Modern day dudes have an obsession with six-pack abs. They're the ultimate sign of beach-body-ness, a handsome trophy for all that broccoli you ate and all those planks you did, and for many of us, elusively mythical. Even in today's dad-bod-friendly times, their allure remains. But this fascination isn't anything new. In fact, it's ancient—like, ancient Greece ancient. They believed a perfect body was the idealized body, all part of their humanist belief system. Back then, they were so into it they even sculpted their armor with rippling pecs and muscles.

To find out why they made such pumped up gear, Vox sought the opinions of Greek history scholars Hans Van Wees and Lee Brice. "All the abstracts were for show," says Brice, confirming there are at least no structural benefits to the carved muscles. But, even if the armor was purely chiseled for aesthetic purposes, the armored muscles still had some advantages. The pair also say that it was likely made to intimidate enemies. After all, seeing a ripped body made of bronze hurl itself at you had to strike some sort of fear into the Trojans, right? Beyond that, they also infer that the plates made the warriors feel more heroic. We'd have to agree with them on that one. If we looked like that, we'd feel like Hercules. (After updating Tinder, of course.)