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Revision as of 01:13, 17 February 2003 by AxelBoldt (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Gladiators were professional fighters in ancient Rome who fought against each other and against wild animals, often to the death, for the entertainment of spectators. These fights took place in arenas in many cities during the Roman republic and the Roman empire.
The word comes from gladius, the Latin word for a short sword used by legionnaires and some gladiators.
The origins of gladiator fights lie probably in the Etruscan custom of human sacrifices to honor the dead. The first Roman fights took place in 264 BC. Initially these were organized by rich private individuals, often to gain political favor with the public. Later the emperors would exert a near complete monopoly on staging the ludi circenses, "games" which included hunts of wild animals, public executions and gladiator fights. These games took place in amphitheatres (like the Colosseum). There was usually musical accompaniment.
Gladiators were typically picked from prisoners of war, slaves, and criminals. They were trained in special schools and belonged to a troupe that traveled from town to town. A trainer of gladiators or the manager of a team of gladiators was known as a lanista. The troupe's owner rented gladiators to whoever intended to stage games. A gladiator would typically fight no more than three times per year.
Different gladiators specialized in different weapons, and it was popular to pair off combatants with widely different equipment. Gladiator types and their weaponry included:
- Andabatae: Fought in horseback with visored helmet and possibly blindfolded.
- Cimachaeri: Two short swords (the gladius)
- Essedari: Charioteers
- Hoplomachi: Fully armored.
- Laquerii: Lasso
- Mirmillones: Helmet with a fish crest, sword and shield. Commonly fought Thraces.
- Retiarii: Trident and a net and at least naked torso. Commonly fought secutores.
- Samnites: Long rectangular shield, visor, plumed helmet and short sword. The name came from the people of the same name Romans had conquered.
- Secutores: Shield and sword. Commonly fought retiarii.
- Thraces: Round shield and a curved dagger. Name came from Thracians. They commonly fought Mirmillones.
At the end of a fight, when one gladiator acknowledged defeat by raising a finger, the audience could decide whether the loser should live or die. A gladiator who won several fights was allowed to retire, often to train other fighters. Gladiators who managed to win their freedom were given a wooden sword as a memento.
The attitude of Romans towards the gladiators was ambivalent: on the one hand they were considered as lower than slaves, on the other hand some successful gladiators rose to celebrity status. There was even a belief that nine eaten gladiator livers were a cure for epilepsy. Despite the extreme dangers and hardships of the profession, some gladiators were volunteers (called auctorati); effectively this career was a sort of last chance for people who had gotten into financial troubles.
Their oath (which Seneca describes as particularly shameful) implied their acceptance of slave status and of the worst public consideration (infamia).
Some emperors, among them Hadrian, Caligula, Titus Flavius and Commodus also entered the arena for (presumedly) fictitious or rigged combats. Emperor Trajan organized as much as 5000 gladiator fighting pairs. Gladiators contests could take months to complete.
Female gladiators also existed; Emperor Commodus liked to stage fights between dwarfs and women.
One of the most famous gladiators was Spartacus who became the leader of a group of escaped gladiators and slaves. Greek physician Galen worked for a while as a gladiator’s physician in Pergamon.
Gladiator fights were first outlawed by Constantin I in 325 but continued sporadically until about 450. The last gladiator competition in the city of Rome occurred on January 1, 404.
References
- Thomas Wiedemann: Emperors and Gladiators, Routledge 1992
- James Grout: Gladiators, part of the Encyclopædia Romana, http://itsa.ucsf.edu/~snlrc/encyclopaedia_romana/gladiators/gladiators.html
See also: Gladiator (2000 movie)