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Ave Omnes.
I have a couple of questions about equipment.
1. The shield for the Secutor. Most of the shields I've seen for Secutors look like Imperial Legionnaire shields. Would a regular Scuta be appropriate for a Secutor?
2.Hoplomachus. Would a Corinthian helmet be appropriate for a Hoplomachus? I've seen a lot of pictures that show the early Gladiators fighting as Hoplites. When would the wearing of Corinthians have stopped?
Slainte
Aries.
Jeff Israelson
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Gladiator School Of Texas
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The regular scutum would be quite appropriate for the secutor, as evidenced by the pictorial record. A Corinthian helmet would be quite wrong for the hoplomachus. Those helmets had gone out of style and use at least a century (probaly longer) before the hoplomachus gladiator appears in the pictorial/epighraphic record. Those images that survive of the hoplomachus (earliest apparently from the late Republic) show a helmet of the Attic-Boeotian type (as classified by Dr. Junkelmann).
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Some grave stele show the secutor's scutum being held with a horizontal grip near the lower edge of the shield. Many depictions show the secutor advancing with the shield held straight out horizontally, so this arrangement may have been made to facilitate that movement, though whether it was a common handle-style is uncertain.
Pecunia non olet
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Thanks for the info..
Have a follow up question concerning shields.
Would a Auxilia shield work for a Myrmillo, or any other Gladiator?
Jeff Israelson
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Gladiator School Of Texas
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Thanks for the reminder.
Corrections made.
Jeff Israelson
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Partially as an experiment, we went with a republican style scutum for the secutor, which makes it really difficult for the rete to snag the shield.
Mark Downes/Mummius
Cent Gittus, COH X. LEG XX. VV. Deva Victrix
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"Don\'\'\'\'t threaten me with a dead fish!" - Withnail
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That's an interesting idea. In a practice session the other week I used a scuta along with a hoplomachus helmet against a Retiarius. It was simple to charge forward with that gear.
Jeff Israelson
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Gladiator School Of Texas
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From the book by Marcus Junkelmann I see that his hoplomachi use Thraex type of helmets, just without the typical griffin head.
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Makes me feel a little bit better about the helmet I use.
I'm putting together a Thracian impression. The helmet I use is more of a Hoplomachi style than Thracian. Plan on getting a Thraex helmet in the next few weeks though.
Jeff Israelson
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Look forward to meeting you again in the arena sometime Jeff, that is, if you were one of the Texas chaps at Mobil in February
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I was the one in the blue tunic.
Next time we meet I'll be a much leaner much better Gladiator.
I've dropped 20+lbs of fat since Mobile.
Jeff Israelson
Legion X Fratensis
Gladiator School Of Texas