Types of Gladiators
If one would run backwards through the centuries of time, and take a seat in the newly built Colosseum to bear witness to a gladiatorial fight they would be surprised. Little might one have known that the brave warriors depicted in countless Hollywood blockbusters are not simply "Gladiators." There isn't just one single kind; a man equipped with a sword and a shield. From the way they fought the battle that could have cost them their lives, all the way to the very equipment they used as they stood before perhaps their final foes, each gladiator had a different name. Each type is a little different from the next. So read below to learn what it really means to say "Gladiator."
If one would run backwards through the centuries of time, and take a seat in the newly built Colosseum to bear witness to a gladiatorial fight they would be surprised. Little might one have known that the brave warriors depicted in countless Hollywood blockbusters are not simply "Gladiators." There isn't just one single kind; a man equipped with a sword and a shield. From the way they fought the battle that could have cost them their lives, all the way to the very equipment they used as they stood before perhaps their final foes, each gladiator had a different name. Each type is a little different from the next. So read below to learn what it really means to say "Gladiator."
- Andabata - Jousted while blindfolded.
- Arbelas: Armed with dagger in right hand, and tubular vambrace (crescent shaped blade.) Wore chain or scale manica with chest plate. (Only fought Retiarii)
- Bestiarius - Battled animals, high chance of death.
- Bustuarri - Fougt in honor of deceased person.
- Cestus - Used a cestus which is an ancient kind of boxing glove to fist fight.
- Crupellarii - The Crupellarii used a gladius and a scutum. More defense oriented.
- Dimachaerus - Fought with two swords. This type of gladiator was popular in the 2nd - 4th centuries AD.
- Equites - Used spear and gladius while on horseback, fitted with arm shield called Manica (Eques only fought other Eques)
- Essedarius - Fought from a Chariot. Consist of 1 or 2 people.
- Gallus - The Gallus were literally gauls (prisoners of war) or people who fought in a gaulish style.
- Gladiatrix - This is any kind of female gladiator.
- Hoplomachus - Used a gladius and/or spear and a very small round shield. Heavily armored with helmet, wool leg wraps, and shin guards.
- Laquerii - Fought with lassos.
- Murmillo - Used a gladius and a tall oblong shield. Heavily armored.
- Paegenarii - Used whip, club and shield attached to left arm with straps.
- Praegenarii - Used to get crowd excited, fought with wooden swords. (Fought to music)
- Parmularius - Any gladiator that carried a parmula (small shield). A hoplomachus or a thraex would be a parmularias.
- Provocator - Only gladiator protected by a breastplate. They used a gladius and a tall rectangular shield.
- Retiarius - Used weighted fishing net and trident/spear. Protected by arm guard.
- Rudiarius - A gladiator who had earned freedom and got a wooden sword. If he decided not to retire he was called a Rudiarius.
- Sagittarius - Archer who rode on a horse
- Samnite - Used a short sword, a rectangular shield (scutum), a greave, and a helmet.
- Scissor - Used a short sword with two blades that looked like scissors.
- Scutarius - This was any gladiator that used a large shield called a samnite shield.
- Secutor - This was a gladiator with heavy armor.
- Tertiarius - sometimes two men would fight and the winner would face the third man (tertiarius).
- Thraex - This was a gladiator that had a very short sword and had a small round or square shield.
- Velites - The Velites fought on foot with a spear for throwing and they had very short swords.
Types of Weapons
The wars of mass destruction that claim thousands of people every single year are fought with weapons, which perhaps many know the names of. However, back in the time when the Roman Empire was the most powerful in the entire world, they had a great number of weapons that most have not even heard of before. There were swords short and long, thick and thin, sharp and dull, but each identified by a different term. Yet they also fought with the object that Poseidon clenched in his hand as he watched over the endless journey of the great warrior Odysseus, and the one that now serves as the logo of a well-known Italian car. But let this no longer distract your attention from the list, which holds the names of all of these weapons that this paragraph alluded to.
The wars of mass destruction that claim thousands of people every single year are fought with weapons, which perhaps many know the names of. However, back in the time when the Roman Empire was the most powerful in the entire world, they had a great number of weapons that most have not even heard of before. There were swords short and long, thick and thin, sharp and dull, but each identified by a different term. Yet they also fought with the object that Poseidon clenched in his hand as he watched over the endless journey of the great warrior Odysseus, and the one that now serves as the logo of a well-known Italian car. But let this no longer distract your attention from the list, which holds the names of all of these weapons that this paragraph alluded to.
- Sica or Siccae - A short, curved sword, with a blade about 16-18 inches long. The sica was commonly used by a Thrax (Thracian) gladiator and the Dimachaerus.
- Fascina - Tridents, harpoons- Fascina were long, three-pronged, metal tridents that were used by the gladiators called the Retiarii.
- Gladius - 27 inch short straight sword, broad towards the handle. The gladiators who used the gladius were secutor, myrmillo, hoplomachus and the dimacheris.
- Gladius Graecus - A leaf-shaped short sword. The Gladius Graecus was used by the Busturius and Hoplomachus gladiators.
- Pugio - A dagger, weapon of last resort of the Retiarii. The handle was shaped to fit snugly in the hand. The blade was made from either iron or bronze and was pear shaped.
- Pompeianus - A sword with parallel cutting edges and a triangular tip.
- Acinaces - A single edged cavalry sword.
- Spatha - A long sword, over 29.5 in, used by the Roman cavalry and the type of Gladiator who rode on horseback.
- Semispathae - Short swords and sometimes daggers were known as semispathae (half-spatha).
- Hasta - Spear used for thrusting, not throwing. Approximately six feet in length.
- Verutum- A short, light javelin approximately 43.3 in long used for skirmishing.
- Sphendone - Roman version of the sling.
- Venabulum (Menaulion) - Venabulum: A 6ft long thick wooden spear reinforced with long, winged head with an iron point. Used by Venotores for hunting and also by Essadari.
- Pilum - Heavy javelin approximately two meters long with a pyramidal head. Pila were sometimes referred to as javelins.
- Lancea - A short javelin, or spear, used for throwing.
- Plumbatae (martiobarbuli) - Lead-weighted darts often stored in the hollow of the shield.
- Arcus/sagitta - Bow and arrow. The bows were able to produce a draw weight of nearly 160 lb (72.5 Kg).
- Contus - An infantry pike or a riders lance. These were long, heavy, two-handed weapons.
- Laculum - Weighted casting net - the weapon of a retiarius.
- The Cheiroballistra - A short crossbow used by the romans.
- Dolabra - The Dolabra was a pickaxe and used as an entrenching tool.
- Falx - Curved sword with sharp edge on inside (like a scythe).
- Slings - Leather sack filled with pebbles.
Types of Armor
When we listen to the fairy tales that perhaps we heard as we prepared to fall asleep back when we were very young, we must have heard stories of knights in armor going around in castles. The armor those characters in those books could potentially have originated from the myriad kinds of armor that the Gladiators wore. Every single one protected a distinct part of the body. Some were made of leather, while the other out of metal, or another strong material. So here's to their protection methods that they employed in the arena.
When we listen to the fairy tales that perhaps we heard as we prepared to fall asleep back when we were very young, we must have heard stories of knights in armor going around in castles. The armor those characters in those books could potentially have originated from the myriad kinds of armor that the Gladiators wore. Every single one protected a distinct part of the body. Some were made of leather, while the other out of metal, or another strong material. So here's to their protection methods that they employed in the arena.
- Manica (pl.manicae) - A padding that covers the arm usually made from leather.
- Balteus - A belt that usually could hold a sword or a dagger
- Fascia - A padding that covers the lower leg made out of leather.
- Cassis - A Common helmet made from metal.
- Cuirass - A chest plate usually made out of metal.
- Galerus - A metal shoulder guard.
- Ocrea - A metal shin guard.
- Subarmallis - A Padding that was usually placed under the Cuirass, to prevent chafing.
- Parmula - A type of light shield, usually has a round shape and was made of metal or wood.
- Clipeus - A large body shield that was made out of metal. Usually oval shaped.
- Scutum - A large body shield that was made from metal. Rectangular shape, with slight curve on the side.
- Kalkriese - Face plate usually made from bronze.
- Lorica Hamata - Suit of chainmail that shielded shoulders, torso, upper body and back.
- Lorica squamata - A type of scale armor that protect the body, made from metal.
- Spangenhelms - A metal helmet covering cheeks, featuring a neck guard. The neck guard can be made from chainmail or leather.
- Spongia - A thin chest plate.
- Cetratus - A type of smaller shield that has an oval shape.
- Cingulum - Wider leather belt used to protect the waist.
- Greave - A leg plate that was used to protect the upper leg (or lower leg).