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Gladiators

60 second histories

This video covers:

A description of the different types of gladiator such as the retiarius and the murmillo together with the different weapons and helmets they wore; it even mentions the female gladiators that fought

Salve, I am Marcus, I train Gladiators. At one time I was a gladiator myself. When I used to fight in the arena I was a retiarius which meant I used a net and trident just like these. Other types of gladiators are the murmillo who wears armour and a helmet crowned with a fish, his weapons are the gladius and scutum or basically a sword and shield. The samnite also carries a sword and shield but he wears a helmet with a visor like this one here and finally there is the Thracian he has a small round shield with a curved dagger. Each of these gladiators are trained in the speciality of their weapons. If they’re any good they can build up a following and become famous and if they survive long enough can even become very rich and earn their freedom, not many do mind. Did you know there are a small number of female gladiators here? They can’t half fight and the crowds do love 'em. My favourite event is when the gladiators fight against wild animals, lions and the like, especially when the animals get the better of the gladiator.
Eras: 
Roman
Topics: 
Uniforms & Equipment
Weapons
Leisure & sport
Character: 
Gladiator
Key words: 
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