Gladiators were professional swordsmen and fighters in ancient Rome who fought fierce battles against each other or condemned criminals or even wild animals. They often lost their lives in the process. Generally, no gladiator is believed to have survived over 30 years of age, unless he was exceptionally skilled or lucky. Unfortunately, the death of a gladiator was considered a source of great entertainment in the arenas of ancient Rome.
Gladiators may be history, but gladiator costumes continue to create a stir at fancy dress parties, masquerade balls and Halloween evenings; this largely due to the Russell Crowe movie, ‘Gladiator’. Gladiator costumes give a sense of raw power and inherent strength, adding ferocity to the fighter. Weapons form a crucial part of the gladiator’s costume. A basic gladiator costume consists of a tunic, a leather kilt or a skirt, armour, a shield, a sword, a helmet and leather sandals. Some costumes include more weapons in the gladiator’s arsenal such as the classic double ended trident.
The tunic forms the main part of a gladiator’s costume. It is a straight single piece garment that resembles an oversized tee shirt almost reaching the thigh. While most tunics have short sleeves, some of the commercially available gladiator costumes come in full sleeves. The tunic becomes narrow at the waist and forms the base over which the kilt and armour are worn.
The armour covers the upper body. The real gladiators used strong metal armour whereas now a moulded chest piece of cardboard covered with metal foil is available as armour. One version of the commercially available gladiator costume consists of faux leather straps belted at the waist over the tunic, faux leather wrist protectors and shin guards.
Another vital part of the gladiator’s costume, the helmet, was also made of metal in earlier days. Gladiator costumes for masquerade and fancy dress parties include a cap covered in tin foil or sprayed in silver colour to which red feathers are added to create a plume. A flowing cloak or cape is also worn for additional effect.
Gladiator costumes are available for children as well as adults. There are gladiator-like costumes available for women too that resemble a leather frock which is narrow at the waist.
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