Traex vs Murmillo

One of the most well known of gladiatorial combats. It divided the audience as a football match does nowadays.
The Murmillones, or Scutatii, represented the Roman heavy infantry and were supported by the conservative factions.
The Thraeces ('Thracians'), or Parmulates, (where parmula means 'small shield') represented the people under the Romans. In this case the warriors from the region of the Thrace (modern Romania).
The term Murmillo derived from the Greek, meaning "hidden", as he was protected by a big concave shield. His helmet represented a kind of lid sealing the warrior in his armour. The only places exposed were his right arm, protected by a thick leather sleeve, and left shinbone, protected by a metal plaque.
The Thraex bore the symbol of the Griffin on his shield. The Griffin in mythology had the head of an eagle and the body of a lion. And so the Thraex adopted the technique of a bird of pray. His curved weapon, the sica supina ('curved short sword'), was used as an eagle's beak, as he tried to slip the blade into the gaps of his opponent's armour.