Roman Gladiator Research Paper

Gladiators of Rome Throughout the film we met six different gladiatorial types, the Samnite, Hoplomachus, Murmillo, Secutor, Retiarius, and Thracian. The Samnites were quite lucky for they were heavily armed, with a large shield, a plumed helmet, and a short sword. Because of their large shields and short swords they would often get close to their opponent and deliver a deadly stab. They were from an Italic tribe in Campania, and had previously fought three wars against the Romans. The Hoplomachus, which stands for “armed fighter” in Greek, adorned quilted leg wraps, a belt, a loin cloth, and long shin guards on both legs, and a brimmed helmet. The weapons they had were a small round shield, a gladius, and a sharp dagger for close hand to hand action. It is speculated that they were developed out of the early Samnite gladiators. The Murmillo were heavily armored gladiators, they had an arm guard, a loin cloth, a belt, a gaitor (leg cover) on his right leg, and thick wrapping covering his feet, a geave, and a helmet baring the fish crest. They also carried a
This gladiator has a special short sword with two blades on it, resembling a pair of scissors. It is thought that he would use this sword to trap his opponents weapons, and attempt to disarm them. It is also thought that this gladiator fought with a hardened steel tube that encased his entire forearm with the hand end capped off and a semicircular blade attached to it. However, if I had to choose for myself one of the gladiators, I would choose the Retiarius. Some people may think he has a disadvantage because he does not usually have the shield, but I think his net is a great advantage. None of the other gladiators have the ability to literally trap their enemy in a net, and stab them with a trident. I also find the idea of using a trident as a weapon very fascinating considering all of the other opponents have some sort of sword or