Gladius

The Gladius is a sword used in ancient Rome. It is a prime example of a standard collectible sword. It was the first standard-length sword found in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (and thereby its weakest one), but in later games grew in relative strength to other historical swords. In Castlevania: Harmony of Despair, it instead became Alucard's strongest historical sword.
==Origins==
Gladius is a Latin word meaning "sword" (of any type), but in its narrow sense, it refers to the sword of Ancient Roman foot soldiers. A fully equipped Roman legionary was armed with a shield (scutum), one or two javelins (pila), a sword (gladius), and often a dagger (pugio). Conventionally, soldiers threw pila to disable the enemy's shields and disrupt enemy formations before engaging in close combat, for which they drew the gladius. A soldier generally led with the shield and thrust with the sword.
Gladii were two-edged for cutting and had a tapered point for stabbing during thrusting. A solid grip was provided by a knobbed hilt added on, possibly with ridges for the fingers. Blade strength was achieved by welding strips together, in which case the sword had a channel down the center, or by fashioning a single piece of high-carbon steel, rhomboidal in cross-section. The owner's name was often engraved or punched on the blade. The hilt of a Roman sword was the capulus. It was often ornate, especially the sword-hilts of officers and dignitaries.
The three primary kinds of gladii are known as the Mainz gladius, the Fulham gladius, and the Pompeii gladius. More recent archaeological finds have uncovered an earlier version, the gladius Hispaniensis.
The differences between these varieties are subtle. The original Hispanic sword, which was used during the republic, had a slight "wasp-waist" or "leaf-blade" curvature. The Mainz variety came into use on the frontier in the early empire. It kept the curvature, but shortened and widened the blade and made the point triangular. At home, the less battle-effective Pompeii version came into use. It eliminated the curvature, lengthened the blade, and diminished the point. The Fulham was a compromise, with straight edges and a long point.
==Game specific information==
===Castlevania: Symphony of the Night===
The Gladius is the first decent sword encountered by Alucard. It is earned by defeating the first Doppleganger and replaces the Short Sword. It is stronger and thankfully longer than this sword. This will be his best standard sword until he finds the Scimitar (the next strongest sword) by fighting Scylla in the Underground Caverns or the Cutlass (even stronger) by defeating the Hippogryph at the end of the Royal Chapel (or is dropped). Both of these swords are otherwise identical to the Gladius.
===Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow===
The Gladius is again a decent sword in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow for the early portion of the game. It attacks in much the same way it did in Symphony of the Night (using horizontal slashes). It is the strongest historical sword of its class, being somewhat stronger than the similar Bastard Sword and can be obtained as soon as you save $1,800 and find Hammer's shop. It is outclassed by the the legendary sword named Gram though, which can be purchased after defeating the Headhunter. You can get it for free by getting a Manticore to drop one. It can be encountered as a boss in Chapel and as a normal enemy in the Floating Garden. Its swing motion color is gray.
===Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin===
The Gladius is a pretty good weapon. Despite being a Roman short sword, it actually appears longer than a Long Sword (and also slightly stronger) in the game. It is the fourth most powerful standard sword after the Long Sword. All swords that have special elemental effects are stronger than it, and none of the swords weaker than it have special elemental effects. Using this weapon also gives a small defense boost. Its Critical Art is the standard dash-attack.
==Item Data==
==Gallery==
===Animations===
SOTN Gladius.gif|Gladius from Symphony of the Night.
AoS Gladius.gif|Gladius from Aria of Sorrow.
POR Gladius.gif|Gladius from Portrait of Ruin.
==External links==
*YouTube - Video showing obtaining and using the Gladius in Symphony of the Night.
Category:Roman Lore
Category:Swords
Category:Aria of Sorrow Items
Category:The Dracula X Chronicles Items
Category:Encore of the Night Items
Category:Harmony of Despair Items
Category:Portrait of Ruin Items
Category:Symphony of the Night Items