opponent. In these contests, armor played an important role, as well. The
retiarius was the more lightly armored of the two, wearing only a leather
or metal shoulder-piece on his left shoulder. The Thracian’s upper body was
protected by armor, either leather or studded leather, and greaves protected
his legs; one arm was usually encased in chain armor. Luck was also a fac-
tor in these contests.
In such an encounter, one might assume that the retiarius had superior
weaponry, while the Thracian had superior armor. However, such assump-
tions can be misleading, and certainly such a contest between two highly
trained individuals would not be decided simply on these factors alone. There
are some general observations that can be made about this type of combat.
First, the object of the Thracian fighter would be to get the trident or
harpoon “off-line.” This is to say that if the Thracian could get inside the
effective range of the trident, he would be able to move in close enough to
employ his sica. Then the Thracian would have the advantage in combat.
The Thracian could not afford to stay in a position where the retiarius
would have the advantage of reach.
To get the trident off-line, the Thracian would have a few advantages.
First, his shield, although it was small and only offered a small portion of
Gladiators 143An incredible and fantastic display of massed gladiatorial combat, appearing in Hieronimy Mercurialis’s Arte Gymnas-
tica,1573. (Courtesy of Gene Tausk)