Gladiator

The main reason for the emergence of gladiatorial games was a funeral rite borrowed from the Etruscans , similar to the ancient sumo wrestling in Japan. The potential victims of human sacrifices - not only slaves , but also free ones - had to fight with swords in their hands near the grave, and thus the weak died, and the strong survived, causing excitement of those present. Many slaves voluntarily tried to get into the school of gladiators, since by fighting in the arena and gaining the respect of the public, they could gain freedom. Often, slaves started fights among themselves, so as to show their strength to the owners. In the school of gladiators, beginners expected severe training, many could not cope with the heavy load.

In 105 BC e. gladiatorial games are entered into the number of public spectacles. From now on, the state entrusts its magistrates with the care of their dispensation. Gladiator games are becoming a favorite sight both in the capital and throughout the country, and this is quickly taken into account by those who want to advance. Caesar in 65 BC e. gave games in which 320 pairs of gladiators took part. His enemies were afraid: not only these armed fellows were terrible; it was scary that luxurious games became a sure way to gain the favor of the people and secure their votes in the elections. In 63 BC e. at the suggestion of Cicero , a law was passed prohibiting a candidate for magistrate from “giving gladiators” for two years before the election. No one, however, could forbid a private person to “give” them under the pretext of a funeral for his relative, especially if the latter bequeathed to his heir to arrange games.

In the year 63 A.D. e. Emperor Nero issued a decree allowing free women to participate in gladiatorial tournaments. In 66, Nero arranged an expensive performance in the city of Puteoli in honor of the Armenian king Tiridat I , in which Ethiopians, including women, participated. And the emperor Domitian in 89 brings to the arena of dwarf gladiators.

In 325, Constantine the Great convened the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea , in every way contributing to the spread of Christianity; in the same year, he published in Beria (now Beirut ) his edict, condemning the "bloody merrymaking" in the entire Roman Empire.

From now on, courts were ordered to send criminals not to the arena, but to hard labor in mines. However, it seems that the emperor’s edict primarily affected the eastern provinces of the Empire. On the Apennine Peninsula itself, where gladiatorial games had appeared at one time, Konstantin himself helped to abolish his own edict, giving priests in Umbria and Etruria , as an exception, the right to organize such games, and after that the gladiatorial games began to revive everywhere.

Despite this, the Christian church stubbornly continued to push for a final ban on bloody fun. In 357, Emperor Constantine II forbade all Roman soldiers and officers to voluntarily enter gladiatorial schools. Eight years later, in 365, Emperor Valentinian confirmed the edict of Constantine forbidding Roman judges to sentence criminals “to the arena,” and in 399, Emperor Honorius closed the last gladiator schools. The final and absolute prohibition of gladiatorial combat followed again five years later.

The reason for this was the case described by Bishop Theodorite of Cyrus (c. 393-460 after CE). In 404, a certain Telemachus , a Christian monk from Asia Minor, jumped into the arena and rushed between the fighting, trying to separate them. This pious zeal cost him his life: an angry mob attacked the peacemaker and tore him apart. However, Telemachus' sacrifice was not in vain: under the impression of his martyrdom, Emperor Honorius forever forbade gladiatorial games.

In the case when the gladiator was injured and could not fight, he raised his index finger up, thus asking the public to decide his fate. Depending on the opinion of the crowd, the winner had to finish off the recumbent or leave him alive if he deserved to live with valiant resistance. In games held in Rome itself, the crowd “voted” with gestures that changed over time. If the gladiator was able to impress the public with his military stature, they could have mercy. Noble Romans staging fights could have mercy on the gladiator, but to preserve the life of each gladiator was shameful for them, as they could be considered mean.

Although it is widely believed that the “ raised finger ” meant “life” and the omitted one meant “death” (in this form gestures are now used for approval and condemnation), in most ancient games, regardless of the direction, the protruded finger meant “death”, symbolizing the killer sword, and "Life" meant simply hidden his thumb into a fist , symbolizing the sword in its sheath. Not the least role was played by cries with wishes. The conviction that the mob of ancient Roman mob granted the life or death to the defeated gladiator by turning the thumb up or down arose after the appearance of the painting “ Pollice verso” by the artist Jean-Leon Jerome based on an incorrectly interpreted Latin text ^[1] .

Also many researchers ^{[ who? ]} come to the conclusion that the emperor did not lower his finger down, but put it to the side and, bending his arm, touched his neck. The fact is that the victorious gladiator lowered the defeated man to his knees and, in the case of a death sentence, plunged the blade deep vertically down into the neck, behind the collarbone, piercing the heart. Thus the emperor literally indicated where to strike.

The gladiatorial naval battles were called Navachias .

• Andabat (from the Greek word " άναβαται " - "raised, elevated"). They were dressed in chain mail, like eastern cavalry ( cataphracts ), and helmets with visors without slits for the eyes. Andabats fought each other in much the same way as knights in medieval knightly tournaments , but without the ability to see each other.
• Bestiary . Armed with a dart or dagger, these fighters were initially not gladiators, but criminals ( noxia ) sentenced to battle with predatory animals, with a high probability of death of the condemned. Later, the bestiaries became well-trained gladiators specializing in battles with various exotic predators using darts. The battles were organized in such a way that the animals had little chance of defeating the bestiary.
• Bustoire . These gladiators fought in honor of the deceased at ritual games during the funeral rite.
• Dimacher (from the Greek " διμάχαιρος " - "wearing two daggers"). Two swords were used, one in each hand ^[2] . They fought without a helmet and shield. They were dressed in a short soft tunic, hands and feet bandaged with tight bandages, sometimes wore leggings .
• Equit ("rider"). In early descriptions, these lightly armed gladiators wore scaly armor, wore a medium-sized round cavalry shield ( parma equestris ), a helmet with fields, without a crest, but with two decorative tassels. During the time of the Empire, they wore armor for the forearm ( manic ) on the right hand, sleeveless tunic (which distinguished them from other gladiators who fought with a naked torso), and a belt. Equites started the battle on horseback, but after they threw their spear ( hastu ), they dismounted and continued the battle with a short sword ( gladius ). Usually, equites fought only with other equites ^[3] .
• Gall . They were equipped with a spear, a helmet and a small Gallic shield.
• Goplomakh (from the Greek " ὁπλομάχος " - "armed fighter"). A fairly common type of gladiator. He imitated Greek hoplites with his equipment. The word hoplomachus itself comes from the Greek ὁπλομάχος ("armed fighter" or "warrior with a hoplon"). Goplomakh’s armor consisted of a helmet, a small round parma shield or a large legionnaire shield made of one sheet of thick bronze (samples from Pompeii were preserved), quilted windings (fasciae) on both legs or high leggings (ocreae), armor for the manic forearm on right hand. The goplomakh helmet had wide fields, a visor with a grill, and the upper head with a plume. Feathers were inserted on the sides of the helmet. Armed with a goplomakh, it was a hasta-spear (hasta) and a dagger- pugio . The spear allowed the goplomakh to wage a battle at a long distance. In case of loss of a spear, the goplomakh passed into close combat, fought with a dagger. The traditional opponents of goplomakh were myrmilon or, more rarely, the Thracian ^[4] .
• Laquarius ("a fighter with a lasso"). The lacquers could be a kind of retiarios who tried to catch their rivals with the help of a lasso ( laqueus ) instead of a net ^[2] .
• Murmillon . They wore a helmet with a stylized fish on the crest (from the Latin “ murmillos ” - “sea fish”), as well as manic, a loincloth and a belt, I put on my right foot, thick windings covering the top of the foot, and very short armor with a recess for stuffing on at the top of the foot. The Murmillons were armed with a gladius (40-50 cm in length) and a large rectangular shield of Roman legionnaires ( scutum ). They were put up for battle against the Thracians , retarians , sometimes also against the Goplomakhs ^[5] .
• Pegniarius . They used a whip , a club and a shield, which was attached to the left hand with straps.
• Provocateur ("applicant"). Their uniforms could be different, depending on the nature of the games. They were depicted dressed in a loincloth, a belt, a long waist on the left foot, a manic on the right hand, and a helmet with a visor, without fields and a crest, but with feathers on each side. They were the only gladiators protected by a cuirass ( cardiophylax ), which was first rectangular, then often rounded. The arms of the provocateurs were a gladius and a large rectangular shield. They were exposed to battles with Samnites or other provocateurs ^[6] .
• Retiarius (“fighter with the net”). Appeared at the dawn of the Empire. They were armed with a trident , a dagger and a net. In addition to the loincloth supported by a wide belt ( balteus ) and large armor on the left shoulder joint, the retiree did not have any clothes, including a helmet. Sometimes a metal shield ( galerus ) was used to protect the neck and lower face. There were retarians who played female roles in the arena ( “retiarius tunicatus” ), which differed from ordinary retarians in that they were dressed in tunic ^[7] . Retarians usually fought with secateurs , but sometimes with murmillons ^[8] .
• Rudiarium . Gladiators who deserve to be liberated (awarded with a wooden sword called rudis ) but choose to remain gladiators. Not all Rudiarians continued to fight in the arena, there was a special hierarchy among them: they could be coaches, assistants, judges, fighters, etc. Rudiary fighters were very popular among the public, as they had great experience and could be expected from them real show.
• Sagittarius . Horseback archers armed with a flexible bow capable of firing an arrow over a long distance.
• Summit . The Samnites, an ancient type of heavily armed fighters who disappeared in the early imperial period, indicated by their name the origin of gladiatorial battles. Historical Samnites were an influential union of Italian tribes living in the Campania region south of Rome, against which the Romans waged wars from 326 to 291 BC. e. The equipment of the Samnites was a scutum, a feather-decorated helmet, a short sword, and, possibly, a knife on the left leg ^[9] .
• Sec . This type of fighter was specifically intended for retarium battles. The secateurs were a kind of murmillons and were equipped with similar armor and weapons, including a middle oval shield and a gladius. Their helmet, however, covered his entire face, except for two eye openings, in order to protect his face from the sharp trident of their opponent. The helmet was almost round and smooth, so that the retiary network could not catch on him ^[10] .
• Scissor ("the one who cuts", "cutting"). A gladiator who was armed with a short sword (gladius) and instead of a shield had a cutting weapon resembling scissors (in fact two small swords that had one handle) or, in another scenario, put an iron hollow rod with a sharp horizontal tip on his left hand. With this cutting weapon, the skissor struck, which led to frivolous wounds of the opponent, but the wounds bleed very much (several vessels were cut, which naturally caused fountains of blood). The rest of the squissor was similar to a sector, except for the additional protection of the right hand (from the shoulder to the elbow), which consisted of many iron plates fastened together by strong leather laces. The helmet and protective ammunition of the secateurs and skisors were the same:
• Tertiary (also called " suppositicius " - "substitute"). In some competitions, three gladiators participated. First, the first two fought each other, then the winner of this battle fought the third, who was called the tertiary. The tertiary also replaced if the gladiator declared for the fight for one reason or another could not enter the arena.
• Thracian . The Thracians were equipped with the same armor as the goplomahs. They had a large helmet covering their entire heads and decorated with a stylized griffin on the forehead or on the front of the crest (the griffin was a symbol of the goddess of retribution Nemesis ), a small round or flattened shield ( parmula ), and two large greaves. Their weapon was a Thracian curved sword ( sicca , about 34 cm long). They usually fought with murmillons or goplomakhami ^[10] .
• Venator . They specialized in demonstrative hunting of animals, without fighting them in close combat, like bestiaries . Venators also performed tricks with animals: they put their hand in the mouth of a lion; riding a camel, holding a number of lions on a leash; forced an elephant to walk on a rope (Seneca Ep. 85.41). Strictly speaking, the venators were not gladiators, but their performances were part of the gladiatorial battles.
• Pregenarium . They performed at the beginning of the competition to “warm up” the crowd. They used wooden swords ( rudis ) and wrapped cloth around the body. Their contractions took place to the accompaniment of cymbals , pipes and water organs ( hydraulis ).
• Essedarius (“chariot fighter”, from the Latin name for the Celtic chariot - essed ). Perhaps they were first brought to Rome by Julius Caesar from Britain . Essedaria are mentioned in many descriptions from the 1st century AD. e. Since there are no images of the Essedaries, nothing is known about their armament and manner of warfare ^[2] .

• Coliseum
• Amphitheater of Marc Anthony Gordian in Tisdra (El Jem, Tunisia ) - the second largest amphitheater after the Coliseum
• Arena di Verona - now turned into an open air opera site, one of the symbols of Verona
• Arenas of Lutetia
• Amphitheater of Pula in Croatia. According to some reports, this amphitheater is one of the best preserved to our days after the Coliseum
• Amphitheater in Pompeii - the oldest known amphitheater

Also preserved arenas of gladiatorial battles in various cities of Italy and in the territory of many Mediterranean countries.

• One of the most famous gladiators is Spartak . Companions of Spartacus: ^[11]
  • Crixus . Crix's Helpers:
    • Guy Gannicus
    • Cast
  • Enomai
  • Publipor , the only survivor of Spartacus, later joined Lucius Sergius Catiline.
• The Roman emperor Commodus loved to fight in the arena as a gladiator (spent 735 battles) ^[12] .
• Flamma - a gladiator-secutor from Syria

The Aztecs fought in which the intended victim was beaten off with the help of imaginary weapons from four soldiers armed with real weapons who fought as if the intended victim was really armed ^[13] .

• “Androclus and the Lion” - a film directed by Chester Erskine and Nicholas Ray (USA, 1952)
• "Spartacus" - a film directed by Riccardo Fred (Italy, 1953)
• "Demetrius and the Gladiators" - a film directed by Delmer Daves (USA, 1954)
• “The Last Days of Pompeii” - a film directed by Sergio Corbucci and Sergio Leone (Italy, 1959)
• "Spartak" - a film directed by Stanley Kubrick (USA, 1960)
• “The Barabbas the Robber” - film directed by Richard Fleischer (USA, Italy, 1961)
• “Son of Spartacus” - film directed by Sergio Corbucci (Italy, 1962)
• “The Fall of the Roman Empire" - film directed by Anthony Mann (USA, 1964)
• “Two Gladiators” - a film directed by Mario Cayano (Italy, 1964)
• “Spartacus and 10 Gladiators” - film directed by Nick Nostro (Italy, 1964)
• “The Triumph of Ten Gladiators” - a film directed by Nick Nostro (Italy, 1965)
• "The Last Days of Pompeii" - a series directed by Peter R. Hunt (Great Britain, USA, Italy, 1984)
• "Gladiator" - a feature film directed by Ridley Scott (USA, 2000)
• Gladiatrix is a feature film directed by Timur Bekmambetov (USA, Russia, 2001)
• “The Last Gladiator” - feature film directed by Jorgo Papavasiliu (Germany, 2003)
• “Spartak” - a film directed by Robert Dornhelm (USA, 2004)
• "Empire" - a series of directors John Gray , Kim Manners , Greg Yaytansa (USA, 2005)
• “Spartacus: Blood and Sand” - series directed by Stephen S. De Knight (USA, 2010)
• “Spartacus: Gods of the Arena” - series directed by Stephen S. De Knight (USA, 2011)
• Spartak: Revenge - TV series directed by Stephen C. De Knight (USA, 2012)
• “Spartacus: War of the Damned” - series directed by Stephen S. De Knight (USA, 2013)
• Pompeii is a catastrophe film directed by Paul W. S. Anderson (USA - Canada - Germany, 2014)

• Spartak Ballet - Aram Khachaturian's Ballet (1956)
• “ Colosseum ” - a song of the group “Aria” (2002)
• Deadly Warrior (Season 1) (Episode 1) - The Gladiator Fought Against Apache (2009)

• Ludus magnus
• Female gladiators
• Rise of Spartacus

• Goroncharovsky V.A. Arena and Blood: Roman gladiators between life and death . - SPb. : Petersburg Oriental Studies, 2009. - 256 p. - (Militaria Antiqua). - 2000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-85803-393-6 .
• Losev A.F. Gladiators // Hellenistic-Roman aesthetics of the 1st — 2nd centuries n e. - M .: Publishing house of Moscow State University, 1979. - S. 45–55.
• Matthews Rupert. Gladiators / Per. from English N.V. Mikelishvili. - M.: Book World, 2006. - 320 p.: Ill. - ISBN 5-486-00803-1 .
• Nosov K. S. Gladiators. - M .: Eksmo, 2010 .-- 224 p.: Ill. - (Military history of mankind). - ISBN 978-5-699-41317-1 .
• Paolucci Fabrizio. Gladiators. Doomed to death / Per. with ital. - M .: Niola-Press, 2010 .-- 128 p .: ill. - (Secrets of the story). - ISBN 978-5-366-00578-4 .
• Hefling Helmut. The Romans, slaves, gladiators: Spartacus at the gates of Rome / Per. with him., after and comm. E.V. Lyapustina. - M.: Thought, 1992 .-- 270 p.: Ill. - ISBN 5-244-00596-0 .

• Junkelmann, Marcus. Familia Gladiatoria: The Heroes of the Amphitheater // Gladiators and Caesars: The Power of Spectacle in Ancient Rome / Eckart Köhne, Cornelia Ewigleben, Ralph Jackson. - Berkeley - Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2000 .-- P. 31-74. - 153 p. - ISBN 0520227980 .
• Wisdom, Stephen. Gladiators: 100 BC – AD 200 . - Osprey Publishing, 2001 .-- 64 p. - ISBN 9781841762999 .
• Nossov, Konstantin. Gladiator: Rome's bloody spectacle . - Osprey Publishing, 2009 .-- 208 p. - ISBN 9781846034725 .

• Voloshin D. A. Gladiatorial battles as a political mass spectacle and a means of “social training” (Rome of the era of the empire) (neopr.) . Center for Antiquity YarSU. Date of treatment July 23, 2017.
• Hopkins K. Murderous Games: Gladiatorial Contests in Ancient Rome . History Today. - Published in History Today Volume 33 Issue 6 June 1983. Date accessed July 23, 2017.