Gladiators (lat. gladiator, from gladius - sword) - in ancient Rome - prisoners of war, convicted criminals and slaves, specially trained for armed struggle among themselves in the arenas of amphitheatres. gladiators ancient rome usually fought in public to the death. Roman gladiator fights were held first on the days of the most significant religious holidays, and then turned into the most popular entertainment for ordinary citizens. The tradition of gladiator fights has been preserved for more than 700 years.
The life of a gladiator for the most part was short and full of constant fear for his life and risk, without which life itself would probably not be possible. the fate of each gladiator was decided by the battle, after several battles it was clear whether the future and reward awaited the fighter, or an inglorious death in the prime of life. For modern man it is completely incomprehensible how, with such a lifestyle (see the gladiator's lifestyle) and work to the point of wear and tear, some fighters won fight after fight and could win in yati, ten fights in a row.
Gladiator fights were adopted by the Romans from the Greeks, Etruscans and Egyptians and took on the religious character of the sacrifice to the god of war Mars. In the beginning, gladiators were prisoners of war and those sentenced to death. The laws of ancient Rome allowed them to participate in gladiator fights. In case of victory (with the money received), it was possible to redeem one's life. There were cases when citizens, having abandoned their freedom, joined the gladiators in pursuit of fame and money.
In order to become gladiators, it was necessary to take an oath and declare oneself "legally dead". From that moment on, the fighters entered another world, where cruel laws of honor reigned. The first of these was silence. Gladiators communicated in the arena with gestures. The second law is the complete observance of the rules of honor. So, for example, a gladiator who fell to the ground and was conscious of his complete defeat was obliged to remove his protective helmet and put his throat under the opponent's sword or plunge his knife into his own throat. Of course, the audience could always grant mercy to those gladiators who fought valiantly and were liked by the public, but such a pardon was extremely rare.
“We sacrifice the living to feed the dead” - this is how the emperor Caracalla in the 3rd century AD formulated the ideological basis of gladiator fights, which, together with animal persecution, became the bloodiest and cruelest spectacle in the history of mankind. According to Roman beliefs, which they, in turn, borrowed from the Etruscans, atrocities were supposed to appease the souls of the dead. In ancient times, this was the highest honor that grateful heirs could give to a noble ancestor.
However, at first this Etruscan custom took root quite slowly in the life of the Romans during the early Republic, perhaps because they had to work hard and fight a lot, and as entertainment they preferred athletic competitions, horse races, as well as theatrical performances played directly in the crowd vacationers. Then the Romans could not be called lovers of the contemplation of dying convulsions and the groans of the wounded, since this was more than enough in their daily semi-military life.
But enthusiasts are in any business, and in 264 BC. at the Cow Market in Rome, during the commemoration of Brutus Pere, arranged by his sons Mark and Decimus, a duel of three pairs of gladiators took place (from the Latin word "gladius" - sword). But only after almost 50 years this spectacle gained a certain scope: already 22 pairs of gladiators for 3 days delighted the eyes of the inhabitants at the funeral games, arranged in memory of the twice consul Mark Aemilius Lepida by his three sons. And only in 105 BC. thanks to the tireless concern of the people's tribunes for the amusement of the Roman mob, which had already begun to take shape as a social class, gladiator fights were introduced into the number of official public spectacles. So the genie was released from the bottle...
By the end of the II century BC. the battles that lasted several days in a row with the participation of more than one hundred gladiators did not surprise anyone. There were also people for whom the maintenance and training of gladiators became a profession. They were called Lanists. The essence of their activity was that they found physically strong slaves in the slave markets, and preferably prisoners of war and even criminals, ransomed them, taught them all the tricks necessary for performing in the arena, and then rented them out to everyone who wanted to arrange gladiator fights.
And yet, the bulk of the professional fighters of the arena were from gladiatorial schools. During the reign of Octavian Augustus (about 10 BC), there were 4 imperial schools in Rome: Great, Morning, where bestiaries were trained - gladiators who fought with wild animals, the Gallic school and the Dacian school. While studying at the school, all gladiators were well fed and qualifiedly treated. An example of this is the fact that the famous ancient Roman physician Galen for a long time worked at the Great Imperial School.
Gladiators slept in pairs in small closets with an area of 4-6 sq.m. The workouts, which lasted from morning to evening, were very intense. Under the guidance of a teacher, a former gladiator, beginners learned swordsmanship. Each of them was given a wooden sword and a shield woven from willow. The blows were practiced on a wooden stake about 180 cm high dug into the ground. At the initial stage of training, the “cadet” had to master the ability to deliver strong and accurate blows to the enemy’s imaginary chest and head, and also not to open up during defense. To strengthen the muscles, the next iron training weapon after the wooden one was specially made 2 times heavier than the combat weapon.
When a beginner has mastered the basics martial art, it, depending on the abilities and physical training, were distributed into specialized groups of one type or another of gladiators. The oldest, classical type that existed until the end of the Republic were the Samnites, named after the people, although conquered by the Romans, but inflicted several military defeats on the latter, for which they were practically exterminated in the 1st century BC. And, nevertheless, it was with their weapons that the Romans supplied their first gladiators. It consisted of a large rectangular shield, a helmet with a high crest and a plume of feathers, a short straight sword and greaves on the left leg. At the beginning of our era, the name "Samnite" was replaced by a secutor (pursuer), although the weapons remained the same. The goplomakhs were very similar to them, with the difference that their shields were large and round.
The rivals of the hoplomakhs and secutors were, as a rule, retiarii - representatives of one of the most technically complex types of this “sport”. Retiarii got this name from their main weapon - a net (from Latin - "rete") with heavy sinkers along the edges. The task of the retiarius was to throw the net in such a way as to entangle the enemy from head to toe, and then finish him off with a trident or dagger. The retiarius had neither a helmet nor a shield - he had to rely only on his own dexterity. The fastest and most coordinated beginners were taken into this group.
The Franks were armed with a small round shield, a small curved sword, greaves on both legs, an iron cuff on the right arm, a helmet with a visor with many holes that covered the entire face.
On the helmets of the Gauls, or murmillons (from the Latin "murma" - fish), a fish was depicted, and their weapons corresponded to the Gaulish. Often the opponents of the murmillons were retiarii, who sang during the fight a song invented in ancient times: “I don’t catch you, I catch fish. Why are you running away from me, Gaul? Essedarii stood somewhat apart - gladiators who fought on war chariots. They were armed with lassoes, slings, bows and clubs. The first Essedarii were British prisoners brought by Julius Caesar from his not very successful British campaign.
The least capable students fell into the indabats. They were armed with only two daggers, without any additional protection, completed this equipment with a helmet with two holes that did not match the eyes at all. Therefore, the indabats were forced to fight each other almost blindly, brandishing their weapons at random. Circus attendants "helped" them, pushing them from behind with red-hot iron rods. The public always had a lot of fun looking at the unfortunate, and this part of the gladiatorial fights was considered by the Romans to be the most amusing.
Gladiators, like Roman soldiers, had their own charter, some historians call it a code of honor, but in fact this is a conventional name. because initially, a gladiator, by definition, was not a free person, and Roman slaves had no concept of honor as such. when a person got into a gladiatorial school, especially if before that he was free, it was necessary for him, in order to be legally considered a gladiator, to perform a number of actions, in many respects, of course, purely formal. gladiators took an oath and took an oath similar to a military one, according to which they were to be considered “formally dead” and transferred their lives to the property of the gladiator school in which they lived, studied, trained and died.
There was a number unspoken rules and the conventions that every gladiator had to adhere to and not violate them under any circumstances. the gladiator always had to remain silent during the fight - the only way he could contact the audience was through gestures. when the gladiator raised his index finger up - this symbolized a plea for mercy, but if thumb was turned down, this symbolized that the fighter was so seriously wounded, could not continue the fight and asked to finish him off, because he knew that he would die after the battle. the second unspoken points was the observance of certain "rules" of dignity, which can be compared with the rules of the samurai. A fighter - a gladiator had no right to cowardice and fear of death. if the fighter felt that he was dying.
He had to open his face to the enemy, so that he would finish him off, looking at his eyes, or cut his own throat, removing his helmet and opening his face and eyes to the audience, and they should have seen that there was not a drop of fear in them. the third law was that the gladiator could not choose his own opponent, obviously, this was done so that the fighters in the arena would not settle their personal scores and grievances. entering the field, the gladiator did not know until the last with whom he would have to fight.
Among the Roman aristocrats, it became fashionable to have their own personal gladiators, who not only earned the owner money by performing, but also served as personal guards, which was extremely relevant during the civil unrest of the late Republic. In this respect, Julius Caesar outdid everyone, who at one time contained up to 2 thousand gladiator bodyguards, who made up a real army. It must be said that they became gladiators not only under the coercion of a slave owner or by a court sentence to the arena, but also absolutely voluntarily, in pursuit of fame and fortune.
Despite all the dangers of this profession, a simple but strong guy from the Roman social bottom really had a chance to get rich. And although the chances of dying on the blood-soaked sand of the arena were much greater, many took the risk. The most successful of them, in addition to the love of the Roman mob, and sometimes the Roman matrons, received solid cash prizes from fans and organizers of the fights, as well as percentages from bets in bookmakers. In addition, the Roman spectators often threw money, jewelry and other expensive trinkets into the arena to the especially beloved winner, which also accounted for a significant share in the income of the circus star. Emperor Nero, for example, once gave the gladiator Spiculus a whole palace. And many of the famous fighters gave fencing lessons to everyone who wanted to, receiving a very decent fee for this.
However, luck in the arena smiled at very few - the audience wanted to see blood and death, so the gladiators had to fight seriously, bringing the crowd to a frenzy.
All these animals in the circuses were the victims of bestiary gradiators. Their training was much longer than the classical gladiators. famous students morning school, which received such a name due to the fact that animal persecution took place in the morning, they taught not only the handling of weapons, but also training, and also introduced them to the characteristics and habits of different animals.
Ancient Roman trainers reached unprecedented heights in their art: bears walked on a tightrope, and lions placed a bestiary under the feet of a driven, but still alive hare, monkeys rode ferocious Hyrcanian hounds, and deer were harnessed to chariots. These amazing tricks were innumerable. But when the satiated crowd demanded blood, fearless venators appeared on the arena (from the Latin wenator - hunter), who knew how to kill animals not only various types weapons, but with bare hands. It was considered the highest chic among them to throw a cloak over the head of a lion or leopard, wrap it up, and then kill the beast with one blow of a sword or spear.
Playing animals against each other was also very popular. The Romans remembered for a long time the fight between the elephant and the rhinoceros, during which the elephant grabbed the broom that was used to sweep the arena, blinded it with the sharp rods of the rhinoceros, and then trampled on the enemy.
Gladiator fights were different. There were fights of single pairs, and sometimes several tens or even hundreds of pairs fought at the same time. Sometimes whole performances were played out in the arena, introduced into the practice of mass entertainment by Julius Caesar. So, in a matter of minutes, grandiose scenery was erected, depicting the walls of Carthage, and gladiators, dressed and armed, like legionnaires and Carthaginians, represented the assault on the city. Or a whole forest of freshly cut trees grew in the arena, and the gladiators depicted the attack of the Germans on the same legionnaires from an ambush. The fantasy of the directors of the ancient Roman shows knew no bounds. And although it was extremely difficult to surprise the Romans with something, the emperor Claudius, who ruled in the middle of the 1st century, succeeded quite well. The naumachia (staging of a naval battle) embodied on his orders was of such a magnitude that it turned out to be capable of capturing the imagination of all the inhabitants of the Eternal City, young and old. Although naumachia were arranged quite rarely, as they were very expensive even for emperors and required careful development.
The first Naumachia was held in 46 BC. Julius Caesar. Then, a huge artificial lake was dug out on the Field of Mars in Rome to conduct a naval battle. This performance was attended by 16 galleys, on which there were 4,000 rowers and 2,000 gladiator soldiers. It seemed that it was no longer possible to arrange a larger spectacle, but in 2 BC. the first Roman emperor Octavian Augustus, after a year of preparation, presented the Romans with naumachia with the participation of 24 ships and 3 thousand soldiers, not counting the rowers, who played the battle between the Greeks and the Persians at Salamis. Only Emperor Claudius managed to break this record. For the naumachia conceived by him, the Futsin Lake, located 80 kilometers from Rome, was chosen. No other nearby body of water simply could accommodate 50 real combat triremes and biremes, the crews of which amounted to 20,000 criminals sentenced to the arena. To do this, Claudius devastated all city prisons, putting on ships everyone who could carry weapons.
And in order to discourage so many criminals gathered in one place from organizing a rebellion, the lake was surrounded by troops. The naval battle took place in that part of the lake where the hills formed a natural amphitheatre. There was no shortage of spectators: about 500 thousand people - almost all adult population Rome, located on the slopes.
The ships, divided into two fleets, depicted the confrontation between the Rhodians and the Sicilians. The battle, which began at about 10 am, ended only at four o'clock in the afternoon, when the last "Sicilian" ship surrendered. The Roman historian Tacitus wrote: "The morale of the fighting criminals was not inferior to the morale of real warriors." The waters of the lake were red with blood, not to mention the wounded, only more than 3 thousand people were killed. After the battle, Claudius pardoned all the survivors, with the exception of a few crews who, in his opinion, evaded the battle. The audience was absolutely delighted with what they saw. None of the subsequent emperors managed to “outplay” Claudius. It is no coincidence that literally the whole city mourned his death, because he, like no other, perhaps with the exception of Nero, knew how to entertain the public. And although during his reign Claudius showed himself to be far from being a brilliant statesman, this did not prevent him from being perhaps the most revered emperor among the people.
It was the gladiator fights held in the circus arenas that were the daily and favorite sight of the Romans, who were well versed in the nuances of hand-to-hand combat.
The audience closely followed the course of the duel, noting the slightest changes in the actions of the fighting gladiators.
If one of them was seriously wounded during the duel, he could drop his weapon and raise his hand - with this gesture he asked the audience for mercy. If the audience liked the way he fought, then people raised their thumbs up or simply waved their handkerchiefs while shouting “Let go!”. If they didn’t like it, then the audience put their thumbs down, yelling “Finish!”. The verdict of the crowd was not disputed even by the emperor.
It happened that the fight dragged on, and both wounded gladiators could not defeat each other for a long time. Then the audience could stop the fight themselves and demand from the editor - the organizer of the games - to let both fighters out of the arena. And the editor obeyed the "voice of the people." The same thing happened if the gladiator so pleased the public with his skill and courage that she demanded the immediate delivery of a wooden training sword to him as a symbol of complete liberation not only from fights in the arena, but also from slavery. Of course, this concerned only prisoners of war and slaves, but not volunteers.
The name of the gladiator Flamma has survived to this day, during whose career admiring spectators demanded a wooden sword four times, and he refused all four times! It is possible that Flamma showed such unheard of stubbornness in the pursuit of fame and money. One way or another, but he succeeded, he left the arena voluntarily, more or less unharmed, and at a fairly mature age and being the owner of a decent fortune.
Gladiator fights were not alien to the most educated people of that time. Cicero, for example, assessed these games as follows: “It is useful for people to see that slaves can fight courageously. If even a simple slave can show courage, then what should the Romans be like? In addition, the games accustom the warlike people to the form of murder and prepare them for war. Pliny, Tacitus and many other prominent Roman writers and thinkers were ardent admirers of circus performances. The only exception was, perhaps, the philosopher Seneca, who in every possible way advocated for their prohibition, which not least led to his forced suicide on the orders of his crowned pupil Nero.
Nearly all Roman emperors sought to outdo each other in grandiosity in order to win the love of the crowd. Emperor Titus at the opening of the Colosseum, which accommodated up to 80 thousand spectators and immediately became the main arena of Ancient Rome, ordered to kill different ways 17 thousand Jews who worked on its construction for ten years. And the emperor Commodus, who had completed a course in a gladiatorial school, fought in the arena himself. All his fights, of course, ended in victories. However, the Romans, who did not like "hack-work" in such an important matter, quickly forced him to end his career as a gladiator. Although Commodus still managed to enter the annals of the games - once he killed well-aimed shots from the bow of five very expensive hippos. Emperor Domitian, being a virtuoso in archery, loved to amuse the audience by hitting the head of a lion or a bear with arrows so that the arrows seemed to become horns for them. And naturally horned animals - deer, bulls, bison, and so on, he killed with a shot in the eye. I must say that the Roman people loved this ruler very much.
Met among the Roman emperors and merry fellows. A very funny story is connected with the name of Gallienus, for example. One jeweler, who sold counterfeit gems and was sentenced to the arena for this, was driven out by the bestiaries to the middle of the circus and placed in front of a closed lion's cage. The unfortunate man, with bated breath, was waiting for an inevitable and, moreover, terrible death, and then the cage door swung open, and a chicken came out of it. Unable to withstand the stress, the jeweler fainted. When the audience laughed enough, Gallienus ordered to announce: "This man was deceiving, therefore he was deceived." Then the jeweler was brought to his senses and released on all four sides.
By the beginning of the 4th century, gladiator fights and animal baiting began to gradually decline. It was a time when the once Great Roman Empire began to literally languish under the blows of numerous "barbarian" tribes. The situation was aggravated by the ongoing economic crisis - the Romans themselves practically did not work, and imported goods were constantly rising in price. Therefore, the Roman emperors of that period had enough worries, in addition to the arrangement of expensive games. And, nevertheless, they continued, although already without the former scope. Finally, gladiator fights were banned 72 years before the fall of the Roman Empire.
An end to the bloody orgies in the arena was put by the Christian Church, which became a serious spiritual and political force in the late Roman Empire. Having withstood terrible persecution in the first 300 years and having lost tens of thousands of the first followers of Christ, all tortured in the same arena, the church in 365 achieved a universal ban on animal baiting in circuses. In 404, the monk Telemachus, intervening in the battle of the gladiators, managed to stop it at the cost of his own life. This event was the last straw that overflowed the patience of the Christian emperor Honorius, who imposed an official ban on fighting.
For historians to this day, the fate of female gladiators remains an unread book. there is no doubt that the cruel customs of the time could allow this. in 2000, all the newspapers of the world proclaimed a sensation: "the remains of a woman - a gladiator were found!". this truly shocking discovery was made by British scientists excavating a study of the Roman period. if earlier, the only thing that proved the fact that women not only could participate in battles, but participated in them, were only the hypotheses of scientists. having studied the pelvic bones and the spine, scientists were able to establish with great certainty that the remains found belong to a woman. after conducting a complex analysis to determine the age, scientists stated the fact that the stakes belong to the Roman period.
The woman died of multiple injuries and may have been involved in a fight with an animal. the Romans professed paganism, and therefore the nature of the Roman religion did not forbid women to "act" i.e. to reincarnate, by means of theatrical play. for the first time, a woman was seen on stage as an actor with a neuron. The neuron admired the beauty of the female body and attracted women not only to the performance of songs and theatrical acts on stage, but also to real fights. Gradually, the woman migrated from the theater to the amphitheater. The first gladiator fights in history in honor of the death of a woman were held after the death of Caesar's beloved daughter Julia. there is also information that these games were accompanied by female ritual dances, during which women imitated the fight. Of course, for sure, no one will yet name the names of female gladiators, there are several reasons for this. firstly, when they entered school, they probably received male names, under which they were buried, secondly, even reading Roman historians, it becomes clear that women's fights were more mysterious and sacred ... and, as you know, it is customary not to disclose secrets.
The performance of women - gladiators, which is mentioned by the luminary in the biography of the emperor Domitian (81-96), was already considered something new at that time. In the circus, bloody fights of women - gladiators were organized, in which even women from respectable families participated, which was considered especially shameful. in the 9th year of the reign of Nero, these battles took on incredible proportions. It would be completely wrong to think that the representatives of the gentle sex only in the advanced and emancipated 20th century strove so stubbornly to appropriate everything primordially masculine - behavior, participation in public life, clothes, professions, hobbies. such is the nature of a woman that she always wants what, in theory, should not belong to her. so that already the ancient Greek women made a lot of efforts (up to the risk of losing their lives) in order to get on the forbidden for women Olympic Games, and the ancient Romans adored men's baths and men's rampant lifestyle. moreover, female gladiators sometimes defeated representatives of the stronger sex.
The world has changed, and with it the value orientations of people have changed. when Constantine was the Roman emperor, Christianity grew stronger and gained strength. Gradually, the church became a strong feudal lord, it owned the land and, as a result, seriously influenced state policy.
Constantine himself, the great one, was the first to accept Christianity among the Roman emperors, however, he did this a few minutes before his death. soon Christianity was accepted as a religion equal to Roman paganism, and after that it completely supplanted the pagan ideas of the Romans about the gods, and imposed monotheism. at the gathering of the very first church council, it was decided to fight against the bloody pagan games. those condemned by the highest court were no longer doomed to death and thrown into the arena with predatory bloodthirsty beasts, instead they were charged with forced hard labor.
However, even after the adoption of this edict on the Apennine Peninsula, the priests, with the consent of the emperor, still continued to organize gladiator fights. priests, whose bread was serving a bloody cult, did not want to part with their familiar and understandable rituals, and with their light hand gladiator fights almost revived. However, in 357, Emperor Constantine II forbade young men liable for military service to join gladiatorial schools, and in 399 the last of them was closed. but it was not so easy to break the habit of seeing death living in society for a long time. five years later, a new imperial decree was needed, decisively and irrevocably prohibiting the organization of both schools and gladiatorial battles. the reason for this was the tragic death of a Christian novice in 404, a certain Telemachus. the monk ran into the arena and tried to calm the fighters, but instead he himself was torn apart by an angry mob. after that, the emperor Hanorius banned gladiatorship. forever.
Telemachus stops the gladiators. Painting by J. Stallert, 1890 And next time I will tell you about the uprising of Spartacus.
sources
http://www.mystic-chel.ru/
http://www.istorya.ru/
http://www.gramotey.com/
And I will remind you of such a controversial topic: And also let's remember The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy is made -
Gladiators were called fighters in ancient Rome, who fought among themselves for the amusement of the public. Arenas were even created especially for such spectacles. The reason for the appearance of such cruel entertainment was the territorial expansion of Ancient Rome. It turned out that the prisoners simply had nowhere to go. It was just pointless to kill them, so they forced the men to fight each other for the amusement of the public. Only the strongest survived. Gladiator games began to be considered a public spectacle from 106 BC.
In Rome itself and in the whole country, this becomes the most beloved spectacle. That is why gladiator schools appeared. And in 63, Nero allowed women to participate in such battles. The games of gladiators were officially banned in 404, with the advent of Christianity in Rome. These brave fighters have become a symbol of bravery and courage, and the uprising of fighters led by Spartacus has generally become an important part of ancient history. We remember the names of the best gladiators to this day.
Spartacus. Who is the most famous gladiator in history is not worth guessing for a long time. This is Spartacus, whose name is given to children, ships and football teams. Although this person is very famous, it is still not clear who he really was in terms of his origin. The classical version is that Spartacus was a Thracian taken prisoner by the Romans. But there are suggestions that the famous gladiator was still a Roman who rebelled and fled from his legion. Just in those years, Rome waged fierce wars with Thrace and Macedonia, so Spartacus could well have been captured. The attribution to Spartacus of Thracian origin is understandable, because in those days all gladiators were divided into Gauls and Thracians, taking into account the type of combat, regardless of where the fighters were from. And judging by the grammar of the Latin language, the name Spartacus means that he was related to Sparta. Historians unearthed that the gladiator studied at the school of Lentulus Batiatus, where he studied the philosophy of Gaius Blossius. There are many interesting moments in it, one of the slogans generally says: "The last will become the first and vice versa." In 73 B.C. a well-known event in the history of Rome happened - the gladiator Spartacus rebelled along with his 70 comrades. At first it was just a group of runaway slaves with four strong leaders - in addition to Spartacus, there are also Crixus, Kast and Guy Gannicus, the rebels simply robbed their own school and fled to the outskirts of Naples with weapons in their hands. The rebels began to trade in robberies and murders, their army grew at the expense of other runaway slaves. A couple of years later, the company was already more than 120 thousand people who calmly moved around the country. There was a slave system in the country, and such an uprising threatened the existence of the state. That is why the best military forces were sent to pacify Spartacus and his comrades. Gradually, the forces of the slaves were defeated, Spartak himself died presumably near the Silari River. The last remnants of the mighty army of the rebels tried to flee north, but were defeated by Pompey. It was he who received the laurels of the main suppressor of the rebellion.
Commodus. Who said that a gladiator had to be a slave? Many free people chose this profession for themselves. There is a historical fact that there was a gladiator of imperial origin. Commodus, already since early age, possessed excellent oratory skills, having learned to make vivid speeches. But the older he got, the less interesting were state affairs and caring for his subjects. Commodus was much more interested in entertainment, including sexual ones. The emperor began to show cruelty - the time of his reign was marked by numerous executions and murders. It is no coincidence that Commodus is compared in this indicator with Nero himself. After all, Commodus was not inferior to him either in cruelty or in his depravity. The young emperor had his own harem, in which there were more than a hundred young concubines, and even more boys. The emperor himself loved to wear women's clothing and flirted with subordinates, playing different roles. Among the favorite games of Commodus was the dissection of living people. And it was Commodus who became the first emperor to enter the battlefield as a gladiator. But for a person of royal blood, this was considered an incredible shame. Contemporaries recalled that Commodus was actually an excellent fighter - he skillfully killed dangerous animals. At the same time, he was not at all shy about his inappropriate entertainment, and even loved to demonstrate his combat skills to his subordinates. Commodus also became famous for his pedantry - a clerk followed him everywhere, who recorded all the actions and speeches of the emperor. But thanks to this, we now know that the gladiator emperor took part in 735 battles. Commodus is also known for his belief in various cruel pagan cults, sometimes he even reincarnated in the clothes of the god Anubis. The emperor demanded that his subjects deify themselves, idealize, and simply killed for disobedience. The death of a tyrant was classic - he was killed as a result of a conspiracy by disgruntled fellow citizens.
Spicul. According to historians, Spikul belonged to such a type of gladiators as murmillos. They were also called myrmillons. The basis of the armament of such fighters was a half-meter rectangular shield, the gladius. The head of the gladiator was protected by a Boeotian helmet in the form of a fish and with a wave-like crest. Spiculus' right hand was protected by manna. Before the start of the battle, this famous gladiator always put on a bandage on his thigh and tied it with a belt. Top part his feet were wrapped in thick windings. The classic murmillon was also equipped with short armor. Spikul went down in history as a favorite of Nero. Not without reason, after one of his fights, the gladiator even received a palace, several houses and a land allotment near Rome from the all-powerful emperor as a gift. Nero himself repeatedly mentioned that in his army of gladiators it was Spiculus who eliminated his rivals in the most skillful way. Historians say that the favorite of the emperor was also the most experienced fighter. Most likely, he also taught beginners the art of combat. There are legends that Spikul also gained fame as a great lover. In his company, even Nero himself often visited brothels and other similar places of entertainment. And the legendary gladiator died at about the same time as his patron. They say that in last minutes of his life, Nero even wanted Spiculus to kill him. That's just one, as luck would have it, in the palace at that moment was not. And after the death of the despot, his close associates began to be mercilessly pursued. In June 68, Spiculus was thrown under the statues of Nero, which people were dragging around the forum. So it was not Nero who died at the hands of his favorite, but rather the opposite.
Tumelik. It is believed that this gladiator comes from a noble family. His father was the famous German leader Arminius. And he became famous for the fact that in the depths of the Teutoburg Forest he managed to defeat three Roman legions at once. They were commanded by the governor Var. And Tusnelda became Tumelik's mother. That defeat became so humiliating that the Roman Empire could not ignore it. Soon the emperor Tiberius ordered his nephew Germanicus to go on a campaign and defeat the obstinate Germans. Three times the Romans entered the lands east of the Rhine. They destroyed the fortifications of the tribes, liberated the city of Segest, besieged by Arminius. But most importantly, Tusnelda was taken prisoner with her little son Tumelik. Germanicus was about ready to capture Arminius himself, but then Tiberius called him back to Rome. During the celebration of the triumph in honor of the victory over the Germans, the main witnesses of his success, Tusnelda and Tumelik, walked in front of the chariot of Germanicus. Even Tusnelda's father saw this, being next to Germanicus. So the mother of the young captive and his grandfather lived out their lives in a foreign land. Tusnelda became a servant in one of the rich houses, she could even outlive her son. Tumelik himself got into the school of gladiators. When he was eighteen years old, the son of Germanicus, Caligula, became the new emperor. Today, everyone admits that he was simply a mad ruler. So, he ordered Tumelik to be brought to battle. The brave German put on an iron mask, which depicted his unconquered father Arminius. The gladiator had a sword in his hands. But Caligula decided not to field other fighters against him, but ordered the hungry lions to be released. It is difficult to judge the age of Tumelik; according to some sources, he was generally fifteen or sixteen years old at that time.
Enomai. This gladiator went down in history as one of the leaders of the Spartacus uprising, his right hand. And Enomai commanded the slaves. He was captured by the Romans during the conquest of Gaul by the empire. Enomai was one of those gladiators who were trained in famous school Lentula Batiata. This establishment was in Capua. There is evidence that this school had unbearable conditions for training and living. That is why Enomai without hesitation came out in support of his countryman Crixus and Spartacus, who was born, as they said in Thrace. These gladiators stood at the head of the uprising. But of the whole trinity, it was Enomai who was destined to die first. Historians tend to believe that he died between 73 and 72 BC. And the gladiator died not in the arena and not even on the battlefield, but during the robbery of one of the towns of southern Italy. Historians believe that Enomai was engaged in the craft of a gladiator for more than ten years. Such a long career took place thanks to the huge strength of the fighter and his literally inhuman endurance. It is reported that in one of the battles, Enomai's nose was injured. It did not grow together very well, which is why it twisted. A small hump formed on the bridge of the nose. But although the gladiator had a formidable appearance, his temper remained calm. Enomai even had a lover named Embolaria. There is evidence that Enomai was still not the real name of the gladiator, but his nickname, which he received for performances in the arena. After all, Enomai was the name of the son of the god Ares, who was distinguished by a warlike and cruel disposition. In those days, often the names of gladiators became part of their "stage" image. The Romans did not even want to hear their own, “barbarian” names, considering them simply ugly.
Batiatus. We have repeatedly mentioned the name of this gladiator in connection with his school. But initially he also performed in the arena. After the end of his active career, Lentulus Batiata founded his own school, which became the largest in the country. There is reason to believe that it was Batiata who was the mentor of Spartacus himself. And the school opened in Capua became a model for an institution of this type, which soon began to appear throughout the Roman Empire. And Cornelius Lentulus Batiata lived in Rome. His views were based on materialistic beliefs. And although he called his gladiator wards nothing more than monsters, Batiata did this in a playful and affectionate manner. The founder of the school himself stated that it is essentially a farm where experimental creatures are grown. Such radical life had a right to life, the gladiators from Capua were really popular. People from the most remote places of the empire came to watch their battles. It was not easy for Batiata to work with the gladiators. In addition, it was enough to organize just a couple of fights that were not interesting for the public, as competitors would have removed Batiat's school from performances in the Colosseum. The former gladiator himself was well aware of how competition from other schools is growing. To increase the motivation of his fighters, Batiata introduced an interesting motivation system. The owner inspired his gladiators that life is actually an ordinary dream that comes to a person by the will of the gods. In total, more than two hundred fighters were trained at the school. Most are prisoners from Thrace and Gaul. Historians believe that it was the cruel attitude of the owner towards his gladiators that ultimately resulted in a rebellion.
Guy Ganik. It is not known exactly when this gladiator was born and died. Some encyclopedists believe that Gaius Ganik died in 71 BC. And this man went down in history as an ally of Spartacus. He led a large detachment of slaves who rebelled at that time. Gaius Gannicus was originally from Gaul. But in one of the biographies of Spartacus there is information that his colleague belonged to the ancient people of Italy, the Samnites. It was also said that the gladiator had Celtic roots. Most likely, Guy Gannicus came to Rome, being captured during the conquests of Gaul. Together with Spartacus, Guy Gannicus studied gladiator skills at the Capua school of Lentulus Batitata. In Capua, many believed that it was he who, in fact, was the best gladiator. During the uprising of Spartacus, the former gladiator became the commander, defeating the regular units of the Romans. In 71 B.C. Spartacus, together with Gaius Gannicus, decided to lead the rebels to Gaul and Thrace. But in the last phase of the uprising, after Spartacus decided to capture the city of Brundisium, an army of twelve thousand people broke away from the main forces. It was led by Guy Ganik and Kast. But this time the gladiators failed to resist the trained and superior troops of the Romans. IN last fight but Guy Ganik was brave, as befits a real gladiator. The legendary warrior died near the city of Regia, which is located in the Jura of modern Italy. In his "Comparative Life" Plutarch found a place for Gaius Gannicus, whom the historian called Gaius Cannitius.
Crix. This gladiator was a Gaul and was in slavery for several years. Crixus fell into captivity while fighting the Romans on the side of the Alloborgs. Crixus, like Spartacus, was a gladiator in the school of Lenthal Batiatus, which was in Capua. In 73 B.C. Crixus, along with other fugitives from this school, began to plunder the neighborhood of Naples and collect other runaway slaves. Crixus was one of the most important assistants of Spartacus. But after the first military successes, Crixus separated from his leader, remaining in southern Italy. The main forces of the slaves moved north. Plutarch said that the reason for this separation was the arrogance and arrogance of Crixus. In his army remained the Gauls and Germans, the tribesmen of the leader. In the spring of 72 BC. Roman consul Publicula began to actively fight with the army of Crixus. A decisive battle took place near Mount Gargan in Apulia. In the course of it, Crixus was killed. He fought with great courage, killing at least ten legionnaires and centurions. But in the end, Crixus was stabbed to death with a spear and beheaded. The 30,000th army of slaves was defeated. Spartacus honored the memory of his comrades-in-arms by arranging gladiator games, as was customary in Rome. Only this time, more than three hundred noble Roman prisoners of war were forced to take part in such events.
Gherardesca Manutius. Speaking of the greatest gladiators, it is worth mentioning the most famous woman who mastered this profession. Gherardesca Manutius is perhaps the greatest warrior in history. She killed more than two hundred opponents of different sexes in the arena, meeting her death in battle. She was a beauty, with jet-black hair and perfect body. Roman fans adored her. And Manutius entered the arena just a year before her death. In such a short period of time, she managed to become a celebrity. The fugitive slave was 28 years old when she fell into a group of those tens of thousands of slaves who united under the leadership of Spartacus. In the rebel army, a woman first played the unenviable role of a prostitute. With Spartacus, she went through all of Italy, in free time the woman was taking sword lessons. This allowed her to become an excellent hand-to-hand fighter with experience in martial arts. At the Battle of Lucania in 71 BC, when Spartacus was killed, Gherardescu was captured by Marcus Lucinius Crassus. Without thinking twice, he ordered the woman to be crucified along with other six thousand runaway slaves. But already at the moment when the Amazon was chained to the cross, the Roman suddenly changed his mind. The beautiful Gherardesca liked her bronzed skin and spent the night in Crassus' tent. The next day, the commander sent the woman to Capua, to the gladiatorial school. He hoped that this craft would help her one day become free. The basics of gladiatorial combat were given to Gerardesca without much difficulty. A few weeks later, the first battle of the Amazon took place. The excitement was explained by the fact that the protégé of Crassus himself entered the arena. But it took the gladiator woman only five minutes to finish off the muscular and tattooed Greek Thracian. The audience watched with delight as the two topless bodies, sweating from the sun, moved in an attempt to kill each other. As a result, the sword entered the groin of the Greek, and the thunder of applause shook the amphitheater. The winner used a trick. But the bloody career could not last long. For 11 whole months, Gherardesca destroyed all her rivals, including already famous fighters. And the gladiator died in a battle with two dwarfs. During the duel, one of them managed to sneak behind the woman and stick the trident right into the kidneys. The former favorite of the public suddenly lost all the sympathies at once, which went to the dwarfs. The entire Colosseum pointed their fingers down, passing judgment on Gherardesca. According to the rules, the wounded woman is light on her back, tormented by pain. She raised the finger of her left hand and at that moment the dwarfs drove their tridents into her stomach and chest, ending the fight. The wounded body of the gladiator was carried away from the arena and simply thrown onto a pile of other victims of the battles. So the idol of Rome, the famous female fighter, did not receive the last worthy honors.
The Romans turned gladiator fights into cruel fun, but their Etruscan ancestors came up with entertainment. The ritual was of religious significance and accompanied the process of burial of wealthy people. A sacrifice was made in honor of the deceased. In the struggle, it was decided who would fall in the fight and appease the cult of Mars.
For the first time, gladiator fights took place in the empire in 264 BC. The event also marked the funeral of a noble citizen of the empire. The event was held with the participation of three pairs of fighters on the market square. The tradition was remembered 50 years later during the funeral of the consul's son. Funeral games were organized in the Roman Forum built for the occasion. The battles were fought for three days and more than 20 pairs of fighters took part in them.
Over the next 100 years, the labor of gladiators was used for burials. In 105 BC competitions received the status of entertainment in Rome.
The crowd was delighted with the fighting, and the politicians, in turn, tried to win the popular love and favor of the Roman citizens. Before coming to power in the empire, Caesar arranged games with the participation of 320 pairs of gladiator fighters. After that, the Roman Senate decided to limit the number of participants in the event. Officials were banned from holding games two years before being elected to high office.
Were gladiators slaves in ancient Rome?
Gladiators were considered professionals in the skill of wrestling. They specialized in handling certain types of weapons. Fights were fought in the public arenas of the Roman Empire. Amphitheaters for performances were built between 105 and 404 BC.
Gladiator fights usually ended in death. The life expectancy of those who fought was short, but the profession was considered prestigious. Most gladiators belonged to the class of slaves, free citizens or were prisoners. Bloody battles often replaced the death penalty. Without a doubt, spectacle in the arenas of the Roman Empire was one of the most popular forms of entertainment in antiquity.
Gladiators were trained in the art of combat in the schools of skill. They took an oath and from this they were not considered people: they did not testify in court, they were sold, rented out. The profession of a gladiator was fanned by romanticism, although in fact the poor often entered schools in search of good food. Some men entered the arenas in search of glory. History knows cases when gladiators were granted freedom.
The life of the gladiators of ancient Rome
Gladiator games were held by the emperors of Rome and the local aristocracy to demonstrate their power and wealth. The event marked a high victory of the state or the visit of an official or diplomat of another state. The fighters fought in arenas on the birthday of wealthy people or to distract people from everyday problems, to solve political and economic issues.
The largest venue in the history of ancient Rome was the Colosseum in the center of Rome - the Flavian Amphitheatre. The ancient stadium could accommodate from 30 to 50 thousand spectators. Representatives of Roman society purchased tickets in advance for the bloody attraction of death. Wild and exotic animals died at the hands of the gladiator. In the event of their victory, the men were thrown to be eaten by lions.
It is a common misconception that gladiators were required to greet the emperor of Rome at the beginning of each show with the words:
Ave Imperator, morituri te salutant
"Long live the emperor, we who have come to die salute you!"
In reality, these words were spoken by prisoners doomed to die in battles at sea.
Often, prisoners of war were forced to work in the arena as gladiators. There are cases when bankrupt aristocrats entered the arena. For example, the famous Sempronius, a descendant of the powerful Gracchi dynasty, became a gladiator.
Before the entry into the arena of Septmius Severus in 200 AD, women were prohibited from performing as gladiators.
Constant recruitment was carried out in fighting schools of gladiators. Living conditions in them were similar to a prison: shackles and small barred rooms. However, the food was much better served to promote health. Gladiators received good medical care.
Winning competitions became the favorites of the people and were especially popular with women.
Those who refused to enter the arena were beaten with leather whips, as well as red-hot metal rods. An indignant crowd of 30-40 thousand spectators demanded the killing of the enemy. The most famous case of refusal was during a battle organized by Quintus Aurelius Symmachus in 401 AD. German prisoners, instead of entering the arena, strangled each other in cages, depriving the Roman citizens of the spectacle.
When the gladiator was not killed immediately, his opponent could show mercy and let him live. He raised a weapon with a shield and a finger. Although his opponent at that moment could have killed him. If the emperor was present during the performance, the fate of the gladiator was decided by the crowd, waving fabrics and making hand gestures. The word "Mitte!" and a thumbs up meant "Let them go!" Thumbs down and the expression "Iugula!" - "Execute him!"
Scenes on the walls of ancient Pompeii tell about the life of gladiators. The images indicated how many victories the fighter won: Petronius Octavian - 35, Severus - 55, Nascia - 60. The winner was awarded a palm branch of victory, a crown and often a silver dish.
Holding contests of gladiators came into conflict with the new Christian religion that came to Ancient Rome in 404 AD. Emperor Honorius closed the gladiator schools. The last event was the arrival of a monk from Asia Minor, Telemachus, who stopped the bloodshed by standing between the fighters. The indignant crowd threw stones at the monk to death.
As a result, the emperor Honorius ended up banning gladiator fights, although the hunting of wild animals remained for a long time. The Romans lamented the cancellation of the popular entertainment.
How were gladiator fights in ancient Rome
The days of gladiator fights were declared holidays in the empire. Preparations for the event were carried out for a long time, specially trained people, editors, were engaged in it. They advertised and sold tickets.
Citizens with the profession of lanist were engaged in the search and ransom of gladiators. They looked for physically strong slaves and prisoners of war in the markets and brought them to schools for training in fighting skills.
On the appointed day, citizens were seated strictly according to social status. A huge number of citizens gathered. The show was accompanied by a theatrical show. Then wild animals were released. Convicts sentenced to death fought with them. If they were victorious, they were given life.
The battles were fought with musical accompaniment. The rhythms of the music accelerated as the struggle progressed. The main goal of the gladiator was to strike at the skull or artery. The demonstration of military prowess was equated by the civilian population in ancient Rome with heroism.
Types of gladiators in ancient Rome
The term gladiatores meant "weapon" or "short sword". In the competition, many other types of weapons were used. Gladiators wore armor and helmets with decorative motifs adorned with ostrich or peacock feathers.
The quality of weapons and armor depended on the class of the gladiator. There were four main groups.
- The Samnite class was named after the Samnite warriors who fought in the arenas of the republic in the early years. The Romans originally used the word Samnite as a synonym for an Etruscan gladiator. They were well armed, had a spear and a sword, a shield, protective armor on the arm and leg.
- Thracian gladiators were armed with a curved short sword (sika) and a square or round shield (parma) to protect themselves from blows.
- Other gladiators were known as "murmillos". They had a crest in the shape of a fish on their helmets. Like the Samnites, they carried short swords and had armor padding on their arms and legs.
- The retiarius did not wear a helmet or armor. He carried a metal mesh in which he tried to imprison his opponent. Having entangled him with a net, he struck the final blow with his trident.
Gladiators fought in pairs in different combinations. This made it possible to provide a contrast between the armored slow classes, like the French ones, and the protected ones, like the retiarii.
Names and classes have changed over time. For example, "Samnite" and "Gallium" names began to sound incorrect when countries with similar names became allied. Archers, bestiaries and boxers who hunted wild animals also entered the ancient arenas of Rome.
Who gave names to the gladiators of ancient Rome
The name of the gladiator was part of his stage persona. The fighters were given names in schools of skill or masters of slaves. In any case, they were of Roman origin. The citizens of Ancient Rome did not even want to hear about the "barbarian" citizens.
The most famous gladiators of ancient Rome
The most famous gladiator in Rome was Spartacus. He took the lead in 73 BC. uprising of gladiators and slaves from Capua. A Roman soldier, he was captured by the military in Thrace to be transported to a gladiator school.
He organized an escape with 70 comrades from the school and created a defensive camp on the slope of Vesuvius. The camp was besieged by the Roman military, after which they left the position and set off on their way through the Campania area. Former gladiators organized their own battle group. Fighting on the way to the north of the Alps, Spartacus showed the features of a military leader in the fight against the Roman army. Spartacus died in battle, but before that he managed to free three hundred military prisoners in honor of his fallen comrade.
After two years of revolt, the army of Marcus Licinius Crassus finally arrested the rebels in Apulia in southern Italy. As a warning to others, over 6,000 gladiators were crucified along the Appian Way between Capua and Rome. After this episode, the number of gladiators belonging to citizens was strictly controlled.
Another famous gladiator is the emperor Commodus (108-192 AD). There were rumors that he was the illegitimate son of a gladiator. He was not professional fighter, but received huge money for his performances at the Colosseum. The emperor dressed as Mercury and competed in the arena. More often he killed wild animals from a closed platform with a bow.
The gladiator Spikul was so inimitable in the art of combat that Emperor Nero gave him a whole palace.
Moreover, the ancient Roman state itself took upon itself the trouble of organizing them. So in 65 BC. the then emperor, Gaius Julius Caesar, hosted games in which more than 320 pairs of brave gladiators took part (you will meet many of them when you start playing online on our site).
The action turned out to be so epic that it struck the audience present to the core and instilled horror in the souls of neighbors unfriendly to the Romans. Armed to the teeth, handsome men demonstrated real miracles of military science, and the people who met them with cries of approval demonstrated fantastic bloodthirstiness. The inexpressibly cruel, but at the same time, the bewitching atmosphere of that troubled era will open before you in all its glory, as soon as the vending online game gladiators.
Life or death - there are no other options
Each online Gladiators game from this section is a mega exciting, gambling fighting game, designed for the participation of one or two players. It will appeal to everyone who is interested in history or just surfs the Internet in search of a fresh dose of adrenaline. In it, you can enter the arena in ancient armor and test your strength in battle with the most powerful warriors of Ancient Rome.
The game Gladiators offers gamers to participate in a difficult, dynamically developing duel, the key to victory in which will be his composure and ability to use a mouse. It is with it, as well as with the arrow keys on the keyboard, that you will strike at the enemy. As a rule, any first fight is preceded by a training stage. It gives the player the opportunity to master the basic techniques and strikes. Points are not awarded or deducted, so there are no winners or losers during such an online workout.
The range of online fighting games presented in this section can be conditionally divided into two groups: turn-based, in which opponents strike each other in turn, and simultaneous, where all actions are performed chaotically and depend on who has the best mouse control. Both of them are available on our site for free, so you can enjoy a good fight of handsome gladiators without any restrictions. The territory of combat maneuvers is limited to the arena, which completely eliminates the chase element and gives gamers the opportunity to focus on the fight.
