GLADIATORS

STATUS Gladiators (named after the Roman sword called the gladius) were mostly unfree individuals (condemned criminals, prisoners of war, slaves). Some gladiators were volunteers (mostly freedmen or very low classes of freeborn men) who chose to take on the status of a slave for the monetary rewards or the fame and excitement. A small number of upper-class men did compete in the arena (though this was explicitly prohibited by law), but they did not live with the other gladiators and constituted a special, esoteric form of entertainment (as did the extremely rare women who competed in the arena). All gladiators swore a solemn oath (sacramentum gladiatorium), similar to that sworn by the legionary but much more dire: “I will endure to be burned, to be bound, to be beaten, and to be killed by the sword” (uri, vinciri, verberari, ferroque necari, Petronius Satyricon 117). University Press, 1993] 15). Trained gladiators had the possibility of surviving and even thriving. Some gladiators did not fight more than two or three times a year, and the best of them became popular heroes (appearing often on graffiti, for example: “Thrax is the heart-throb of all the girls”). Skilled fighters might win a good deal of money and the wooden sword (rudis) that symbolized their freedom. Freed gladiators could continue to fight for money, but they often became trainers in the gladiatorial schools or free-lance bodyguards for the wealthy.

THRACIAN Thracian: Wide-brimmed crested helmet with visor, high greaves on both legs, arm protector, very small shield, and short, curved sword (similar to Spartacus); the victorious gladiator in this mosaic is a Thracian.

SECUTOR Secutor: Egg-shaped helmet with round eye-holes, greave on one leg, arm protector, legionary-style shield and sword (scutum and gladius); see the small black helmet in the above image and the victorious gladiator in this mosaic. The secutor was called a “chaser,” probably because he was frequently paired with the retiarius, who used running as one of his tactics.

SECUTOR

RETIARIUS Retiarius (“net-and-trident” fighter): Arm protector (often topped with a high metal shoulder protector), large net, trident, small dagger, no helmet; the retiarius was the only type of gladiator whose head and face were uncovered. Since he wore practically no defensive armor, the retiarius was more mobile than most gladiators but was also more vulnerable to serious wounds. Looking at the retiarius in this mosaic, one has to ask, “Why is this man smiling?” because the secutor appears about to stab him.

RETIARIUS

BESTIARIUS * Bestiarius: This was a special type of gladiator trained to handle and fight all sorts of animals. The bestiarii were the lowest ranking gladiators; they did not become as popular or individually well known as other types of gladiators. Although this relief depicts bestiarii wearing armor, most depictions show them without armor, equipped with whips or spears, wearing cloth or leather garments and leggings.

BESTIARIUS

MIRMILLO armed with big square shield, curved knife, sometimes with two greaves and a helmet with a Mirmillo fish on it, a crest, and a mask.

TRAINING the manager of a gladiatorial troupe was called a lanista; he provided lengthy and demanding training in schools (ludi) especially designed for this purpose and usually located near the great amphitheaters. Pompeii, for example, had both a small training area surrounded by gladiatorial barracks and a large one right next to the amphitheater. During the imperial period all the gladiatorial schools in Rome were under the direct control of the emperor. The largest of these schools, the Ludus Magnus, was located next to the Colosseum; it included a practice amphitheater whose partially excavated ruins can be seen today.

MOCK FIGHT

TRAINED ANIMALS

WILD ANIMAL HUNTS

VENATIONES Hunting was a popular sport among Romans, and they incorporated this into the games in the amphitheater by collecting animals from all over the empire—the more exotic the better—and staging elaborate hunts in the arena. A series of fourth-century CE mosaics from a Roman villa in Piazza Armerina, Sicily, depict the process whereby these animals were caught and transported to Rome. Since the animals had to be trapped unharmed, ingenious methods were devised for luring them into cages, such as using a tiger cub to trap its mother.

LUNCH BREAK The lunch was devoted to executions of criminals who had committed particularly heinous crimes—murder, arson, break sacrilege (the Christians, for example, were considered to be guilty of sacrilege and treason, because they refused to participate in rites of the state religion or to acknowledge the divinity of the emperor). The public nature of the execution made it degrading as well as painful and was intended to serve as a deterrent to others. One form of execution in the arena was damnatio ad bestias, in which the condemned were cast into the arena with violent animals or were made to participate in “dramatic” reenactments of mythological tales in which the “stars” really died (as for example the myth of Dirce, killed by being tied to a bull). Criminals could also be forced to fight in the arena with no previous training; in such bouts death was a foregone conclusion, since the “victor” had to face further opponents until he died (such combatants were not, of course, professional gladiators).

In the afternoon came the high point of the games—individual gladiatorial combats. These were usually matches between gladiators with different types of armor and fighting styles, refereed by a lanista. Although it is popularly believed that these bouts began with the gladiators saying “Those who are about to die salute you,” When a gladiator had been wounded and wished to concede defeat, he would hold up an index finger, as clearly depicted on the Colchester vase and on the mosaic below. At this point the crowd would indicate with gestures whether they wished the defeated gladiator to be killed or spared. The popular belief (illustrated in this modern drawing) is that “thumbs down” meant kill and “thumbs up” meant spare, but we have no visual evidence for this, and the written evidence states that pollicem vertere (“to turn the thumb”) meant kill and pollicem premere (“to press the thumb”) meant spare. This may, in fact, indicate that those who wanted the gladiator killed waved their thumbs in any direction, and those who wanted him spared held up closed fists

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