A ''cestus'' or ''caestus'' (, grc, Kεστός) is a battle

glove A glove is a garment covering the hand. Gloves usually have separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb. If there is an opening but no (or a short) covering sheath for each finger they are called fingerless gloves. Fingerless glov ...

that was sometimes used in Roman

gladiator A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...

ial events. It was based on a Greek original, which employed straps called ''himantes'' and ''sphirae'', hard leather strips that enclosed and protected the fist and lower arm. Some cestuses were fitted with studs or spikes to inflict potentially lethal injuries. Cestus fighters seem to have had no form of body armour, apart from the cestus itself. Contemporary depictions show the cestus worn in pairs.

Terminology

Latin ''Caestus'' or ''cestus'' translates as "striker". Its plural is ''caestus''. More rarely, plural ''cesti'' is used; this translates as "thongs". English language plural "cestuses" is also used.

Greece and Rome

In Greece, cestus-fights were featured in the Olympic games.

Theagenes of Thasos Theagenes of Thasos ( el, Θεαγένης ὁ Θάσιος) (typically spelled Theogenes ( el, Θεογένης) before the first century AD) was an Olympian of ancient Greece, famous for his victories. Background Son of Timosthenes, Theagenes w ...

, cestus champion in the Olympics of 480 BC, is said to have killed "most of his opponents"; he was also victor of the Olympic

pankration Pankration (; el, παγκράτιον) was a sporting event introduced into the Greek Olympic Games in 648 BC, which was an empty-hand submission sport with few rules. The athletes used boxing and wrestling techniques but also others, such as ...

and many other athletic events, and was given

hero cult Hero cults were one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion. In Homeric Greek, "hero" (, ) refers to the mortal offspring of a human and a god. By the historical period, however, the word came to mean specifically a ''dead'' ma ...

after his death. At some time in the development of Rome's

games, cestus fighting was introduced as an arena spectacle. The basic

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

cestus was made of hard leather straps, which enclosed and protected the fighter's lower arm and fist. The straps could be studded, or more extremely, spiked. ''Caestūs'' were usually worn in pairs. In Roman gladiator contests, cestus-fighters were probably matched against others of their kind; the cestus was effective protection and weaponry against other ''cestus'' fighters, and possibly against armoured gladiators equipped with other weapons. Apart from the ''cestus'' itself, the ''cestus''-fighter would probably have had no body armour. Like all arena personnel (''arenarii''), ''cestus'' fighters were either slaves or ''

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'', "infamous ones" who held a very low level of citizenship, their status and privileges severely restricted because of their professional association with blood-pollution and death. Most would have had a very limited life-expectancy. As a potentially lethal, pagan blood sport, ''Cestus'' boxing is usually assumed to have been included in the banning of punitive gladiator contests under legislation of the emperor

Constantine I Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...

, in 325.Pharr, Clyde; Davidson, Theresa Sherrer; Pharr, Mary Brown (2001)

952 Year 952 ( CMLII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – At the Reichstag in Augsburg (assembled by King Otto I), joined by German nob ...

The Theodosian Code and Novels, and the Sirmondian Constitutions. The Lawbook Exchange. ISBN 978-1-58477-146-3. The reasons for these bans are disputed. Their effectiveness is questionable, as similar legislation was enacted by later Roman emperors.

References

{{reflist Fist-load weapons Ancient Greek military equipment Roman personal weapons Gloves Sports gloves

Terminology

Greece and Rome

See also

References