HELLENIC ARCHERY TARGETS

HELLENIC ARCHERY TARGETS FROM THE GEOMETRIC TO THE CLASSICAL PERIOD

The shield is not only a weapon (ὀπλον) to protect yourself from the enemy, but logically speaking it is also the target for any skirmishing warrior - peltast (πελταστης), who is using projectiles, arrows, sling shots, or small javelins against you.

The shield from a distance becomes the mark, the point of direction of an archer's action, with the hope that the arrow will find an opening on the wall of the shield in order to kill or injure an opponent.

Following this logic I present - first time as a concept -  a few designs from ancient Hellenic shields that have been found on vases from the Geometric to the Classical Hellenic period.

I would like to make clear that my intention is not to impose any of these designs as the Hellenic archery target, but to encourage archers from around the world to use any of the nearly 200 examples of shields from this period that are circulating on the internet. 

If anyone wishes to use the designs that I am presenting, please be my guest. They are not mine but they belong to Hellenic history and tradition. 

The targets that I am presenting here are of a design that does not imitate modern designs, like targets with multiple circles etc, but they have something that characterises them as Hellenic .

The irony is that the only target that is recorded on pottery is very similar to the modern interpretation of centered circles and appears like a target practice of Athenian cavalry, which of course I am enclosing   in my brief collection. 

One of the targets is a free interpretation of the Lernaean Hydra and the only one that has my personal approach.

I have tried not to enclose symbols that represent gods, or items of worship as a personal respect to the ancients, but again that is open to personal interpretation. 

The symbols that I think are "legitimate targets", if I can say this, are all the labours of Hercules. So, I have the hydra - the Mother of all targets !! - the centaur,  birds,  and wild-boar, lion and others can be used. Hercules together with Apollo was the most famous of our ancient archers and many others.

The geometric designs I have chosen also very often appear as chariot wheels from the Geometric to Classical period. 
All targets are the same size like the hoplites shields, 80-100 cm in diameter. 

I will say a few more things on each individual target, but also some recommendations about the way they should be used. 

Except for the general use targets, I am very interested to present targets for marksmanship i.e.  high skilled archers - snipers- that without doubt would have been in action in any army from the dawn of time!

THE HYDRA


                                           

The Lernaea Hydra.  The "mother of all targets". Ten arrows for 10 targets. Nine heads and one for the soul of the monster. All ten small targets 10 cm in diameter.

                                             Ref: 494

GENERAL PURPOSE TARGETS

A general purpose type of target that is a very common design on hoplite shields from different historical periods, but also the only (so far) reference of  a target.  "Athenian cavalry target practise"- 450 BCE.

              Ref: 304.2

                                                              Ref: 52

A general purpose target that also resembles the  wheel of chariots that appears  on many vases from the geometric to classical period.

                                                        Ref: 297

                                                                    

A general purpose target that also resembles the wheel of chariots that appears on many vases from the geometric to classical period.

                                             Ref : 5

                                                            

SPECIAL TARGETS FOR MARKSMANSHIP 

            THE FLYWHEEL

                                                                             

The "Flywheel" is a spinning or rolling  target. Four arrows for four birds in motion. Distance 10m and above.

Ref: 176.1 (Third from the left)

THE CENTAUR 

                                                                              

                                          The "Centaur".

                                           Ref: 172.1

Heracles vs. Centaurs
550 BCE. Heracles kills with his arrows the Centaurs while they are fleeing. He dresses the skin of the Nemean lion and is armed with bow and sword. An arrow hits the first Centaur in the head and the blood covers his forehead and his breast. Between him and Heracles, a dark red stone is flying toward the hero: the second Centaur, with his left hand, is throwing stones against Heracles, but is about to be hit by an arrow.
Black figured KantharosMade in Boeotia.

THE CRAB

                                                                               

                 

The "Crab", something for the marine archers to practise. 

                                                                         

                                                  Ref: 45

CELESTIAL BODIES

                               Ref: 01




A target with many options. 

                               Ref: 01


THE LION

                                 

                                   Ref: 29

           

                                  The "Lion".

                                 Ref: 29

THE BOAR

                                 

                                Ref: 469

              Ref: 469

The "Erymanthian Boar" - one of my favorites. 

"The Calydonian Boar Hunt", on the neck of the Francois Vase. 570 BCE

An epic occasion introducing many important heroic figures, like Atalanta and Dioscuri (behind it, share a spear).

THE SCORPION

                                 Ref: 13

The "Scorpion" was the blazon for the Spartan Mora of Geronthron, a place situated today near the Laconian village of Geraki. Later the scorpion was also used by the Roman Pretorian guard. It is a  popular symbol on Hellenic shields. Eleven types of scorpion were known in antiquity: white, red, smoky, black, green, pot-bellied, crab-like, fiery red-orange, those with double sting, those with seven segments, and those with wings. I choose the scorpion with seven segments for this target design for practical reasons. 

                               Ref: 13

                               Ref: 13

                                          

        

                                             

..... and don't forget. There are around 200 or more Hellenic designs of shields  you can use.

Please check for the accuracy of the designs, and the only way to do this, is to find them on Hellenic vases etc. of the period. Nothing else will do!

"In order to naturalise your opponent, you have to learn the way he fights". 

LIke Thebans did to Spartans - Battle of Leuctra 371 BCE."

                                         

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Early Greek Vase Painting - John Boardman.
Athenian Red Figure Vases / The Archaic Period - John Boardman.
Athenian Black Figure Vases - John Boardman.
Athenian Red Figure Vases / The Classical Period - John Boardman.
British Museum, London.

©  GREX LUPORUM
Please do not reproduce without permission.

                                                                

THE CAMERA OBSCURA IN THE SERVICE OF HISTORICAL REPRESENTATION

THE CAMERA OBSCURA IN THE SERVICE OF

  HISTORICAL REPRESENTATION

Photo1

I am one of many people who have a problem with their eyesight. Mine is not unique but also not very common. 

I have perfect vision in my right eye (my dominant eye) and a high degree of short sighted  vision  in the  left. 

The possibilities are  that this may have happened by accidentally  exposing my eyes to electroplated welding when I was 7 year old.

Now you may ask - what does this have to do with archery? Well, quite a lot but only personally to me.

When I shoot with my spectacles  I have no problem at any distance. When I shoot without my spectacles I am OK to about a 20 m distance, but after that I  have a problem calculating the distance accurately because the left eye loses optical sharpness and the image almost becomes two dimensional. 

I know that there are people who shoot perfectly with one eye, or even close an eye as if  shooting a rifle (?), but in my case this does not work and I do not like to lose any of my peripheral vision. I suppose if I had only the use of one eye all the time then maybe I would  have found a way of calculating the distance accurately.

What I see is demonstrated in the image below (photo 2). It is digitally presented but it is close to the reality!

                                Left eye                                                      Right eye

                                                   Photo 2

Previously I have taken  part in traditional archery festivals representing different historical eras, and spectacles were  a no-no for me. Please this is not a criticism of  other participants wearing spectacles and historical outfits, but it wasn’t right for me. So, all went well up to a maximum of 20 m, but for targets of 50m, 70m, and 90m, I was hoping for luck !

Moving on to Medieval times, spectacles (Photo 3)  were available and I have seen a  few players wearing them, quite comfortably tied on with leather or linen  and of course fitted with modern lenses. So from the distance they appear original and within the historical period. I tried them for a short period of time and it did not  work. 

Two basic reasons. Firstly they move around with sharp movements of the head, especially when I was wearing a helmet and taking part in 30 minute longbow archery demonstrations to the public.  There was  no time to put them back in place and secondly and far worse,  I was unable to wipe off the sweat that ran  on to them when  in full gear in hot weather.

                                                             Photo 3

Eye injuries are very common in all wars of any historical period. Many soldiers fought with the use of one eye only. An eye patch or cloth material was common not only for cometic reasons but also for further protection of injury.

So, this is where the camera obscura   and pinhole camera physics come in to the solution of my problem. Pinhole glasses  were known in the 16th century (Photo 4), but there is also historical evidence  of masks with very fine parallel horizontal slits that were used in Roman times - as yet I have been unable to confirm this and  anyone with a picture please let me know -  that had the same effect as pinhole glasses, i.e. correction of vision.

                                                                             Photo 4

                                 Photo 5 - Possibly post-medieval, look at Fig. 1

Here is a very basic explanation of how the pinhole camera works with the human eye.

http://www.invision2020.com/see-better-squint/

                               Photo 6

Also there is  plenty of information about camera obscura and pinhole camera and glasses on the net.

Using this knowledge I made a metal eyepatch, concave in the inside, to perfectly fit my eye socket (i.e. with no movement) , framed with soft leather for comfort and  I drilled approximately 80 holes, having destroyed 3 1mm drills in the process, very closely spaced together. Then - and this is very important - I  painted the metal with a non-reflective black paint inside and outside and through each hole in order to stop reflections that will blur my vision. (Photo 7).

                                                                     Photo 7

Whilst I have made a few pinhole cameras for my photographic art practices and have spent a lot of time calculating the correct size of the hole to relate to  the size and distance from where the image forms,  in my case I needed peripheral vision and not flat (as per camera) in order to be able to look sideways. This is why it is important that the metal of the eyepatch is concave in the inside and not flat. 

If someone wants to be absolutely perfectionist, the next time you have an eye test ask the optician to give you the distance from your optic nerve to the outer surface of your eye and then add the distance to the first hole in the centre of the eyepatch. If you know the distance it is easy to calculate the best possible diameter of the holes and of course another factor is the thickness of the metal. The thinner the better.

To give a small example : for about a 5cm distance between hole and image I need something like f 160 (f = aperture) i.e. 0.25 mm hole. 

So, I did not spend too much time with calculations and I have to say 1mm holes are rather large for the distance but I got back 80% of my vision with an acceptable loss of light (possibly 40% in my left eye - Photo 8) and a good three dimensional image depiction. 

Thanks to this marvellous organ called the brain and the light sensitive iris in the eye which  adjusts to the right amount of light, the system works. 

After some time and using the eyepatch through all  last summer’s longbow demonstrations, now, when the eyepatch is on, it feels like it is a part of me. The brain has learnt to look through the  same holes more or less and my accuracy in long distance shooting has improved!

Now you may ask- how about contact lenses! Very good idea but my eyes rejected them 10 years ago and as for laser surgery, not for me !

                               Left eye                                                                Right eye
                                                                      Photo 8

My first eyepatch is experimental and I  look forward to making another one in the future with finer holes and  metal. It works for me, (Photo 9 ) it looks original and somehow brings  to the attention of people a very common injury which is largely ignored by historical representations.

                                           Photo 9
                                                       

                                                                         

Acknowledgements 

Physics 20 Resources

http://www.spiritsd.ca/curr_content/physics20/light/pinholediagram.htm

Portsmouth Natural History Museum / Transformed into Camera Obscura for School Workshops

http://www.teamlocals.co.uk/portsmouth-natural-history-museum-transformed-into-camera-obscura-for-family-workshops-044

Glasses

http://wikipedia.unicefuganda.org/latest/A/Glasses.html

Museum of the History of Science / Italy

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jere7my/sets/72157622091191300/

©  GREX LUPORUM
Please do not reproduce without permission.

  

THE ARCHER WITH TWO BOWS

THE ARCHER WITH TWO BOWS

A personal understanding.

510 BCE. From Vulci. British Museum.

Original painting is placed in a full circle.

At the British Museum there is a ceramic plate that depicts an archer with two Scythian bows. The plate is dated 510 BCE. The archer also inspects an arrow. (Photo 1)

                                      Photo 1

                                    Archer with two bows. 510 BCE. From Vulci. British Museum.

The arrow has small round shaped feathers and the nock is of the swift tail type (Photo 2).

                                   Photo 2 

The archer is a combatant with an open faced and earhole helmet for good visibility and hearing and is of the  Illyrian or Attic  type with a crest. He has no armour but a commonly designed quiver with a soft cloth or leather covering  is suspended by a strap from the right shoulder over to his left side.

One bow is strapped  on the quiver and the other is in front of him and somehow it looks that it is supported on his left arm. Both bows are armed.

Looking at the painting we can possibly assume that the archer inspects one of his  arrows or maybe his last (the quiver is covered)  before he shoots it with the bow that is in front of him and  is in a ready position to be picked up and used. 

Strangely enough the archer is looking in to the far distance which possibly indicates that the inspection of the arrow has just finished and he has started looking at his target. 

The archer is knelt down, in the classic fighting position. He is barefoot, a classic heroic interpretation seen on Hellenic pottery.  

This is an unusual depiction (also another one older of  Herakles- Photo 3) of an archer of the period with two  bows and the question is why.

                                               Photo 3
                     575-550 BCE. Corinthian red-ground crater. Heracles rescues Hesione from the Ketos.

Is the second bow a spare one  or are the two bows for different applications i.e. different type of arrows, distance or impact.
One bow looks bigger than the other but also the artistic licence of the artist has to be taken in to consideration. He had to place his painting in a perfect circle, a harmonious arrangement. 
The perspective here is at an angle because the plate was exhibited very high up at the British Museum and there was no way anyone would allow me to remove it from the glass cabinet display. 

But still,  is it a decorative piece, a commemoration of a specific battle or for a person that has been  lost in a battle?
What is the message here?  Perhaps “The last arrow counts”, but it also indicates that the archer has the technical knowledge that requires him to inspect the quality and effectiveness of the arrows. It  almost suggests that the archer is fully aware about arrow making and what to look for in the best quality. In order to inspect you have to have the knowledge of making it. 

This kind of iconography has appeared on other  images of the same Late Archaic period (Photo 4), including a ring shield. It is like a “fashionable” trend that brings archery to public attention. It is presented as skilful,  honourable,   and becomes acceptable by Hellenes who regarded archery as not a “fair way” of fighting.

                                               

                                   Photo 4

                                   Left:   520-510 BCE >Drinking cup (kylix)

                                   Hellenic archer inspecting arrow.
                                   • Greek, Late Archaic Period
                                   • the Carpenter Painter,
                                   PLACE OF MANUFACTURE :Athens, Attica, Greece

                                   DIMENSIONS: Height: 17.4 cm (6 7/8 in.); diameter 23.8 cm (9 3/8 in.)
                                          Right:  Period: Archaic Date: ca. 500 B.C.E. Culture: Greek Medium: Chalcedony 

                                   Dimensions:   length 11/16 in.   (1.7 cm) Classification: Gems. Archer testing arrow.

So, is it something to do with Scythian archers serving the state during the Pisistratid tyranny in Athens 561 - 510 BCE and the necessities of new ways of fighting?

Perhaps the archer is  a Hellene from an elite family - looking at his elaborate helmet, and two bows could be an officer (Toxarhis)-who has been trained in archery from Scythian archers and their bows and he is just practising !

Well, I think the curious element here is the two bows. 

There are not any written manuals about archers’ fighting techniques or tactics from this period. Perhaps this image is trying to say to us that some archers used two bows for different jobs. Maybe a well trained elite. The helmet has an earhole for  good hearing. Is this an indication of a well commanded unit?

Many questions and the answer is as always, with the artist who painted.

One thing we have to consider is that an image like this is a cultural icon and is connected with the physical world of the time.

Thank you.