Hoplomachus

hoplomachi) (hoplon meaning "equipment" in Greek) was a type of gladiator in ancient Rome, armed to resemble a Greek hoplite (soldier with heavy armor and helmet, a small, round, concave shield, a spear and a sword).

The hoplomachus would wear a bronze helmet, a manica on his right arm, loincloth (subligaculum), heavy padding on his legs, and a pair of high greaves reaching to mid-thigh.

[1] He was often pitted against the murmillo (armed like a Roman soldier), perhaps as a re-enactment of Rome's wars in Greece and the Hellenistic East.

[3] The oplomachi were a designation or possibly a class of Roman gladiator with relatively little mention in literary sources.

[4] Though historical accounts identify them primarily as an opponent of the Thraex, they appear in a Pompeian list as fighting not only against Thraeces, but against Murmillones and Dimachaeri as well.