Dominic Prentice

Gladiators

Gladiators were particularly famous fighters in Rome and fought inside the famous

colosseum. They specialized weapons and fought from around 105 BC through 404 AC. The

majority of fighters were slaves and they had quite short life expectancies, even though one

did not die every fight. The emperor and crowd would choose if the loser should die or not.

The most famous gladiators had extreme fame in Rome. They were very popular and its even

said that they were treated very well with lots of good food and many women loved them.

The gladiators were able to contract such large crowds during the time and they put on many

shows for the blood thirsty crowd.

Thirty, forty or even fifty thousand spectators from all sections of Roman society

flocked to be entertained by gory spectacles where wild and exotic animals were hunted,

prisoners were executed, religious martyrs were thrown to the lions and the stars of the show,

symbols of the Roman virtues of honor and courage, the gladiators, employed all their

martial skills in a kill or be killed contest. Gladiators would often come from a slave or

criminal background, but many were prisoners of war. There were special gladiator schools

set up throughout the Empire, Rome itself had three such barracks and Capua was

particularly famous for the gladiators produced there. People went out and scouted the

empire for the increasing demand for gladiators. Their conditions in the schools were very
similar to prisons with small cells, but they had good food and very good medical care. They

needed to be kept in shape, so this was important to do. The gladiators also wore armor and

their helmets, in particular, were objects of great workmanship. Weapons and armor though

depended on which class a gladiator belonged to. There were four principal classes. The most

heavily armed, the Samnite had a sword or lance, a large square shield and protective armour

on his right arm and left leg. The Thracian gladiator had a curved short sword and a very

small square or round shield held in the fist to deflect blows. The Myrmillo gladiator was

sometimes known as the fishman as he had a fish-shaped crest on his helmet. Like the

Samnite, he carried a short sword and a large square shield but had armor only of padding on

arm and leg. The Retiarius had no helmet or armour other than a padded shoulder piece and

he carried a weighted net. He would try to entangle his opponent by throwing the net and

then stab with his trident. There were many other lesser types of gladiators with various

combinations of weapons and armor. Other types of combatants also included archers, boxers

and the bestiarii who fought animals in the wild beast hunts. The losing gladiator, if not

killed outright, often appealed for mercy by dropping his weapon and shield and raising a

finger. His opponent could then have decided whether or not he wanted to be lenient. If the

emperor were present then he would decide, although the crowd would certainly try to

influence his judgement by waving cloths or gesturing with their hands. They typically raised

their thumbs to say let him go and put thumbs down to say executed him. Famous gladiators
with many wins often got with many women and had extreme fame. There are even cases of

aristocrat women having affairs with the gladiators.

One very famous and great Roman gladiator is Flamma. He fought an impressive 34

times and won 21 of those fights. He had nine draws and only lost four times. He was

originally from Syria and his name literally translates to the flame. Before he fought in the

arena he was a part of the Syrian army, then he was captured and forced to become a

gladiator. He was offered the Rudis many times, a wooden dagger that grants his freedom,

but he turned it down multiple times, so he could fight until his death in the arena.

Overall, Roman gladiator battles were very intense and attracted extremely large

crowds during Roman times. It was the Romans favorite thing to watch especially the naval

battles on special occasions. Gladiators had many different classes that all have a different

combinations of weapons and armor. The gladiators lived in small prison like places but

received great food and medical care. It was very important to the Romans that they stayed in

great health, so they could fight at their best in the arena. Also, gladiators did not always die

in the arena. The emperor would decide if he lived or died, but the crowd would always try to

persuade him.
 Works Cited

1. https://www.warriorsandlegends.com/gladiators/famous-gladiators/

2. https://listverse.com/2017/04/17/top-10-types-of-roman-gladiators/

3. https://www.historyextra.com/period/roman/gladiators-in-ancient-rome-how-did-

they-live-and-die/

4. https://www.britannica.com/sports/gladiator