Sagittarius - (Mounted Bowman)This changed over the years and the names of the different types of gladiators reflected their combat techniques such as Secutores (chasers), Bestiarii (beast fighters) and Retiarius (net fighters). Gladiators were always clothed and armed to resemble barbarians with unusual and exotic weapons and their fights depicted famous victories over barbarians and the power of the Roman Empire. Sagittarii were auxiliary archers who fought on horseback. The auxiliary troops in the Roman army consisted of foreign allies. The word Sagittarius in Latin literally means an archer (sagitta means an arrow and Arcus means a bow). Gladiator Weapons Roman Gladiator Armor Definition of a Sagittarius - Weapons, Armor, Fighting Styles and Opponents What type of gladiator was a Sagittarius? What weapons and armor did they use? What was their style of combat? And what type of gladiator was matched as their opponent? - Definition: The Sagittarius was a type of Roman gladiator who fought with a bow and arrows on horseback - Opponent: This type of gladiator was a speciality act. The Sagittarius took part in mock battles reflecting the victories of Rome against noxii gladiators who had little chance of winning. - The Sagittarius were paid well to appear in the arena. They had to be trusted as spectators would have been in danger of being killed. - They most likely appeared and billed as great animal hunters - The display of exotic wild animals were an important part of the games. The wild animals appeared in order to replicate hunting exploits. The types of animals used for these hunting shows were wild boar, bulls, bears deer, stags, dogs, wolves, goats and antelopes. See Wild Animals at the Colosseum - The Emperors Domitian and Commodus were expert archers. Emperors joined in these events, shooting animals using a bow and arrows, from the safety of their Imperial Box - Weapons: This type of gladiator used short, curved bows of Parthian origins - Body Armor and helmet worn by this type of gladiator: They wore scaled armour and pointed helmets - Shield: None - Clothing worn: Canvas Loin Cloth (subligaculum) worn in a variety of colors, sandals or barefoot Sagittarius The content of this Sagittarius category on the different types of gladiator who fought to the death in the gladiatorial combats staged in Ancient Rome provides free educational details, facts and information for reference and research for schools, colleges and homework. Refer to the Colosseum Sitemap for a comprehensive search on interesting different categories containing the history, facts and information about Ancient Rome. Interesting facts and information on this type of gladiator: their weapons, their armor and their style of combat. |