Cestus (boxing)

Common card · No. 299593

A cestus or caestus (Classical Latin: [ˈkae̯stʊs], Ancient Greek: κεστός) is a fighting glove that was sometimes used in Roman gladiatorial 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 cesti 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.

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