Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary/Crista

Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary, and Greek Lexicon (Rich, 1849)

CRISTA (λόφος). The crest of a helmet; which was affixed to an elevated ridge (apex) on the top of the scull-cap. (Virg. Aen. xii. 89. Liv. x. 39. Plin. H. N. vii. 57.) Both the apex and crista are often included under the latter term; but the real difference between the two words is that given. The illustration (Crista/1.1) here introduced affords an example of three Roman helmets, with their crests composed of feathers, from a group originally belonging to the Arch of Trajan, but now inserted on the Arch of Constantine, near the Coliseum. The Greek crests were more usually made of horse-hair, with the entire tail falling down behind, as a protection to the nape of the neck and back, like the left-hand figure in the following engraving (Crista/1.2), from a fictile vase; and they sometimes added as many as three crests to one helmet, like the right-hand figure in the engraving, from a statue of Minerva.

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  Crista/1.1
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  Crista/1.2