One of the typical fights in every munus (a private gladiatorial spectacle, originally a religious ritual offering, which later became a political tool and mass entertainment) was that of the retiarius against the secutor. We can see here the latter entangled in the net thrown by the retiarius, who is attacking him with his trident. The retiarius protects himself with the galerus and manica (neck and left shoulder and arm), while the secutor uses a large scutum (shield) which he also holds with his left arm and his own manica on his opposite arm, and defends himself with a short sword; certainly, the secutor has not lived up to his name and has not "pursued" his opponent…

For the book Gladiators. Courage in the Face of Death, by Fernando Lillo Redonet and María Engracia Muñoz-Santos (Desperta Ferro Ediciones. Madrid, Spain. 2024).

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