GLADIATORS AND GAMES

For the inhabitants of the Roman Empire, mass entertainment took two forms, the spectacles of the amphitheater and the horse races at the circus.

On a typical day at the amphitheater, the morning was devoted to “hunts” (venations), though the term covered any performance involving animals. The entertainments included trained animal acts, combats between animals, and bull wrestling in which a troupe of men attempted to throw a bull to the ground by its horns. Most thrilling were the actual hunts in which a professional hunter (venator) often armed only with a spear, fought a dangerous animal.

During the mid-day interval, convicted prisoners were mauled to death by lions, bears, and other wild beasts. These grisly executions were followed by athletic contests, including wrestling, boxing, and free-style fighting (pancration).

The day climaxed with the afternoon’s gladiatorial combats. The tradition of public duels to the death began with South Italian funeral observances, in which an heir hired a gladiatorial school to honor his deceased relative. By Roman imperial times such exhibitions were simply a lavish form of public entertainment, sponsored by the emperor or another politician. The required manpower was supplied mainly by sending condemned criminals to the gladiatorial schools, where they might earn their freedom if they survived for three years, or graduate to become instructors. Successful gladiators became popular heroes, but most fans also supported particular categories of gladiators.

The first class to compete were the equites, recalling the old social class of Roman knights. They entered the arena on horseback but fought on foot, always against other equites. They were the only category to wear a tunic, and their weapons were a lance, sword, and round shield. All other categories fought with their chests bare. The murmillo was armed like a Roman legionary, with a long, rounded rectangular shield, a half length greave on his left leg, and a straight sword. He always fought against a gladiator with a smaller shield, either a thraex or a hoplomachus. The thraex was armed in the Thracian style, with a griffin’s head on the crest of his helmet, a short rectangular shield, tall greaves on both legs, and a short, curved sword (sica). The hoplomachus was armed in the Greek manner, with a small round shield, two high greaves, a lance, and a long dagger. Occasionally the thraex and the hoplomachus were pitted against one another.

Gladiatorial combat was governed by strict rules, enforced by referees. Each duel ended when one combatant could not continue du to injury or death, or when he signaled defeat by dropping his shield, or by lowering it and pointing up with his index finger. The referee then stopped the contest until the sponsor decided the fate of the loser. If he had fought bravely and fairly, he might be allowed to depart with his life (missio). If he had not given satisfaction, his fate was sealed by thumbs up (not thumbs down as is popularly believed). He then knelt, if able, to receive his death blow from his opponent, who was normally a colleague from the same gladiatorial school. (To prevent any possibility of collusion the corpses of slain gladiators routinely had their throats cut in the mortuary.)

At the end of the day, the victors were awarded cash prizes and palm branches or laurel wreaths.

Horse racing, though not overly sadistic, held the promise of bloody accidents. This is probably why chariot racing, the most dangerous format, was by far the favorite. In the west, the chariots were sponsored by the four racing factions, the Blues, Greens, Reds, and Whites; but in the east chariot racing remained the domain of individual owners until the fourth century A.D. Rome also developed a specially exciting type of jockey, the desultory, who leaped back and forth between two galloping horses several times in the course of a race.

Printed with the kind permission of Steve L. Rubinger, ANTIQUA, Inc.

Email: antiquainc@aol.com Web address: www.antiquainc.com <