Gladiators Weapons

There were many types of gladiators in ancient Rome. Some gladiators -- like the Samnite -- were named for opponents of the Romans [see Samnite Wars]; other types of gladiators, like the Provacator and Secutor, took their names from their functions: challenger and pursuer. Here are the types of weapons gladiators used and also the types of gladiators:

Weapons of the Gladiator

fascina: harpoon
galea: visored helmet
galerus: metal shoulder piece
gladius: sword
hasta: lance
iaculum: net
manicae: leather elbow or wrist bands
ocrea: metal or boiled leather greave
parma: round shield
scutum: large oblong shield
sica: curved scimitar
subligaculum: loin cloth

Types of Gladiators

Andabatae wore helmets without eye holes
Catervarii did not fight in pairs, but several together
Dimacheri fought with two swords
Equites fought on horseback
Essedarii fought from chariots like the Gauls and Britons
Hoplomachi were like the Samnites, but more heavily armed
They wore ocrea on both legs and mail or leather cuirasses
Laqueatores used a noose to catch their adversaries
Meridiani fought in the middle of the day, after the wild beast fights
They were lightly armed
Myrmillo wore a large galea with a fish on its crest, a manica of mail, leather or metal scales on his left arm, ocrea on at least one leg, a scutum and a straight Greek-styled sword
Ordinarii were the regular gladiators who fought in pairs in the ordinary way
Provocator was armed like the Samnite with a parma and a hasta, his opponent was often the Myrmillo
Retiarius wore a subligaculum and a metal galerus on the left arm
He carried a net, a dagger and a trident or tunny-fish fascina
The Samnite used scutum and ocrea on his left leg, a galea with a large crest and plume, and a gladius
The Secutor carried a large oval or rectangular shield, an ocrea on his left leg, a round or high-visored helmet, manicae at the elbow and wrists, and a sword or dagger
Thracian wore ocrea on both legs, a small square shield, a helmet, a sica or the Thracian sword.

More on Gladiators

• Gladiators - Ending the Fight
  Find out whether the emperor raised his thumb for mercy.
• What You Need to Know About Gladiators
  Who were they? Where did they learn to fight? Were the only gladiators male slaves? More.
• Review of Barry Strauss' The Spartacus War
  Strauss describes Spartacus' training before describing the journey Spartacus took to freedom and death.
• William Smith's Gladiatores
  Gladiators entry from an 1875 dictionary of antiquities on Bill Thayer's Lacus Curtius site.