Thraex

File:Detail of Gladiator mosaic, a Thraex (left) fighting a Murmillo (right), Römerhalle, Bad Kreuznach, Germany (8196070427).jpg

A Thraex (left) fighting a murmillo, mosaic from Bad Kreuznach, Germany

The Thraex (Template:Plural form: Thraeces), or Thracian, was a type of Roman gladiator armed in Thracian 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, intended to maim an opponent's unarmoured back. His other armour included greaves, a protective belt above a loincloth, and a helmet with a side plume, visor and high crest.

Fighting style and techniques

File:Knife handle Thraex Musée BnF Froehner930a.jpg

Thraex sculpted from ivory as a knife handle (2nd century AD)

A passage in Petronius indicates that "Thracian" was a style of gladiatorial fighting taught in training schools.Template:Sfn An inscription records a doctor thraecum, a teacher of would-be Thracians.Template:Sfn

See also

• List of Roman gladiator types
• Spartacus
• Ludus Dacicus

Sources

• Bronze figurine of a gladiator - British Museum
• Terracotta 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 in 2019

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