05-13-2005, 12:30 PM
This is interesting..
I did not notice the bleeding retiarius, and indeed it could pretty well be that the secutor has a sword in both hands. There seems to be an indication of that at the top of the shield. But the hand he raises is the left one, not the right, and that is what's unusual.
The second picture clearly shows a scene of combat. The right hand man seem to take a breather or wait his turn to fight. But the two characters on the left are definitely fighting each other. With the attacker using the "horizontal shield" stance, obviously an attacking move, well known from several other sculptures and mosaics.
I also vaguely remember a text mentioning a gladiator offering to fight this way, wity the shield down and the left had resting on it.
At all times, you had virtuosos of swordplay. Provided the attacker is not allowed to strike at the left hand, I suspect it's feasible to defend this way.
But I'd loooove to check that out with our real gladiators over here..
Why don't you try it?
I did not notice the bleeding retiarius, and indeed it could pretty well be that the secutor has a sword in both hands. There seems to be an indication of that at the top of the shield. But the hand he raises is the left one, not the right, and that is what's unusual.
The second picture clearly shows a scene of combat. The right hand man seem to take a breather or wait his turn to fight. But the two characters on the left are definitely fighting each other. With the attacker using the "horizontal shield" stance, obviously an attacking move, well known from several other sculptures and mosaics.
I also vaguely remember a text mentioning a gladiator offering to fight this way, wity the shield down and the left had resting on it.
At all times, you had virtuosos of swordplay. Provided the attacker is not allowed to strike at the left hand, I suspect it's feasible to defend this way.
But I'd loooove to check that out with our real gladiators over here..
Why don't you try it?
Pascal Sabas
