roman gladiator

A scutarius was any gladiator who used a large shield (scutum), as opposed to any gladiator who used a small shield (parmularius). The retiarius wore a loincloth held in place by a wide belt and a larger arm guard (manica) extending to the shoulder and left side of the chest. The bestiarius was a beast-fighter. [15], The murmillo (plural murmillones) or myrmillo wore a helmet with a stylised fish on the crest (the mormylos or sea fish), as well as an arm guard (manica), a loincloth and belt, a gaiter on his right leg, thick wrappings covering the tops of his feet, and a very short greave with an indentation for the padding at the top of the feet. Not all rudiarii continued to fight; there was a hierarchy of rudiarii that included trainers, helpers, referees, and fighters.[26][27]. The sagittarius was a mounted archer, armed with a reflex bow capable of propelling an arrow a great distance. The, "Gladiators - The Language of the Arena - Archaeology Magazine Archive", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Roman_gladiator_types&oldid=977075987, Pages containing links to subscription-only content, Wikipedia pending changes protected pages, Articles with dead external links from December 2017, Articles with permanently dead external links, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 6 September 2020, at 19:47. He had neither a helmet nor a shield, but wore protective wrappings on his lower legs and head. Tacitus' source could refer to a heavily armoured Roman "Gallus" type, which by Tacitus' own time had been developed and renamed as the Murmillo. Some artistic sources, such as reliefs and mosaics, show gladiators with a various number of tassels hanging from one arm or leg. Gladiatorial games ended one of three ways: one of the combatants called for mercy by raising his finger, the crowd asked for the end of the game, or one of the combatants was dead. [21], The retiarius ("net fighter") developed in the early Augustan period. "[11] Even among gladiators, it was an unflattering term: Cicero used it to liken the morals of his enemy Clodius to those of the very lowest gladiator class.

[15] The Essedarius fought from a chariot. Some of the first gladiators had been prisoners-of-war, and so some of the earliest types of gladiators were experienced fighters; Gauls, Samnites, and Thraeces (Thracians) used their native weapons and armor. They drank what must have been vile brews of charred wood or bone ash to increase their calcium levels—analysis of the bones at Ephesus found very high levels of calcium. Occasionally a metal shoulder shield (galerus) was added to protect the neck and lower face. ThoughtCo uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. As the numbers and frequency of the games increased, the risks of dying also increased, and Romans and volunteers began enlisting. Many of the men in the Ephesus cemetery died after having survived multiple blows to the head: ten skulls had been bashed by blunt objects, and three had been punctured by tridents. Gladiator, professional combatant in ancient Rome. "[36], The lanista was an owner-trainer of a troop of gladiators. Marcus Junkelmann, 'Familia Gladiatoria: "The Heroes of the Amphitheatre"' in The Power of Spectacle in Ancient Rome: Gladiators and Caesars, ed. In the sacramentum gladiatorium or "oath of the Gladiator'" the potential gladiator, whether enslaved or a hitherto free man, swore uri, vinciri, verberari, ferroque necari patior—"I will endure to be burned, to be bound, to be beaten, and to be killed by the sword." Gladiators were trained at the ludi to fit into specific gladiator categories, which were organized based on how they fought (on horseback, in pairs), what their armor was like (leather, bronze, decorated, plain), and what weapons they used.

Not all gladiators were brought to the arena in chains. The retiarus stood on a bridge or raised platform with stairs and had a pile of fist-sized stones to throw at his adversaries. [31], There's limited information, but it's believed the veles (pl. For the fighting, functional combat armour was used; this too could be elaborately decorated. Although the first privately organised Roman gladiator contests in 264 BCE were to commemorate the dea… [7], The arbelas as gladiator type is mentioned only in the Oneirocritica of Artemidorus, which discusses dream-symbols and their significance in dream interpretation. In 174 BCE, 74 men fought for three days to honor the dead father of Titus Flaminus; and up to 300 pairs fought in the games offered to the shades of Pompey and Caesar. Author's sketch and note, p. 18. A man who knows how to conquer in war is a man who knows how to arrange a banquet and put on a show. [15], Eques, plural equites, was the regular Latin word for a horseman or cavalryman. But they were in excellent health and received expert medical care as evidenced by perfectly healed bone fractures.

Some emperors such as Commodus (ruled 180–192 CE) played as gladiators for the thrill; the warriors came from all parts of the empire. They were part of the class of moral outcasts, the infamia.

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