Thraex

The Thraex (pl.: 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.

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

Fighting style and techniques

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.^[1] An inscription records a doctor thraecum, a teacher of would-be Thracians.^[2]

See also

• List of Roman gladiator types
• Spartacus
• Ludus Dacicus