The Thraex (: Thraeces), or Thracian, was a type of Roman
gladiator
A gladiator ( , ) was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their ...
armed in
Thracian
The Thracians (; ; ) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Southeast Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied the area that today is shared between north-eastern Greece, ...
style. His equipment included a ''
parmula'', a small shield (about 60 × 65 cm) that might be rectangular, square or circular; and a
sica, a short sword with a curved blade like a small version of the Dacian
falx
The was a weapon with a curved blade that was sharp on the inside edge used by the Thracians and Dacians. The name was later applied to a siege hook used by the Romans.
Etymology
is a Latin word originally meaning 'sickle' but was later used ...
, intended to maim an opponent's unarmoured back. His other armour included
greave
A greave (from the Old French ''greve'' "shin, shin armor") or jambeau is a piece of armor that protects the human leg, leg.
Description
The primary purpose of greaves is to protect the tibia from attack. The tibia, or shinbone, is very close to ...
s, a protective belt above a loincloth, and a helmet with a side plume, visor and high crest.
Fighting style and techniques
A passage in Petronius indicates that "Thracian" was a style of gladiatorial fighting taught in training schools. An inscription records a ''doctor thraecum'', a teacher of would-be Thracians.
See also
*
List of Roman gladiator types
There were many different types of gladiators in ancient Rome. Some of the first gladiators had been prisoner of war, prisoners-of-war, and so some of the earliest types of gladiators were experienced fighters; Gauls, Samnites, and ''Thraeces'' ( ...
*
Spartacus
Spartacus (; ) was a Thracians, Thracian gladiator (Thraex) who was one of the Slavery in ancient Rome, escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major Slave rebellion, slave uprising against the Roman Republic.
Historical accounts o ...
*
Ludus Dacicus
References
Sources
*
Bronze figurine of a gladiator - British MuseumTerracotta figurine of 2 gladiators - British Museum
*E. Köhne and C. Ewigleben (eds.). ''Gladiators and Caesars: The Power of Spectacles in Ancient Rome''. London: The British Museum Press, 2000.
External links
Fresco of a murmillo and Thracian fighting
found in Pompei
Pompei (; ), also known in English as Pompeii ( ) after the name of the ancient city, is a city and in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Italy. It contains the ancient Roman ruins of Pompeii, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
History
Modern Po ...
in 2019
Gladiator types
Roman Thrace
Dacian weapons
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