Gladiator

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Gladiators (Latin: gladiatōrēs, "swordsmen" or "one who uses a sword," from gladius, "sword") were professional fighters in ancient Rome who fought against each other, wild animals, and condemned criminals, sometimes to the death, for the entertainment of spectators. These fights took place in arenas in many cities from the Roman Republic period through the Roman Empire.

The word comes from gladius, the Latin word for a short sword used by legionaries and some gladiators. they fuck themselves,

Life as a gladiator

Origins

Gladiators could have been either prisoners of war, slaves or criminals condemned to gladiator schools (ad ludum gladiatorium). There were also a number of volunteer gladiators (auctoratus). These were either sons of prominent men perhaps looking for a radical change, poor men attracted by the potential for fame or relinquishing themselves from poverty, or even men with a monetary purpose, such as Sisinnes who sought to earn money to buy a friend's freedom. All gladiators kept the monetary prizes that they won in the arena and Titus is on record for paying a freed slave 1,000 gold aurei to return for a single match. These men came from all different backgrounds but were soon united as they entered the training schools. By the end of the Republic, about half of the gladiators were volunteers (auctorati), who took on the status of a slave for an agreed-upon period of time, similar to the indentured servitude that was common in the late second millennium. Sometimes people were forced to fight in one off events. Caligula was known for forcing anyone he did not like to fight, including spectators who annoyed him at the games (Cassius Dio 59.10, 13-14).
One of the benefits of becoming a Gladiator for slaves and criminals is that they were then allowed to have relationships with women and although they themselves could never become Roman citizens, if they gained their freedom, their marriages then were legally recognised and their children could then become citizens.

Gladiators were very proud of their ethnic origins and made sure their true origin was known to the public if they fought under a title suggesting another ethnic group. Even in death they made sure their race was incribed on their headstone. After Judea was “pacified” there was a large increase in the number of Jewish Gladiators as it was common practice under Titus and Vespasian to sentence Jewish rebels and criminals to Gladiatorial schools.

Left handed Gladiators were popular and a rare novelty, their fights were always advertised as a special event. As with modern-day "lefty" fencers, tennis players and other sportsman, these left handers had a large advantage as they were trained to fight a right hander who were themselves not trained to defend against a left hander. Mentions of left handedness on gravestones have been found.

Research on the remains of 70 Murmillos and Retiariae gladiators found at an ancient site in Ephesus has shown that, contrary to popular belief, Gladiators were probably overweight and also ate a high energy vegetarian diet consisting of mainly barley, beans and dried fruit. Fabian Kanz of the Austrian Archaeological Institute said he believed gladiators "cultivated layers of fat to protect their vital organs from the cutting blows of their opponents". Gladiators were sometimes known as hordearii, which means "eaters of barley." Although considered an inferior grain to Wheat (a punishment for Legionaries was to replace their wheat ration with barley), gladiators probably preferred it as Romans believed that barley contributed to strength and covered the arteries with a layer of fat which helped to reduce bleeding. Other findings from the research indicate Gladiators fought barefoot in sand.

Training

Prospective gladiators (novicius) upon entering a gladiator school swore an oath (sacramentum) giving their lives to the gods of the underworld and vowing to accept, without protest, humiliation by any means. Volunteers also signed a contract (auctoramentum) with a gladiator manager (lanista) stating how often they were to perform, which weapons they would use, and how much they would earn. Prospectives also went under a physical examination by a doctor to determine if they were both physically capable of the rigorous training and aesthetically pleasing. Once accepted the novicius usually had his debts forgiven and was given a sign up fee. For as long as he was a Gladiator he was well fed and received high quality medical care. Overall, gladiators were united as members of a familia gladiatoria and became second to the prestige of the school. They also joined unions (collegia) formed to ensure proper burials for fallen members and compensation for their families.

Training was under teachers called “Doctores” and involved the learning of a series of “numbers”, which were broken down into various phases much as a play is a series of acts broken down into scenes. Sometimes fans complained that a gladiator fought too “mechanically” when he followed the “numbers” too closely. Gladiators would even be taught how to die correctly. Each type of gladiator had its own teacher; doctore secutorum, doctore thracicum, etc. Although gladiators in times of need helped train legionaries, they were not usually good soldiers themselves as a result of this choreographed style of training. Within a training-school there was a competitive hierarchy of grades (paloi) through which individuals were promoted. They trained using two meter poles (palus) buried in the ground. The levels were named for the training pole and were primus palus, secundus palus, and so on. It was also rare for a novicius to train in more than one gladiatorial style. Once a gladiator had finished training but not yet fought in an arena he was called a “Tiro”.

There were four schools (ludi) in Rome: ludus magnus (the most important), ludus dacus, ludus gallicus, and ludus matutinus (school for gladiators dealing with animals). The schools had barracks for the gladiators with small cells and a large training ground. The most impressive had seating for spectators to watch the men train and some even had boxes for the emperor.

Training

Typical combat

The announcement for the coming shows were often made by painting the program on the walls of the city. Sometimes the results of featured fighters were added to the advertisement after the matches. A "v" stood for "vicit" meaning he won. A "p" stood for "periit" meaning he was killed. A "m" stood for "missus", meaning he lost but was spared.

An average game had between ten and thirteen pairs (Ordinarii) of gladiators, with a single bout lasting around ten to fifteen minutes. They were usually of differing types. However, sponsor or audience could request other combinations like several gladiators fighting together (Catervarii) or specific gladiators against each other. As a rule Gladiators only fought others from within the same school or troupe (ad ludum gladiatorium) but sometimes specific Gladiators would be requested to fight one from another troupe (Postulaticii). Sometimes a lanista had to rely on substitutes (supposititii) if the requested gladiator was already dead or incapacitated. The Emperor could have his own gladiators (Fiscales). The largest contest of gladiators ever given was by the emperor Trajan in Dacia as part of a victory celebration in 107 AD and included 5,000 pairs of fighters.

During the fights musicians played accompaniments altering their tempo to match that of the combat in the style now familiar with music in action movies. Typical instruments were a long straight trumpet (tubicen), a large curved instrument (lituus) similar to an exaggerated French horn and a water-organ (organum). The Romans loved burlesque and pantomime and these musicians were often dressed as animals with names such as "flute playing bear" (Ursus tibicen) and "horn-blowing chicken" (Pullus cornicen), names sometimes found displayed on contemporary mosaics.

Like today’s athletes Gladiators did product endorsements. Particularly successful Gladiators would endorse goods in the arena before commencing a fight and have their names promoting products on the Roman equivalent of billboards.

A flask depicting the final phase of the fight between a *murmillo* (winning) and a *thraex*.

Some matches were advertised as “sine missione” (without release) meaning “to the death”. The referees allowed these fights to continue as long as it took to get a result. Although already a rare event, Augustus outlawed “sine missiones” due to the expense of compensating the “Lanistas” but they were later reintroduced.

When one gladiator was wounded the spectators would yell out one of several traditional cheers such as "habet, hoc habet” (he’s had it) or "habet, peractum est” (he's had it, it's all over), the referee would then end the fight by separating the combatants with his staff. A gladiator could also acknowledge defeat by raising a finger (ad digitum), The referee would then step in, stopping the combat, and refer the decision of the defeated gladiator’s fate to the games sponsor (munerarius) who would decide whether he should live or die after taking the audiences wishes into account or considering how well he had fought. If a Gladiator was killed it was normal practice for the games sponsor to pay compensation to the owner (Lanista) of up to 100 times the Gladiators value. For the death of a popular Gladiator this could be many millions of dollars in todays values.

Fights were generally not to the death during the Republic, but gladiators were still killed or maimed accidentally. Claudius was infamous for rarely sparing the life of a defeated Retiarius. He liked to watch his face as he died as the Retiarius was the only gladiator that never wore a helmet. Suetonius recounts a combat where the death of an opponent was called a murder. "Once a band of five retiarii in tunics (retiarius tunicatus), 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." (Lives of the Twelve Caesars XXX.3)

The figure of a referee is frequently depicted on mosaics as standing in the background, sometimes accompanied by an assistant and carrying a staff with which to hold back a Gladiator after his opponent signified submission. This implies contests were fought with fixed rules. We know from mosaics, and from surviving skeletons that Gladiators primarily aimed for the head and the major arteries under the arm and behind the knee.

As with modern sports, spectators liked to support “sides” (factiones) which they called the “great shields” and the “little shields”. The “great shields” were lightly armoured defensive fighter types. Whereas the “little shields” were the more aggressive heavily armoured fighter types. Fighting without a shield would have been classed as a “great shield” due to fighting style. “Little shields” always had an advantage early in a match (as attested by the odds given by contemporary Bookmakers) but the longer the match lasted the greater the advantage for the “great shield” as his opponent tired much more quickly due to heavier armour and also as they usually had helmets with more restricted vision.

Gladiators were paid each time they fought. The winner of a match received from the editor a palm branch and additionally an award such as a golden bowl, crown or a sum of money in the form of gold coins. A laurel crown was awarded for an especially outstanding performance. The victor then ran around the perimeter of the amphitheatre, waving the palm. Gladiators were also allowed to keep any money or gold they received as a prize. The ultimate prize awarded to gladiators was a permanent discharge from the obligation to fight. As a symbol of this award, the editor gave the gladiator a wooden sword (rudis), Martial (Spect. 27) mentions a particularly famous match between two gladiators named Priscus and Verus, who fought so evenly and bravely for so long that when they both acknowledged defeat at the same instant, the emperor Titus awarded victory to both and gave wooden swords (rudes) to each. There was no rule as to what a gladiator would have to do in order to win his freedom, but usually if a gladiator won five fights, or especially distinguished himself in a particular fight, he won the rudis and his freedom. A famous Secutor nicknamed Flamma was awarded the rudis four times but he chose to remain a gladiator. He was killed in his 34th fight. Flamma's gravestone in Sicily is particularly informative as it includes his record: Flamma, secutor, lived 30 years, fought 34 times, won 21 times, fought to a draw 9 times, defeated 4 times, a Syrian by nationality. Delicatus made this for his deserving comrade-in-arms.

It is known that the audience (or sponsor or emperor) pointed their thumbs a certain way if they wanted the loser to be killed (called a pollice verso, literally "with turned thumb"), but it is not clear which way they actually pointed. A thumbs up (called pollux infestus) was an insult to Romans so is unlikely to have meant sparing a life. The clear "thumbs up" and "thumbs down" image is not a product of historical sources, but of Hollywood and epic films such as Quo Vadis. It is thought they may have raised their fist with the thumb inside it (pollice compresso, literally "compressed thumbs") if they wanted the loser to live. One popular belief is that the "thumbs down" meant lower your weapon, and let the loser live and a thumbs up sign pointed towards the throat or chest, signaled the gladiator to stab him there. Some scholars believe that a hand movement was involved as the notion of "turning" does not seem to fit the action of merely extending a thumb. One of the few sources to allude to the use of the "thumbs up" and "thumbs down" gestures in the Roman arena comes from Satire III of Juvenal (3.34-37) and seems to indicate that, contrary to modern usage, the thumbs down signified that the losing gladiator was to be spared and that the thumbs up meant he was to be killed.

The now famous gladiatorial salute “Ave Caesar, morituri te salutant” or “Hail Ceasar, they who are about to die salute you” is another product of movies. This salute was only mentioned by Suetonius (Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Claudius, XXI, 1214) as happening once, spoken by condemned men (damnati) to Claudius at a Naumachia (a staged Naval battle) and he used the word “imperator” or Emperor not Ceasar. Tacitus also wrote of this event: “although they were criminals, they fought with the spirit of brave men. Their (the survivors') reward was exemption from the penalty of wholesale execution”.

After a Gladiator's defeat, if the crowd gave the signal for him to die there was a ritual to be observed. With one knee on the ground, the loser grasped the thigh of the victor, who, while holding the helmet or head of his opponent, plunged his sword into his neck or cut his throat depending on his weapon (Martial). To die well a Gladiator was not allowed to ask for mercy and was not allowed to scream when killed. Recent research suggests that gladiators adhered to a code of discipline, and were not as savage as once thought — they did not resort to violence and mutilation which could occur on the battlefields of the day. If defeated but mortally wounded the Gladiator was not killed in front of the audience but was taken from the arena to be executed "humanely" with a hammer on the forehead in private.

After the death of a Gladiator in combat, two attendants impersonating Charon (the God of the dead) and Hermes (messenger to the Gods) would approach the body. Charon would strike the body with a mallet and Hermes would then prod the body with a hot poker disguised as a wand to see whether the gladiator was really dead or not. The body was then placed on a "couch of Libitina" by bearers (libitinarii) in larger games and taken from the arena through the Libitinarian Gate. In lesser games the libitinarii often used hooks to drag the body. Attendants then spread a fresh layer of sand (arena) to soak up the blood. Libitina was the goddess of funerals. After stripping the armour, the Gladiators body was then taken to a nearby morgue (spoliarium) where by custom, as final proof the fight was not "fixed", officials slit the man's throat to ensure that he was truly dead.

Although it is thought that only 10 percent of Gladiators actually died in combat, Gladiators rarely lived past age 30 unless they were particularly outstanding and accomplished victors. At a time when around 60 percent of Roman citizens died, from all causes, before age 20 this indicates that Gladiators in fact tended to live longer than the general populace which is attributed to the extra care they received. Reasonable estimates show that they fought on average two to three times yearly, but there are some exceptions such as some men fighting all nine days during one of Trajan's shows. George Villes, a French historian, estimated the chances of survival for a third century AD gladiator at 3:1.

The result of a fight was often commemorated with a representation of the fighters with an inscription (i.e. Astyanax defeated Kalendio). If one was killed a circle with a diagonal line through it (usually Ø but sometimes excluding the line within the circle) was inscribed over the defeated man's head.

Slave revolts

Rome had to fight three Servile Wars, the last being against one of the most famous gladiators — Spartacus who became the leader of a group of escaped gladiators and slaves. His revolt, which began in 73 BC, was crushed by Marcus Crassus two years later in 71 BC. After this, gladiators were deported from Rome and other cities during times of social disturbances, for fear that they might organize and rebel again. As well, armouries within the schools were closely guarded and gladiators who were potential threats were chained.

Roman attitudes towards gladiators

The Romans' attitude towards the gladiators was ambiguous: on the one hand to be a Gladiator was the ultimate social disgrace and in fact they were legally designated as infamia (loss of certain public rights); but on the other hand, some successful gladiators rose to celebrity status and even those of senatorial and equites families seemed to join up as gladiators (the Larinum decree under Tiberius banned those of such status from becoming gladiators, which implies that this must have been happening). Being a Lanista was a very lucrative business, but it also was viewed as among the lowest professions on the social scale and well below prostitution, although paradoxically if the Lanista had other sources of income he carried no stigma at all. Likewise if the Gladiator took no fee for fighting then the legal stigma of infamia did not apply and the Gladiator legally lost no social status although still remaining publicly disgraced.

Even lower on the social scale were Gladiators considered effeminate. They appear to have fought primarily as Retiarii or retiarius tunicatus for the tunic they wore to differentiate them from normal retiarii. Although mentioned by Juvenal, Seneca and Suetonius very little detail is given. They are referred to as training in an “indecent part of the gladiator's school” and fighting in a “disgraceful type of armament”. Despite the popularity of Retiarii their armament was still thought scandalous due to the Gladiators bare chest and face being visible. Juvenal mentions the trainers practice of separating "from their fellow retiarii the wearers of the ill-famed tunic”.

Outside the intellectual circle of people such as Pliny the Younger (whose dislike for gladiatorial shows may have been more class- than conscience-based), there was widespread acceptance of gladiatorial shows and little qualm as to their brutality.

Many ancient writers give specific instances and detailed accounts of the combats that provide invaluable insight into Roman attitudes: “Many ladies of distinction, however, and senators, disgraced themselves by appearing in the amphitheatre” (Tacitus 15.32). The Roman historian, Cassius Dio (62.17.3), writes of a festival that Nero held in honour of his mother: “....There was another exhibition that was at once most disgraceful and most shocking, when men and women not only of the equestrian but even of the senatorial order appeared as performers in the orchestra, in the Circus, and in the hunting-theatre, like those who are held in lowest esteem; they drove horses, killed wild beasts and fought as gladiators, some willingly and some sore against their will". Emperor Marcus Aurelius believed Gladiator shows to be boring, but also saw the Gladiators themselves as privileged athletes and so took extraordinary measures to prevent bloodshed and death (Cassius Dio 71.29.4) For example he decreed that swords have a blunt point and banned iron blades.

Gladiators often developed large followings of women, who apparently saw them as sexual objects. There is an inscription on a wall in Pompeii that says the Thracian gladiator Celadus was "suspirum et decus puellarum", literally "the sigh and glory of the girls." It was socially unacceptable for citizen women to have sexual contact with a gladiator. Faustina the Younger, the mother of the emperor Commodus, was said to have conceived Commodus with a gladiator, but Commodus likely invented this story himself. Despite or because of the prohibition many rich women sought intimate contact with gladiators and there are several instances of historians mentioning Senators wives running off to live with Gladiators. The ancient celebrity and the festivity before the fights gave the women an opportunity to meet them.

Despite the extreme dangers and hardships of the profession, some gladiators were volunteers (called auctorati) who fought for money; effectively this career was a sort of last chance for people who had fallen into financial troubles. Indeed, their combat skills were such that, when he had no alternative, Gaius Marius had gladiators train the legionaries in single combat. They were also frequently depicted in art, the Gladiator Mosaic, or a Bignor Roman villa showing Cupids as gladiators. Souvenir bowls were also produced depicting named gladiators in combat.

Female gladiators

Main article: Female gladiator

Female gladiators also existed. The Emperor Domitian liked to stage torchlit fights between dwarves and women, according to Suetonius in "The Twelve Caesars". From depictions it appears they fought bare-chested and rarely wore helmets no matter what type of Gladiator they fought as.

Women apparently fought at night, and this being the time that the games main events were held indicates the possible importance or rarity of female Gladiators. Most modern scholars consider female Gladiators a novelty act due to the sparse writings about them but those ancient historians that do mention them do so “casually” which suggests that female gladiators were "more widespread than direct evidence might otherwise indicate" . Women also often fought as Venetores (wild animal hunting) but these are not considered true Gladiators.

Dio Cassius (62.3.1) mentions that not only women but children fought in a gladiatorial event that Nero sponsored in 66 AD. It is known the emperor Nero also forced the wives of some Roman senators into amphitheatres, presumably to fight.

A 1st or 2nd century Marble relief from Halicarnassus suggests that some women fought in heavy armour. Both women are depicted as provocatrices in combat. The inscription names them as “Amazon” and “Achillia” and mentions that both received a honourable discharge (missio) from the arena despite fighting each other (both deemed to have won).

Mark Vesley, a Roman social historian speculates that as Gladiatorial schools were not fit places for women, they may have studied under private tutors in the collegia iuvenum. These schools were for training high ranking males over the age of 14 in martial arts but Vesley found three references to women training there as well including one who died..."To the divine shades of Valeria Iucunda, who belonged to the body of the iuvenes. She lived 17 years, 9 months".

A female Roman skeleton unearthed in Southwark, London in 2001 was identified as a female gladiator, but this was on the basis that although wealthy she was buried as an outcast outside the main cemetery, had pottery lamps of Anubis (ie Mercury ie the gladiatorial master of ceremonies), a lamp with a depiction of a fallen gladiator engraved and bowls containing burnt pinecones from a Stone Pine placed in the grave. The only Stone Pines in Britain at the time were those planted around the London amphitheatre as the pinecones of this particular species were traditionally burnt during games. Most experts believe the identification to be erroneous but the Museum of London states it is "70 percent probable" that the Great Dover Street Woman was a gladiator. Hedley Swain, head of early history at the Museum states: "No single piece of evidence says that she is a gladiator. Instead, there’s simply a group of circumstantial evidence that makes it an intriguing idea". She is now on display at the end of the Roman London section of the Museum of London. This gladiator was the subject of a program on the UK's Channel 4.

Emperors as gladiators

Caligula, Titus, Hadrian, Lucius Verus, and Didius Julianus were said to have performed in the arena. It is uncertain if these performances were one-time-only or repeated appearances and there is question regarding the risk as the emperors chose their opponents and no one was likely to injure an emperor. Commodus, however, is known for his passion for public performance and is remembered for his participation in gladiatorial shows. He often hunted wild animals from the stands and was so impressive that it is said that he rarely needed a second spear to kill his prey. He also chased animals in the arena and donned gladiator apparel and fought under the title of "Hercules". He is often depicted this way in art.

Gladiators in modern popular culture

Novels

Gladiators of the Empire was released. The first book in the series, Sand of the Arena by James Duffy (McBooks Press, 2005; hardcover, ISBN 1590131118; paperback ISBN 159013124X) presents a detailed, historically-accurate look at life in a training ludus and the visceral struggles of the arena, all through the eyes of a young Roman who volunteers as a gladiator. The training and use of venatores (arena animal hunters, sometimes called bestiarii) is also shown in great detail through an Ethiopian character named Lindani. The book was well received by historical fiction readers and literary critics. Book 2 in the series, Fight For Rome by James Duffy (McBooks Press, 2007; hardcover, ISBN 1590131126) follows the gladiator troupe as they are conscripted into the Roman legions during the civil war of 69 AD, the Year of the Four Emperors. Gladiators fighting as mercenaries alongside the legions, or used by their owners to bolster their political gangs (eg Clodius and Milo), was recorded in a number of historic battles and instances.

Films and television

Gladiators feature frequently in many epic films and television series set in this period. These include films such as Spartacus (1960), Gladiator (2000) and Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954), Quo Vadis, as well as the television series A.D. (1985) (which features a female gladiator), and Rome.

Video games

Known video games to explore several aspects of Rome and its gladiatorial games include KOEI's Colosseum: Road to Freedom, CAPCOM's Shadow of Rome, Acclaim's Gladiator: Sword of Vengeance , SEGA's Spartan: Total Warrior, Gladius.

Science fiction and fantasy

Gladiator themes have inspired science fiction, being depicted in the film The Running Man. Battletech, Quake, and Unreal are several video games that feature players in futuristic, gladiator-styled skirmishes, with users dueling it out between each other or in teams.

In many fictional universes, gladiator games have the same reputation as the ones portrayed by Hollywood; violent exercises of brutality to appease and entertain a crowd, with little to no hope of survival for the gladiators.

Reality entertainment

Due to current human rights and liability issues, it is now impossible to revive gladiator fights in the Ancient Roman sense, (where the fight concludes with serious bodily injury or death).

During the 1990s, there was a U.S. game show called American Gladiators (and eventually several international versions) where contestants and the show's resident "Gladiators" matched up in contests of strength and agility. The show is programed for a revival in 2008.

Also in the 1990's World Wrestling Entertainment popularized a rather wild style of wrestling which some compared to gladiator combat. However, the competitors on American Gladiators never directly attacked each other but did face the established stadium gladiators, and WWE fights are openly acknowledged to be staged performances, as opposed to actual competition.

In California, Corcoran State Prison became infamous in 1997 when it was discovered that the guards were staging informal "gladiator" fights with the prisoners (some of which were videotaped). Such fights differ from true gladiator fights in that they were not state-sponsored or approved.

Gladiatorial imagery is also associated with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, whose opening credits in their broadcasts feature a gladiator preparing for battle.

References

The Gladiator Brooklyn College Classics Department
Roman Civilization History 206 Bates College
Roman gladiators were fat vegetarians ABC Science April 5 2004
Not Such a Wonderful Life: A Look at History in Gladiator IGN movies February 10, 2000
Flamma tombstone
http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/juvenal/3.shtml
Bignor Roman Villa Guide Book
"Head injuries of Roman gladiators", Forensic Science International, Volume 160, Issue 2–3, Pages 207–216 F. Kanz, K. Grossschmidt
Archaeology: Vox Populi Discover Magazine July 2006
Roman Law - Infamia Smiths Dictionary 1875 pp634‑636
http://www.personal.kent.edu/~bkharvey/roman/texts/sclaurin.htm
The Retiarius Tunicatus of Suetonius, Juvenal, and Petronius" (1989) by Steven M. Cerutti and L. Richardson, Jr., The American Journal of Philology, 110, P589-594
Female Gladiators of the Ancient Roman World Journal of Combative Sport July 2003
http://www.channel4.com/community/showcards/G/Gladiator_Girl.html

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Life as a gladiator

Origins

Training

Training

Typical combat

Slave revolts

Roman attitudes towards gladiators

Female gladiators

Emperors as gladiators

Gladiators in modern popular culture

Novels

Films and television

Video games

Science fiction and fantasy

Reality entertainment

See also

References

Further reading

External links