The World of the Gladiators

The Murmillo is one of the most recognisable styles of gladiator. The name comes from the Greek term ‘mormyrus’, a type of fish common to the Mediterranean and was based on an earlier form of gladiator, the Gallus. Gladiators traditionally fought with little in the way of clothing, preferring a simple subligaculum, or loincloth, and belt. In addition to this, murmillones would wear a manica or armguard on their right arm, a short greave on their shield leg, and a wide-brimmed helmet with a large crest. Some of these helmets have been discovered with fish motifs or fin-shaped crests to match the gladiator’s namesake. They would then be armed with a gladius, or short sword, and scutum, or large, rectangular shield. The murmillo, according to contemporary depictions, was most commonly pitted against the thraex. 

Rome frequently named their gladiators after enemies. Before the emperor Augustus, the Gallus, or Gaul, and Samnis, or Samnite, were common gladiator styles using much the same arms and armour as later styles such as the murmillo. The thraex, or Thracian, style follows that same tradition. The thraex would be armoured with a manica arm guard on his sword arm, quilted fabric wrappings on both legs, a greave on their shield leg, and a broad brimmed helmet. This helmet was often adorned with a griffin’s head-shaped crest. They were armed with a smaller rectangular shield called a parma and a short sword with a curved or bent tip called a sica. The sica was a weapon primary associated by the Romans with the peoples of Thrace and Illyria (modern day Bulgaria and the Balkans) and can be seen on Trajan’s column in the Roman conquest of Dacia (modern day Romania).   

The hoplomachus was equipped in much the same way as the murmillo and thraex. All fought bare chested, with greaves, thick padded leg wrappings, and distinctive broad brimmed helmets. The difference in these fighters came from their armaments. The hoplomachus was armed with a spear and carried a round shield into battle. This is where the hoplomachii get their name. Hoplon can mean weapon in Greek, but more specifically refers to the large, round shields of the sort the Greeks would have used at the Battle of Thermopylae. The hoplomachus therefore was another term of ‘armed fighter’. In addition to a spear, they would have also carried a short sword or dagger. A common opponent of the hoplomachus was the murmillo. This suggests that, as with the thraex, editors of the games liked to mimic battles between Rome and her former enemies.  

The retiarius took their name from their primary and most identifiable weapon – the net (rete in Greek). Unlike many of their fellow gladiators, the retiarius was lightly armed and armoured. They had no shield, helmet, or leg protection, and instead had the manica arm guard on their left arm instead of their right. Sometimes, this manica was augmented with a galerus – a tall metal guard that covered the shoulder and neck. To accompany the net, the retiarius was also armed with a trident and small dagger. The retiarius was a comparative latecomer to the world of gladiatorial games, appearing halfway through the first century CE. Their opponent was the secutor, a form of gladiator that was armed almost identically to that of the murmillo. The difference was in the helmet, as it was smoothed and free of decoration so that the retiarius’ net could not snag on crests and ornaments.   

The venatores were huntsmen who fought beasts in the arena. These warriors were commonly portrayed as being less-heavily armed and armoured as their gladiatorial brothers. Marble reliefs from the early Roman empire show figures clothed in loincloths or tunics, with small metal helmets and greaves, and armed with just a sword or spear. With these implements, they may be expected to take on lions, elephants, or even a rhinoceros. According to Herodian of Antioch, the games under Emperor Commodus held a wide variety of wild and exotic beasts to be used for target practice by the emperor. On this occasion, Commodus “shot arrows with crescent-shaped heads at Moroccan ostriches, birds that move with great speed… He cut off their heads at the very top of the neck; so, after their heads had been severed by the edge of the arrow, they continued to run around as if they had not been injured”. Not every venationes, beast hunt, was with dangerous game. Deer and roebuck were also used to demonstrate a venatores skill rather than their strength.  

Chariot racing was a popular sport in Rome. The Circus Maximus held enough space for 250,000 people, five times as many as the Colosseum, and the last races in Rome took place in 549 – over twenty years after the last of the beast hunts. Essedarius though were trained fighters, named after the Latin word for chariot, essedum. Unfortunately, we have no evidence about how they were armed and armoured. One inscription we do have mentions a Maximus Iulianus, an essedarius who fought 40 times and won the laurel wreath of victory 36 times. There is even a suggestion that essedarii could have been women. The 1st century author Petronius, in his satire ‘The Satyricon’, has one character discussing a female essedaria. As with all gladiators, essedarii were commonly slaves who proved themselves as talented charioteers. Suetonius also tells of an essedarius called Porio who, after a particularly good showing, is granted his freedom. 

The eques was a mounted fighter. Depictions of mounted gladiatorial combat show a warrior wearing either scale armour or a tunic, with a brimmed helmet and medium-sized round shield called the parma equestris. This is unlike any other style of gladiator in that they were not bare chested. These cavalrymen are almost exclusive portrayed as fighting one another, armed with lances, the hasta, and short swords, or gladii. In reliefs, the equites are shown to begin combat on horseback, before finishing the fight on foot. Isidore of Seville, writing in the 7th century, described how the eques would open the games prior to the other gladiatorial bouts. This appears to be confirmed by mosaic patterns found in North Africa.  

The Noxii were not gladiators, but prisoners condemned to death. To be condemned ad bestias, thrown to the animals, was considered a shameful and public method of execution. Unlike the venatores, the noxii were unarmed, unarmoured, and occasionally bound to make it easier for the animals.  

Throughout the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE, Rome faced a series of slave uprisings called the Servile Wars. The most famous of these was the Third Servile War led by the Thracian gladiator Spartacus. For a gladiator that threatened the city of Rome itself, we know remarkably little about Spartacus as a person. According to the historian Appian, Spartacus was a Thracian who was captured in battle and sold to a gladiator trainer named Batiatus in Capua. There, the treatment was allegedly harsh enough to prompt 74 gladiators, including Spartacus, to escape. At first, the gladiators raided local estates and farms, but their exploits attracted more fugitivus, or runaway slaves. Appian states that within two years, Spartacus was leading an army 120,000 strong which had defeated local militia and two legionary armies. This force would eventually be crushed brutally by Marcus Licinius Crassus, who would later enter into an alliance with Pompey Magnus and Julius Caesar. 

Gravestones and epitaphs were not uncommon in Ancient Rome, and the practice of inscribing the deceased’s achievements on the memorial can tell us much about the Roman world. In Milan, archaeologists uncovered one such gravestone for a gladiator named Urbicus. According to the inscription, he was 22 when he died and fought as a secutor, or pursuer. He also appeared to be highly successful. The stone tells us that he won 13 fights and reached the top rank of primus palus. This success however was short lived. While not explicitly stated, it is implied that Urbicus was killed when a gladiator he “conquered” returned to kill him. He left behind a wife, Lauricia, and two daughters, Olympias and Fortunensis. We can also infer several things about Roman society from his stone. As he had no surname, we can guess that Urbicus was a slave gladiator. The stone also states that he had been together for seven years, indicating that young relationships between gladiators and women was accepted in certain circumstances.  

Commodus was the son of emperor Marcus Aurelius and ruled from 177 to 192 AD. According to Herodian of Antioch, Commodus was an enthusiastic supporter of the games, going so far as to enter the arena himself. It began with a demonstration of his archery and javelin skills, using both to kill wild beasts from a position of safety in the terraces. If the people of Rome were impressed with his abilities, Herodian explains that they quickly turned against Commodus when he entered the arena as a gladiator. He allegedly defeated all his opponents with ease, not because of his strength but because the gladiators knew what would happen if they struck down the emperor. This display did little to endear him to the senate, who viewed a noble fighting as a common slave as a disgrace. Commodus was eventually assassinated in his bath by a wrestling partner.  

Like Commodus, the emperor Nero was a fan of the games, although he did not compete as a gladiator himself. Instead, Nero held a variety of spectacles to please the Roman people. Suetonius tell us that Nero distributed gifts for the people including gold, slaves, and ships. Nero’s generosity extended to the gladiators themselves. Suetonius states that Nero presented Spiculus, a gladiator, with estates and houses equal to men who had received a triumph. This generosity did little to save Nero from his political enemies. In 68 CE, with the rebellious general Galba at the gates and his guards fled, Nero called for Spiculus to come and offer him an honourable death. Spiculus did not appear though, causing Nero to cry, “Have I then neither friend nor foe?” Spiculus did not long outlast his patron. Plutarch states that Galba did not dare stand between the people and their vengeance against anyone attached to the deceased Nero. They found Spiculus, dragged him out to the forum, and killed him.  

Gladiators were both slaves and celebrities, as well as scandalous sex symbols for all levels of society. Faustina, Emperor Commodus’ mother, was alleged to have had an affair with a gladiator. Meanwhile, graffiti in Pompeii notes that a gladiator named Celadus the Thracian made ‘the girls swoon,’ even if it was just idle boasting. Freeborn women having relationships with gladiators was considered improper and the subject of derision for some. The first century satirist Juvenal wrote of a senator’s wife, Eppia, eloping with a gladiator named Sergius. Sergius, we are told, was heavily scarred, had a wart on his nose, a weeping eye, and a wounded arm that oozed. Yet, because he was a gladiator, none of this mattered, and the pair left for Alexandria.  

The inaugural games of the Flavian Amphitheatre, now known as the Colosseum, was a lavish affair. 100 days of gladiator contests and beast hunts recorded for posterity by the poet Martial. The poem, Liber Spectaculorum, mentions one remarkable fight between two gladiators named Priscus and Verus. According to Martial, the gladiators fought each other to a standstill. Despite calls from the crowd for the emperor, Titus, to stop the match, he decided that they should continue until one yielded. In the end, both Priscus and Varus yielded together, and Titus awarded both the victory and their freedom. Martial finishes this section of the poem with the tribute, “This has happened under no prince but you, Caesar: two fought and both won”.   

The ruins of Pompeii are covered in graffiti. This offers archaeologists a glimpse into the stories of ordinary Romans that would otherwise be lost. We would not know about the remarkable victories of Marcus Attilius were it not for a fan drawing it on a wall. In one piece of graffiti, Marcus is fighting Hilarus. The ‘T’ next to his name shows he is a ‘tiro’, or novice. Compare this to Hilarus, who has 14 victories to his name and was taught at the imperial training school. Yet, Marcus was the victor. The graffiti tells us that Hilarus yielded, as marked by the ‘M’ for ‘Missus’ – Latin for sent away. A second encounter is portrayed against a gladiator names Recius Felix. Once again, Marcus emerges victorious. There is more that we can learn from the graffiti than just Marcus’ fighting prowess. Marcus had a surname, Attilius, which indicates he was a freeman who became a gladiator, instead of a slave.