Gladiators

Secutor Notes

http://depthome.brooklyn.cuny.edu/classics/gladiatr/types.htm
The standard opponent of the retiarius is a secutor ("pursuer"),1 who carried an curved oblong shield (((footnote:1. The retiarius was introduced in the early empire and the secutor became his standard opponent around the middle of the first century AD. With a few exceptions such as the eques and the provocator, gladiators of one type regularly fought opponents of another type.)))

http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/arena.html
Secutor: Egg-shaped helmet with round eye-holes, greave on one leg, arm protector, legionary-style shield and sword (scutum and gladius); see the small black helmet in the above image and the victorious gladiator in this mosaic. The secutor was called a “chaser,” probably because he was frequently paired with the retiarius, who used running as one of his tactics.

http://www.gladiatorschool.tv/secutor.htm
The gladiator "Secutor" (chaser in English), got his name from his fighting technique. Infact he used to chase his opponent around the Arena... He wore a round helmet with crest and two small round eye holes.
His principal opponent was the Retiarius...
so the rounded shape of the Secutor's Helmet was less likely to become entagled in the net of the Retiarius.
His right arm was protected with a leather or metal armor, and he carried a short sword called Spatha.
Also he had a large shield and his left leg was covered with a metal leg guard called Ocrea.

http://www.angelfire.com/tx3/gladiators/secutor.html
The Secutor, also known as the chaser, got his name from his fighting technique. He chased his opponent all around the arena. He wore a round helmet with round eye holes that were very small. His right arm was covered with leather or metal bands, and his right hand carried a short sword or dagger. With his left hand he carried a shield and on his left leg he wore a leg guard called an ocrea, so his left side was totally protected.

http://www.ludus.org.uk/r/essayglossary.html
secutor: Gladiator type, fought the retiarius, first makes his appearance during the reign of Augustus.

http://www.murphsplace.com/gladiator/glads.html
Among the four main types that had evolved by the early Empire was the heavily armed SamniteSamnite, later called a hoplomachus or secutor. (The Romans may have recognized these three as separate and distinct types, but any such distinctions are now unclear; all employed basically the same weapons and tactics.)

http://www.gladiator.hu/soc.htm
· secutor – gladiator using body-shield and sword, fighting solely retiarius

http://www.the-colosseum.net/games/glad2.htm
It seems that the first type of gladiator was the Samnite (from Samnium, a region of Italy), later also called secutor. He was an attacking gladiator, wearing a small shield and the gladium. In the centuries the form of the secutor developed into the hoplomachus, with a bigger shield. Another variation of the secutor could have been the provocator, probably wearing a round shield and a lance, and the Thrax, or Thracian, who was protected by metal and leather, had a small shield and the sica, a curved sabre.

http://www.legionxxiv.org/gladiatorarena/
the smooth contours of the Secutor helmet that minimized its being snagged by the Retiarius' net, with whom the Secutor was usually paired. Also, the eye holes of the Secutor helmet were sized and spaced to make it difficult for the 3-pronged trident of the Retiarius to penetrate it.

SECUTOR "Chaser" The technique of this fighter was to chase his opponent around the field of battle and exhaust him out for the kill. He wore a rounded crested helmet with small round eye holes. Although limiting vision, the small eye holes made it nearly impossible for the Retriarius' trident tines to penetrate to the Secutor's eyes. The smooth shape of the helmet, without any projections, was less likely to be come ensnared in the net thrown by the Retiarius; with whom he was generally paired for a fight. He had full right arm protection and wore an Ocrea or greave on the lower left leg. He also carried a large rectangular scutum shield.

http://www.findsdatabase.org.uk/hms/pas_obj.php?type=finds&id=60954
The type of gladiator depicted is a 'secutor' or 'pursuer', whose attributes include the large rectangular shield and low crested helmet with small eye holes. The 'secutor' was traditionally the opponent of the 'retiarius' who held a net and trident. It has been suggested that the secutor's helmet is reminiscent of a fish and that that is why the two types of gladiator were pitted against each other.

http://aediles.novaroma.org/perusianus/ludi/m_ven_rules.html
SECUTOR: His weapon is a short sword (gladius). His defenses are closed smooth hull, rectangular big shield (scutum), protection in right arm and legs. Normally fight only against retiarii.

http://www.romans-latin.net/gladi1.htm
Secutor: The Secutor took his name from the term for "pursuer" and was an offspring of the Samnite. He fought virtually naked *1 and carried a large oval or rectangular shield as well as wearing an ocrea on his left leg. Typically he was bald *1 and wore a round or high-visored helmet. Often his arms were protected by leather bands at the elbow and wrists (manicae). He was traditionally armed with a sword although occasionally he fought with a dagger.

http://www.durolitum.co.uk/gladbrit.htm
The Samnite evolved into the Secutor, once the Samnites had been absorbed into the Roman state. Samnites had fought against the Romans in the days of the old Republic, but by the time of Augustus, and certainly by the invasion of Britain, the Samnite had become the Secutor

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/warriorchallenge/gladiators/profile5.html
The Secutor or "Pursuer" was usually paired with the Retarius, who he chased around the arena. Closely related to the Samnite and Hoplomachus gladiators, the Secutor featured a curved helmet designed to make entrapment by the Retarius's net more difficult - though its oddly spaced eyeholes are thought to have limited the fighter's vision. The Secutor's entire left side was protected by a heavy curved shield and a metal leg guard, or ocrea.. Metal or leather bands shielded his right arm. The Secutor is thought to have first been featured as Retarius's opponent around 50 AD.

http://ablemedia.com/ctcweb/consortium/gladiator3.html
A Secutor - took his name from the term for "pursuer" and fought virtually naked and bald *1, carrying a large oval or rectangular shield and a sword or dagger, wearing an ocrea on the left leg, leather bands at the elbow and wrists (manicae), and a round or high-visored helmet;

http://www.exn.ca/rome/gladiator.htm
Secutor - wearing leather armour on the left leg, elbows and wrists, he carried a large shield and a sword. He also wore a heavy helmet and visor.

http://www.ludus.org.uk/r/bookosprey.html
p. 23
"In the arena the...retiarii [sic]...stalked the...myrmillo...the combats of the Thracian against the secutor"
There is no evidence that retiarii ever fought myrmillones (as such). No pictorial evidence exists for such a match. It is argued whether secutores are just myrmillones since they are similarly armed but differ in only the helmet style worn. However, in contemporary evidence they do seem to have been regarded as something separate. Thracians certainly never typically fought secutores.

http://www.comm.unt.edu/histofperf/amandajo/glad3.htm
The Samnite disappeared roughly at the end of the republican and appears to have been substituted by the Hoplomachus and the Secutor.

Notes
*1 I think that this "naked and bald" thing is some sort of poor translation. The "retiarius", the secutor's opponent, fights without armor or helmet, which could be loosely translated as "naked and bald" I suppose, but the Secutor wears as much clothing as any other gladiator (i.e., a loincloth), and he wears arm and leg armor, as well as having a shield and helmet. So "naked and bald"...I don't know...