Gladiators had fanatical followers, though sometimes this fandom might have gone slightly too far. Of course.Įmperors didn’t select who lived or died depending on which way their thumb was pointing. Some Emperors, including Caligula and Hadrian, would actually enter the arena and fight, though these were staged battles using wooden weapons and the Emperor always won. There were also andabatae or blindfolded fighters, and gladiatrices or female gladiators.Įmperors didn’t select who lived or died depending on which way their thumb was pointing. Thraex gladiators had lighter armour and were more nimble, while a retiarius carried a trident and a fishing net, in order to ensnare the more heavily armoured and less mobile gladiators. The hoplomachus were armed to resemble a Greek hoplite, carrying a spear and a round shield. Secutors wore a huge helmet, a big sword and a massive shield. Murmillos brandished a sword, a shield, leg protectors and a long, grilled helmet. Now gladiators were identified by the sorts of armour and weapon they carried.
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No longer did they dress according to where they came from. Some fought with fishing netsĪs the popularity of gladiator battles grew, new varieties of warrior emerged.
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The amphitheatre could even be flooded with water to stage mock naval battles. Trapdoors in the arena floor allowed the fighters to make dramatic entrances as the battle began. Then there would be public executions of criminals at noon, with the gladiator battles taking place in the afternoon. The day would start with men, called venatores, fighting wild animals such as bears and lions.
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The crowds weren’t just offered sword-fighting. “Arena”, the word we use for this type of building today, actually referred to the floor of the amphitheatre that was covered in sand to soak up all the spilt blood. Gladiator battles were held at huge venues called amphitheatres. Across the Roman Empire around 8000 people died in the arena every year. Sometimes a special to-the-death gladiator battle would be planned, which ticket holders would be informed of in advance. As long as the combatants were brave and entertaining, that was usually enough for the crowd.
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The amphitheatre could be flooded with water to stage mock naval battles.Īfter feeding gladiators all that barley, plus housing and training them for months or even years, the trainers were reluctant to then have them all slaughtered during the course of a single afternoon. Many portraits and images of the fighters still survive and graffiti about gladiators was found on the walls of Pompeii. Soon gladiators became more professional, and people volunteered to fight as it provided good food, a place to live and – if you survived – fame. Once the republic ended and Emperors started to be in charge of Rome, starting in 27BCE, they saw how popular gladiators were becoming and took charge of organising gladiator battles, making them entertainment for the masses, rather than for funerals. Let’s hope they avoided a pat on the head. Those original funeral fights usually took place in Rome’s cattle market. And they hadn’t quite made it to arenas yet.
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There were three main sorts: Samnites (from Italy), Gauls (from France) and Thracians (from what is now Bulgaria). And what you wore when you fought in a gladiator contest depended on where you came from. In the early days, most gladiators were prisoners or enslaved people from places that Rome was fighting wars with. What you wore depended on where you came from Cattle battle: Gladiator tournaments were originally staged in Rome’s cattle market