What was gladiator armour made of

Other classes of gladiators were clad differently from the Samnites. The Andabatae were known for their helmets, which did not have eye holes. Myrmillo, sometimes Murmillo, wore visored helmets with a fish on the crest and a manica on their left arm, which was made of mail, leather or metal scales.

They also had "ocrea on at least one leg, a scutum and a straight Greek-styled sword," according to About. World View. What Did Gladiators Wear? His traditional opponent was the retiarius. The secutor usually carried a short sword, like the gladius used by Roman soldiers. He also wore a tough leather strap around his sword arm.

The secutor always fought the retiarius , who was armed with a net and trident. The hoplomachus was one of the most heavily armored gladiators, with a large helmet and thick coverings over his arms and legs. His fighting style was based on the warriors of Ancient Greece, who fought with spears and shields.

He also carried a small dagger as a backup weapon. Leg and arm coverings protected the hoplomachus from attack, but would also have slowed him down against nimble opponents such as the retiarius. The most lightly armed gladiator, the retiarius net man had to rely on speed and agility to escape his opponent.

A gladiator exhibition, with the model wearing a helmet and leg greaves, and holding a parma shield. The gladiators actually wore a variety of helmets, or a variety of styles, but they are thought to mostly stem from the galea helmet. The galea helmet it what is classed as an imperial helmet and this was the common design by the end of the Roman empire. Often made of bronze, sometimes with brass trim, the galea may be adapted for various gladiator classes like the murmillo who had a full face covering on their particular helmet.

The manica was an arm guard, that was segmented meaning it was flexible when the gladiator moved their arm. Gladiators commonly wore one guard, but two were also used in some classes. Typically they would be worn on the attacking arm, like the sword arm, to ensure that small graves and cuts would not end a fight.

The greave was a leg guard, often made in one piece, it offered protection from all kinds of attacks, and was often worn on both or at least the forward placed leg.

Again the greave was designed to protect the legs, but also to try and keep the battle going, making sure that non deadly leg strikes would not slow a fighter down or render them unable to attack. The only gladiator thought to wear body armour was the provocator who wear a breastplate known as a cardiophylax. This was a bronze breast plate that could have a matching back or be a single front piece.