Roman Gladiator Costume
More about the Roman Gladiator
During the times of the Roman Empire, they have taken entertainment to a realistic level. Even killing is a true to life event but nonetheless a form of entertainment. This is where Roman gladiators were born. This is somewhat a profession in today’s language. The only difference is that these gladiators are slaves thus their lives depend on their masters that also serves as their manager. In the event of the fight, when the audience wants the gladiator to be slain by its opponent it can be done with the right price as they are slaves in the first place. But as an entertainer, they must give the audience a good fight and a good show at the same time. It’s not enough to just go for the kill but the fight is also an important part of it. But if the fight will not satisfy the cravings of the crowds then a request for the kill may be implemented by the host of the event. Letting the kill happen is a form of generosity of the host.
Gladiators are not necessarily slaves. Some of them are free men that gave in to the idea of making money out of this event. The dark side is of engaging yourself into this profession is the revocation of your rights as free men thus granting you a title of a slave. And because you’re now a slave, your life will depend on your master’s will. There are also instances during this era that high Roman officials engage on these events. But of course they are treated with a handicapped match up in their favour. This placement has two purposes. One is for the entertainment of the audience and for themselves and the other is for releasing their own rage and acquire praises from the audience.
Gladiators are sometimes prisoners of war. The most robust among the captured were being sent to Rome as gladiators. This gives these prisoners the right to fight for their lives rather than being killed after capture. There are even events in history that officials grants freedom and rights to these fighters thus making them as equal as ordinary citizens. On the basis of making money, as for the payment for their fights, these fighters receive their share and will be kept by themselves for themselves.
If you’ll look closely, gladiators wear somewhat common style in their clothing. These are also accompanied with weapons and shields. Their style resembles a somewhat crossover of a soldier and a tribal or barbaric styles. This maybe because of the fact that their slaves, thus it would be suiting for them to wear clothing that resembles it. But at the same time their fighter thus some parts of a soldiers clothing can be embodied into their style to make a balance on both sides. There are three distinctive styles on Roman gladiator’s appearance. These are hoplomachus, murmillo and thraex.
Murmillo has a distinctive high crest on his helmet which has a broad rim that somewhat resembles a fish. This is also the reason for their names. He wears loincloth, a thick wrappings at the lower parts of his leg for protection, a belt, a linen arm guard and a gaiter over his right leg. He carries curved rectangular shield and a short blade called gladius.
Thraex wears a protective belt above a loin cloth, protector for his sword arm and shoulder, and a helmet with high crest, a side plume, and visor. His weapons are a very short sword with a slightly curved blade called a, called sica, and a rectangular shield called parmula. His sword was intended to attack the un-armoured back of his opponent. And because of the short shield, they needed greaves to protect their legs from attacks.
Hoplomachus wears to resemble a Greek soldier with a round shield, heavy armour and helmet, a spear and a sword. They would wear bronze helmet, a manica (an arm guard) on his right arm, heavy padding on his legs, and a pair of high greaves reaching to mid-thigh.
These clothing and appearances is derived to re-enact the wars of history on stage and of course with the realistic approach. All of this was for the praise of the audience and for the entertainment as a whole.
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Adult ancient Rome costume includes the tunic and the blue shoulder drape which has gold trim.



Fancy some colour, how about this sexy slinky blue 




