Tom Sienkewicz ([email protected]) Monmouth College ACL [email protected].

Tom Sienkewicz([email protected])

Monmouth College

ACL 2010

Who Fought in the Arena?

• Those condemned to death– the forced (damnati)

• Condemned criminals of the lower orders(damnati ad mortem)

• prisoners of war• army deserters

• Those who might hope to survive– volunteers (auctoritati)– slaves sold to gladiatorial trainers (e.g., Spartacus) – of lower orders guilty of lesser crimes (in ludum

damnati)

Ave, Imperator. Mortituri te salutant.Hail, Caesar. Those who are about to die salute you.

Questions about the Private Lives of Gladiators?

• What do their names tell us?• Where did they live?• How long did they live?• Did they have wives?• Did they have children?

Gladiatorial Ludi (Schools)

The Ludus Magnus

Forma Urbis Romae IX,4(Severan Marble Plan

http://formaurbis.stanford.edu/index.html

Pompeii

“House of the Gladiator”

A Gladiator’s House in Pompeii?CIL IV.4420

= fought once won (corona) once

SAMUSM(yrmillo)IDEM EQ(ues)Hic HAB(itat)

Some Gladiatorial VocabularyWords marked in bold are important in inscriptions

tīrō, -ōnis m.: a gladiatorial recruitveterānus,- ī m.: gladiator who had fought at least oncelanista, -ae m.: a gladiatorial trainer, manager of a troop of gladiatorsarmātūra, ae f.: armament, gladiatorial equipmentMyrmillo, - ōnis m.: heavily-armed footman with a fish on his helmets (see more below)Samnīs, -ītis m.: heavily-armed footman (see more below)secūtor, -ōris m.: heavily-armed footmanThraex, Thrācis m.: light-armed footman bearing a shield and reversed sickle (see morebelow)rētiārius, -iī m.: unhelmeted footman armed with only tunic, net, trident and dagger (see more

below)essedarius, -iī m.: chariot fighterfamilia, -ae f.: a troop of gladiatorsludus, -ī m.: a place of residence and training of gladiatorsludia, -ae f. female gladiator; women associated with gladiators; "a female slave attached

a gladiatorial ludus" (OLD)ēditor,-ōris m.: sponsor of the games who would contract with a lūdus for a troop of

gladiators to perform”. Also called ēditor muneris or dominusprōcūrātor, -ōris m. imperial magistrate in charge of the gamesmissio, -iōnis f. permission given to gladiators to stop fighting in the arena. The same word was

used for a military discharge.palma, -ae f. palm given to a victorious gladiatorrudis, rudis f. wooden sword or staff given to a gladiator retiring permanently from actionvēnātiō, -ōnis f. animal hunt in the arenavēnātor, -ōris m. animal hunter in the arena

Images for Identifying Gladiator TypesRētiārius, -iī m. Netter. This fighter was protected only with a shoulder guard (on left side only). For attacking, he carried a trident and a net and was often pitted against a Samnite or a Mirmillo. Thrāx, Thrācis n. Thracian. A fighter with lighter armor, including a helmet and greaves on both legs. With a bare torso and an arm guard (manica, -ae f. ) on his right arm, he carried a small shield (parmula, -ae f.) in in one hand and a short sword (sīca, -ae f. ) in the other.

Female Gladiators

Fēminae Gladiātōrēshttp://www.lothene.demon.co.uk/others/womenrm2.jpg

ΑΠΕΛΥΘΗΣΑΝΑΜΑΖΝ ΑΧIΛΛIΑ

Amazon and Achillia were granted a reprieve.

CIG 6855: A relief with an inscription. From Halicarnassus. Now in the British Museum.

CIG = Corpus Inscriptionum Graecoaum

Gladiators in Epigraphy A Few Useful Epigraphic

Abbreviations D.M. = Dis Manibus, “to the blessed soul”B.M. = bene merenti, “to the well-deserving”Ñ = natiōne, “by nation”RET = retiarius, “netter”M = myrmillo, a heavily-armed gladiatorPUGNAR = pugnarum, “of contests”D = dies, “days”ANN = annōs, “years”F = fēcit, “(s)he made [this memorial]”V. = vīcit “he conquered, won”L = lībertus, -a freedman, freedwoman

Gladiatorial Inscriptions

Gladiatorial Graffiti from PompeiiCIL IV.8055 Oceanus and Aracintus CIL IV.8056 Severus and AlbanusCIL IV. 10221 Monumentum EumachiaeCIL IV. 4353 Crescens

Gladiatorial TombstonesCIL VI, 10193 P. Aelius TroadesisCIL V 1037 PasserCIL, V 3468 PardonCIL V 3465 GenerosusCIL V, 3466 GlaucusCIL II2/7, 363 ProbusCIL VI, 2 10195 Antonius NigerCIL V, 2885 IuvenisCIL V, 5933 Urbicus

CIL _= Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum

Oceanus and Aracintus(CIL IV.8055)

Severus and Albanus(CIL IV.8056)

SEVERV[S] L XIII. ΛLBΛNVS SC L XIX V.

Severu[s] l(iber) (victoriarum) XIII (missus est). Albanus sc(aevus) l(iber) (victoriarum) XIX v(icit).

Monumentum Eumachiae(CIL IV. 10221)

Crescens (CIL IV. 4353) the netter of nocturnal chicks…………

Gladiator Cemetery Found In York England

Actually, this appears to be the cemetery of the losers in the gladitorial ring. Rome occupied Great Britain between 43 and 410 AD and they brought their culture along with them, including their fun and games. Apparently, that also included gladatorial combat. But these 80 skeletons found in York represent beheaded and mauled combatants, the fellows who might be considered the losers in these battles, for though they were young and buried with some of their personal items they were not buried with the great ceremony of a victorious and retired gladiator. As the scientist in the video clip says, "No Russel Crowes here."The archaeologists caution that they believe that these skeletons might be gladiators, given the evidence but more research is needed.

CIL VI, 10193

Gladiatorial Tombstones

Design Your OwnTombstone for a Gladiator

What to Look For?• Name of Gladiator• Name of Dedicator• Information about Gladiator’s

Career– Age at Death– Number of Victories– Homeland

• Information about the Gladiator’s Family

• Special Features?

Passer (CIL V 1037)

Pardon (CIL, V 3468)

Generosus CIL V, 3465

Glaucus (CIL V, 3466)

Probus CIL II2/7, 363

Antonius Niger (CIL VI, 2 10195)

Iuvenis (CIL V, 2885 )

Ubricus (CIL V, 5933)

Table of Gladiatorial EpitaphsRegion ROME IT(N) IT(S) HISP GALLIA TOT Commemorations by Gladiators coniugi 4 4 filio 1 1libertae 1 1 Commemorations to Gladiators coniunx 3 7 2 6 9 27filius/a patri 1 (1) (1) 1(2)parentes filio 1 1frater 1 1libertus 1 1 2doctor 1 1alumnus 1 1convictor 6 2 2 2(1) 2 14(1)familia 3 1(1) 2 6(1) male to male 1 1 2 4female to male 1 1 no dedicator 15 2 3 2 22 TOTALS 36 13 7 15 16 87___________________________________________________________________________ Spouse Vocabulary coniunx 7 5 2 1 6 21uxor 1 5 1 7conturbernalis 2 2maritus 1 1 Note: Numbers in parentheses indicate shared commemorations.

Design Your OwnTombstone for a Gladiator

What to Look For?• Name of Gladiator• Name of Dedicator• Information about Gladiator’s

Career– Age at Death– Number of Victories– Homeland

• Information about the Gladiator’s Family

• Special Features?

Tom Sienkewicz([email protected])

Monmouth College

ACL 2010