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Top five gladiator types
North gubernator lily gundayao
image courtesy of wikimedia commons
image courtesy of wikimedia commons
1) Thraxes The Thraxes used a rectangular shield and wielded a short curved sword. Their heavilyr einforced armor included a helmet that was decorated with a griffin-shaped crest in honor of Nemesis. This particular type of gladiator was made famous through Spartacus, a prisoner of war from the Thracian tribe who gathered an army of rebels and staged an uprising against his captors. I particularly find the griffin part interesting, as it can be interpreted as homage to Nemesis.
2) Murmillo
The Murmillo were gladiators that were heavily armored and used a gladius and a massive oblong shield. They were distinctive in the fact that they wore a helmet decorated with a crest in the shape of a fish. Interestingly enough, this type of gladiatorwas adopted in the earlier stages of the Imperial age to take the place of the Gallus. A famous example of this gladiator was Crixus, one of the top gladiators during his time.
3) Hoplomachus
The Hoplomachus were characterized by their plumed helmet. They also carried a small, round shield, a small sword, and a throwing spear. This particular type of gladiator was often used to represent the common Greek fighter. They were frequently pitted against the Murmillo (who would represent the Roman fighter) to reenact the Roman-Greek wars.
4) Essedarius
The Essedarius were gladiators that fought on chariots. There would always be only tw
gladiators per chariot. One gladiator would throw spears at the opposing chariot while
the other would steer their chariot. Once they ran out of spears to throw, oftentimes they would jump off the chariot and fight on foot. The Essedarius were commonly composed of the Celtic people.
5) Retiarius
The Retiarius were one of the more famous types of gladiators. They fought with lightarmor and lacked shields, instead, they wielded a net and trident. Their whole fighting style was to capture the enemy in a large net and stab them with the trident. Rather than the typical ideal body for gladiators (strong and muscular), the Retiarius favored lean and agile. However, because of their association with femininity, they suffered a lower rank in society and thus experienced worse living conditions compared to other types of gladiators.