DA ONATAS A LAPHYRA TRE ELMI DI CUMA OFFERTI A OLIMPIA

Abstract

Little more than 200 years ago, in 1817, some european visitors bought a Negau helmet with a large
inscription recalling the Sicilian tyrant Hiero. It was a recently discovered helmet in the waters of
the Alpheios river, near Olympia. This is the beginning of a long story, which mixes the first steps of
the archaeological research, the evolution of the study on the votive offerings and the war spoils, the
understanding of Olympia itself and the exhibitions of offerings, and about how we use and abuse
of the archaeological items.
On the basis of the helmet found in 1817 together with other two helmets with the same inscription
discovered recently, the paper shall discuss first, the typology and inscriptions, and secondly, their
value in the sanctuary as parts of a unique political offering or, perhaps, parts of a program with
multiple offerings. Finally, the immutable social and political value of these votive objects from past
till present shall be addressed.