Recognising Gladiators: Ⅳ the Murmillo

Murmillo / Myrmillo / Mirmillo

The murmillo’s name derives from “murmo” which means “striped bream” (a kind a kind of fish that’s commonly found in the Mediterranean). It is said that this type of gladiator owes his name to his helmet [i], though it is not very obvious why. This photograph [ii] shows a statuette of what appears to be a murmillo with a fish on top of the crest of his helmet, but this seems to be rather rare. It is also possibly that he was named after a fish because of the rather fin-like crest itself.

As for the murmillo’s origin, there is a chance that this type evolved out of the Republican gladiator type called “gallus”, which means “Gaul” [iii].

 

☑　Clothes

Like most types of gladiators, murmillones wear a “subligaculum”, which is a loincloth held in place by a wide belt called “balteus”. Also like most other types, they often have some kind of cloth or leather covering the top of their feet, but they are almost never shown wearing shoes with soles. The term “gladiator sandals” therefore seems to be an invention of the sword-and-sandal movies of the 1950s and ‘60s. It was later further popularised by the fashion industry.

☑　Manica (armguard)

Only on the right arm, there is a “manica” (arm guard) because this is the arm that will need to leave the protection of the shield to lash out at the opponent. The left arm is always behind the shield so there is no need for a manica. In fact, wearing one on the left arm would only add extra weight and hinder the arm’s movement.

Fig. ❶ Funerary relief with from left to right: murmillo, murmillo, thraex and another murmillo.30-50 CE, Chieti (Italy), Gladiator exhibition ("Gladiatoren: Helden van het Colosseum"), Gallo-Romeins Museum, Tongeren (Belgium).

☑　Ocrea

An ocrea (greave), is only attached to the left leg (Fig. ❶) as this is the one nearest to the opponent. In the typical gladiator stance, the right leg is put behind the left one, just like in many modern martial arts. The right leg therefore is not an interesting target for the opponent.  The ocrea reaches from the foot up, to either just below or just above the knee. Since the upper leg is usually safe behind the scutum, preference is given to allowing extra speed and movement by not covering it.

☑　Cassis / galea

The murmillo’s cassis (helmet), looks rather impressive. It has a fin-like crest on top, which is sometimes decorated with horsehair [iv]. Like most gladiator helmets, they are also sometimes decorated with one feather on the left and one on the right.

All gladiator helmets evolved throughout the Imperial period, but the change is perhaps easiest to notice in those of the murmillo (Fig.❷&❸).

At the beginning of the Imperial period, the brim encircled the head, which does not seem to offer much protection from anything other than a downward slash of the opponent’s sword, but gradually, the brim encircled the face and the neck for more protection. This also seems much more effective against a punch to the face with a shield.   

 

Fig.❷ Illustration showing the evolution of the murmillo's helmet.

Fig.❸ Photographs of (reliefs depicting) helmets, showing the evolution of the murmillo's helmet.

When compares these pictures (Fig. ❸), it becomes clear that -after they had decided to cover up the face- the designers experimented with different shapes and styles to try and offer the gladiator better vision and also facilitate his breathing. A closed helmet like the second type in Fig. ❸ is bound to cause problems when the gladiator needs more oxygen as the tension rises.

Looking at the last picture, one can assume that breathing and looking straight ahead would not pose much problems, but the lack of peripheral vision could be problematic. 

☑　Scutum

Just like the provocator and the secutor, the murmillo carried a large semi-cylindrical shield called “scutum”. They are similar to the ones used by the Roman military. The corners on these scuta usually were quite sharp (Fig.❹&❺). The murmillo’s scutum had a horizontal centre grip (Fig.❺.

Fig.❹ Murmillo named Quintus Sossius on a funerary stone. Note the helmet of the fourth type. Aquileia, 100-200 CE.
Gladiator exhibition ("Gladiatoren: Helden van het Colosseum"), Gallo-Romeins Museum, Tongeren (Belgium).

Fig.❺Hoplomachus (left) attacking a murmillo who has dropped his scutum. Note the horizontal centre grip. Pompeii, 20-50 CE. Gladiator exhibition ("Gladiatoren: Helden van het Colosseum"), Gallo-Romeins Museum, Tongeren (Belgium).

☑　Gladius

The murmillo uses a “gladius”, which is also the weapon of choice of other scutarii (“scutum-carrying fighters”: the provocator, the secutor and the Roman legionary). This straight short sword is ideal for thrusting.

Opponents

As opposed to the provocator, the murmillo does not have a breast plate. This makes trying to get an opening between the scutum and the cassis in order to hit the throat or the chest an attractive strategy for his opponents.

Murmillones are most often seen fighting parmularii, (small shield-carrying fighters). They can move about more freely than murmillones as they are not slowed down by the weight of the scutum.

The parmularii include:

* the thraex (Fig.❶&❽), who has a curved sica which he can use to try and get around the murmillo’s scutum.

* the hoplomachus (Fig.❺&❼) who can use his hasta (“spear”) to try and stay out of the murmillo’s gladius’s reach long enough to wear him out.

There is also mention of the retiarius as an opponent for the murmillo [v] (Fig.❽).

It certainly looks nice to pit a fish against a fisherman -perhaps this is even one of the reasons why the murmillo was named after a fish- but depictions of these two fighting are rare.

Fig.❻ Murmillo versus Thraex

Fig.❼ Murmillo versus Hoplomachus

Fig.❽ Murmillo versus Retiarius

References:
[i] Shadrake, Susanna (2005) 2011. The World of the Gladiator. Didcot: Tempus Publishing. Reprint, Stroud: The History Press: p165.

[ii] The Virtual Egyptian Museums. "Bronze Samnite gladiator, Rome, 30 BC-68 AD".   http://www.virtual-egyptian-museum.org/Collection/FullVisit/Collection.FullVisit-JFR.html?../Content/MET.MM.00061.html&0 (accessed September 15, 2016).

[iii] Shadrake, Susanna (2005) 2011. The World of the Gladiator. Didcot: Tempus Publishing. Reprint, Stroud: The History Press: p143.

[iv] Nossov, Konstantin (2011) Gladiator: The Complete Guide to Ancient Rome's Bloody Fighters. Rowman & Littlefield: p87.
[v] Shadrake, Susanna (2005) 2011. The World of the Gladiator. Didcot: Tempus Publishing. Reprint, Stroud: The History Press: p165.