There were lots of different types of gladiators during the roman era and NONE of them were fun! Some of them fought nets, some fought with a blindfold on and some fought with tridents. There were also lots of types of gladiator matches, such as gladiators that fought wild animals (eg. tigers, lions etc.) and even gladiator fights at funerals. There following are just a few types of gladiators:
This is a Andabata this is a type of gladiator that fights with a helmet
that stops the gladiator from seeing. So both of the gladiators would be blind
and would have to fight their opponent blind and find them. They had a dagger to
stab their opponent and a shield (not that it would be much use if you can’t
see!)
that stops the gladiator from seeing. So both of the gladiators would be blind
and would have to fight their opponent blind and find them. They had a dagger to
stab their opponent and a shield (not that it would be much use if you can’t
see!)
Bustuarius were gladiators that executed captives at the graves
of other gladiators. Later however, this was decided to be to cruel so instead,
they had gladiator fights a graves of gladiators!
of other gladiators. Later however, this was decided to be to cruel so instead,
they had gladiator fights a graves of gladiators!
Bestiarius were gladiators that fought wild animals such as lians, tigers and leapards. the gladiator would have a spear, with/or a knife and sometimes a whip. He would have a small or no shield and had some simple leather armour. However, despite all of this, being a Bestiarius was still much less dangerous then a different gladiator, as the games were designed so that there was only a slim chance that the animals would win.
Cestus gladiators were like boxers but only a lot more brutal! They wore a Cestus which was made from leather strips and worn like a boxing glove but could be fitted to have iron plates attached to the outside and even razor blades!
Paegniarius were gladiators but they did not take part in serious, life threatening battles. INstead they had small duels during breaks in gladiatorial games so if you were a Paegniarius, you were a LOT more likely to live a nice long life then pretty much any other gladiator.
Scissors were gladiators that fought with a sword that looked like a pair of swords that looked like scissors but they had no hinges and would not close.
as well as lots of different types of gladiators, there were lots of different gladiatorial games as well. This is the order that they probably would have been in:
- Animal Hunts - These shows were called called venationes and the gladiators were called venatores. They replicated hunting scenes which involved lots different wild animals. Emperors joined in these gladiator games, shooting animals using a bow and arrows, but from the safety of their Imperial Box
- The Bestiarii were next in the games. These were gladiators trained to fight animals such as tigers and lions.
- Criminals were sentenced to fight wild beasts at the games but they had no skills, weapons or armor
- Meridiani - lightly armed gladiators fought in the middle of the day.
- The Andabatae were the criminals who were supposed to make the audience laugh.
- At noon the executions were done at the games, the tortures and executions amused the crowd
- Late afternoon was when the gladiatorial games and combats took place
- The Gladiator fights started with the Praegenarii who were gladiators who fought with a whip, club and shield then they would be followed by the Gladiatorial games where there were matched pairings of gladiators
- Finally, actual battles were sometimes reenacted at the gladiator games