The scissor (pl. scissores) was a type of Roman gladiator.[1][2][3] Very little is known about them[4][5] and they were not mentioned after the first century BCE.[3][1] The name, from the verb scindere ("to cut") means cleaver, carver, or slasher.[6][1][7][4] Historian Marcus Junkelmann identified what he termed a scissor in a relief in the late 1980s. The figure, however, has also been identified as an arbelas by other historians.[1][7][3] It is possible that the scissores went extinct or were later reclassed as arbelai.[1][3] The scissores may have evolved from the secutor due to the similarity in armor, helmet, and gladius, as well as being "anti-retiarius."[1]
Scissores wore a full-face helmet similar to that of the hoplomachi or the secutores, and wore heavy armor. They held a gladius in one hand and a "single-edged curved blade," similar to a mezzaluna or an arbelas blade, on his forearm.[1][8][3] This semicircular blade was attached to a steel tube that spanned the arm. It served as a shield in addition to a weapon and a handle inside provided increased mobility.[9]
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References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g Frithowulf, Hrothsige (2023-10-10). "Scissor Gladiator and Everything About Them". Malevus. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
- ^ Pack, Roger (1957). "Textual Notes on Artemidorus Daldianus". Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association. 88: 190. doi:10.2307/283903.
- ^ a b c d e Nossov, Konstantin (2011-10-04). Gladiator: The Complete Guide to Ancient Rome's Bloody Fighters. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 45–46. ISBN 9780762777334.
- ^ a b "Roman Scissor". HistoryLab for Civic Engagement. 2022-12-01. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
- ^ "Roman Gladiators". United Nations of Roma Victrix. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
- ^ Fagan, Garrett G. (2011-02-17). The Lure of the Arena Social Psychology and the Crowd at the Roman Games. Cambridge University Press. p. 217. ISBN 9780521196161.
- ^ a b "The Roman Scissor: Gladiator, weapon, or...? (AKA: Return of the arbelos)". Eleggo. 2016-12-19. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
- ^ Green, Corey (2017-03-31). "Gladiator Fashion: How To Spot Your Favorite Fighter". Houston Museum of Natural Science. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
- ^ Junkelmann, Marcus (2000). Das Spiel mit dem Tod. So kämpften Roms Gladiatoren. Mainz am Rhein. ISBN 3-8053-2563-0.[page needed]