Gladiators
and Roman Identity
Performance of
Gladiators and Audience Members
Within the Gladiator camps there were several different types of fighters. One group, the Samnites, came into existence when the Romans defeated the Samnite people. The captured prisoners introduced new types of weaponry and military equipment to the Romans. These Samnites wore heavy armor which included a large oblong shield (scutum), a leather or partly metal greave worn on the left leg (ocrea), and a vizored helmet (galea) with huge crest and plumes. Other equipment included a sword (gladius) or lance (hasta). This group was just one of many.
Types of gladiators were various. The
following list gives descriptions of the assortment of the fighters.
Andebate: limbs and lower torso protected by mail armor, chest and back plate, large vizored helmet with eye holes.
Dimachaerus: sword fighter, but using two swords, no shield.
Equestrian: armored riders, chest plate, back plate, thigh armor, round shield, lance.
Essedarius: fights from war chariots.
Hoplomachus: (he later substituted the Samnite)
like Samnite, but large rectangular shield.
Laquearius: most likely much like the
Retiarius, but using a 'lassoo' instead of a net and most
likely a lance instead of a trident.
Murmillo/Myrmillo: large, crested helmet with vizor (with a fish on its crest), little shield, lance.
Paegniarius: whip, club and a shield which is fixed to the left arm with straps.
Provocator: like Samnite, but with round shield and lance.
Retiarius: trident, net, dagger, scaled armour
(manica) covering left arm, projecting
shoulderpiece to protect the neck (galerus).
Samnite: medium rectangular shield, short sword, 1 greave
(ocrea) on left leg, protective leather bands covering wrists and knee and ankle of right leg
(fasciae), large, crested helmet with
vizor, small chest plate (spongia).
Secutor: large, almost spherical helmet with eye holes or large crested helmet with
vizor, mall/medium rectangular shield.
Tertiarius: substitute fighter.
Thracian: curved short sword (sica), scaled armour
(manica) covering left arm, 2 greaves (ocreae).
The fighters' equipment as it is mentioned above is an absolute rule. Equipment
would vary depending on the specific gladiator. A retiarius, for example, did not necessarily always have a
manica on his arm, or a galerus on his shoulder. The above descriptions are merely rough
descriptions. The Dimachaerus was possibly not a particular type of gladiator, but a gladiator of the sword-fighting variety who
chose to fight with a second sword instead of a shield. The Samnite disappeared roughly at the end of the republican and appears to have been substituted by the Hoplomachus and the
Secutor. The Tertiarius (or Suppositicius) was quite literally a substitute fighter. In some cases it could be that three men were matched against
each other. The first two would fight, only for the winner to be met by the third man, this third man would be the
tertiarius.
Gladiators were always dressed up to resemble barbarians. Whether they really were barbarians or not, the fighters would be
clad in exotic and purposely strange weapons. This strange dress aided in
the performance of the gladiators. The more far-fetched the weapons and
armor were, the more barbarous the gladiators appeared to Roman eyes. This also made the fights a celebration of Rome's empire. The Gaul (Murmillo), the Thracian,
and the Samnite all represented the very barbarians Rome had vanquished, confirming to Romans what they wanted to hear - that Rome was the very
center of the world it had conquered.
Amanda Jo Chesshir, Department of
Communication Studies.
Copyright © 2001 by University of North Texas. All rights reserved.
Revised: 30 Nov 2005 14:22:16 -0600
Roman Military Armor
Mosiac of Gladiatorial Battle
Ancient Roman Gilt Bronze Cuirass
Leather and Metal Suit of Armor
Shields and Weapons
Roman Relief of a Gladiator