Cestus (weapon)

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Cestus (weapon)
Cestus.jpg
Information
Weapon type: Combat glove
Designations: Himantes, Myrmax, Shpairai
Use: Sport weapon
Creation time: about 640 BC Chr.
Working time: (modified) to current
Region of origin /
author: 		Greece, Greek athletes
Distribution: Greece , Roman Empire , worldwide
Handle: Leather, metal
Particularities: different shapes and equipment
Lists on the subject
Preserved floor mosaic of a Roman pugilist from the Therme di Porta Marina in Ostia Antica . The bandaged forearms and the thorn straps are clearly visible.

The Cestus is a kind of antique brass knuckles , which was used in the Olympic martial arts pygme (antique fistfight) and at times also in pankration .

history

The cestus (from Latin caedere "to strike") was used as a kind of boxing glove or combat glove in pankration, a mixture between wrestling (pale) and boxing (pygme) at the ancient Olympic Games (from 648 BC) in Olympia . As injuries and even deaths continued to deteriorate, the Cestus was banned from the Olympic Games in AD 30 . Today the pankration is again officially practiced as a sport, but in a heavily modified form.

description

The cestus consists of leather straps (Greek himantes ) that are wrapped around the hands just below the ankles. With its complicated arrangement of wide and narrow leather straps, it looks almost like a glove that reaches to the elbow when ready to fight. Later, metal thorns were placed on the ankle ligaments to increase the impact. The Romans expanded the striking action of the Cestus even more, adding blades. This Roman type of cestus was called myrmax and was used in gladiator fights . The Greeks developed another species that they called sphairai , these were also equipped with blades.

literature

  • Ulrich Sinn : Ancient Olympia. Gods, games and art. Beck, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-406-51558-4 .
  • Michael B. Poliakoff: Martial arts in antiquity. The game of life and death. Patmos, Düsseldorf et al. 2004, ISBN 3-491-69110-9 ( Patmos Paperback ).
  • Stephen G. Miller: Ancient Greek Athletics. Yale University Press, New Haven CT et al. 2004, ISBN 0-300-10083-3 .
  • Wolfgang Decker : Sports in ancient Greece. From the Minoan competition to the Olympic Games. Beck, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-406-39669-0 ( Beck's archaeological library ).
  • Ralph Hickok: New encyclopedia of sports. McGraw-Hill, New York NY et al. 1977, ISBN 0-07-028705-8 .

Web links