![[JHG]](JHGlogo.png "Howard Gibson")
Gladiators — Slavery and Sex
Gladiators — Slavery and Sex
Slaves who fight to the death in your arena! What could possibly go wrong?
Gladiators are a wild and crazy story. Did the Romans really force expensive, highly trained slaves to fight to the death? Did the highly trained, expensive and armed slaves really put up with this? Why would they do this? How did they do it?
Most of the stuff we have written down on gladiators dates from the early principate in the first century CE. This information gets less reliable as we move away forwards or backwards from this time period.
There are no detailed contemporary sources exclusively on gladiators. Extant writings about gladiators are oblique references by people who actually are interested in something or someone else. Most if not all the ancient Roman writers were patricians, member of the upper class. They looked down on all the lower class plebeians, not just the infamis gladiators. They looked nostalgically back to the good old days of the republic, when the senate they sat in, held actual political power.
There is lots of graffiti in Pompeii which shows us what ordinary Romans thought about gladiators circa 79CE. There are lots of mosaics in expensive, upper class villas showing gladiators. We have extremely detailed knowledge of how they decorated the helmets of murmillones.
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Actual Murmillo helmets — Wikipedia photos
Let's place gladiatorial combat in historical context.
A problem with superficial descriptions of the Romans, is that it appears that they were culturally, politically and militarily stable throughout their history. This is not even approximately true. The earliest reliable accounts show that the Romans were a republic in which the right to vote was tied to one's ability to participate in warfare. The army was a militia. Citizens provided their own weapons and armour. They were led by members of the patrician class, looking for fame and glory. By the first century BCE, Rome's citizen soldiers had been replaced by paid professionals, loyal more to their generals than to the Roman state, or to the "Senate and the People of Rome". The armies still were led by patricians who perhaps were even more ambitious than their predecessors. In 33BCE, Julius Caesar's adopted son Gaius Octavian accepted the title Princeps Civitatus, or First Citizen, and the name Augustus. making him dictator of Rome. The institutions of the Roman Republic continued to function but they became less and less important. By around 300CE, Caesar's power had become absolute, officially at least. In practise, the Caesars did not have a mandate to hold power. The institution was a prize of war, and many, if not most Caesars were murdered, mostly by the army.
All of this affects the institution of slavery, and gladiatorial combat. The first thing you need to run gladiator games is expendable, combat trained slaves. The wars of conquest during the late republic produced vast numbers of these. The supply would have dried up in the early principate, when the Roman wars of aggression largely stopped. During the late republic, Roman nobles needed military glory, plunder, and battle hardened, loyal troops. For the early Caesars, these nobles were an existential threat. Any aggressive wars during the imperial period either were supervised directly by the Caesars, or they were not waged. The supply of combat capable slaves quickly dried up, along with the supply of expendable gladiators. We can figure that Claudius' conquest of Britain, Vespasian's and Titus' reconquest of Israel, Trajan's conquest of Dacia, and Septimus Severus' defeat of the Persians would have provided a bunch more, but these would last perhaps a decade each over a period of five hundred years.
I have written The Hunger Games HOWTO. This is how I got into gladiators. I have ripped the above text straight out of it.
| Period | Years approx | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| Monarchy | 753BCE to 509BCE | Mostly legendary |
| Republic | 509BCE to 33BCE | The patrician upper class competed for power. This became increasingly vicious until it collapsed in civil war. |
| Principate | 33BCE to 69CE | Gaius Octavius took over as Princeps. A pretense was made that Rome was a republic, but Caesar clearly in charge. |
| Emperors | 69CE to 180CE | Official role of Caesar more clearly defined by Vespasian. Increasing despotism. Rome reaches its peak in power and prestige. |
| Third Century Crisis | 180CE to 284CE | The system collapses into civil war |
| Dominate | 284CE to 1453CE | Despotic rule |
I sucked this down off Wikipedia, but I changed stuff because I am opinionated, and because I find these distinctions meaningful. A lot of warfare and ostentatious public display, including gladiators, was the work of ambitious patricians looking for expand their reputations and political power. During the principate, these patricians were a threat to the Caesars, and they were discouraged, and sometimes murdered outright.
Let's look at slavery from an economic point of view, and let's be absolutely cold blooded about it. Most economically successful slave economies are based on kidnapping and theft. You, the slave owner, do not pay the financial and emotional cost of raising a productive adult. Some other poor schmuck does, and you use your superior military leadership, technology and tactics to capture them. Possibly, you don't even pay for military kidnappers! Your state fights Fun, Glorious Wars. You loot and pillage.
Conquest of Italy — Wikipedia
The early Ludi Romani were votive spectacles, held in honour of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, the Roman's chief god. Roman generals vowed to run them if Jupiter would grant them victory on the battlefield. The generals would use their captured loot to pay for everything, as a pious duty to the Roman state, and to show their generosity to their fellow citizens. In 366BCE, the Ludus Romani became an annual event. The events started off as a procession followed by some sort of sacrifice, followed by contests of athletic or musical skills. Futrell pg 2
It is not clear exactly where gladiatorial combat started. According to Plutarch, there were gladiators at one of the funerals after Romulus killed Remus. Plutarch — Romulus Etruscan tomb paintings show funeral games which include depictions of combat. The Romans may have picked it up from the Campanians, who were allies in their wars against the Samnites. Futrell pg 4 Livy describes how the Campanians, out of contempt and hatred for the Samnites, dressed gladiators in Samnite armour. The Wikipedia article states that these combats were not deadly, although Livy says nothing either way. Livy 9.40
The Roman munus was a human sacrifice ceremony done at a funeral. The bloodshed showed off the importance of the decedent, and capacity of the heir to control life and death. Initially, a couple of slaves or prisoners were simply killed. Someone decided that this was cruel, so they changed the ceremony to a fight to the death. These seem to have started during the wars with Carthage. The games became increasingly elaborate during the third century BCE, and the middle of the second century. Futrell pg 6 Meijer pg 19
During the year a tablet was placed in the temple of Mater Matuta with this inscription: "Under the auspices and command of the consul Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, the legions of the army of Rome have subjugated Sardinia. In that province there have been 80,000 natives either killed or made prisoners. He was most happy in his administrations; he liberated the allies of Rome; he restored the revenues and brought his army safely home laden with enormous booty. For the second time he entered Rome in triumph. Because of this he has given this tablet as an offering to Jove." There was a representation of the island and pictures of the battles on the tablet. Several gladiatorial exhibitions were given this year, most of them on a small scale; the one given by T. Flamininus far surpassed the rest. On the occasion of his father's death he exhibited this spectacle for four days, and accompanied it with a distribution of meat, a funeral feast, and scenic plays. But even in this magnificent exhibition the total number of men who fought was only seventy-four. Livy 41.28
Alison Futrell's
translation of this ends with
The climax of the show, which was big for its day,
was the fact that 74 men fought over a three-day period.
Futrell pg 7
In 206BCE in Spain...
Scipio returned to New Carthage to discharge his vows and to exhibit the gladiatorial spectacle which he had prepared in honour of the memory of his father and his uncle. The gladiators on this occasion were not drawn from the class from which the trainers usually take them — slaves and men who sell their blood — but were all volunteers and gave their services gratuitously. Some had been sent by their chiefs to give an exhibition of the instinctive courage of their race, others professed their willingness to fight out of compliment to their general, others again were drawn by a spirit of rivalry to challenge one another to single combat. There were several who had outstanding quarrels with one another and who agreed to seize this opportunity of deciding them by the sword on the agreed condition that the vanquished was to be at the disposal of the victor. It was not only obscure individuals who were doing this. Two distinguished members of the native nobility, Corbis and Orsua, first cousins to each other, who were disputing the primacy of a city called Ibes gave out that they intended to settle their dispute with the sword. Corbis was the elder of the two, but Orsua's father had been the last to hold that dignity, having succeeded his brother. Scipio wanted them to discuss the question calmly and peaceably, but as they had refused to do so at the request of their own relations, they told him that they would not accept the arbitrament of any one, whether god or man except Mars, and to him alone would they appeal. The elder relied upon his strength, the younger on his youth; they both preferred to fight to the death rather than that one should be subject to the commands of the other. They presented a striking spectacle to the army and an equally striking proof of the mischief which the passion for power works amongst men. The elder cousin by his familiarity with arms and his dexterity easily prevailed over the rough untrained strength of the younger. The gladiatorial contests were followed by funeral games with all the pomp which the resources of the province and the camp could furnish. Livy 28.21
Note the phrase
...on the agreed condition that the vanquished
was to be at the disposal of the victor.
Corbis and Orsua were determined to fight to the death.
There is a strong implication here that the others
saw a strong chance of both fighters surviving.
By the late republic, the games were staged as public entertainment to show off the presenter's reputation as a public benefactor. At one time, Julius Caesar presented an extravaganza in which three hundred and twenty gladiators fought. Plutarch Perris Caesar 15-5 According to Suetonius, the number of gladiators terrified his opponents, and they passed a bill limiting the number of gladiators anyone was allowed to keep Suetonius Julius Caesar 10-2
With the collapse of the republic, the Caesars took control of the spectacle. Roman nobles showing off wealth and status were perceived by Caesar as a threat to his power and his life, and they were not encouraged.
How much gladiatorial combat was there? In his biography of emperor Hadrian, Anthony Everitt claims that there were four hundred gladiatorial venues throughout the empire. They each would stage two gladiatorial shows a year, with teams of thirty gladiators, each of whom would fight twice. This works out to twelve thousand gladiators. Perhaps four thousand would be killed annually, or about one in six per show. Hadrian pg66 Wikipedia quotes the same numbers, attributed to the book Colosseum, by Keith Hopkins and Mary Beard. This is after the possibly safer first century CE. See my notes below on Danger. In the Great Courses broadcast, it is claimed that gladiator shows were rare. During the empire, the Senate was allowed to hold two a year. The emperor could hold as many as he wanted, but Augustus held only eight during his reign. Courses17 There are all sorts of gladiator mosaics dating as late as the fourth century CE, showing that wealthy patricians ran them, and recalled them to show off their wealth and importance.
Gladiator games declined in the third century CE. They were costly. Christians did not approve of them, although Christian Caesars like Constantine did not stop them. Quintus Aurelius Symmachus put on a gladiator show in 393CE. Meijer pg 204 It did not go over well. Twenty nine of his Saxon prisoners managed to strangle each other in their cells on the night before the games. Murderous
The barbarians, who invaded Rome in the middle of the first millennium did not approve of gladiator games either. They shut them down when they conquered Roman cities. The amphitheatres were converted into forts, or simply abandoned. TJones
The One Eyed Doe
A Doe had had the misfortune to lose one of her eyes, and could not see any one approaching her on that side. So to avoid any danger she always used to feed on a high cliff near the sea, with her sound eye looking towards the land. By this means she could see whenever the hunters approached her on land, and often escaped by this means. But the hunters found out that she was blind of one eye, and hiring a boat rowed under the cliff where she used to feed and shot her from the sea. "Ah," cried she with her dying voice,
"You cannot escape your fate."
The Aesop's fable above makes no sense to modern ears. The Greeks and Romans liked it. You were expected to meet your fate bravely. This may explain why slaves fought willingly as gladiators.
The obvious appeal of gladiatorial combat is that it was fun — to watch, anyway.
In combat in the arena, gladiators were expected to display traditional Roman virtues — skill and training, and courage in the face of death. Defeated gladiators were spared, probably more often than not. If the loser looked frightened, he got no mercy. In Rome, the gladiators were an opportunity to interact with Caesar. The emperors paid attention to the crowds. They had much say in whether or not a defeated gladiator lived or died. Low-Chappel The floor of the arena represented the barbaric lands outside the Roman empire, to be dominated by the empire. TJones
Some slaves accepted their fate as gladiators. Other slaves did not. There were Servile rebellions, one of which was led by a gladiator. At least one gladiator stuffed a bathroom sponge down his throat, choking himself to death. Courses17 This was preferable to dying in the arena. The mass suicide of twenty nine Saxons is noted above,
Gladiators from the Zliten Mosaic — Wikipedia graphic
According to Wikipedia, the mosaic is from Libya (Leptis Magnus), in the first or second century CE. Left to right, you see a thraex fighting a murmillo. A hoplomachus is watching another murmillo signal defeat. The guy in the white tunic is the summa rudis refereeing the combat. There is no mention of what the last guy is. He appears to be a scutarius of some sort, because he has a large shield.
On the night before a combat, the gladiators would eat dinner together. The fans could pay to come and watch this. On the day, there would be a parade, led by the organizer accompanied by lictors, and a band with flutes, horns, and possibly some sort of water powered organ. In the morning, there would be exhibitions and hunts of wild beasts. At lunch, there would be executions of criminals, carried out as entertainingly as possibly. Gladiators fought in the afternoon. Courses17
Gladiators fighting and killing — Borghese Mosaic
Particularly during the empire, gladiatorial combats were rule-driven contests. There was a summa rudis possibly with an assistant secunda rudis. These referees could stop the contest if somebody violated the rules, or if a gladiator was injured. Gladiators were expected to fight in the style of their class. The audiences expected a show.
At the end of the combat, the wounded or exhausted gladiator would drop his shield, and raise a finger of his left hand, requesting missio. If the audience liked him and were impressed by his courage, they would agree to spare him. If they did not, the defeated gladiator gripped his opponent's leg, and he held his chin up, waiting bravely for the killing blow.
Combat often was survivable. The audience wanted to see action and bravery. They were willing to spare an active, brave gladiator, even if he lost. Gladiators were expensive to rent, and very much more expensive to kill.
On the other hand, a lot of gladiator mosaics are installed in expensive homes, where they show off the wealth and status of the owner. If you can afford to kill some gladiators at your dad's funeral, you have (or had) that much more wealth and status. The Retiarius versus Secutor mosaic to the right shows how the homeowner was able to stage the games. The figure Θ (Theta) stands for "thanatos", and it indicates the death of the gladiator. Our homeowner was able to afford to kill gladiators Astivus and Rodan.
Gladiators needed to be trained. Audiences expected gladiators to fight in the style of their class, and do it with style and panache.
Most gladiators were slaves or captives, but some people volunteered. The would-be gladiator took an oath, surrendering all hope of survival, agreeing to be burnt, bound or to be slain by the sword. TJones
A ludus was a school. A ludus could be for educating children, or it could train gladiators. Gladiators trained with wooden weapons that were twice the weight of their sharp metal weapons. They were trained in general combat, and then evaluated to determine what class they would fight as.
Gladiators took stage names, like Flamma, which means flame. Courses17 Another interpretation of this is that these were the sort of pet names, that may be assigned to pets or slaves. TJones
Gladiators were fed a carbohydrate rich diet to bulk them up. They were nicknamed barley boys. A bulked up gladiator with an extra layer of fat may have been perceived as better able to withstand stab wounds. Courses17 The bulked up look probably was perceived by the Romans as manly.
There were different types of Gladiator. Gladiator classes indicated equipment, and fighting techniques. Audiences expected murmillo to fight like murmillo, and secutors to fight like secutors, etc. Carter All of this is from Wikipedia, unless otherwise stated. Specific Wikipedia gladiator links are provided when available.
The gladiator fights blindfolded. Cicero mentions andabata, writing to a friend in Gaul, associating them with chariot riding Essedarii. The word is rare in classical sources. It does not sound like a popular act.
An arbelas may have something to do with an arbelos, a cobbler's semicircular blade, used to cut leather. The only source that mentions arbelas is Oneirocritica of Artemidorus. Artemidorus is described as a diviner from the second century CE. Oneirocritica is translated from the old Greek as "The Interpretation of Dreams". Google Translate says it is "Dream critics". This was an unpopular act at best.
Apparently, if you are dreaming about the woman you going to marry, an arbelas may appear to signify that she is a poisoner, or that she will be malicious and ugly.
The bestiarius was a beast fighter. They actually were not considered to be proper gladiators. Generally, there were two kinds of bestarii.
A bustiarius was a "tomb fighter". Gladiatorial combat started off as a funeral ceremony less cruel than sacrificing both men. These sound like the original gladiators. The term was unflattering, even to other gladiators.
The original practise was to sacrifice captives on the tomb or bustum of a warrior. This was meant to appease the gods and spirits of the underworld. Later, the ceremony was changed to a fight to the death, with the resulting bloodletting to provide appeasement.
The name comes from the word caterva which means a huge, chaotic crowd of men. They were sent into the area in a mass, where they fought in a free-for-all Perhaps some of them survived to become regular gladiators! Metatron-02
The cestor was a boxer who used the cestus, sort of a battle glove made from leather strips, that may contain iron plates, blades or spikes. The cestus goes back to the Greek Pankration.
Tacitus described these as as a contingent of Gaulish, slave, trainee gladiators involved in the Aeduian revolt of 21CE. They were "encased" in armour that was heavy, and that it wore them out, making them easy for Roman troops to kill. Wikipedia claims as of 2021/08/06 that these could be Murmillo.
The Metatron's video shows a re-enactor encased in something that makes him look like the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz. The armour on the actual Gauls made them difficult for the Romans to kill. They eventually did it with axes and picks.Metatron-01
A dimachaerus fought with a sword in each hand. They are portrayed sometimes wearing nothing more than a loincloth. Other depictions show them in mail shirts, scale armour, visored helmets, greaves and leg wrappings. There are few records about them. They appear to have been popular between the second and fourth centuries.
Dimachaerus means "a pair of knives". Scholargladiatoria argues that double wielding is a dumb idea in a normal combat. In gladiatorial combat, double swords might just be fun to watch. They may have used gladii. They may have used sica. Maybe they used one of each. Scholargladitoria-01
The Metatron is more confident about dual wielding. Again, the Romans would never have done this on a battlefield. We do not know that the dimachaerii were a separate gladiator class. We do not know what kind of armour and protection they wore. The only common feature of them is that they did not have shields, and they had two swords. Metatron figures that one sword would be used for attack, and the other, used for defence. He would prefer a proper shield to an extra sword.Metatron-03
The Eques was a horseman. They wore scale armour and a brimmed helmet with two decorative feathers, but no crest. They carried a medium sized cavalry shield. Later, they wore greaves and an arm guard. Equites normally fought each other.
The equii were featured at the beginning of gladiator fights. They started off mounted, but usually wound up fighting on foot. Most if not all existing contemporary illustrations show them fighting on foot. They are recognizable because unlike most gladiators, they wore tunics.Metatron-01
A Retiarius wearing a tunic was regarded as an effeminate figure. This makes me wonder about equii.
An Essedarius fought from a chariot. These were inspired by the Britons who opposed Julius Caesar during his Gallic wars. The essedarius probably fought with a spear and sword, and sometimes a small shield. Sometimes, there was a separate driver.
Suetonius describes how an essedarius named Porius
was vigorously applauded for freeing his slave driver,
after a victory.
The already tyrannical Caesar
Caligula
was enraged, tripping on the fringe of his toga, and shouting
The people that rule the world give more honour
to a gladiator for a trifling act
than to their deified emperors
or to the one still present with them.
This shows that this class of gladiator
had the authority to own slaves,
and would be able to free one if he felt like it.
Suetonius
A Gallus was a Gaul. In the early games, they were prisoners of war. Later, they were gladiators equipped as Gauls. Wikipedia says "heavily armoured", and says they were replaced by Murmillo once Gauls were perceived as friendly to Rome.
During the civil wars of the late republic, especially due to Caesar's Gallic wars, there would have been tens of thousands of captive Gauls, with armour and weapons. Many of these would have belonged to smaller, mutually hostile tribes, and they might have eagerly fought each other to the death.
See Gladiatrices, below.
Hoplomachus (pl. hoplomachi) is Greek for "armed fighter". A Hoplon is the round shield carried by Greek Hoplites. They wore quilted, trouser-like leg wrappings, a loincloth, a belt, shin guards, an arm guard, and a brimmed helmet with feathers. He was armed with a gladius, a small round shield, and a spear, which he would throw before closing in with the sword. They fought myrmillones or thracians. They may have developed from the earlier Samnite. The Samnites became Roman allies, so this became not politically correct.
The Laquearius was armed with a lasso and a dagger. They fought like a Retiarius. It is possible they were nothing more than comic relief between other matches.
Murmillo and Lion
Wikipedia
The murmillo wore a helmet with a stylized fish on the crest, an arm guard, a loincloth and belt, a gaiter on his right leg, thick wrappings on the top of his feet, and short greaves. They carried a gladius, and a large oblong legionary type shield. Usually, they fought thracians. Sometimes, they fought hoplomachi.
The painting of the Murmillo appears to be nineteenth century.
A parmularius was very similar to a Scutarius, except that they replaced the scutum with a small shield, called a Parma or parmula. They also wore extra shin armour.
A pontarius was a retiarius who was to defend an elevated sort of bridge structure, a pons in Latin, against a pair of secutorii. The retiarius/pontarius was given a pile of fist sized stones to throw at the securorii, during the combat.Metatron-01
Provocvator means "challenger". In the late republic and early empire, they were equipped as legionaries. Later, they changed over to loincloths, belts, an arm guard, and a visored helmet without a brim or crest. They were the only gladiators who wore a breastplate. Typically, they fought each other.
Retiarious versus Secutor
Wikipedia
The retiarius is the famous net fighter, representing a fisherman. He was equipped with a weighted net, a trident, and a dagger. He wore a loincloth and belt. His armour comprised no more than an arm guard and a shoulder guard. He did not wear a helmet. Retiarii fought secutors or murmillions. In the picture, a badly wounded retiarius surrenders to a secutor.
See the pontarius above for an alternate retiarius combat.
The retiarii were regarded as effeminate, compared for example to the manly, heavily armoured secutors. There was a particularly effeminate class of gladiator called a retiarius tunicatus who fought wearing a tunic. These were regarded as particularly socially contemptible.
Once a band of five retiarii in tunics, matched against the same number of secutores, yielded without a struggle; but when their death was ordered, one of them caught up his trident and slew all the victors. Caligula bewailed this in a public proclamation as a most cruel murder, and expressed his horror of those who had had the heart to witness it. Suetonius
A poem by Juvenal
entitled Effeminate Rome,
describes how a man from the old, honourable
Gracchi family
married a (male) horn player,
and then added to the outrage by appearing in the arena
as a gladiator with tunic and trident.
Where is it from, this sting that hurts your descendants, Mars?
Juvenal
A sagittarius was a mounted archer with a powerful reflex bow. If I were sitting in the audience, I would not want a sagittarious to be pissed off at me, or at anyone in my vicinity.
The sagittarius illustration used by the Metatron shows a naked archer, and some birds flying downwards. Could this be a picture of a hunter, with no connection to gladiatorial combat?Metatron-01
The Samnites, from Samnium, were an Italian tribe the early Romans warred with. The gladiator presumably was dressed as one. They were armed with the long, rectangular shield (scutum), a plumed helmet, short sword, and a greave on one leg. This class disappeared in the early imperial period, presumably as real Samnites were integrated into Roman society.
These gladiators appeared in the fourth century BCE, after the defeat of the Samnites. Dressing low status gladiators as Samnites was a fun way to mock them. Early Samnite bouts staged by the Campanians, were mock combat.
In his History of Rome, Livy notes the Samnite's
gold and silver plated shields, plumed helmets, and colourful tunics.
[The Romans] knew that the one ornament of the soldier was courage,
and all that finery would belong to whichever side won the victory;
an enemy however rich was the prize of the victor,
however poor the victor might be.
Livy 9.40
The scissor was armed with a two bladed short sword that looked like a pair of open scissors. There is very little information on these.
A scutarius was any gladiator who used a large shield, called a scutum. A murmillo or a Secutor could be classed as a Scutarious
The secutor or "pursuer" was intended to fight the retiarius. He was a variation on the murmillo. His helmet was replaced with a round, smooth helmet with two eye holes, and no sharp things sticking out that could be caught with the retiarius' net.
The Thraex was supposed to be a Thracian. They wore the same armour as the hoplomachi, except for a broad rimmed helmet that enclosed the entire head, and a Thracian curved sword called a sica or falx. They came in as replacements for Gallii who now were friendly to Rome. They fought murmillions and hoplomachi.
Veles were skirmishers, probably armed like early Roman velites with a spear, sword, and small shield. There is very little information on them, and no depictions anywhere.
The following gladiators are not combat classes. The reference is Wikipedia unless otherwise stated.
This comes form the Latin word aula meaning the Imperial Court. This means that the gladiator belonged to one or more Imperial troops. Soldiers would capture slaves and turn them into gladiators. This does not reflect a specific combat technique. Metatron-02
This comes from the name Caesar. These were gladiators who belonged to Ceaser, the emperor. Metatron-02
Meridianus means "mid-day". They fought at noon, while many spectators went out for lunch. These perhaps were weaker or older gladiators. Metatron-02
These were nobles, members of the aristocracy. Aristocrats really ought to not fight in the area, but some of them needed money, and some of them wanted glory. This does not reflect a specific fighting technique. These events probably were popular with the crowds. Metatron-02
This comes from postulare, which "to ask". A Postulaticus was a champion or otherwise popular gladiator who was asked for by the crowd. They were expensive, They were required for an event that was to be popular. Metatron-02
If (when?) a gladiator earned his freedom, he received a "rudis", which could be a wooden training sword, or a short stick. If he chose to continue fighting, he was called a rudiarius.
The summa rudis was an official who supervised and refereed gladiatorial combat. It is assumed that they were ex‑gladiators, although they seem to have had rather high social status. They wore a white tunic with a purple clavi or border, and they carried a long rod or switch. The summa rudis watched for violations of the rules, and they determined when the combat should be halted, stepping in before a fatal blow can be inflicted. Carter Gill
The seconda rudis must have helped the summa rudis. Carter
Tres means three. Their job was to take the place of gladiators wounded three times during the current day.08
Gladiatrices Amazonia and Achillia
Wikipedia
In Latin, the plural is "gladiatrices". Yes, women fought in the arena. Gladiatrices were exotic, and they showed off the high status and wealth of the host who ran the event. There is evidence of gladiatrices, but not much. Preskar
The picture to the right is a marble relief from Halicarnassus, in what is now Turkey. It dates to around the second century CE. Amazonia and Achillia probably have removed their helmets, and their match is described as missio, meaning that they were granted a reprieve, and that they both could return to the barracks for further training. Herstories Coleman To my untrained eye, they both appear to be secutorii.
Gladiatrices fought topless, wearing only loincloths. Otherwise, they used the same armour and weapons as the men. They fought each other, dwarves, and occasionally wild boars and lions. This provided sexual stimulation for the male audiences. Roman women normally were covered from head to toe. Use of weapons normally was exclusive to men. Most gladiatrices were slaves, but some upper class women volunteered. Preskar The few surviving contemporary inscriptions tend to be complaints about women of equestrian or senatorial rank performing as gladiators.Coleman
... The same year witnessed shows of gladiators as magnificent as those of the past. Many ladies of distinction, however, and senators, disgraced themselves by appearing in the amphitheatre. Tacitus Annals 15.32
Tacitus does not explicitly state just what these ladies and senators actually did in the amphitheatre.
Emperor Nero presented gladiatorial games of Ethiopian women fighting each other. According to Wikipedia, it was Ethiopian men, women and children. Titus had duels between gladiatrices at the grand opening of his Colosseum. Titus' successor Domitian marketed gladiatrices as "Amazonians". Preskar
Septimius Severus appears to have banned female gladiators in 200CE. Gladiatrix combat apparently was provoking jeers at upper class women.Coleman
Wikipedia lists Caligula, Titus, Hadrian, Lucius Verus, Caracalla, Geta and Didius Julianus as having performed in the arena in some capacity. There was no mention of Commodus, who actually did appear in the arena! Apparently, they took minimal risks.
I am trying to find other references on this. In his biography of Hadrian, author Anthony Everitt mentions a number of gladiator games, but nothing about Hadrian in the arena. Didius Julianus was around fifty five to sixty years of age, and he lasted something like nine weeks as Caesar. Really?
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Wind Chime? — screen capture TJones |
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Gladiators were skilled and brave, and they mostly were big, hulking brutes, all things the Romans found sexy. They became a symbol of Roman manly virility. Their sweat was collected and used as an aphrodisiac by the fashionable women of Rome. A spear dipped in gladiator blood could be used to part a bride's hair.
The satirist Juvenal imagined an old women lusting after her gladiator...
one dud arm that held promise of early retirement.
Deformities marred his features — a helmet scar,
a great wen on his nose,
an unpleasant discharge from one constantly weeping eye.
What of it? He was a gladiator.
That makes anyone an adonis.
The figure to the right looks like a wind chime. A commentator claimed that this was an image of a gladiator that you "pulled on". The gladiator's penis is turning into some sort of animal, and he is getting ready to cut it off. TJones I am glad I am not a sex therapist. I have no intention of explaining this thing.
In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, white upper class people imagined black males as wildly oversexed. This may be a common way upper classes perceive low‑status men. I am not aware of contemporary women writing about gladiators, or anything else for that matter.
Infamia was the loss of social status experienced by people who became prostitutes, pimps, actors, dancers, and gladiators. Gladiater were buried in cemetaries separate from the ones used by respectable people. There is no mention of where prostitudes, pimps, actors and dancers were buried.
Gladiators were regarded as low class by the Romans whose writings we still have. These Romans were upper class. Graffiti from Pompeii and other places shows us that the Gladiators were widely admired by other Romans. People perceived that becoming a gladiator was attractive and prestigious. Women lusted after them, or at least, male writers claimed that women lusted after them.
Actor Raymond Massey was a member of a prominent Canadian family, who asked him to use a stage name. What do we think of family members who become country and western musicians, professional wrestlers or exotic dancers? We don't have the strict class system the Romans had.
All gladiator combats were not fought to the death.
A gladiator from Sicily named Flamma, fought thirty four times in his career, was reprieved stans missus (fought to a draw) nine times, and reprieved missus (defeated but spared) four times.Coleman He was thirty years old. Meijer pg 64
Georges Ville, described as a great historian
but not listed in Wikipedia,
apparently working in the nineteenth century,
estimated that during the first century CE,
one hundred gladiator bouts would result in nineteen fatalities.
This works out to around one in five losers of matches dying.
The odds got worse during the second and third centuries,
when around half of all matches ended in the death of a gladiator.
An experienced gladiator was more likely to survive the match.
If he were popular with the fans, he was more likely to be
granted missio.
Futrell pg 143
Meijer pg 61
Another estimate, possibly based on the reign of
Hadrian,
is that one gladiator in six was killed in a given show.
.
This grave is dedicated to the Manes. For Urbicas, a secutor. He belonged to the top category of gladiator, came from Florence, engaged in thirteen fights and lived for twenty two years. He is survived by two daughters, Olympia aged five months and Fortunensis, and by his wife, Lauricia, who lived with her respected husband for seven years. I urge you to kill the man who defeated me! His supporters will preserve the memory of Urbicus with honour. Meijer pg 66
This is a tomb inscription. The Manes were deities of the underworld. My source speculates that Urbicas' age is a stone mason's error — XXII instead of XXXII.
M.J. Carter claims that gladiatorial combat was controlled and limited by rules and expectations. Combats were refereed, and the gladiators were expensive professionals. The gladiators themselves had a common interest in keeping combat glorious and entertaining, but otherwise, as safe as possible. Carter
Traveler, you look on me, bold Olympus, who often undertook combat in the stadia, and saved many in the stadia. When fate wished it, I, fighting in single combat for the ninth time, paid back what was fated. Farewell traveller. Panthia from (Alexandria) Troas (erected this) for Olympus from her own funds in remembrance. Carter
It is worthwhile to ask what people will tolerate today if they desire glory and fame. I looked up the starting line‑up for the Indianapolis 500 auto race. All of the following data is sucked down from Wikipedia.
| Year | 1930 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | Top Ten Qualifiers | Unique Drivers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total drivers | 38 | 34 | 32 | 32 | 39 | 121 |
| Killed racing | 10 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 31 |
Some of the drivers appeared in more than one Indy 500. There are two drivers whose fates I do not know. Six drivers were killed not racing, typically in airplane crashes. There was a lot of get-there-itus, and at least one driver was doing stunt aerobatics, when he crashed into an apartment building, killing three other people including a baby. A.J. Foyt is still with us as of 2021/08/24. One Indy 500 driver in four was killed auto racing. There is no statically significant shift through the time period shown. Presumably, the top ten qualifiers are more daring and aggressive than their more cautious and possibly less skilled peers. but there is not a statistically significant difference, from their more cautious competitors.
Here is my Indy 500 spreadsheet. You can inspect my driver data. I have a page that works out survival rates of gladiators over some number of combats. It turns out that Georges Ville's first century AD gladiators had a six percent chance of surviving thirty combats.
For centuries, the mothers of New England seagoing families had known of the death toll to be taken. Where two strong boys sat at breakfast in their Cape Cod kitchen, a mother could tell herself with absolute, chill certainty that one of the pair would not survive. Carse pg25
Today, we expect to live into old age. Many of us did not expect this, even a hundred and fifty years ago. The Romans were heavily into seafood, so someone was going out in boats and catching stuff. When they drowned, there were no women screaming for sex with them. Life was "nasty, brutish and short", even for people who did not volunteer to be gladiators.
Pollice Verso (with a turned thumb) — Jean Léon Gérôme 1872
Howard Gibson —
Email
hgibson@eol.ca
—
Last updated:
2022/06/07