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Secutor

Евсеенков А.С.

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Secutor (Latin secutor — pursuer) - an ancient Roman gladiator armed with a shield and gladius.

The secutor was also referred to as a contraretiarius - "opponent of the retiarius" or contrarete — "against the net", since the secutor most often performed in the arena against the retiarius -a gladiator armed with a net and trident. Sometimes historians refer to secutors as a type of murmillon, since they were equipped in a similar way and significantly differed only in the type of helmet.

The helmet covered the entire face of the secutor and had two holes for the eyes. Unlike the Murmillon helmet, there were no eye nets, but that was enough, especially for protection from Retiarius ' trident. The helmet was almost round and smooth, so that the net of the retiarius could not catch on it.

Up until the late Empire, the secutor was the most popular type of gladiator. The Emperor Commodus acted as secutor. Suetonius has a story about how under Caligula "five gladiators-retiarii in tunics fought against five secutors, gave in without a struggle and was already waiting for death, when suddenly one of the vanquished grabbed his trident and killed all the winners." The most famous secutor is Flamma (Latin: Flamma - flame). He was originally from Syria and went down in history thanks to a huge number of fights in the arena: 34 fights as a secutor, he won 21 fights, drew 9 and suffered 4 defeats. Four times Flamm became a rudiarius (awarded the wooden sword of rudus and received freedom). At the same time, each time he voluntarily returned to the arena, serving as an example of an already free man fighting as a gladiator. Flamm died in the arena at the age of thirty.

Bas-relief with secutor. National Museum of Rome, Baths of Dioclekan. 2-3 century AD
Bas-relief with secutor. Found in Ephesus. Ephesus Museum. Turkey. 1-3 century AD
Image of the secutor. A Colchester vase. Colchester Castle Museum. Camulodunum. Second half of the 2nd century AD

The tactics of the secutor were diametrically different from those of the retiarius. He copied Murmillon in many ways, but acted more aggressively. During the duel, the secutor tried to get as close to the retiarius as possible in order to take advantage of his equipment and its weight in close combat. Retiarius tried either to wrap the net around the enemy and knock them to the ground, or to stall for time and wait for the secutor to tire under the weight of his armor.

Battle scene between Secutor and retiarius. Ephesus Museum. Selçuk, Turkey. 1-3 century AD

Secutor's equipment

Traditionally, gladiators fought on sand, but when reconstructing the battle on a hard surface, it is recommended to use authentic shoes, such as kaligs.

Related topics

Gladiator, Helmet, Manika, Okrea, Balteus, Subligaculum, Gladius, Full name, Retiary, Murmillon

Literature

Gallery

Bas-relief with secutor. Found in Ephesus. Ephesus Museum. Turkey. 1-3 century AD
Statue with gladiators. Sofia, Bulgaria. 1-3 century AD
Bronze statuette with a secutor. Roman Grand (Andesina), France. Mid-1st century AD
Terracotta statuette of a secutor. 1-2 century AD
Terracotta statuette of a secutor. 1st century AD
Terracotta statuette of a secutor. 1st century AD
Bas-relief with secutor. Found in Ephesus. Ephesus Museum. Turkey. 1-3 century AD
Bas-relief with secutaries. National Museum of Rome, Baths of Dioclekan. 2-3 century AD
Bas-relief with secutor. Turkey. 1-2 century AD
Bronze figure with secutor. Height: 14.5 cm. Private collection. 3rd century AD
Bronze figure with secutor. Height: 14.5 cm. Private collection. 3rd century AD
Secutor, 78 mm, 1st century AD, bronze.
Secutor, 1st-3rd century AD, 90 mm, bronze, Hixenbaugh Gallery of Ancient Art, New York.
Figure of gladiator secutor made of bone. 1-2 century AD
Figure of gladiator secutor made of bone. 1-2 century AD
A statuette of a gladiator, presumably a secutor. Private collection. 1-2 century AD
Bas-relief with gladiators. Necropolis in Kiberia. Burdur Museum. 2-3 century AD
Bas-relief with gladiators. Necropolis in Kiberia. Burdur Museum. 2-3 century AD
Bas-relief with gladiators. Necropolis in Kiberia. Burdur Museum. 2-3 century AD
Gladiator fight. Floor mosaic. Nennig on the Moselle. Germany. Roman villa. Mid-3rd century AD
Gladiator fight. Floor mosaic. Nennig on the Moselle. Germany. Roman villa. Mid-3rd century AD
Secutor vs. retiarius. Verona, Archaeological Museum. 2-3 century AD
Secutor vs. retiarius. Verona, Archaeological Museum. 2-3 century AD