Cestus (boxing)

For other uses of Cestus, see Cestus.
Gallo-Roman mosaic (ca. 175 AD) showing a boxing scene from Virgil's Aeneid, book 5: cesti are worn by the aging Sicilian victor Entellus, who sacrifices his prize bull by landing a great blow to its head, and by the young Trojan Dares, his head spurting blood

A cestus or caestus (Classical Latin: [ˈkae̯stʊs], Ancient Greek: Kεστός) is a battle 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.