HERA 
part of a ftatue of Achilles; it was found near the an¬ 
cient bavinium, not far from OJlia, and was in the pofleflion 
of 'General Shouwaloff, when the call, after which we 
defcribe it, was made. We are aware that Achyies isre- 
prefented by Homer,and Virgil, as wearing a confpieu- 
ous ere ft, il Jrlac Phryges injlaret curru criftatus Achilles:” 
but the ornaments of the cafque, fig. 6, Plate VIII. do 
not feerii to allude to this hero. The crefi is a fphinx, be¬ 
neath which, on each fide, is a mod exquififely carved 
gryphon; and nearer to the forehead are figures of two 
dogs. Nifbet mentions this as belonging to Minerva, 
and as the fphinx denotesacutenefs of mind, the griffins, 
old guardians of treafures, fecrecy, and the dogs fide¬ 
lity, he may be right, againft Winkelman and all other 
antiquaries. However, as it is not our province to de¬ 
cide upon this queftion, we fhall content ourfelves with 
obfervihg, that here we have the fecond ftage of the ru¬ 
diments of a modern crefi. 
The Latin dallies mention, in feveral places, chi- 
melas, lions, eagles, and other animals, as forming the 
moft elevated part of the helmet; and an elegant de- 
feription of fuch a crefi: appears in ^n. lib. vii. v. 783. 
Ipfe inter primos prseftanti corpore Turnus 
Vertitur, arma tenens, et toto vertice fupra eft. 
Cui triplici crinita jiiba galea alta chimteram 
Suftinet, AEtneos efilantem faucibu's ignes. 
An imagination that is ready either to conceive, or to 
admire, what others have framed beforehand, cannot 
help feeling in thefe two laft lines the grand idea of a 
crefi which, ftanding over the undaunted forehead of a 
hero, has the double effe&of frightening the foe, by in¬ 
timating the high qualities of the wearer. Virgil in this 
book of his inimitable poem, conlcious that he was ufti- 
ering, for the firft time, this fecondary hero to his read¬ 
ers, delighted in the defeription, and, foaring above the 
general and even tone of this book, fangof the threefold 
mane of horfe’s hairs, and of the lofty chimera towering 
o’er his brows, and breathing with open jaws a volcano of 
unremitting flames. Alexander the Great, from the con- 
feious idea of his undaunted courage, at firft adopted 
the lion for the ornament of his helmet; but when, in¬ 
toxicated by flattery and ambition, he vain’y called 
himfelf the fon of Jupiter Ammon, he aflumed the goat, in 
allufipn to the goat’s horns affixed to the head of that 
god. Julius Caefar, it is faid, chofe a Jlar for his crefi, 
in allulion to the evening ftar, over which Venus, the 
head of the Julian race, was fuppofed to prefide. 
The moft precious remains of antiquity, the medals, 
intaglios, and gems, furniffi us with abundant proofs 
that the helmet generally bore a crefi ; and defeending 
with time into all ages, we find that a crefi was as com¬ 
mon to a helmet, as a diamond or other ftone to a ring. 
Nifbet, whofe opinion in this cafe we adopt entirely, 
but whofe examples we did not think proper to borrow, 
fince we found ourfelves fufficiently able to elucidate 
and prove our aflertions without his help, though very 
prolix, is generally correct in thefe matters, and 
deferves to be attentively read by all true admirers of 
the fcience of heraldry. 
From thefe ornaments of hncient helmets arofe the 
modern crefis which now decorate coats of arms. Some 
writers are of opinion that our brave Edward III. was 
the firft who introduced fuch a device; and that after 
the inftit.ution of the order of the garter every knight 
adopted this ornament, in imitation of their heroic fove- 
reign; yet we muff beg leave to diffent from this opi¬ 
nion, and to ftate our belief, that from the time of the 
Romans to the pr^lent 'day, the wearing of crefis, though 
not hereditary, has fullered but very little, if any, in¬ 
terruption. _ 
Many ancient families, who can boaft of hereditary 
arms, have no crefis recorded in any way; and yet the 
crefi was often confidered of greater importance than 
the arms themfelves. The crefi is fometimes borrowed 
Vol.IX. No. 598. 
E l) R Y. 445 
from a charge in the field, and often produces the fup- 
porters; this is the cafe with the Britifli arms, where 
one of the lions paflant gardant or, becomes the crefi, 
and Hands on the dexter fide of the Afield ; it is a truly 
noble fupporter. Some of the French famines, long be- 
-lore the levelling revolution commenced, under which 
that country has not yet ceafed to groan, had neglected 
the notice of the crefi; and it was rather uncommon to 
fee it in that country painted on carriages, or engraved 
on plate, along with the arms. The Germans,'on the 
contrary, crowd the top of their fliields with as many 
crefis as they can m.ufter; and it is impoffible to deny 
•that it has a moft confpicuous and confequential appear¬ 
ance. Every quartering in their achievement feems 
entitled to a crefi, and each crefi has a helmet for its 
fupport. 
The name of the crefi in Greek is and in Latin 
crijla ; in French cimier, or. timbre ; in Italian cimiero\ 
but the word timbre, Lat. thimbrum, is common to the 
helmet alfo,' and means rather the form of it than any 
thing elfe; as the French fiill call the bell of a ftriking 
clock by that name, in allufion to its helmet-like form. 
It mud here beobferved, that a great number of ancient 
families did not adopt any crefis at all ; and that the 
want of it to coats armorial becomes often a proof of 
high antiquity, and of originality. 
Of CROWNS and CORONETS. 
Crowns were not originally a mark of fovereignty. 
They were bellowed on the beft finger at a’feuft, on the 
beft runner in the Olympic or Nemean games', and upon 
thofe who by fome particular talents or exertions rofe 
above their competitors. The crown or garland was 
placed on the head, as the feat of wifdom, fancy, and 
wit; and as the moft confpicuous antf noble part of the 
human frame. It was voted, among the Romans, to 
thofe who, after great military and fuccefsful exertions, 
were entitled to the triumphal honours; and in times 
wdien virtue had more value than gold, it was contpofed 
of Angle leaves of laurel, plucked from the neighbouring 
grove; but the native fimplicity of manners being altered, 
gold was fubftituted inftead of the plain garland of bay- 
leaves ; and in Tully’s time the triumphant hero began 
to prefer th t'aurum coronarium, or money, granted inftead 
of a crown, to the bare but more noble dignity of the 
crown itfelf; this was called the triumphal crown. The Ro¬ 
man fenate, confidering the. baldnels of Julius Caefar’s 
head, granted him the perpetual honours of a laurel 
wreath, and thus a mere deficiency of hairs was con¬ 
cealed under the infignia of magnanimity, heroifm, and 
victory. See Plate VIII. fig. 15. Livy, in. feveral parts 
of Lis works, mentions the corona obfidionalis of the Ro¬ 
mans; and “indeed that great people, worthy to fucceed 
in the annals of the world to the preponderant exiftence of 
the Grecian ftates, let no occafion flip when they could 
infpire the warrior with boldnefs,' intrepidity, and cou¬ 
rage. A crown was ever waiting for the leader on his 
return : when by a coupde main or a fally he had victual¬ 
led and preferved a citadel long befieged, or raifed by 
Ikilful manoeuvres, or Jjold and timely fuccour, a tire- 
lome blockade, and forced the befiegers to abandon their 
plan;—in this boaftful,. but arduous, moment, what 
had he to expeCt from his fellow citizens, as a reward 
for the jeopardy of his life i? Was it the golden dia¬ 
dem, the treafures of the city, or the molt profitable 
places in the government ? No—a handful of Ample 
grafs, plucked from the very fpot where he difplayed 
his valour; and that alone furpalfed, in his eftimation, 
every fpecies of remuneration or reward. If the duties 
of man, which are fo amiably exprefled and enforced in 
the golpel of Chrift; if the love of each other, the. real 
bafis of the Chriftian difpenfation, were to operate on our 
minds, as they appear to have done on the magnanimous 
Romans, we ffiould not have to wonderat their wreathing 
with a crown the temples of him who, at the expenfe 
jX of 
