Well, it goes back further than that.   Have a look at the friezes from the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the surviving pieces of which are in the British Museum.   They depict Greeks (male) fighting Amazons (female, bien sûr).   The Amazons aren't wearing any protective clothing and the Greeks aren't wearing a huge amount of anything.    Obviously, the elfin safety crowd were less influential in those days.