Scissor

Overview

The scissor (from the verb scindere = "to cut") is a rare type of the Roman arena, attested chiefly from the Greek eastern provinces. The Latin scissor and the Greek arbelas (ἀρβηλᾶς) — the latter a word taken from the shape of the cobbler's knife — probably denote the same type in two languages. Both Carter and Junkelmann argue for this.

The key element of his equipment is a curved or crescent-shaped blade fixed to the left forearm, with which the fighter could cut and block even without a shield. In his right hand he held a short sword or pugio. His opponent was probably the retiarius — the arm blade is ideal for cutting the net — but the sources do not explicitly record this.

Historical accuracy and our shows

The shows of the Collegium Gladiatorium evoke the events of the post-Augustan 1st–2nd centuries AD (c. AD 14–200). As regards the period of the scissor:

• Its earliest solid attestation is the end of the 1st century AD (CIL IX 466, Venosa) — a period close to the end of our shows.
• The bulk of the iconography and the Asia Minor inscriptions fall in the 2nd–3rd centuries AD — the type fits our 2nd-century scenes best.
• In our Julio-Claudian or Flavian scenes (mid-1st century AD) featuring the type is not historically justified.

In the scenes of our shows that evoke the Antonine and early Severan age, the scissor may appear — as a rare Asia Minor curiosity, evoking the tradition of the Greek eastern gladiator schools. An important caveat: the exact form of the arm blade is, in the absence of archaeological finds, Junkelmann's modern experimental reconstruction. In our shows we explicitly indicate that the equipment (curved arm blade on the left forearm, short sword, smooth helmet, scale or mail armour) is built up from the silhouettes of the Halicarnassus reliefs and from Junkelmann's hypothesis. The type usually fights against a retiarius — the arm blade is ideal for cutting the net.

Images

No securely identifiable, freely licensed ancient depiction of the scissor is currently available on Wikimedia Commons. The figure of the arm-blade fighter appears on a few Halicarnassus and Hierapolis reliefs; high-resolution photographs of these are under the proprietary rights management of the Bodrum Museum and other institutions.

The Halicarnassus and Hierapolis reliefs identified as scissor are kept in Bodrum and in local museum collections; their direct, freely licensed digital documentation is limited. Further reference images: Lendering, livius.org — livius.org / Halicarnassus gladiator.

Armament (reconstruction)

• Arm blade — a curved or crescent-shaped cutting weapon fixed to the left forearm, with a tubular sheath around the arm. According to Junkelmann's modern reconstruction a steel sheath, but not archaeologically confirmed.
• Sword or pugio — a short-bladed weapon in the right hand.
• Manica — on the left arm that bears the arm blade.
• Protection — scale or mail armour (squamata or hamata) on the upper body — assumed, since there is no large shield.
• Ocrea — on both legs, or only on the leading one.
• Helmet — a large, closed helmet of smooth form (secutor-like) — this suggests that the aim was protection against the retiarius's net.

Typical opponent

The sources do not name it explicitly, but the logic of the armament points to the retiarius: the arm blade is suited to cutting the net, and the smooth helmet does not catch in the net. Carter (2008) regards this as accepted. A pairing against the secutor is less likely — a fight between two heavy types, both wearing smooth helmets, would be a needless repetition.

The ancient sources

• Artemidorus, Oneirocritica II.32 — the locus classicus: the arbelas (ἀρβηλᾶς) as a gladiator type in a dream-interpretation context. The identification of the Latin scissor with the Greek arbelas rests on this passage.
• CIL IX 466 (Venosa, southern Italy, 1st c. AD) — the inscribed roster of C. Salvius Capito's familia gladiatoria, which lists the types, among them the scissor. This is the most important Latin epigraphic source, and the only one that attests the type in Italy.
• Halicarnassus and Hierapolis reliefs (Bodrum Museum and Phrygian collections) — they belong to the Asia Minor iconography of the type. Robert (1940) collects the Asia Minor inscribed mentions.
• Inscriptiones Graecae ad Res Romanas Pertinentes (IGR) IV — several eastern gladiator inscriptions contain the word scissor (in Latin) or arbelas (in Greek).
• Inaccuracy warning: popularising handbooks often cite Pollux Onomasticon IV.149 as the source for the scissor / arbelas — this is a mistake: the Pollux passage in question deals with theatrical and gymnastic vocabulary, not a gladiator type.

Archaeological and visual sources

• Among the Halicarnassus reliefs there are a few figures that some authors identify as scissor. (The best-known Halicarnassus gladiator relief, the Amazon and Achillia female gladiator pair, is not a scissor.)
• Hierapolis reliefs — figures depicted with a curved arm weapon, with a better-founded scissor identification.
• There is no concrete archaeological find of the arm blade — Junkelmann's "steel arm sheath + crescent-shaped blade" reconstruction is an experimental hypothesis.

Disputed elements

• The identity of the scissor and the arbelas — Carter and Junkelmann accept it, others are sceptical.
• The exact form and attachment of the arm blade — there is no archaeological find that would directly confirm it.
• Whether it is a distinct type, or merely a secutor sub-variant — an open question.
• The "weapon designed to cut the net" explanation is ingenious, but remains a hypothesis.