The murmillo was the most heavily equipped class of gladiator in ancient Rome at the time of its introduction. They were one of the scutati, gladiators armed with a massive scutum shield and the gladius sword. The Latin name ‘murmillo’ refers to an elephant-snout fish in ancient Greek because the murmillones were often associated with fish. Their Boeotian helmet featured a large crest in the shape of a dorsal fin.
Origin of the Word ‘Murmillo’
Fish and Net-Man
It’s not clear when the Romans first adopted the word ‘murmillo’ for their gladiators but this term is sometimes traced back to the Greek word “mormúros” for the genus of fish called Mormyrus. This fish (probably Lithognathus mormyrus) has been found in the shallow water of the Mediterranean Sea. The helmet of a murmillo featured a horsehair crest, which looked like the large dorsal fin of this animal.
Another candidate fish is Mormyrus caschive, which has a long dorsal fin, but this animal is an African Nilotic fish rather than a Mediterranean.
The helmet of a murmillo is also believed to feature a fish figurine. The traditional opponent of the murmillo was a type of gladiator called retiarius (“net-man“) who was equipped with a trident and a cast net. According to the Latin grammarian Festus Grammaticus, all retiarii (sg. retiarius) sang this song in the arena when faced with a murmillo:
“Why are you fleeing Gaul, it’s not you that I want; it’s your fish.”
Source: Logeion.uchicago.edu/mirmillo
In his painting, Pollice Verso (“with a turned thumb”), Jean-Leon Gerome depicts a fish on the helmet of a victorious murmillo gladiator. The large crest protruding from the top of the helmet is represented in all murmillo hieroglyphics.
Second Theory
An alternative theory takes into account Festus Grammaticus’ writings and links the name ‘murmillo’ to the Latin word for “wall,” murus. Grammaticus says that fighting with an enormous scutum shield characteristic of the murmillo is like fighting “from the heights of walls.” Therefore, the murmillo would be an actual wall, earning the gladiator its Latin name.
Their Fighting Style
Murmillo was a type of gladiator who appeared in Roman amphitheaters. The murmillo class actually consisted of the most physically imposing wrestlers. Each gladiatorial class had its own mythological iconography, and the murmillo were no exception; they wore a wide helmet that covered their faces, adorned with marine images.
They carried scutum shields, remarkably similar to those issued to Roman infantry, which were massive, heavy, and bent along their long axis. This shield covered the entire body, except for the head and lower extremities; the latter were protected by a separate greave (ocrea). A murmillo’s only offensive tool was a gladius, a small sword.
The murmillo fought from behind his enormous shield, only revealing his face and legs, which he kept safe by shifting the shield around. With their gladius, they could only launch limited strikes. From this vantage point, the murmillo presented an impregnable fortress for the opponent. Because of the murmillo’s poor speed, his opponent, who was usually a nimbler Thraex, had to find a way to hit him from the side (where his bent sica came into play).
History of the Murmillo
The name murmillo was first used by Cicero in his 44–43 BC book Philippicae. From this book, we learn that the murmillo was one of the most popular gladiators in the ancient Roman arenas.
The Gallus (‘Gaul’) was a type of gladiator in ancient Rome. They were prisoners of war (munus) who had been given Gaulish weapons and armor and forced to fight in the Roman arenas for entertainment since Gauls were the enemies of Rome.
This gladiator also utilized heavy armor. But soon after Gaul became a Roman province in 121 BC and the Gauls were now part of Roman society, the Gallus was rebranded and transformed into a new type of gladiator called the murmillo. Even though the murmillo had replaced the Gallus, they kept using their iconic arms: the Gaul helmet, large shield, and sword.
Murmillo vs. Retiarius: A Great Fight
The murmillo was in constant conflict with the retiarius, and this fight was organized for greater entertainment. Because on one side, the murmillo was highly armored, and on the other side, the retiarius was a swift but poorly armored gladiator class.
However, many depictions of this battle show retiarius as a fisherman and murmillo as the fish. Since, contrary to expectations, it was the light-armored retiarius who often came on top in this fight.
The murmillo’s enormous fish crest on top of his helmet would easily snag the cast net the retiarius was throwing, allowing the retiarius to subdue his opponent. The retiarius often benefited from this disadvantage during arena fights.
To counter the retiarius, a new form of the murmillo known as the secutor arose in the middle of the first century AD.
Murmillo’s Opponents
Historically, the murmillo faced up against the Thraex (with a parma shield and a sica sword), the retiarius (with a trident and a cast net), and mostly in the west of the Roman Empire, the hoplomachus (with a spear and an aspis shield). There is an inscription according to which the murmillo also fought with the provocator (“challenger”) gladiators.
According to works by authors like Quintilian and Valerius Maximus, the murmillo often dueled with the Thraex in the early period of the Roman Empire (f. 27 BC). They also battled with the retiarius for half a century until the new secutor class arrived in the middle of the 1st century AD.
From the 2nd century AD, the duels between the secutor and the retiarius became more popular. The secutors wore the murmillo’s same equipment and clothing but a different type of helmet.
Until their fall from favor, the murmillones were often called Gauls, and their weapons were called Gaulish, since this type of gladiator was historically represented by captured fighters from Gaul.
Emperor Domitian (r. 81–96 AD) was a staunch supporter of the murmillones, unlike his brother and predecessor Titus (r. 79-81 AD) who favored Thraeces (plural of Thraex). This almost obsessive love once manifested in bloody revenge against a supporter of the Thraex faction.
Suetonius describes this incident as follows:
“A householder who said that a Thracian gladiator was a match for the murmillo, but not for the giver of the games [who was the emperor himself], he caused to be dragged from his seat and thrown into the arena to dogs, with this placard: “A favorer of the Thracians who spoke impiously.”
Suetonius • Life of Domitian (uchicago.edu)
Murmillo’s Hefty Equipment
The murmillo was the most heavily armed gladiator in Roman history, after their descendants, the secutor and scissor. Most of these gladiators weighed around 200 lb (90 kg) since the weight of their equipment was 33–40 lb (15–18 kg) alone, which rendered them an immovable object.
They used the iconic gladius sword and the large scutum shield of the Romans, as well as the Roman shoulder armor with overlapping metal plates called manica and the plate or leather leggings called ocrea with fasciae paddings under them to prevent skin damage. They also carried leather balteus belts with metal alloys and a large, bronze helmet named cassis crista. They wore an undergarment, the subligaculum.
The murmillo refined his helmet design throughout the years. They initially used an open helmet. However, by the conclusion of the Augustan era in 14 AD, the helmet was closed with a visor, which came with two circular eyelets. After this time, they gave up the eyelets and used helmets with grilled holes, which gave them a fish-like look.
By the middle of the 1st century, the plate brim around the helmet had become rounded, and the visor had become half-mesh, improving the wearer’s ability to see and breathe in battle.
The helmet shrank in size and gained an entire mesh visor in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. Now that the plate brim was integrated into the visor for extra protection, the fighter’s peripheral vision was severely impaired.
All of these elaborately designed helmets were finished off with a large plume crest or horsehair at the top (akin to a dorsal fin), which drew attention to the gladiator’s head and shoulders and enhanced his or her posture.
Being a Murmillo Was Tough
This class of gladiators needed powerful upper bodies to support their heavy helmets, shields, and swords. The huge shield served well as a defensive tool, while the short sword excelled as a deadly weapon in close quarters.
They had also figured out how to kick someone while wearing the bulky armor on their lower bodies. Despite that, these gladiators needed to be physically powerful and mentally tough to prevail in combat against more nimble and lethal opponents.
References
- Featured Image: Gladiators: the Retiarius vs. the Murmillo – Klaus Petrow
