Legionaire of the month of May

The Legionaire of the month for May is Conny!
(The post will be rewritten better as soon as possible)

LEGIONAIRE OF THE MONTH OF APRIL

Hello all, finally we have the winner of the Legionaire of the month prize!
This time is Jo Soler! She did a great work as always to the Legio but this time did a very nice work also with room renting at the fort!
Congratulation1

Skilled archer badge assigned

Hello all, I am happy to announce that Foxtrot Fyanucci earned the skilled archer badge for have showed great ability during last archery constest.
Congratulations!

Legionaire of the month March

Salve all,
it is again time to choose the Legionaire of the month.
I am very happy and I was also a bit touched by my proclamation as Legionaire of the month.
I always do the most for the Legio and Roma SPQR just as an hobby, a pleasure; however this prize make me happy because shows that people like the work that I am doing.
Thanks to all!

Legio Badges

1) Skilled archer
Assigned to the soldiers that won an Archery tournament

2) Skilled gladium fighter
Assigned to the soldiers that won a Legio tournament

3) Skilled pilum thrower
Assigned to the soldiers that won a pilum tournament

4) Very disciplined soldier
Assigned to the soldiers that show a very hight respect of rules

5) Active soldier
Assigned to the soldiers that are judged most active in the group

Matronalia festival

Matronalia (or Matronales Feriae) was a festival celebrating the goddess of childbirth ("Juno who brings children into the light"). A celebration of motherhood (mater) and of women in general. Prior to the reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar, this was the first day of the new year. It was also shared with the first day of the Feriae Marti.

The date of the festival was associated with the dedication of a temple to Juno Lucina on the Esquiline Hill circa 268 BCE, and possibly also a commemoration of the peace between the Romans and the Sabines. On the day, women would participate in rituals at the temple, although the details have not been preserved other than the observation that they wore their hair loose (when Roman decorum otherwise required them to wear it up), and were not allowed to wear belts or to knot their clothing in any place.

At home, women received gifts from their husbands and daughters, and Roman husbands were expected to offer prayers for their wives. Women were also expected to prepare a meal for the household slaves (who were given the day off work), as Roman men did at the Saturnalia.

Murmillo Gladiator

The MURMILLO (left) was a type of gladiator during the Roman Imperial age. The myrmillio-class gladiator was adopted in the early Imperial period to replace the earlier Gallus, named after the warriors of Gaul. As the Gauls inhabiting Italy had become well-integrated with the Romans by the time of the reign of Augustus, it became politically incorrect to portray them as enemy outsiders; the Gallus-class gladiator thus had to be retired.
The distinguishing feature of the murmillo was the high crest of his helmet which, together with its broad rim, was shaped somewhat like a fish. The murmillo took his name from this fish-shaped helmet; the word comes from the Greek word for a type of saltwater fish.
Otherwise, he wore a loincloth (subligaculum), belt (balteus), very thick wrappings on the lower part of his left leg (designed to protect the top of his feet from attack and from his own shield), a gaiter on his right leg, a linen arm guard (manica) to protect his right arm, and the curved rectangular shield (scutum) of the Roman legionary. He also carried the legionary's short, straight-blade sword, or gladius, from which gladiators derived their name.
The murmillo usually fought the thraex or hoplomachus, with whom he shared some of the equipment (notably arm guards and all-enclosing helmet, and the dangerous short sword). A number of ancient authors, including Valerius Maximus and Quintillian, assert that he also regularly fought the retiarius. It would certainly have been an unusual pairing, contrasting a slow but heavily armoured gladiator with a fast but lightly equipped one. However, this pairing is disputed; visual depictions of murmillones show them fighting the thraex or hoplomachus rather than the retiarius.

Examples of the pairing between murmillones and other gladiator types can be seen in frescos and graffiti in Pompeii. In one well-preserved example, a murmillo named Marcus Atillus, who is credited with one match and one victory, is depicted standing over the defeated figure of Lucius Raecius Felix, a gladiator with 12 matches and 12 victories. His opponent is shown kneeling, disarmed and unhelmeted. The graffito records that Felix survived the fight and was granted his freedom (manumission).