Who Were The Roman Gladiators?

When we think of ancient Rome, several images come to mind. The incredible political and cultural advancements, the innovative engineering, and the mass expansion of an empire that lasted a thousand years. There's also the decadence, the slavery, and the cruelty, and of course, the gladiators. The gladiators have a legendary status in ancient Roman folklore. They've been immortalized in film, television, and books. We talk about some sports being gladiatorial in nature, and where would we be without the thumbs up and thumbs down gestures. But what were their lives really like, and how did the sport of gladiators begin? Gladiator bouts were originally performed by Etruscans, and they were funeral rituals. The Etruscans were an ancient people who inhabited western and central Italy from 900 to 400 BCE. Many of their customs were adopted by the Romans, who took control of the region in the 4th century BCE. One tradition was staging gladiatorial battles to honor the dead. When a leader died, gladiators often fought paired battles. The blood of the defeated warrior was used as a sacrificial offering to the deceased leader in the afterlife. These gladiators were typically slaves, or criminals condemned to death. When the Romans took over from the Etruscans, they continued with this tradition. Initially, the gladiators only fought at solemn funeral ceremonies. In 264 BCE, the sons of Junius Brutus honored their late father with several gladiator fights. Over time, the fights were included in the immensely popular public games. The games were known as Munera, with gladiator coming from the Latin word gladio, which was the sword commonly used in the battles. The gladiator games surged in popularity, and they became a common feature of Roman life for the next 500 years. Julius Caesar was one of the first emperors to take full advantage of the people's demand for the gladiatorial games. He realized that he could enhance his standing with his people by putting on free games for all to enjoy. In 65 BCE, he put on a huge show with 320 pairs of gladiators to honor his father. He continued to give the people what they wanted, and other games featured battles with wild animals that had been captured on foreign conquests. So who were the gladiators? Many were slaves. They were soldiers who had been captured and were encouraged to use their traditional fighting styles as gladiators. Others were criminals who were looking at death penalties anyways. Becoming a gladiator at least gave them a shot at prestige and honor. Some free men, and even women, also signed on to become gladiators. More often than not, they were ex-soldiers or former gladiators looking for some more action. Some volunteers were freed slaves, or simply social outcasts. Either way, taking the gladiatorial oath was serious business. It basically meant that you agreed to be beaten, flogged, or put to death if deemed necessary. The average life expectancy for citizens in the Roman Empire was only around 30 years old, at best. Not surprisingly, gladiators had a much shorter lifespan, with most living until 25. However, they were reasonably well looked after. After all, when they won their games, the owners got the prize money. So the owners were careful to protect their investments. A typical day for a gladiator would be to train in one of the allotted schools. Their routines were not unlike that of a professional athlete. Eat, train, rest, repeat. The training schools were supervised by the gladiator owners, called banista. They trained several times a day and enjoyed three solid square meals. Bone studies have revealed that gladiator diets were high in carbs and surprisingly low in protein. They ate for energy and were nicknamed the barley men. Most gladiators probably ate better than the lower class Roman citizens. And there were several kinds of fighters, each specializing in a particular fighting style with specific skill sets. Many of these gladiators were named after the tribes that they originally came from. The most common were the Samnites, named after the people from the southern Italy mountains. Later named the Secutor, the Samnites are what most people imagine when they think of gladiators. They wore helmets, thick belts, and fought with a shield and a sword. Picture Russell Crowe in the movie Gladiator. Although they were skilled swordsmen, the shields were heavy and often cumbersome, making them vulnerable. The Rithiarius was another type of fighter, and they were a common one. These gladiators fought with tridents and nets, and they were far more nimble than most others. The long-reaching tridents made it difficult to get near them, and once they trapped you with their nets, you were in for trouble. Also named after their regions were the Thraex gladiators. They were swift, they were skilled, they were very deadly. They only used small shields and daggers, but they were light on their feet and they weren't weighed down too much with armor. Barmeo gladiators were a tough proposition. They had long, oblong shields which made direct strikes very difficult. They were armed with daggers and visored helmets. The most famous of these was the slave Spartacus, who rose to fame and led a slave revolt in 73 BCE. Perhaps the most spectacular of gladiators were the Aesidarius, who fought from chariots. This style was adopted from the Celts, who frequently battled the Romans on the northern borders. The Aesidarius either steered the chariots themselves, or they had a slave do it for them. They would try to run over the top of their standing foes or throw spears at them. Needless to say, they were a formidable opponent. However, if a regular gladiator was able to upstage the chariot fighters, they were assured glory and fame. The fighters were generally organized to display two different styles of fighters against each other. This heightened interest in the fight and made for greater spectacles. For example, a Barmeo gladiator would try their luck against a Retiarius with their trident and net. We can still see this today in the fighting sport MMA, when a kickboxer goes up against a judo champion. At the height of their popularity, some fighters were matched up against wild animals. This was as much about a proud display of Roman conquest as it was about entertainment. They attempted to slay huge beasts, such as hippos, elephants, lions, and tigers. The Roman thirst for animal blood in these games was so extreme that large numbers of species were simply wiped out. But contrary to common belief, not every battle was to the death. For one thing, as expected, gladiators were trained, housed, and fed, and to lose one meant losing an investment. Killing defeated gladiators was also seen as unnecessarily barbaric by many. For the most part, gladiator fights were for entertainment, and only a cruel emperor or game organizer would insist upon death. Fights usually ended when one gladiator was either too tired or far too wounded to continue. They would then request a mercy ending by raising their left index figure. If they'd entertained the crowds, their lives were spared. Of course, this isn't to say there weren't plenty of deaths. It's estimated that each time a gladiator went to battle, they had a one in nine chance of survival. Successful gladiators could earn pardons and become free citizens. People had their favorites and flocked to see them in action. The mass popularity of gladiators was evidenced in 72 BCE, with the construction of the Colosseum under the Emperor Vespasian. The massive stadium was regularly packed, with crowds of over 50,000 hollering for action. Gradually over time, however, Roman values and trends began to change. In 325 AD, the first Christian emperor, Constantine, decided to ban gladiatorial games on the grounds that they no longer suited a peaceful and modern society. For the Romans, gladiators represented all that was great about their empire. Fighting for honor, even if that meant death, that was the ultimate achievement. By embracing the gladiators, Romans could also come to terms with their own mortality. And at the very least, they were highly entertained.