Helmets

Strongblade Lore
(A Bit of History According to Strongblade)

In ancient Rome, the Legionnaires may have gathered the triumphs, but it was the gladiators who captured the hearts and imaginations of the denizens of Rome.

They were the super sports star of the Roman world. Only, they didn't get paid. And most of them were prisoners. And they didn't get any endorsement contracts. And if they didn't play well, they tended to die. (Hmm... this analogy seems to be falling apart on me). They were, however, given zealous respect for their athletic ability, martial prowess and Rugged good looks. In fact, it is said that the greatest prize for a noble woman was to bed a gladiator (even if it wasn't deemed socially acceptable). In even more fact, some noble women are said to have purposely been impregnated by gladiators so that they would have strong children (Emperor Commodus is said to have been conceived in this manner, although that has been disputed). It's funny that some of the oldest examples graffiti in history, found scrawled on Roman walls, said things like "Celadus, suspirium puellarum" ('Celadus makes the girls swoon.' Celadus being a famous gladiator in Rome). (Credit goes to the BBC for that tidbit of historical trivia). One last similarity between gladiators modern athletes; Like super star sports figures of today, many gladiators were criminals (hehe).

Gladiators usually were trained in one particular school of combat or another. Often, the region from which they came determined what type of gladiator they would become. Below is a short list of some of the popular types of gladiators:

• Thraces: Wore distinctive, tall helmets. Carried a curved sword similar to a falcata and a small rectangular shield. Had armor on both legs.
• Hoplomachi: Fought with gladius and shield. Wore a wide-brimmed helmet, often sporting feathers. Armor consisted of a manica (armor that covers one arm and shoulder) and padded quilting.
• Provocatores: Wore heavy chest armor and swung a gladius. Also had armor on one leg. Obviously had priorities out of whack since he wore a breastplate to protect his chest, but only a loincloth for his privates.
• Retiarii: These are the net and trident men that you always see in gladiator movies. They wore no armor (in fact, they often fought naked) and were very fast.
• Secutor: Fought against the retiarii (in fact, were created specifically to fight them. Wore a smooth helmet with small eyeholes to prevent the retiarii's trident from blinding them. Carried a tall shield and a gladius.
• Dimachaeri: Fought with two short swords and must have been very flashy to watch indeed.

There were many, many other styles of gladiators, including ones who fought only animals, female gladiators and even midget gladiators. Most gladiators were slaves, prisoners or disgraced citizens. Slave gladiators could earn their freedom if they survived and fought valiantly for a certain number of years.

Inspired by Model SBH-GLADIATOR