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The cestus was a leather strap weapon used by Greco-Roman boxers and gladiators, while the cestus belt was an embroidered girdle popular with women. The cestus glove was used to increase the power of punches and evolved from simple leather thongs to include metal and weights.
Two articles of clothing are known by the name of cestus, both belonging to ancient Greece and Rome. The word may refer to a weapon made of leather straps, worn like a glove, and used by Greco-Roman boxers and gladiators. It can also refer to a type of embroidered girdle that was once popular with women in Greece and Rome. For purposes of clarity, this article will refer to them as the Cestus Gauntlet or Belt, but generally no such distinction is made, and each item may be referred to simply as a Cestus.
The ancient Greeks used the Cestus glove when boxing to give their punches more power. They were made by wrapping a series of oxhide thongs around the hand and tying them at the forearm or sometimes up to the elbow. Some were wrapped around clenched fists, and others left the fingers exposed, with no standardized strap configuration and no single correct way to tie the gloves. Unlike modern boxing gloves, these devices were not used to protect the wearer or the opponent from it, but rather functioned more like brass knuckles to increase the impact of a punch.
The first evidence of the use of Cestus gloves dates back to 1500 BC. C., on the island of Crete. Homer’s Iliad, which dates back to the 8th or 9th century B.C. C., refers to Epeio and Euryalus who tie oxhide straps before boxing. These early gloves were simple leather thongs with no metal, although many included a series of tight knots over the knuckles. Lead and iron were used in later designs, adding nails, studs, and weights, so that by the time of Roman gladiatorial games, gloves were powerful weapons. A skilled boxer could inflict lethal damage with these gloves, and combatants often fought to the death.
The cestus belt is an embroidered sash, commonly worn by women in ancient Greece and Rome. It takes its name from Aphrodite’s mythical girdle, which Homer also mentions in the Iliad, citing its power to arouse passion and desire. In fashion, the word is used today to refer to a wide belt, especially one with an embroidered design.
The word “cestus” also has other less common meanings. For example, the cestus veneris is a type of ctenophore, an aquatic animal with similarities to the jellyfish. Fans of Star Wars & Trade and Star Trek & Trade might also recognize the name as belonging to the planets in each of these fictional universes.
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