The History of Gladiators
Adopted from the earlier Etruscans, probably by way of Campania, gladiatorial combats were originally a funeral rite introduced to Rome in 264 BC by the sons of Junius Brutus. In 46 BC Julius Caesar commemorated the death of his daughter Julia with elaborate games and in 65 BC he honoured his father in a similar way. The ritual eventually lost much of its religious significance and by the end of AD 200, as aristocratic funerals increasingly became political acts, gladiatorial matches became the province of the emperors, who presented them as enactment of their own power and prestige.
Most gladiators were either prisoners of war, slaves bought for the purpose, or criminals sentenced to serve in the games and the odds of these professional gladiator being killed in any particular bout were about one in ten. Some gladiators were criminals condemned to die in the ring and these had no chance of survival. It was they who declared 'Ave, imperator, morituri te salutant!' before battle. Free men also volunteered to be gladiators and by the end of the Republic, they comprised half the number who fought. Often they were social outcasts, bankrupts, freed slaves, discharged soldiers, or former gladiators. They signed on for a fee and prize money and swore an oath of absolute submission. Senators and emperors also enthusiastically participated as gladiators, but only in rigged combat and the half mad Commodus (AD 180-192) had rooms at one of the schools and intended to march from there, dressed as a gladiator, to assume his consulship. This idea was considered outrageous even for the Rome of the time and contributed to him being assassinated the day before he was to take office.
Originally, the gladiators who were prisoners of war were made to fight with their own weapons and it was the equipment of one such group that was adopted for the arena when the Samnites (from southern Italy) became the prototype for Rome's professional gladiators. They wore a wide leather belt (balteus) and carried a large oblong shield (scutum), a sword (gladius), an elaborate helmet (galea), a greave (ocrea) on the left leg (the one that was placed forward in combat), and a protective sleeve (manica) on the right arm. In time the Samnites became allies of Rome and a wide variety of other fighting styles developed. Hoplomachi fought in full armour; Secutores were lightly armed; Retiarii fought largely unprotected with trident and net; Myrmillones were armed in Gallic fashion with helmet, sword, and shield; Thraeces carried a scimitar and a small shield; Essedarii fought from war chariots in imitation of the Celts; Equites fought on horseback; Velites fought in a tunic with a spear attached to a thong; Laquearii used a lasso; Sagittarii fought with bow and arrow; Dimachaeri used two swords; Andabatae fought blindfolded through visored helmets and Scissores, Provocatores and other classes also took part.
Gladiators further participated in simulated naval battles on large artificial lakes and possibly in the flooded arena of the Colosseum. Other novelty acts included gladiatorial bouts featuring women, dwarfs and animals. The popularity of the latter was such that, by AD 523, tens of thousands of animals had died and entire species were no longer to be found in their native habitat. There were no more hippopotamuses in Nubia, elephants in North Africa or lions in Assyria. Up to 9,000 animals were slaughtered in the dedication of the Colosseum alone and 11,000 died in the celebration of Trajan's conquest of Dacia.
In Rome, the gladiatorial games first took place in the markets and then in the Forum. Amphitheatres of wood or stone were also constructed and they occasionally collapsed, killing hundreds, sometimes thousands. The largest and most magnificent of the amphitheatres was the Amphitheatrum Flavium, or Colosseum, which was inaugurated by Titus in AD 80 and held as many as 50,000 spectators. Domitian (AD 81-96) completed the elaborate network of service corridors and chambers below the arena and established four training schools nearby. The largest of these, the Ludus Magnus, was connected to the amphitheatre by an underground passage. Each had its own oval arena and seating so one could watch the gladiators train. If the emperor was not in attendance at a bout, the producer (editor) of the games decided the fate of the victim. Losers (missi), although their lives might be spared, could be forced to fight again the same day, although that was considered bad form. Still, there were fighters held in reserve (suppositicii) who could be called upon if necessary. Victors were awarded crowns or a palm branch and the prize money stipulated in their contracts, as well as any money awarded by the crowd, which was collected on a silver tray. If neither fighter prevailed, it was possible that both could be spared (stantes missi), but there also were contests in which there was to be no reprieve for the loser (sine missione). If a gladiator repeatedly survived the arena and lived long enough to retire, a symbolic wooden sword (rudis) was awarded as a token of discharge from service.
With the coming of Christianity, gladiatorial shows began to fall into disfavour. The emperor Constantine I abolished gladiatorial games in AD 325, but apparently without much effect since they were again abolished by the emperor Honorius (393-423) and probably continued for a century after that, only finally ceasing after over 600 years in around AD 500.
Most gladiators were either prisoners of war, slaves bought for the purpose, or criminals sentenced to serve in the games and the odds of these professional gladiator being killed in any particular bout were about one in ten. Some gladiators were criminals condemned to die in the ring and these had no chance of survival. It was they who declared 'Ave, imperator, morituri te salutant!' before battle. Free men also volunteered to be gladiators and by the end of the Republic, they comprised half the number who fought. Often they were social outcasts, bankrupts, freed slaves, discharged soldiers, or former gladiators. They signed on for a fee and prize money and swore an oath of absolute submission. Senators and emperors also enthusiastically participated as gladiators, but only in rigged combat and the half mad Commodus (AD 180-192) had rooms at one of the schools and intended to march from there, dressed as a gladiator, to assume his consulship. This idea was considered outrageous even for the Rome of the time and contributed to him being assassinated the day before he was to take office.
Originally, the gladiators who were prisoners of war were made to fight with their own weapons and it was the equipment of one such group that was adopted for the arena when the Samnites (from southern Italy) became the prototype for Rome's professional gladiators. They wore a wide leather belt (balteus) and carried a large oblong shield (scutum), a sword (gladius), an elaborate helmet (galea), a greave (ocrea) on the left leg (the one that was placed forward in combat), and a protective sleeve (manica) on the right arm. In time the Samnites became allies of Rome and a wide variety of other fighting styles developed. Hoplomachi fought in full armour; Secutores were lightly armed; Retiarii fought largely unprotected with trident and net; Myrmillones were armed in Gallic fashion with helmet, sword, and shield; Thraeces carried a scimitar and a small shield; Essedarii fought from war chariots in imitation of the Celts; Equites fought on horseback; Velites fought in a tunic with a spear attached to a thong; Laquearii used a lasso; Sagittarii fought with bow and arrow; Dimachaeri used two swords; Andabatae fought blindfolded through visored helmets and Scissores, Provocatores and other classes also took part.
Gladiators further participated in simulated naval battles on large artificial lakes and possibly in the flooded arena of the Colosseum. Other novelty acts included gladiatorial bouts featuring women, dwarfs and animals. The popularity of the latter was such that, by AD 523, tens of thousands of animals had died and entire species were no longer to be found in their native habitat. There were no more hippopotamuses in Nubia, elephants in North Africa or lions in Assyria. Up to 9,000 animals were slaughtered in the dedication of the Colosseum alone and 11,000 died in the celebration of Trajan's conquest of Dacia.
In Rome, the gladiatorial games first took place in the markets and then in the Forum. Amphitheatres of wood or stone were also constructed and they occasionally collapsed, killing hundreds, sometimes thousands. The largest and most magnificent of the amphitheatres was the Amphitheatrum Flavium, or Colosseum, which was inaugurated by Titus in AD 80 and held as many as 50,000 spectators. Domitian (AD 81-96) completed the elaborate network of service corridors and chambers below the arena and established four training schools nearby. The largest of these, the Ludus Magnus, was connected to the amphitheatre by an underground passage. Each had its own oval arena and seating so one could watch the gladiators train. If the emperor was not in attendance at a bout, the producer (editor) of the games decided the fate of the victim. Losers (missi), although their lives might be spared, could be forced to fight again the same day, although that was considered bad form. Still, there were fighters held in reserve (suppositicii) who could be called upon if necessary. Victors were awarded crowns or a palm branch and the prize money stipulated in their contracts, as well as any money awarded by the crowd, which was collected on a silver tray. If neither fighter prevailed, it was possible that both could be spared (stantes missi), but there also were contests in which there was to be no reprieve for the loser (sine missione). If a gladiator repeatedly survived the arena and lived long enough to retire, a symbolic wooden sword (rudis) was awarded as a token of discharge from service.
With the coming of Christianity, gladiatorial shows began to fall into disfavour. The emperor Constantine I abolished gladiatorial games in AD 325, but apparently without much effect since they were again abolished by the emperor Honorius (393-423) and probably continued for a century after that, only finally ceasing after over 600 years in around AD 500.
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