Unknown
Bronze figure of a gladiator, Bronze
Height: 9.6cm
The British Museum, London
(2)
Unknown
Statuette of a gladiator, Bronze
Height: 5.9cm
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
|
(1) Unknown Bronze figure of a gladiator, Bronze Height: 9.6cm The British Museum, London (2) Unknown Statuette of a gladiator, Bronze Height: 5.9cm The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles Gladiatorial combats – made famous in the modern world by Ridley Scott's Gladiator (2000) – were hugely popular in Roman times, and took place in amphitheatres across the empire. Each gladiator was identified by the different assortments of armour and weapons he carried. The statuette on the right wears a combination of the weapons of the murmillo – sword (gladius) and oblong shield – and the armour of a hoplomachus (the term means "armed fighter" in Greek). On the left we see a thraex (literally "Thracian"), with his typical broad rimmed helmet, curved sword and small round shield. Gladiatorial games were so popular that statuettes like these were made across the Roman empire, often in either bronze or terracotta, depicting the different gladiatorial types. For more on gladiators in the ancient world, read this article by Professor Kathleen Coleman, a professor in the Classics department at Harvard and historical consultant for Ridley Scott's Gladiator.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorEmily Hauser is a classicist and researcher at Harvard and author of historical fiction recovering the lost women of the ancient world, including FOR THE MOST BEAUTIFUL and FOR THE WINNER. Archives
June 2018
Categories
All
|