this post was submitted on 05 Mar 2025
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[–] Snowclone@lemmy.world 24 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Then this guy dressed as a trash can ran up to me with a sharp metal stick.

What'd you do?

I cut his totally naked feet off.

[–] Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world 7 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

I'd probably copy Bugs Bunny and go in drag as Brunhilde, play a bunch of tricks on him and ride a fat horse around

[–] iknowitwheniseeit@lemmynsfw.com 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Apparently this was worn by people in chariots.

[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 2 points 9 months ago

Ah, so a stick on the wheels would suffice

[–] cucumberbob@programming.dev 15 points 9 months ago
[–] egrets@lemmy.world 14 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Tons of information here from the Koryvantes Association of Historical Studies in Athens, who made this replica. Picture caption:

Early Mycaenean Warrior, armed with Naumahon Xisto (?) – boarding pike.

Reconstruction of a Mycaenean armour and weapons. The Mycaenean plate armour is an exact copy of the Dendra armour, presented in Nafplion Archeological Museum. The peculiar bronze double-headed blade is dated around 16th Century BC found at Agios Onoufrios near Phaistos Crete. The helmet is based on depiction from Medinet Habu, Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III, Luxor.

[–] PugJesus@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago

Nice find! I didn't know the source.

[–] MrJameGumb@lemmy.world 13 points 9 months ago

He reminds me of Tunn-La from The Tick lol

[–] ininewcrow@lemmy.ca 13 points 9 months ago

I can understand now why the Myceneans died out so mysteriously

[–] derosnec@lemmy.world 9 points 9 months ago
[–] Dr_Fetus_Jackson@lemmy.world 7 points 9 months ago (3 children)

So you can be stabbed in the toes, knees, fingers, or nose.... how 'bout no!?!

[–] modeler@lemmy.world 11 points 9 months ago

It's suggested that the term "Achilles' heel", meaning a seemingly insignificant point of fatal weakness, comes from exactly your observation of the Dendra Panoply, an armour of exactly the same period as Achilles and the Trojan War.

[–] lennivelkant@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 9 months ago

Conaidering that you won't stand stiff and upright as an unmoving target, but rather bent in the knees like you see modern fighters, as well as moving around, hitting the knees or feet is gonna be a lot harder. You'd have to bend down to reach for them, putting your own head and neck deeper within the enemy's reach.

The fingers are also hard to hit (but not impossible), but mostly they're hard to armor if you want to retain flexibility. The same goes for the face: You need to be able to see what's happening and what the enemy is doing. Armoring either would probably bring more drawbacks than protections.

That's not to say there are no ways to armor these parts, but they might not have been invented at the time or simply too complex and expensive to make. If they found that a ton of people died with chopped-off fingers, they'd find a way to armor those. If they never bothered, it probably won't have been worth the cost.

If you're interested in the decisions that go into selecting armor, I recommend this blog entry by an ancient historian as well as the follow-up where he uses the logic laid out in the first post to be pedantic about pop culture examples. The blog is, after all, named "A Collection Of Unmitigated Pedantry" (and I can really recommend it in general).

[–] AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago

Modern armour has similar drawbacks.

[–] MataVatnik@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Like something out of Dr Who

[–] PugJesus@lemmy.world 6 points 9 months ago

It's the thick tube neck that really makes it

[–] athairmor@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

Exterminate!

[–] nickwitha_k@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 9 months ago

Thanks for this wonderful view of how actual historical fact is weirder than expected. I mean, it makes sense but the appearance is unexpected.

[–] ConatusPrinciple@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

U will never stand a chance against my Minions