Antiquity

Spawning from the ruins of the Bronze Age collapse to the dawn of the Middle Ages, the Antiquity is a period of cultural history marked by the reemergence of historical records during the Iron Age in the Greco-Roman world, centered around the Mediterranea, Western Asia and Europe.

It stretches from the 8th century BC with the Phoenicians, Carthaginians and Greek civilizations, to the Roman Republic, and the rise and fall of the Roman Empire up until the 6th century.

Antiquity is the birthplace of ideas and myths that remained powerful through History. Greco-Roman gods are still major inspiration for multiple fantasy archetypes, while great thinkers, philosophers, and rulers of the period had a massive influence on the ones that followed them. Every great general will always be compared to the likes of Alexander the Great or Julius Caesar after all.

Between its history and its legends, Antiquity is filled to the brim with iconic characters that are now points of reference for both real life and fantasy. But more than the Spartacus, Hercules, Judas, Aphrodite, or Hannibal, the time period also saw concepts that would grow very well represented in our culture, and inspire a lot of characters in LARP.

Disciplined armies, polytheist pantheons, gladiatorial fights, and multi-ethnic ancient empires are very popular themes in fantasy and LARP settings. Antiquity themed characters in LARP are often those associated with these historical elements that feel so iconic to the era.

After all, even in fantasy, any gladiator feels a little Roman. Mythology and historical records are fueled to the brim with amazing character ideas that can be inspirations for live action roleplaying.

Accurate historical attire isn’t a priority in most LARP events, but channeling the aesthetics of the Antiquity can still be achieved with a few well-chosen accessories and iconic period items. For clothing, it is well known that Greco-Roman warriors often used battle skirts to protect the groin and the upper legs, a leather armor that was not often seen in other historical periods and hence makes it a very clear signifier of Antiquity inspiration.

Short sleeves or sleeveless tunics with a wide collar are also classic of the era, with the neckline remaining high to the level of the collarbones.

In terms of armor; muscular breastplates, segmented plate armor, classic Corinthian helmets with the crest, and singular arm reinforcements are all pretty unique to the period, associated with either Greek and Roman soldiers, or gladiators in the arena. Short chainmail shirts were also used, as well as greaves and shields.

Swords from Antiquity were mostly short compared to later periods. The longest Roman sword, the spatha, rarely exceeded 85cm, with a much shorter average represented by the likes of the gladius. Metallurgy of the time wasn’t as sophisticated and limited blade length, or else the swords were too fragile. Longer weapons mostly took the form of spears and pikes.