For Sale: Roman Helmet

Debi said:
www.atlasobscura.com

For Sale: A Mouse-Infested Roman Helmet That's Stumping Historians

Are the mysterious mice adorning this 1,800-year-old helmet part of an ancient joke?
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The mice on the helm certainly meant something to the owner of the helm. There were no coincidences when it came to what a person adorned on their armor or dress wear. Could've been something from Reach For It and Achieve, Regardless of Your Stature or as simple as a nickname, who knows. It wasn't put there for decoration, only purpose. Maybe the dude liked mice or if it were me, i'd have put it there so people would question it hundreds or thousands of years later lol.
 
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Selectric said:
The mice on the helm certainly meant something to the owner of the helm. There were no coincidences when it came to what a person adorned on their armor or dress wear. Could've been something from Reach For It and Achieve, Regardless of Your Stature or as simple as a nickname, who knows. It wasn't put there for decoration, only purpose. Maybe the dude liked mice or if it were me, i'd have put it there so people would question it hundreds or thousands of years later lol.
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I think it's just a really cool looking helmet! Who said fashion wasn't a "thing" back then? lol
 
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My take on this is no one would have a mouse on a ceremonial helmet without a classical education, which most Romans had, they did value the Greek myths fables and legends, they valued them also with Mathematics, astronomy and education.
I think the owner of the helmet was following legends, but the fables of Greece have many variations one is below:-

Collections Online | British Museum

www.britishmuseum.org www.britishmuseum.org
You may remember another variation where a mouse removes a thorn from a lions foot and become friends.
I think the owner had a ceremonial helmet that couldn't be used, but was originally a slave and Gladiator, if you survived long enough in the Colosseum, sometimes you were granted freedom.
He may have been educated and chosen the name Meek.
Some of these people become wealthy, perhaps he wanted to remember his beginnings
If he was here today, he would have liked the Disney variation:-
disney.fandom.com

Rescue Aid Society

Rescue Aid Society is an organization consisting of United Nations delegates who answer calls of help from distressed children all over the world. It was featured in the 1977 Disney animated film The Rescuers and its 1990 sequel, The Rescuers Down Under. The Rescue Aid Society was first...
disney.fandom.com disney.fandom.com
He may have been a Greek warrior who had fallen foul of the Roman Empire and become a slave and become a Gladiator, gained his freedom, changed his name and become wealthy.
Fables always get added to.
 
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We have many fables that may not be true, but they are set up with virtues, obviously we have no better way to govern ourselves than democracy, but politics can get very dirty, we sometimes hold up Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus as a person of virtue!
en.wikipedia.org

Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
It is hard now to follow through without a classical education, but many chose to name history by obscure myths, even up to 18th century.
Americans must wonder where the Name Cincinnati came from?
en.wikipedia.org

Society of the Cincinnati - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

Society of Cincinnati​

Cincinnatus statue at Sawyer Point Park
On January 4, 1790, Arthur St. Clair, the governor of the Northwest Territory, changed the name of the settlement to "Cincinnati" in honor of the Society of the Cincinnati, of which he was president,[12] possibly at the suggestion of the surveyor Israel Ludlow.[13] The society gets its name from Cincinnatus, the Roman general and dictator, who saved the city of Rome from destruction and then quietly retired to his farm.[3][d] The society was composed of Continental Army officers of the Revolutionary War.[3]
 
I love all the information here. I had a simple thought. Maybe that's not bread but cheese and the helmet represents what all war is about, taking someone else's cheese. Notice the mouse has not gotten the prize yet but is looking at it. Just a silly fun take on it.
 
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Bread symbolism below:-

Bread, Symbolism of | Encyclopedia.com

BREAD, SYMBOLISM OF BREAD, SYMBOLISM OF. Bread is among the most popular foods in the world. Whether it is leavened or unleavened, made into loaves or cakes, baked, steamed, or fried in oil, bread is universal. Whatever the grain, bread occupies an important place in every civilization. It has...
www.encyclopedia.com www.encyclopedia.com
 
Lynne said:
I love all the information here. I had a simple thought. Maybe that's not bread but cheese and the helmet represents what all war is about, taking someone else's cheese. Notice the mouse has not gotten the prize yet but is looking at it. Just a silly fun take on it.
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Hi Lynne, I think it was bread, some were found at Pompeii, i wouldn't fancy a bit now!
www.visitnaples.eu

The 2,000-year-old bread found at Pompeii excavations | visitnaples.eu

From the excavations of the archaeological site of Pompeii new finds continue to arrive, some of them very surprising. One of the latest finds: loaves of bread from 2000 years ago.
www.visitnaples.eu www.visitnaples.eu
 
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