Gladitorial Combat

Gladiatorial Games

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. Anyone who became a gladiator was automatically infamis, beneath the law and by definition not a respectable citizen. 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. 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). Paradoxically, this terrible oath gave a measure of volition and even honor to the gladiator. As Carlin Barton states, “The gladiator, by his oath, transforms what had originally been an involuntary act to a voluntary one, and so, at the very moment that he becomes a slave condemned to death, he becomes a free agent and a man with honor to uphold” (The Sorrows of the Ancient Romans: The Gladiator and the Monster [Princeton 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: “Celadus the Thraex is the heart-throb of 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.

Types of Gladiators

There were many categories of gladiators, who were distinguished by the kind of armor they wore, the weapons they used, and their style of fighting. Most gladiators stayed in one category, and matches usually involved two different categories of gladiator. The following examples will illustrate some of the different types of gladiators which modern scholars have identified.

Eques (“horseman”): The Eques (plural, equites) usually fought against another gladiator of the same type. They probably began their matches on horseback, but they ended in hand-to-hand combat. These were the only gladiators who wore regular tunics rather than any type of body armor (see modern mannequin), though they wore bronze helmets with two feathers and padded shin-protectors; they carried round shields and often fought with long swords.

Hoplomachus (“heavy-weapons fighter”): The Hoplomachus, named after the Greek Hoplite warrior, fought with a long spear as well as a short sword or dagger; he wore a visored helmet with crest and long greaves over both legs to protect them since he carried only a small shield, usually round (see original and replica). In this terracotta relief, a Hoplomachus battles a Thraex, who is attempting to reach over his shield and stab him. A late Republican funeral monument depicts a Thraex fighting against a kneeling Hoplomachus, though both gladiators wear early types of crested helmets without visors.

Murmillo (“fish”): The Murmillo, named for a Greek saltwater fish, wore a large visored helmet with a high crest; these helmets became increasingly enhanced with relief decorations, as for example the head of Hercules (see also replica), military trophies (see front and side of replica), and the Gorgon, Mars Ultor, and decorative vessels (see replica). The Murmillo was protected by a large, slightly curved, rectangular shield (see replica), so he needed only one short shin-guard (ocrea) to protect his left leg (side view; replica). He fought with a short stabbing sword (gladius). The wreaths on a tombstone from Ephesus indicate that this Murmillo won many combats. In another relief from Ephesus, the Murmillo Asteropaios, on the left, is attempting to stab the Thraex Drakon; both gladiators have lost their shields and are fighting in a “clinch.”

Provocator (“attacker”): The Provocator was the most heavily armed gladiator; he was the only gladiator who wore a pectoral covering the vulnerable upper chest. He also wore a padded arm-protector and one greave on his left leg; he carried a large rectangular shield and stabbing sword. His large, distinctive visored helmet had no crest and extended over his shoulders (see also replica). Theextent of his armor made the Provocator slower and less agile than other gladiators, which may explain why he tended to be paired with another gladiator of the same type in combat.

Retiarius (“netman”): The Retiarius was the quickest and most mobile of gladiators; as the only type of gladiator who wore no helmet, he had much more range of vision than his opponents. However, since he wore practically no defensive armor, he was also more vulnerable to serious wounds; his only body protection was a padded arm-protector (manica) on his left arm often topped with a high metal shoulder protector (galerus), also shown in this replica. His weapons were a large net with which he attempted to entangle his opponent, a long trident, and a small dagger (see also replica). TheRetiarius in this relief advances on a Secutor who has lost his shield (which is held by the referee). However, looking at the Retiarius in this mosaic, one has to ask, “Why is this man smiling?” because the Secutor appears about to stab him, while the kneeling position of this Retiarius indicates that he has surrendered to the Secutor who stands menacingly above him.

Secutor (“pursuer”): The Secutor was typically paired with a Retiarius. His egg-shaped helmet with round eye-holes had no crest or reliefs to snag on the net of the Retiarius but also gave him little range of vision. He wore a short shin protector (ocrea) on one leg and an arm protector; he carried a large rectangular shield and stabbing sword. The wreaths on this tombstone of a Secutor indicate his many victories, while an exultant Secutor named Improbus prepares to dispatch a fallen Retiarius in this relief.

Thraex (“Thracian”): The Thraex gladiator was loosely based on the Thracians, former enemies of Rome. His most distinctive feature was his weapon, a short sword (sica) whose blade was eithercurved or kinked. His visored helmet with wide brim resembled that of a Murmillo except that it was topped with the head of a griffin (see replica). Because the Thraex carried a short rectangular shield, he wore an arm-protector and long shin protectors (ocreae) on both legs (these are decorated with theatrical masks and an eagle vs. snake motif; see also replica). The victorious gladiator in this mosaic is a Thraex, while this Thraex holds up an index finger to signal surrender. A tombstone from Antalya and one from Akhisar in Turkey provide good illustrations of this type of gladiator,

In addition, the Bestiarius (“animal-fighter”) 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.

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 near the theater, while there was a large exercise-ground (palaestra) 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.

A Day at the Arena

Gladiatorial games began with an elaborate procession that included the combatants and was led by the sponsor of the games, theeditor; in Rome during the imperial period, this usually was the emperor, and in the provinces it was a high-ranking magistrate. The parade and subsequent events were often accompanied by music; the mosaic at right depicts a water organ and the curved horn (cornu). The morning's events might begin with mock fights such as this contest. These would be followed by animal displays, sometimes featuring trained animals that performed tricks, but more often staged as hunts (venationes) in which increasingly exotic animals were pitted against each other or hunted and killed by bestiarii

The lunch break was devoted to executions of criminals who had committed particularly heinous crimes—murder, arson, 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 extraordinary circumstances, criminals might be forced to stage an elaborate naval battle (naumachia). Although these were usually fought on lakes, some scholars think they might also have been staged in the Colosseum, as shown in this modern drawing.

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, supervised by a referee carrying a long staff (summa rudis). Although it is popularly believed that these bouts began with the gladiators saying “Those who are about to die salute you,” the only evidence for this phrase is only found in the description of a naumachia staged by Claudius using condemned criminals, where the men supposedly said “Ave, imperator; morituri te salutant” (Suetonius, Claudius 21.6). This was certainly not a typical gladiatorial combat and cannot be used as evidence for customary practice. There were, however, many rituals in the arena. 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 “Pollice Verso,” an 1872 painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme; see this detail) 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 kept their thumbs pressed against their hands (as illustrated in this relief; see especially detail of the hand). In any case, the sponsor of the games decided whether or not to give the defeated gladiator a reprieve (missio). If the gladiator was to be killed, he was expected to accept the final blow in a ritualized fashion, without crying out or flinching. Some scholars believe there was also a ritual for removing the bodies of dead gladiators, with a man impersonating Dis Pater (Hades) hitting the body with a hammer to make sure he was really dead and then a slave dragging the body with a hook through a gate called the Porta Libitinensis (Libitina was a death goddess)