Murmillo
The murmillo (-onis m, Latin ; also: myrmillo, mirmillo, mormillo) was a heavily armed Roman gladiator . The name is derived from murma , a sea fish that was caught in nets. The murmillo was originally used primarily against a gladiator who was armed with a net, the retiarius .
For more gladiator types see: Gladiator genera .
Equipment and armament
The murmillo was one of the heavily armed gladiators. He was armed with a straight-bladed short sword, the gladius . As protection, he wore a Boeotian helmet , the shield of the Roman legionaries ( scutum ), hand and arm protection on the right arm ( manica ) and a bandage with a leg brace ( ocrea ) attached below the left knee . He was dressed in a loincloth ( subligaculum ) and a belt ( balteus or cingulum ).
opponent
The main opponent of the murmillo was the thraex . It was often used against the hoplomachus . A few sources also name the retiarius as an opponent .
literature
- Marcus Junkelmann : Playing with death - This is how Rome's gladiators fought . Zabern, Mainz 2000, ISBN 3-8053-2563-0 ( Antike Welt , special issue; Zabern's illustrated books on archeology ).
- Fik Meijer: Gladiators - The game of life and death. Artemis & Winkler, Düsseldorf 2004, ISBN 3-7608-2303-3 .