Ancient Greek Sea Serpent Helmets

Ancient Greek sea Serpent Crested War Helmet

messapian sea monster helmet

I came across these objects while on a photo search. Like so many of these oddities I see, they were being sold as curiosities on the Antique Art market. These are some Ancient Greek helmets said to be decorated in a fashion meant to resemble Sea serpents. If that is the case it is one of the more remarkable depictions of specifically Longnecks to be shown in antiquity. I have a suspicion the design originated around the North Sea and was brought South on the Amber route.

These helmets have a striking "Periscope" illustrated facing either direction and each one with a striking jagged crest or fin (mane) down the mid-back. There may be small "Ears" (or horns) on the head but more importantly the heads and necks are in the same approximate proportion to each other as my statistical norm for modern reports (Which is also just about Oudemans' average of his reports and Dinsdale's average estimates for the Loch Ness Monster) and moreover the eyes are about midway along the top, insisted on in some reports and proper for a Plesiosaur. The arrangement is also interesting because it is anther design implying "The head end is like the tail end" by making the mirrored-head/neck the same as in the Northwest coast Sisiutl.

I am reading those odd trefoil terminations as flippers and not as the ends of short tails, although they do resemble the common stylization of "dragon's tails" more usually shown later on.

17th Century 'Dragon' At Metropolitan Museum of Art

Sea Dragon
Date:17th century

Geography:Italy

Medium:Wood, brass

Dimensions:
Approx. : H. 20.3 x W. 8.9 x L. 138.4cm (8 x 3 1/2 x 54 1/2in.) Bocal & Reed: L. 22.9 cm (9 in.)
Classification:Aerophone-Reed Vibrated

Credit Line: The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889

Accession Number:89.4.881a-c

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 684

This and a similar dragon in The Cincinnati Art Museum are the only known instruments of this kind to survive. Used as a stage prop, it probably appeared in masquerades and theatrical scenes depicting the underworld. The instruments were capable of producing sounds and noises that supported onstage dramaturgical actions both visually and aurally. Made from two joined hollowed out lengths of wood, the dragon was then sculpted, painted a dark green and gilded on its head and fins. During the 19th century the body was partially re-painted black. The original mouthpiece and bocal are now missing

-Interestingly, this late dragon design is basically also like a Plesiosaur with a big head: the head and neck, body and tail are each about one third of the total length. The head is clearly separated from the body by a length of neck and at the base of the neck are two large fins or flippers: there are also indications of sockets for two more fins or flippers at the base of the tail, but these have been removed. The neck is thinner than the body and is curved into a very shallow s-shape, the body is thicker at the shoulder and then tapers back to the end of the tail, as is specified in certain reports. The head is remarkable in that it does show the "horns" as ears once again, but also the nostrils are placed in front of the eyes (in the proper place for a Plesiosaur) and there seem to be indications for both the Euryapsid openings of the skull and also the ear-holes indicated separately. Furthermore there are reports whuch seem to indicate a "Ruffle" of loose skin all the way around the back of the head, and in this case adorned with the "Mane" which once again seems to be composed of fleshy strips rather than hair) -DD.

Two Bestiary Sea Monsters

Year: 1638
Scientist: Ulisse Aldrovandi
Originally published in: De Piscibus
Now appears in: "Monk Seals in Post-Classical History" by William Johnson in Mededelingen No. 39
Like Conrad Gesner, Aldrovandi passed along his share of misinformation. In published books, misconceptions could multiply because many artists were illiterate. As a result, illustrations didn't always match the written descriptions they accompanied. It's hard to say what's more remarkable about this serpentine sea monster: it's precise aim in dousing a seal with a waterspout from its own head, or its ability to wriggle on the water's surface. Either way, the turtle observing the spectacle appears entertained.

After examining the depiction and doing what research I can on the depiction, I believe this is showing one of the big moray eels Bernard Heuvelmans spoke of as living in the Mediterranean,  and I think it is probably about the only reasonably accurate depiction we would have of such a creature. The "Vertical undulation" as shown is the belief of most people creatures whether or not it is actually true. Against this possibility are two other objections which come to mind: the first is that eels cannot "Spout Water" as a whale does. True but they can actually spit real water out of the mouth when hauled up on land and that is a possible cause of confusion. The second is that the "Camoflage" colouration Heuvelmans ascribes to this creature is not shown. And to that the only answer would possibly be that the creature should have such markings but the artist chose to make his job simpler by not indicating the pattern.

Year: 1635
Scientist/artist: Juan Eusebio Nieremberg
Originally published in: Historia Naturae
Now appears in: The Science of Describing by Brian W. Ogilvie
Gesner suspected that the walrus (which he called "rosmarus") was the same as another creature known as "morss piscis." That was an accomplishment, considering how different they looked. This especially fuzzy, scrappy picture was likely made from a dried skin. Poorly preserved specimens and confusing illustrations meant that the two animals weren't recognized as the same thing until the end of the 17th century. Nieremberg published this illustration in a book about odd creatures, most of them from the New World. A similar looking animal also appeared in an engraving of the naturalist Ferrante Imperato's museum.

My understanding is that the caption means generically "Marine Fish" and is no clue to the identity. I think this is one of those Master-Otters caught travelling out at sea, and the illustration ois actually taken after the pelt of one such creature. If it is of a length comparable to a walrus (which it does not resemble in any other way), it might be 10-12 feet long. And the flaring out of the tail is probably reasonable enough given the limitated understanding of the illustrator. I imagine the "Streamers" on the bottom toward the rear indicate where the hind limbs would be and probably the hide of the hind legs was damaged either by the removal of the skin, by poor subsequent handling, or possibly by curious individuals taking samples of the hide off, leaving the tattered appearance. This is definitely a very hairy sea-beast, and that narrows down the possibilities considerably.

Both of these engravings and the descriptions are from
http://www.strangescience.net/stsea2.htm