NEW PRODUCT: HHMODEL & HAOYUTOYS: 1/6 Empire Series - Dragon Flagman Moving Puppet (#HH18044)

The hippika gymnasia (Greek: ἱππικὰ γυμνάσια, "horse exercises") were ritual tournaments performed by the cavalry of the Roman Empire to both practice their skills and display their expertise.[1] They took place on a parade ground situated outside a fort and involved the cavalry practicing manoeuvring and the handling of weapons such as javelins and spears.[2] The riders and their mounts wore highly elaborate armour and helmets specially made for display purposes, decorated with images from classical mythology.[3] Such tournaments served several purposes, improving the riders' skills, helping to build unit morale and impressing dignitaries and conquered peoples.[2]

The participants in the hippika gymnasia would have been an impressive sight for those who saw them; as one writer has put it, "a cavalcade of richly armoured horses and men – who in their masked helmets with silvered faces looked like divine beings."[5] The riders wore brightly coloured tunics – which seems to have evolved into decorated bronze armour by the 3rd century – and very ornate greaves and helmets with face masks. As Arrian described them,

The horsemen enter [the parade ground] fully armed, and those of high rank or superior in horsemanship wear gilded helmets of iron or bronze to draw the attention of the spectators. Unlike the helmets made for active service, these do not cover the head and cheeks only but are made to fit all round the faces of the riders with apertures for the eyes . . . From the helmets hang yellow plumes, a matter of décor as much as utility. As the horses move forward, the slightest breeze adds to the beauty of these plumes. They carry oblong shields of a lighter type than those used in action, since both agility and smart turnout are the objects of the exercise and they improve the appearance of their shields by embellishment. Instead of breastplates the horsemen wear close-fitting Cimmerian tunics [leather jerkins] embroidered with scarlet, red or blue and other colours. On their legs they wear tight trousers, not loosely fitting like those of the Parthians and Armenians. The horses have frontlets carefully made to measure and also have side armour.[6]

Substantial archaeological evidence has been found of such "sports equipment", as it has been dubbed. A hoard of cavalry display armour dating to the 3rd century AD was discovered at Straubing in Bavaria in 1950. It included extraordinarily elaborate horse armour, greaves, helmets and other pieces of armour.[5] Many more "sports helmets" have been recovered from other locations. They were made from a variety of metals and alloys, often from gold-coloured alloys or iron covered with tin. They were decorated with embossed reliefs and engravings depicting the war god Mars and other divine and semi-divine figures associated with the military. One of the Newstead Helmets from Scotland, for instance, is embossed with a naked winged figure of Cupid driving a chariot.[7]

The helmets were of both "male" and "female" types, portraying the wearers as Greeks or Amazons. These were apparently commonly competing teams in the hippika gymnasia, which may also have involved re-enactments of other scenes from classical tradition.[3] The female helmets can be recognised by their sculpted hairstyles and other distinctively female elements such as diadems, ribbons and jewels. They were often equipped with the full-face masks mentioned by Arrian in his account. The faces depicted were not always those of Romans, as some were clearly intended to portray easterners.[8]

The origin of these very elaborate helmets is uncertain but appears not to have been Rome. Various origins have been suggested, including a theory that they came from Rome's eastern provinces. They were produced from the early 1st century AD through to the mid-3rd century.[7] Although they are relatively light, they appear to have been worn in battle as well as for display purposes. One such helmet was found at the site of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, where three Roman legions were wiped out by Germans in 9 AD. It was perhaps worn by an officer or standard-bearer who intended its imposing appearance to intimidate his enemies on the battlefield.[9]

The draconarius was a type of signifer who bore a cavalry standard known as a draco in the Roman army.

Strictly speaking, the word draconarius denotes the bearer of the military standard on which a dragon was represented.[1] The term passed into Christian usage, and was applied to the bearer of the labarum in battle, and also to cross-bearers in church processions. [2]

From the conquered Dacians, the Romans in Trajan's time borrowed the dragon ensign which became the standard of the cohort as the eagle was that of the legion.[3] Of Dacian, Sarmatian in origin, the draco was later generally introduced in the fourth century as a Roman standard.[4]

It consisted of a bronze dragon head with a fabric body similar in shape to a tail behind it. Wind flowed through the gaping mouth and billowed out the cloth tail much like a modern windsock. It is thought that some form of whistle was mounted in the dragon's neck to make a terrifying noise when galloping.

Stryker2011 wrote:Asta comes through in both threads. Thank you for sharing.

GubernatorFan wrote:Thanks Asta, I think you're right, this is very much based on that illustration, I'm glad you were able to locate it. Note the absence of vambraces and greaves (which I expected to be HY+HH add-ons) and, more surprisingly, the standard military belt (which would at least be realistic per se).
What is Kaustic Plastik doing these days, if anything?

GubernatorFan wrote:Thanks for the info on KP's new focus. Yes, that is disappointing. But then again so was the glue used in their otherwise very promising sets. Maybe they just got tired of the same thing, although they could have gotten into some hoplites -- there are Greek helmets no one has done yet, and they could have simpler outfits.

GubernatorFan wrote:As for the Draconarius, yes, best take off the vambraces. One can use the greaves with another figure -- after a certain point in time they appear to have been worn only by centurions as a mark of their rank -- until they were recalled from those too. Trajan's campaign in Dacia involved outfitting legionaries with both greaves and manicae, supposedly to protect from the Dacian war scythe (although there is some evidence that this was already done before in other places, and never became standard legionary equipment).

GubernatorFan wrote:I prefer the Oscan too, perhaps because I already have a masked helmet. The Draconarius may have worn this type of helmet even in battle. The vambraces and greaves are very unlikely to be correct even on KP's cavalryman, and I have removed mine.

ahbake wrote:Can't have enough Romans! But I really prefer sandals that are not sculpted on the feet, it looks terribly cheap when they do that.

ahbake wrote:Can't have enough Romans!
But I really prefer sandals that are not sculpted on the feet, it looks terribly cheap when they do that.

shazzdan wrote:

ahbake wrote:Can't have enough Romans!
But I really prefer sandals that are not sculpted on the feet, it looks terribly cheap when they do that.

If you have ever tried to tie on the sandals that come with some Roman figures, you will develop a whole new appreciation for sculpted sandals.