归功于公元前300年的凯尔特人，他们用独立锻造的铁环串联做成盔甲。

铁环锁链成本高昂，可能只仅限于最高级别的勇士使用。

一件锁链盔甲可以允许有比起其他形式的保护盔甲更多的四肢行动，但在15公斤的重量会让穿着者失望。

战斗着装风格有时取决于作风 -- 无畏的斯巴达人会着红色披风征战来掩盖血迹。

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守护羽毛

通过靠近神明并且佩戴鸟类羽毛装饰品来抵御邪恶，这在埃及到秘鲁一代的文化中是非常常见的。

羽毛天生具有强势，轻巧，柔韧与坚韧的特点。

在前哥伦布亚马逊与安第斯文化中，头饰与礼服都会以羽毛作装饰，他们特别喜欢用辅助飞行的翅翼与尾翼处廓形明显的羽毛。

在古埃及，人死后，心脏会被摆在真理女神玛阿特的黄金秤上称重，而天秤的另一边是女神头上戴的真理羽毛。

如果心脏比羽毛更轻，死者的灵魂就可以直接进入天堂。

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盔甲

除了头盔之外，胸甲是盔甲套装中最具保护性的装备之一。

它覆盖了身体的前部，并且通常会连接到整个身后，提供全方位的保护。

在古典世界肌肉感或英雄式的胸甲会被固定到穿戴者身上，并被设计成理想人体的的造型。

希腊与罗马艺术经常描绘将军与皇帝穿着英雄胸甲的情形，但其实真正的士兵着装要简单得多。

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