HOME | DD

Description

We’re back with another episode of Warrior rabbits of history! The series where I draw rabbits as an excuse to write about human history and vice versa (yes, there’s a rabbit underneath that helmet). This time we look at a thraex, a type of gladiator in ancient Rome.

The ancient Romans didn’t seem to have any problems with brutality in their everyday life. One example of that is how Roman boxing was so incredibly violent that when Virgil describes a pair of boxing gloves (“cestus”) in the epic poem the Aeneid, it’s casually mentioned that they are “still mark'd with batter'd brains and mingled gore.” (book V).

So maybe it isn’t surprising that gladiatorial games were popular for many, many centuries in ancient Rome. Blood and guts were just part of regular entertainment. These games weren’t quite as deadly as we often imagine them to be though. And it wasn’t all about the violence either. Gladiatorial games were very much spectacles, with a lot of theatrics to them. A fight between gladiators could have a theme, or be a representation of a historical or mythological event. There were also many different types of gladiators. Partially so they could play specific roles in these theatrics, partially to spice things up with different weapons and equipment.

Equipment of a thraex
The thraex was one of these types of gladiators. He was supposed to resemble a Thracian warrior from the historical region of Thrace, that is now split between Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece.

To get this feeling of a wild warrior from the Thracian tribes, the thraex was equipped with a small shield and a sica. The sica was one of several similarly shaped weapons that were used by both Thracians, Dacians and Illyrians. The sharp edge of the sica is on the inside of the curve, making it more like a kukri than a scimitar. Because of the smaller shield, the thraex also wore greaves on both legs to compensate for its lack of protection. Compare this with for example the murmillo gladiator, who had a larger shield but only wore armor on one leg.

Like almost all gladiators you see in ancient depictions, this rabbit also wears an armguard to protect its sword arm. In this case, it wears a manica made out of overlapping metal plates, held together with straps. Even though there are plenty of depictions of them, there have been very few archeological findings of metal manicas. It was probably more common for gladiators to have armguards made out of cheaper materials.

Not so different after all
When you compare the different types of gladiators, many of them are so similar that it can be difficult to even notice any differences. Usually, the only real difference is the their type of weapon and the shape of their shields.

Which makes me wonder: were these small differences more significant in the eyes of the ancient Romans? Were there perhaps differences that we don't know about today because they've been lost to time? Differences that had more to do with the theatrics than with the actual combat? Perhaps the thraex was loud and boisterous while other types of gladiators acted more stoic. In the end, gladiatorial games were showy, flashy things and probably not very different from things we still see today. Even if the fatality rate in, say, professional wrestling, is probably a lot lower.

Check out some more of my warrior rabbits, including the murmillo gladiator!

Description

We’re back with another episode of Warrior rabbits of history! The series where I draw rabbits as an excuse to write about human history and vice versa (yes, there’s a rabbit underneath that helmet). This time we look at a thraex, a type of gladiator in ancient Rome.

The ancient Romans didn’t seem to have any problems with brutality in their everyday life. One example of that is how Roman boxing was so incredibly violent that when Virgil describes a pair of boxing gloves (“cestus”) in the epic poem the Aeneid, it’s casually mentioned that they are “still mark'd with batter'd brains and mingled gore.” (book V).

So maybe it isn’t surprising that gladiatorial games were popular for many, many centuries in ancient Rome. Blood and guts were just part of regular entertainment. These games weren’t quite as deadly as we often imagine them to be though. And it wasn’t all about the violence either. Gladiatorial games were very much spectacles, with a lot of theatrics to them. A fight between gladiators could have a theme, or be a representation of a historical or mythological event. There were also many different types of gladiators. Partially so they could play specific roles in these theatrics, partially to spice things up with different weapons and equipment.

Equipment of a thraex
The thraex was one of these types of gladiators. He was supposed to resemble a Thracian warrior from the historical region of Thrace, that is now split between Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece.

To get this feeling of a wild warrior from the Thracian tribes, the thraex was equipped with a small shield and a sica. The sica was one of several similarly shaped weapons that were used by both Thracians, Dacians and Illyrians. The sharp edge of the sica is on the inside of the curve, making it more like a kukri than a scimitar. Because of the smaller shield, the thraex also wore greaves on both legs to compensate for its lack of protection. Compare this with for example the murmillo gladiator, who had a larger shield but only wore armor on one leg.

Like almost all gladiators you see in ancient depictions, this rabbit also wears an armguard to protect its sword arm. In this case, it wears a manica made out of overlapping metal plates, held together with straps. Even though there are plenty of depictions of them, there have been very few archeological findings of metal manicas. It was probably more common for gladiators to have armguards made out of cheaper materials.

Not so different after all
When you compare the different types of gladiators, many of them are so similar that it can be difficult to even notice any differences. Usually, the only real difference is the their type of weapon and the shape of their shields.

Which makes me wonder: were these small differences more significant in the eyes of the ancient Romans? Were there perhaps differences that we don't know about today because they've been lost to time? Differences that had more to do with the theatrics than with the actual combat? Perhaps the thraex was loud and boisterous while other types of gladiators acted more stoic. In the end, gladiatorial games were showy, flashy things and probably not very different from things we still see today. Even if the fatality rate in, say, professional wrestling, is probably a lot lower.

Check out some more of my warrior rabbits, including the murmillo gladiator!