10-03-2012, 08:28 AM
I've seen this image before, though without as much detail. The one I saw may have been a third-generation copy, as was often done with lamps. In any case, this is remarkable on several counts. One is the murmillo helmet, of course. I know of only one other depiction, on a Gallic jug, showing a secutor in a brimmed, crested helmet. Another is that the swords seem to be legionary-sized, not the daggers of later years. Third is the short manica the secutor wears. In fact, except for the presence of the retiarius, he could be a Republican-era murmillo. I wish we could tell whether his helmet is visored or still has separate cheekplates. If the latter, this could be evidence for the retiarius existing as far back as Augustan times or even earlier.
Pecunia non olet
