A retiarius ("net fighter") with a trident and cast net, fighting a secutor (79 AD mosaic).
There were many different types of gladiators in ancient Rome. 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. Different gladiator types specialized in specific weapons and fighting techniques. Combatants were usually pitted against opponents with different, but more or less equivalent equipment, for the sake of a fair and balanced contest. Most gladiators only fought others from within the same school or ludus, but sometimes specific gladiators could be requested to fight one from another ludus.
Elite gladiators wore high-quality decorative armour for the pre-game parade (Pompa). Julius Caesar's gladiators wore silver armour, Domitian's wore golden armour and Nero's wore armour decorated with carved amber. Peacock feathers were used for plumes while tunics and loincloths had patterns in gold thread. For the fighting, functional combat armour was used; this too could be elaborately decorated. Some artistic sources, such as reliefs and mosaics, show gladiators with a various number of tassels hanging from one arm or leg. It has been speculated that they were a form of "scorecard" to show the number of fights a gladiator had won.[1] Contests were managed by arena referees, and were fought under strict rules and etiquette.[2][3][4]
Combat was probably accompanied by music, whose tempo might have varied to match that of the combat. Typical instruments were a long straight trumpet (tuba), a large curved brass instrument (lituus), and a water organ (organum). During the Imperial period, the games might be preceded by a mimus, a form of comedy show. An image from Pompeii shows a "flute playing bear" (Ursus tibicen) and a "horn-blowing chicken" (Pullus cornicen), that may have been part of such a mimus.[5]
different typesofgladiators in ancient Rome. Some of the first gladiators had been prisoners-of-war, and so some of the earliest typesofgladiators were...
A gladiator (Latin: gladiator, "swordsman", from gladius, "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire...
between Roman soldiers and their various slaves.[citation needed] ListofRomangladiatortypes Spartacus Ludus Dacicus Bronze figurine of a gladiator - British...
"myrmillo", pl. murmillones) was a typeofgladiator during the Roman Imperial age. The murmillo-class gladiator was adopted in the early Imperial period...
that the woman will either be a poisoner, malicious, or ugly. ListofRomangladiatortypes Duncan, Anne (2006). Performance and Identity in the Classical...
(singular: dimachaerus) were a typeofRomangladiator that fought with two swords. The name is the Latin-language borrowing of the Greek word διμάχαιρος meaning...
Madrid, there is a series on Roman circuses including a duel between two female gladiators. ListofRomangladiatortypes The singular dates to a 4th/5th...
Rome was any of the various typesofgladiator who used a large shield called a samnite shield, which is named after another typeofgladiator—a samnite...
crupellarius (Latin: Crupellarius, pl. Crupellarii) was a typeof heavy armored gladiator during the Roman Imperial age, whose origin was Gaul. The standard crupellarius...
hoplomachus (pl. hoplomachi) (hoplon meaning "equipment" in Greek) was a typeofgladiator in ancient Rome, armed to resemble a Greek hoplite (soldier with heavy...
laquearii, laquerarii, and laqueatores; literally, "snarer") was a class ofRomangladiator that fought with a lasso or noose (laqueus) in one hand and a poniard...
bestiariorum). The second type was where several armed bestiarii were let loose at once against a number of beasts. ListofRomangladiatortypes Entry on Bestiarii...
freedwoman. ListofRomangladiatortypes Caesar, Julius. Gallic War, IV.33 and V.16. Grout, James. "Essedarius". Penelope at University of Chicago. Retrieved...
retiarii; literally, "net-man" in Latin) was a Romangladiator who fought with equipment styled on that of a fisherman: a weighted net (rete (3rd decl.)...
films, artworks and games. It is featured in films such as Roman Holiday, Gladiator, The Way of the Dragon, Jumper, and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire....
opening of the Colosseum, Titus presented 100 days of arena events, with 3,000 gladiators competing on a single day. Roman fascination with gladiators is indicated...
kind ofgladiator in Ancient Rome, who fought about the funeral pyre (Latin: bustum) of the deceased at a Roman funeral. Bustuarii were considered of even...
outcomes of the major events. For example, one poster declares a gladiator to be the "Heart throb of the girls." A recovered fresco depicts the end of a fight...
The Gladiator Mosaic from Rome depicts a fighting scene, naming each gladiator involved. A gladiatorial scene is also known from Leptis Magna. Roman portrait...
games held in honour of deceased Roman magnates by their heirs, featuring fights to the death by gladiators, usually armed prisoners of war, at the funeral...
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