Of course, being a gladiator was dangerous, but so is playing rugby or boxing. But they had to pay a great deal for the privilege and they had to compensate the trainer for the gladiators he lost. On special occasions the sponsor of the games – and nearly all games were entirely paid for by sponsors – might splash out and ask gladiators to fight to the death. Of course, that’s not to say there wasn’t some risk involved. The famous amulet from Leicester lost by a young girl sometime in the second century AD has scratched on it “Verecunda loves Lucius the Gladiator!” – and it was a common sentiment. Women scratched their names on jewellery, teenagers painted their slogans on public bath walls and, if all went well, they retired rich and free. Fights to the death were actually rare and many gladiators became the sports heroes of their day. While a convicted criminal could not look forward to a long and happy life in the arena, most gladiators were professionals for whom fighting was a way of life, not a mode of death. (Image by Alamy) Q: Did gladiators usually fight to the death?Ī: The image of a row of gladiators standing before their emperor reciting the dread words, “We who are about to die salute you,” is a powerful but highly misleading one, explains historian Justin Pollard. Joaquin Phoenix as Roman Emperor Commodus in ‘Gladiator’.
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He used ten horses instead of the standard four and was declared the winner – even though he fell from the chariot on the very first bend. He even changed the date of the Olympics in AD 67 to allow him to take part, not-so-subtly cheating all the way. Nero, meanwhile, was a chariot racing fan. He would also take on wild animals – as long as they were caged, and he stood on a raised platform armed with a bow. In the second century, Commodus, who fancied himself the reincarnation of Hercules, caused countless scandals by fighting in staged bouts, usually against terrified members of the crowd or wounded soldiers. But two especially deranged and sadistic emperors decided to get closer to the action.
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The bloody gladiatorial games and fast-and-furious chariot races were entertainment for the masses – and a magnificent opportunity for the emperor to show off. Q: Did Roman emperors take part in gladiatorial games?Ī: As a rule, no – competing would be beneath the emperor. Perhaps the strangest type was the andabatus, who fought in helmets with no eye holes. An eques rode a horse, but if on a chariot they were essedarius. They could be a retiarius, fighting with a trident and net, usually against a secutor, armed with a sword, shield and smooth helmet.Ī hoplomachus had a lance and dagger, while a bestiarius would face wild beasts. But most were given a name specifically for the arena.
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So a man with little armour was vulnerable yet swift, while those in full breastplate tired quickly.Īmong the first gladiators were prisoners of war – experienced warriors who kept their names, such as Thracians (such as Spartacus), Samnites and Gallus. They’d have seen a well-orchestrated sequence of dozens of different warriors – of course, still doing the fight to the death over and over.Įach type of gladiator had his set weapons, armour and look, and would be matched off against a different fighter. When Romans went to the gladiatorial games, they wouldn’t just have seen the same old fight to the death over and over. Q: What types of Roman gladiator were there? Gladiators in ancient Rome: how did they live and die?.Gladiators were divided into categories – each armed and attired in a characteristic manner – and were then pitched against one another in pairings designed to show a variety of forms of combat. In the manner of his fighting, and above all in his quiet and courageous acceptance of death, even a gladiator, a despised slave, could display this. Above most qualities, the Romans valued ‘virtus’, which meant, first and foremost, acting in a brave and soldierly fashion. This remained the case no matter how much they were feted by the people.
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Gladiators were at the bottom of the heap in Roman society. (Photo by CM Dixon/Print Collector/Getty Images) Q: What was life like for a gladiator in ancient Rome?Ī: Until the discovery of the cities of Vesuvius in the 18th century, virtually everything we knew about gladiators came from references in ancient texts, from random finds of stone sculptures and inscriptions, and the impressive structures of the amphitheatres dotted about all over the Roman empire, writes Tony Wilmott. There were dozens of different gladiators, but spare a thought for the ones that had to fight blindfolded.