Thursday, August 24, 2017

Philistine Javelinmen

Another bunch of Old Glory 28 mm  Biblical era figures added for Saturdays game...


Identified with the "Philistines" of the Bible, these men are (perhaps) more properly referred to as Peleset, one of the "Sea Peoples".


They characteristically wore felt headdresses with feather crests. 


Their short swords were used for thrusting..


Leather (?) torso armor was commonly worn, as seen above. 


Supposedly the pattern and colors of the headbands varied by tribe and unit. 


These troops carry a pair of javelins as well as their sword and round shield. 


I went with simple off white tunics with contrasting borders, but several illustrations show colored tunics with several contrasting bands.  


The Philistines were said to habitually raze any cities they conquered, leading the term to be associated with A lack of appreciation for culture. 


The Peleset are thought to have originated from Crete and Anatolia, although this is far from certain. 




14 comments:

  1. Peter, I am working on figures that have similar "torso armor." Mine are Hebrew/Israeli/Canaanite. I wonder if this armor is more akin to linothorax than leather? As for tunics, I lean towards the figures wearing a kilt similar to Egyptians, Assyrians, or any number of early Near Eastern peoples. Having made my assertions, I will likely be corrected!

    Sea Peoples ought to be added into my project.

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    1. Layered linen etc is at least equally plausible; most likely both were used. Modern illustrations of Philistines often show colored kilts with a "window pane" pattern in contrasting colors; that would work as well.

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  2. A very impressive bunch of Philistines.

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    1. Thanks, Lawrence. We'll see ow they do on the tabletop tomorrow!

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  3. Lovely looking sea people, a rapidly expanding project!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks, Iain. I have a few more figures from the Libyan and Philistine ranks, and that's it for now. I might get a few ore early next year before my Army Card discount runs out. I have tons of Macedonians to paint, however!

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  4. Very nice! I've always loved those crested helmets.

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    1. Thank you, Simon. It is very distinctive, isn't it?

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  5. Excellent stuff, the Philistine skirmishers look especially striking.

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