Galea ( helmet ) - wikipedia Galea ( helmet ) Modern reconstruction of a centurion helmet, first century. Notice the embossed eyebrows and the circular brass bosses typical of the Imperial Gallic helmets. Development of the legionary helmet or galea Montefortino Coolus Imperial Imperial Gallic Imperial Italic A galea was a Roman soldier 's helmet. Some gladiators, myrmillones, also wore a bronze galea with a face mask and a decoration, often a fish on its crest. The exact form or design of the helmet varied significantly over time, between differing unit types, and also between individual examples - pre-industrial production was by hand -- so it is not certain to what degree there was any standardization even under the Roman Empire. Originally, Roman helmets were influenced by the neighboring Etruscans, people who utilised the `` Nasua '' type helmets. The Greeks in the south also influenced Roman design in the early history of Rome. The primary evidence is scattered archaeological finds, which are often damaged or incomplete. There are similarities of form and function between them. Contents 1 Helmet types 1.1 Legionary infantry helmets 2 Helmet crests 3 See also 4 References 5 External links Helmet types H. Russell Robinson in his book The Armour of Imperial Rome, published in 1975, classified into broad divisions the various forms of helmets that were found. He classified four main types of helmets for heavy infantry ( with subcategories named with letters ) and 30 different types of cheek guards. Helmets used by gladiators were quite different from military versions. Legionary infantry helmets Montefortino helmet ( 4th century BC - 1st century AD ) Coolus helmet ( 3rd century BC - at least 79 AD ) Imperial Gallic helmet ( late 1st century BC - early 2nd century AD ) Imperial Italic helmet ( late 1st BC - early 3rd century AD ) Ridge helmet, first depicted on coins of 4th - century AD emperor Constantine I. Helmet crests Some of the helmets used by legionaries had a crest holder. The crests were usually made of plumes or horse hair. While they are usually shown in red they probably occurred in other colors, like yellow, purple and black, and possibly in combinations of these colors such as alternating yellow and black. There is some evidence ( Vegetius writings and some sculptures ) that legionaries had their crests mounted longitudinally and centurions had them mounted transversely. Crests may have been worn at all times by centurions in the early Empire, including during battle, but legionaries, and centurions during other periods, probably wore crests only occasionally. See also Military of ancient Rome portal References Jump up ^ Kennett, Basil. `` Romae antiquae notitia ; or, The antiquities of Rome ''. 1792, p. 275 Jump up ^ Kelsy, Francis. `` C. Iulii Caesaris Commentarii Rerum Gestarum : Caesar 's Commentaries : The Gallic War, Books I - IV, with Selections from Books V - VII and from The Civil War ''. Allyn and Bacon, 1918, p. 622 External links http://www.roman-empire.net/articles/article-006.html http://museums.ncl.ac.uk/archive/arma/contents/artefax/armour/helmet/helmets.htm http://www.larp.com/legioxx/helmets.html http://www.legionsix.org/helmet.htm Helmets Individual historical helmets Agighiol Agris Benty Grange Canterbury Ciumeşti Coppergate Coțofenești Coventry Sallet Crosby Garrett Emesa Gjermundbu Guisborough Hallaton Iron Gates Meyrick Newstead Nijmegen Peretu Pioneer Ribchester Shorwell Staffordshire Sutton Hoo Waterloo Combat Ancient Attic Boar 's tusk Boeotian Chalcidian Coolus Corinthian Galea Illyrian type Imperial Kegelhelm Konos Late Roman ridge Montefortino Negau Phrygian Shmarjet Medieval and Early Modern Armet Aventail Barbute Bascinet Burgonet Cervelliere Close Enclosed Falling buffe Frog - mouth Great Hounskull Kabuto Kettle Kulah khud Lobster - tailed pot Mempo Morion Nasal Pickelhaube Sallet Secrete Spangenhelm Turban 1914 to 1945 Adrian Brodie Bulgarian M36 Danish M1923 German Stahlhelm Greek M1934 / 39 Italian M33 M42 Duperite M1 Mk III Mk IV Portuguese M1940 Polish wz. 31 RAC Soviet of WWII Swiss L'Eplattenier Post 1945 Advanced Combat CABAL II CCB CG634 Enhanced Combat ( Aust ) Enhanced Combat ( US ) Flight GK80 GOLFO Head Gear System HSAT Iraqi M80 Iraqi M90 JK 96 Lightweight Mo 44 E.T.A. M63 M76 Para M87 M1C Mk IV Mk 6 Mk 7 Modèle 1951 Modèle 1978 Modular Integrated Communications MPC - 1 OR - 201 Paratrooper PASGT Sfera SPECTRA SSh - 60 SSh - 68 Type 66 Athletic Batting Coolflo Bicycle Stackhat Cricket Diving Equestrian Gridiron football Eyeshield Revolution Hockey Lacrosse Motorcycle Racing Ski Work Custodian Firefighter 's Hard hat Lifeboatman 's Riot protection Welding Other Heraldic use Horned Mahiole Tarnhelm Pith American fiber Winged Zuckerman Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Galea_(helmet)&oldid=814245370 '' Categories : Ancient Roman legionary equipment Ancient Roman helmets Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Čeština Deutsch Español Français Galego Italiano Latina 日本 語 Polski Português Slovenčina Edit links This page was last edited on 7 December 2017, at 17 : 35. About Wikipedia

Question: what is the hair on top of a helmet called
Answer: crests