Gladiators (lat. gladiator, from gladius - sword) - in ancient Rome - prisoners of war, convicted criminals and slaves, specially trained for armed struggle among themselves in the arenas of amphitheatres. The gladiators of ancient Rome usually fought in public to the death. Roman gladiator fights were held first on the days of the most significant religious holidays, and then turned into the most popular entertainment for ordinary citizens. The tradition of gladiator fights has been preserved for more than 700 years.

The life of a gladiator for the most part was short and full of constant fear for his life and risk, without which life itself would probably not be possible. the fate of each gladiator was decided by the battle, after several battles it was clear whether the future and reward awaited the fighter, or an inglorious death in the prime of life. For modern man it is completely incomprehensible how, with such a lifestyle (see the gladiator's lifestyle) and work to the point of wear and tear, some fighters won fight after fight and could win in yati, ten fights in a row.

Gladiator fights were adopted by the Romans from the Greeks, Etruscans and Egyptians and took on the religious character of the sacrifice to the god of war Mars. In the beginning, gladiators were prisoners of war and those sentenced to death. The laws of ancient Rome allowed them to participate in gladiator fights. In case of victory (with the money received), it was possible to redeem one's life. There were cases when citizens, having abandoned their freedom, joined the gladiators in pursuit of fame and money.

In order to become gladiators, it was necessary to take an oath and declare oneself "legally dead". From that moment on, the fighters entered another world, where cruel laws of honor reigned. The first of these was silence. Gladiators communicated in the arena with gestures. The second law is the complete observance of the rules of honor. So, for example, a gladiator who fell to the ground and was conscious of his complete defeat was obliged to remove his protective helmet and put his throat under the opponent's sword or plunge his knife into his own throat. Of course, the audience could always grant mercy to those gladiators who fought valiantly and were liked by the public, but such a pardon was extremely rare.

“We sacrifice the living to feed the dead” - this is how the emperor Caracalla in the 3rd century AD formulated the ideological basis of gladiator fights, which, together with animal persecution, became the bloodiest and cruelest spectacle in the history of mankind. According to Roman beliefs, which they, in turn, borrowed from the Etruscans, atrocities were supposed to appease the souls of the dead. In ancient times, this was the highest honor that grateful heirs could give to a noble ancestor.

However, at first this Etruscan custom took root quite slowly in the life of the Romans during the early Republic, perhaps because they had to work hard and fight a lot, and as entertainment they preferred athletic competitions, horse racing, as well as theatrical performances played directly in the crowd vacationers. Then the Romans could not be called lovers of the contemplation of dying convulsions and the groans of the wounded, since this was more than enough in their daily semi-military life.

But enthusiasts are in any business, and in 264 BC. at the Cow Market in Rome, during the commemoration of Brutus Pere, arranged by his sons Mark and Decimus, a duel of three pairs of gladiators took place (from the Latin word "gladius" - sword). But only after almost 50 years, this spectacle gained a certain scope: already 22 pairs of gladiators for 3 days delighted the eyes of the inhabitants at the funeral games, arranged in memory of the twice consul Mark Aemilius Lepida by his three sons. And only in 105 BC. thanks to the tireless concern of the people's tribunes for the amusement of the Roman mob, which had already begun to take shape as a social class, gladiator fights were introduced into the number of official public spectacles. So the genie was released from the bottle...

By the end of the II century BC. the battles that lasted several days in a row with the participation of more than one hundred gladiators did not surprise anyone. There were also people for whom the maintenance and training of gladiators became a profession. They were called Lanists. The essence of their activity was that they found physically strong slaves in the slave markets, and preferably prisoners of war and even criminals, ransomed them, taught them all the tricks necessary for performing in the arena, and then rented them out to everyone who wanted to arrange gladiator fights.

And yet, the bulk of the professional fighters of the arena were from gladiatorial schools. During the reign of Octavian Augustus (about 10 BC), there were 4 imperial schools in Rome: Great, Morning, where bestiaries were trained - gladiators who fought with wild animals, the Gaulish school and the Dacian school. While studying at the school, all gladiators were well fed and qualifiedly treated. An example of this is the fact that the famous ancient Roman physician Galen worked for a long time at the Great Imperial School.

Gladiators slept in pairs in small closets with an area of ​​4-6 sq.m. The workouts, which lasted from morning to evening, were very intense. Under the guidance of a teacher former gladiator, beginners were trained in fencing. Each of them was given a wooden sword and a shield woven from willow. The blows were practiced on a wooden stake about 180 cm high dug into the ground. initial stage training, the “cadet” had to master the ability to deliver strong and accurate blows to the imaginary chest and head of the enemy, and also not to open up during defense. To strengthen the muscles, the next iron training weapon after the wooden one was specially made 2 times heavier than the combat weapon.

When a beginner has mastered the basics martial art, it, depending on the abilities and physical training, were distributed into specialized groups of one type or another of gladiators. The oldest, classical type that existed until the end of the Republic were the Samnites, named after the people, although conquered by the Romans, but inflicted several military defeats on the latter, for which they were practically exterminated in the 1st century BC. And, nevertheless, it was with their weapons that the Romans supplied their first gladiators. It consisted of a large rectangular shield, a helmet with a high crest and a plume of feathers, a short straight sword and greaves on the left leg. At the beginning of our era, the name "Samnite" was replaced by a secutor (pursuer), although the weapons remained the same. The goplomakhs were very similar to them, with the difference that their shields were large and round.

The rivals of the hoplomakhs and secutors were, as a rule, retiarii - representatives of one of the most technically complex types of this “sport”. Retiarii got this name from their main weapon - a net (from Latin - "rete") with heavy sinkers along the edges. The task of the retiarius was to throw the net in such a way as to entangle the enemy from head to toe, and then finish him off with a trident or dagger. The retiarius had neither a helmet nor a shield - he had to rely only on his own dexterity. The fastest and most coordinated beginners were taken into this group.
The Franks were armed with a small round shield, a small curved sword, greaves on both legs, an iron cuff on the right arm, a helmet with a visor with many holes that covered the entire face.

On the helmets of the Gauls, or murmillons (from the Latin "murma" - fish), a fish was depicted, and their weapons corresponded to the Gaulish. Often the opponents of the murmillons were retiarii, who sang during the fight a song invented in ancient times: “I don’t catch you, I catch fish. Why are you running away from me, Gaul? Essedarii stood somewhat apart - gladiators who fought on war chariots. They were armed with lassoes, slings, bows and clubs. The first Essedarii were British prisoners brought by Julius Caesar from his not very successful British campaign.

The least capable students fell into the indabats. They were armed with only two daggers, without any additional protection, completed this equipment with a helmet with two holes that did not match the eyes at all. Therefore, the indabats were forced to fight each other almost blindly, brandishing their weapons at random. Circus attendants "helped" them, pushing them from behind with red-hot iron rods. The public always had a lot of fun looking at the unfortunate, and this part of the gladiatorial fights was considered by the Romans to be the most amusing.

Gladiators, like Roman soldiers, had their own charter, some historians call it a code of honor, but in fact this is a conventional name. because initially, a gladiator, by definition, was not a free person, and Roman slaves had no concept of honor as such. when a person got into a gladiatorial school, especially if before that he was free, it was necessary for him, in order to be legally considered a gladiator, to perform a number of actions, in many respects, of course, purely formal. gladiators swore an oath and took an oath similar to a military one, according to which they were to be considered “formally dead” and transferred their lives to the property of the gladiator school in which they lived, studied, trained and died.

There were a number of unspoken rules and conventions that every gladiator had to adhere to and not violate them under any circumstances. the gladiator always had to remain silent during the fight - the only way he could contact the audience was through gestures. when the gladiator raised his index finger up - this symbolized a plea for mercy, but if thumb was turned down, this symbolized that the fighter was so seriously wounded, could not continue the fight and asked to finish him off, because he knew that he would die after the battle. the second unspoken points was the observance of certain "rules" of dignity, which can be compared with the rules of the samurai. A fighter - a gladiator had no right to cowardice and fear of death. if the fighter felt that he was dying.

He had to open his face to the enemy, so that he would finish him off, looking at his eyes, or cut his own throat, removing his helmet and opening his face and eyes to the audience, and they should have seen that there was not a drop of fear in them. the third law was that the gladiator could not choose his own opponent, obviously, this was done so that the fighters in the arena would not settle their personal scores and grievances. entering the field, the gladiator did not know until the last with whom he would have to fight.

Among the Roman aristocrats, it became fashionable to have their own personal gladiators, who not only earned the owner money by performing, but also served as personal guards, which was extremely relevant during the civil unrest of the late Republic. In this respect, Julius Caesar outdid everyone, who at one time contained up to 2 thousand gladiator bodyguards, who made up a real army. It must be said that they became gladiators not only under the coercion of a slave owner or by a court sentence to the arena, but also absolutely voluntarily, in pursuit of fame and fortune.

Despite all the dangers of this profession, a simple but strong guy from the Roman social bottom really had a chance to get rich. And although the chances of dying on the blood-soaked sand of the arena were much greater, many took the risk. The most successful of them, in addition to the love of the Roman mob, and sometimes the Roman matrons, received solid cash prizes from fans and organizers of the fights, as well as percentages from bets in bookmakers. In addition, Roman spectators often threw money, jewelry and other expensive trinkets into the arena to the especially beloved winner, which also accounted for a significant share in the income of the circus star. Emperor Nero, for example, once gave the gladiator Spiculus a whole palace. And many of the famous fighters gave fencing lessons to everyone who wanted to, receiving a very decent fee for this.

However, luck in the arena smiled at very few - the audience wanted to see blood and death, so the gladiators had to fight seriously, bringing the crowd to a frenzy.

All these animals in the circuses were the victims of bestiary gradiators. Their training was much longer than the classical gladiators. Pupils of the famous Morning School, which received such a name due to the fact that animal persecution took place in the morning, were taught not only the handling of weapons, but also training, and also introduced them to the characteristics and habits of different animals.

Ancient Roman trainers reached unprecedented heights in their art: bears walked on a tightrope, and lions placed a bestiary under the feet of a driven, but still alive hare, monkeys rode ferocious Hyrcanian hounds, and deer were harnessed to chariots. These amazing tricks were innumerable. But when the satiated crowd demanded blood, fearless venators appeared on the arena (from Latin wenator - hunter), who knew how to kill animals not only with various types of weapons, but also with their bare hands. It was considered the highest chic among them to throw a cloak over the head of a lion or leopard, wrap it up, and then kill the beast with one blow of a sword or spear.

Playing animals against each other was also very popular. The Romans remembered for a long time the fight between the elephant and the rhinoceros, during which the elephant grabbed the broom that was used to sweep the arena, blinded it with the sharp rods of the rhinoceros, and then trampled on the enemy.

Gladiator fights were different. There were fights of single pairs, and sometimes several tens or even hundreds of pairs fought at the same time. Sometimes whole performances were played out in the arena, introduced into the practice of mass entertainment by Julius Caesar. So, in a matter of minutes, grandiose scenery was erected, depicting the walls of Carthage, and gladiators, dressed and armed, like legionnaires and Carthaginians, represented the assault on the city. Or a whole forest of freshly cut trees grew in the arena, and the gladiators depicted the attack of the Germans on the same legionnaires from an ambush. The fantasy of the directors of the ancient Roman shows knew no bounds. And although it was extremely difficult to surprise the Romans with something, the emperor Claudius, who ruled in the middle of the 1st century, succeeded quite well. The naumachia (staging of a naval battle) embodied on his orders was of such a magnitude that it turned out to be capable of capturing the imagination of all the inhabitants of the Eternal City, young and old. Although naumachia were arranged quite rarely, as they were very expensive even for emperors and required careful development.

The first Naumachia was held in 46 BC. Julius Caesar. Then, a huge artificial lake was dug out on the Field of Mars in Rome to conduct a naval battle. This performance was attended by 16 galleys, on which there were 4,000 rowers and 2,000 gladiator soldiers. It seemed that it was no longer possible to arrange a larger spectacle, but in 2 BC. the first Roman emperor Octavian Augustus, after a year of preparation, presented the Romans with naumachia with the participation of 24 ships and 3 thousand soldiers, not counting the rowers, who played out the battle between the Greeks and the Persians at Salamis. Only Emperor Claudius managed to break this record. For the naumachia conceived by him, Futsin Lake, located 80 kilometers from Rome, was chosen. No other nearby body of water simply could accommodate 50 real combat triremes and biremes, the crews of which amounted to 20,000 criminals sentenced to the arena. To do this, Claudius devastated all city prisons, putting on ships everyone who could carry weapons.

And in order to discourage so many criminals gathered in one place from organizing a rebellion, the lake was surrounded by troops. The naval battle took place in that part of the lake where the hills formed a natural amphitheatre. There was no shortage of spectators: about 500 thousand people - almost the entire adult population of Rome, settled down on the slopes.
The ships, divided into two fleets, depicted the confrontation between the Rhodians and the Sicilians. The battle, which began at about 10 am, ended only at four o'clock in the afternoon, when the last "Sicilian" ship surrendered. The Roman historian Tacitus wrote: "The morale of the fighting criminals was not inferior to the morale of real warriors." The waters of the lake were red with blood, not to mention the wounded, only more than 3 thousand people were killed. After the battle, Claudius pardoned all the survivors, with the exception of a few crews who, in his opinion, evaded the battle. The audience was absolutely delighted with what they saw. None of the subsequent emperors managed to “outplay” Claudius. It is no coincidence that literally the whole city mourned his death, because he, like no other, perhaps with the exception of Nero, knew how to entertain the public. And although during his reign Claudius showed himself to be far from being a brilliant statesman, this did not prevent him from being perhaps the most revered emperor among the people.

It was the gladiator fights held in the circus arenas that were the daily and favorite sight of the Romans, who were well versed in the nuances of hand-to-hand combat.

The audience closely followed the course of the duel, noting the slightest changes in the actions of the fighting gladiators.

If one of them was seriously wounded during the duel, he could drop his weapon and raise his hand - with this gesture he asked the audience for mercy. If the audience liked the way he fought, then people raised their thumbs up or simply waved their handkerchiefs while shouting “Let go!”. If they didn’t like it, then the audience put their thumbs down, yelling “Finish!”. The verdict of the crowd was not disputed even by the emperor.

It happened that the fight dragged on, and both wounded gladiators could not defeat each other for a long time. Then the audience could stop the fight themselves and demand from the editor - the organizer of the games - to let both fighters out of the arena. And the editor obeyed the "voice of the people." The same thing happened if the gladiator so pleased the public with his skill and courage that she demanded the immediate handing over of a wooden training sword to him as a symbol of complete liberation not only from fights in the arena, but also from slavery. Of course, this concerned only prisoners of war and slaves, but not volunteers.

The name of the gladiator Flamma has survived to this day, during whose career admiring spectators demanded a wooden sword four times, and he refused all four times! It is possible that Flamma showed such unheard of stubbornness in the pursuit of fame and money. One way or another, but he succeeded, he left the arena voluntarily, more or less unharmed, and in a fairly adulthood and being the owner of a decent fortune.

Gladiator fights were not alien to the most educated people of that time. Cicero, for example, assessed these games as follows: “It is useful for people to see that slaves can fight courageously. If even a simple slave can show courage, then what should the Romans be like? In addition, the games accustom the warlike people to the form of murder and prepare them for war. Pliny, Tacitus and many other prominent Roman writers and thinkers were ardent admirers of circus performances. The only exception was, perhaps, the philosopher Seneca, who in every possible way advocated for their prohibition, which not least led to his forced suicide on the orders of his crowned pupil Nero.
Nearly all Roman emperors sought to outdo each other in grandiosity in order to win the love of the crowd. Emperor Titus at the opening of the Colosseum, which accommodated up to 80 thousand spectators and immediately became the main arena of Ancient Rome, ordered to kill in various ways 17 thousand Jews who had worked on its construction for ten years. And the emperor Commodus, passed the course training in a gladiatorial school, he fought in the arena. All his fights, of course, ended in victories. However, the Romans, who did not like "hack-work" in such an important matter, quickly forced him to end his career as a gladiator. Although Commodus still managed to enter the annals of the games - once he killed five very expensive hippos with well-aimed shots from a bow. Emperor Domitian, being a virtuoso in archery, loved to amuse the audience by hitting the head of a lion or a bear with arrows so that the arrows seemed to become horns for them. And naturally horned animals - deer, bulls, bison, and so on, he killed with a shot in the eye. I must say that the Roman people loved this ruler very much.

Met among the Roman emperors and merry fellows. A very funny story is connected with the name of Gallienus, for example. One jeweler, who sold counterfeit gems and was sentenced to the arena for this, was driven out by the bestiaries to the middle of the circus and placed in front of a closed lion's cage. The unfortunate man, with bated breath, was waiting for an inevitable and, moreover, terrible death, and then the cage door swung open, and a chicken came out of it. Unable to withstand the stress, the jeweler fainted. When the audience laughed enough, Gallienus ordered to announce: "This man was deceiving, therefore he was deceived." Then the jeweler was brought to his senses and released on all four sides.

By the beginning of the 4th century, gladiator fights and animal baiting began to gradually decline. It was a time when the once Great Roman Empire began to literally languish under the blows of numerous "barbarian" tribes. The situation was aggravated by the ongoing economic crisis - the Romans themselves practically did not work, and imported goods were constantly rising in price. Therefore, the Roman emperors of that period had enough worries, in addition to the arrangement of expensive games. And, nevertheless, they continued, although already without the former scope. Finally, gladiator fights were banned 72 years before the fall of the Roman Empire.

An end to the bloody orgies in the arena was put by the Christian Church, which became a serious spiritual and political force in the late Roman Empire. Having withstood terrible persecution in the first 300 years and having lost tens of thousands of the first followers of Christ, all tortured in the same arena, the church in 365 achieved a universal ban on animal baiting in circuses. In 404, the monk Telemachus, intervening in the battle of the gladiators, managed to stop it at the cost of his own life. This event was the last straw that overflowed the patience of the Christian emperor Honorius, who imposed an official ban on fighting.

For historians to this day, the fate of female gladiators remains an unread book. there is no doubt that the cruel customs of the time could allow this. in 2000, all the newspapers of the world proclaimed a sensation: "the remains of a woman - a gladiator were found!". this truly shocking discovery was made by British scientists excavating a study of the Roman period. if earlier, the only thing that proved the fact that women not only could participate in battles, but participated in them, were only the hypotheses of scientists. having studied the pelvic bones and the spine, scientists were able to establish with great certainty that the remains found belong to a woman. after conducting a complex analysis to determine the age, scientists stated the fact that the stakes belong to the Roman period.

The woman died of multiple injuries and may have been involved in a fight with an animal. the Romans professed paganism, and therefore the nature of the Roman religion did not forbid women to "act" i.e. to reincarnate, by means of theatrical play. for the first time, a woman was seen on stage as an actor with a neuron. neuron admired beauty female body and attracted women not only to the performance of songs and theatrical acts on stage, but also to real fights. Gradually, the woman migrated from the theater to the amphitheater. The first gladiator fights in history in honor of the death of a woman were held after the death of Caesar's beloved daughter Julia. there is also information that these games were accompanied by female ritual dances, during which women imitated the fight. Of course, for sure, no one will yet name the names of female gladiators, there are several reasons for this. firstly, when they entered school, they probably received male names, under which they were buried, and secondly, even reading Roman historians, it becomes clear that female fights were more mysterious and sacred ... and, as you know, it is customary not to disclose secrets.

The performance of women - gladiators, which is mentioned by the luminary in the biography of the emperor Domitian (81-96), was already considered something new at that time. In the circus, bloody fights of women - gladiators were organized, in which even women from respectable families participated, which was considered especially shameful. in the 9th year of the reign of Nero, these battles took on incredible proportions. It would be completely wrong to think that the representatives of the gentle sex only in the advanced and emancipated 20th century strove so stubbornly to appropriate everything primordially masculine - behavior, participation in public life, clothes, professions, hobbies. such is the nature of a woman that she always wants what, in theory, should not belong to her. so that already the ancient Greek women made a lot of efforts (up to the risk of losing their lives) in order to get on the forbidden for women Olympic Games, and the ancient Romans adored men's baths and men's rampant lifestyle. moreover, female gladiators sometimes defeated representatives of the stronger sex.

The world has changed, and with it the value orientations of people have changed. when Constantine was the Roman emperor, Christianity grew stronger and gained strength. Gradually, the church became a strong feudal lord, it owned the land and, as a result, seriously influenced state policy.

Constantine himself, the great one, was the first to accept Christianity among the Roman emperors, however, he did this a few minutes before his death. soon Christianity was accepted as a religion equal to Roman paganism, and after that it completely supplanted the pagan ideas of the Romans about the gods, and imposed monotheism. at the gathering of the very first church council, it was decided to fight against the bloody pagan games. those condemned by the highest court were no longer doomed to death and thrown into the arena with predatory bloodthirsty beasts, instead they were charged with forced hard labor.

However, even after the adoption of this edict on the Apennine Peninsula, the priests, with the consent of the emperor, still continued to organize gladiator fights. the priests, whose bread was serving a bloody cult, did not want to part with their familiar and understandable rituals, and gladiator fights almost revived with their light hand. However, in 357, Emperor Constantine II forbade young men liable for military service to join gladiatorial schools, and in 399 the last of them was closed. but it was not so easy to break the habit of seeing death living in society for a long time. five years later, a new imperial decree was needed, decisively and irrevocably prohibiting the organization of both schools and gladiatorial battles. the reason for this was the tragic death of a Christian novice in 404, a certain Telemachus. the monk ran into the arena and tried to calm the fighters, but instead he himself was torn apart by an angry mob. after that, the emperor Hanorius banned gladiatorship. forever.

Telemachus stops the gladiators. Painting by J. Stallert, 1890

And next time I will tell you about the uprising of Spartacus.

sources
http://www.mystic-chel.ru/
http://www.istorya.ru/
http://www.gramotey.com/

And I will remind you of such a controversial topic: And also let's remember The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy is made -

ancient rome gladiator was professional fighter, who specialized in specific weapons and fought in front of an audience in large, purpose-built arenas. Such arenas were built throughout the Roman Empire.

Gladiator fights originated in 105 BC. e. and had the status official competitions before 404 AD e. Fights continued, as a rule, until the death of one of the gladiators. That is why the life expectancy of such fighters was short. And although it was considered prestigious to be a gladiator, most of the fighters were slaves, freed slaves or condemned. Without a doubt, gladiatorial combat was one of the most popular forms of entertainment in ancient Rome.

The Romans believed in many ways in the signs and traditions of their Italian ancestors, the Etruscans. For example, animal sacrifices were used to predict the future, symbolic fascias were used, and gladiator fights were organized. The Etruscans associated competitions of this kind with death rites, so gladiator fights had a certain religious significance for them. Although, the first private gladiatorial competitions took place in 264 BC. e. and organized in memory of the death of his father, later this reason was not taken into account for the organization of official fights. However, traces of religious origin were left by the tradition of finishing off defeated gladiators. In this case, the assistant had to strike the injured gladiator in the forehead. The assistant on duty had to wear a costume representing the costume of the god Hermes, who accompanied the souls to the afterlife or "Charun". The presence of God's messenger and the emperor, accompanied by priests and vestals, showed a kind of pseudo-religious trend in the battles.

Roman gladiator fights provided an opportunity for emperors and wealthy aristocrats to demonstrate their wealth to the population. Fights were organized in honor of military victories, visits of important officials, in honor of birthday celebrations, or simply to distract people from economic and political problems. In the eyes of the public, it was something like entertainment, which literally became a matter of life and death. These hugely popular events took place in all the mass arenas of the Roman Empire. The Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheater) was the largest of them. From 30 to 50 thousand spectators from all walks of Roman society flocked here for the entertainment of bloody spectacles, where wild and exotic animals were hunted, prisoners were executed, religious martyrs were thrown into lion cages, arranged star shows, which were symbols of Roman virtue, honor and courage.

Used all their combat skills, fighting under the motto "kill or be killed". A popular misconception is that the gladiators greeted their emperor at the beginning of each battle with the lines: “Long live the emperor! We, going to death, salute you! However, in reality, these words were spoken in honor of prisoners and those killed in initiated naval battles (Naumachia), which also took place in closed arenas on special occasions.

Most often slaves were gladiators or criminals, also many prisoners of war were forced to perform in the arenas. There were cases when, due to bankruptcy, aristocrats had to earn a living with a sword, for example, Simpronius (Sempronius), a descendant of the powerful Gracchi clan. It should be noted that before the adoption of the law Septimius Severus (Septimius Severus) in 200 AD. BC, women were allowed to fight as gladiators.

Throughout the empire, special gladiatorial schools. There were three such barracks in Rome itself. Capua is one of the barracks, which was especially famous for its gladiators. Throughout the Empire of Peril, agents searched for potential gladiators to meet the ever-increasing demand and fill the schools that were supposed to have a huge turnover of fighters. The conditions in the schools were like a prison - small cages and shackles, however, the food was better (e.g. germinated barley) and also the students got the opportunity to serve them better medical care as they were an expensive investment for the school.

The winners of gladiatorial battles became the favorites of the crowd and were especially popular among women.

The term " Gladiator" comes from the Latin gladiators, after the name of their main weapon, the gladius or short sword. However, there was a wide range of other weapons used in gladiatorial combat. Also, gladiators wore armor and helmets, which, in particular, were examples of great craftsmanship, were richly decorated with decorative ornaments, and crests were decorated with ostrich and peacock feathers. The type of weapons and armor depended on which species the gladiator belonged to.

Types of gladiators

In ancient Rome, there were four main types of gladiators:

• view Samnite, was named after the great Samnite warriors who fought for Rome in the early years of the empire. Interestingly, the Romans used the words "gladiator" and "samnite" as synonyms. One of the best weapons of the Samnite was a sword or spear, a large square shield, and protective armor on the right arm and left leg;
• Thracian gladiator(Thracian) had a short curved sword (sika) and a very small square or round shield (parma), which was substituted to deflect the blows of the enemy;
• gladiator Murmillo, also known as "Fishman", was equipped in the form of a fish - a crest was installed on the helmet. Like the Samnite, he had a short sword and shield, but of the armor there were only linings on the arm and leg;
• at gladiator retiarius there was no helmet, no armor, except for padded shoulder pads. He had a net and a trident as weapons. He tried to confuse his opponent with a net, and then struck with his trident.

Gladiators fought in certain combinations. As a rule, pairs were selected for contrast, which consisted of a slow and well-protected gladiator (Murmillon) against a fast and less protected gladiator (Retiarius).

Other less common types of gladiators were also known with different combinations of weapons and armor, the names of which changed over time. For example, "Samnite" and "Gall" became politically incorrect when these countries became allies. Other types of gladiators included archers, boxers, and bestiaries (armed with a javelin or dagger) who fought wild animals.

Those who lacked the courage to fight were forced to fight using leather whips and red-hot metal rods. However, under the indignant roar of the crowd (from 40 thousand spectators) and the ruthless attack of their opponent, many fought to the end. There were cases of refusal to fight. One of the most famous cases was a gladiatorial duel organized by Quintus Aurelius Symmachus in 401 AD. when the Germanic prisoners who were supposed to fight at the games hanged themselves in their cells instead, thus leaving the Roman population without a spectacle.

If the losing gladiator was not killed on the spot, then he applied for pardon by lowering his weapon and shield and raising his finger. The enemy could be lenient, although there was then a risk of a second meeting in the arena, but this was considered good professional practice. If the emperor was present at the battles, then he made the decision, although the crowd tried to influence his judgments, waving rags and hand gestures - they raised their finger up and shouted “mitte!”, Which meant “let him go”; thumbs down and shouted "iugula!" which meant "execute him".

Winners of fights, especially multiple ones, became the favorites of the crowd and images were created in honor of them on Roman buildings, and they were also popular among the female half of the population of Ancient Rome.

The Pompeii graffiti provides a unique insight into the extent to which gladiators have been accepted by the public. They show gladiators and their number of victories, for example Severu 55. However, the average number of victories was much lower. Sometimes there were fights, when the winners of one fight fought the winners of others, until only one remained alive. The winners were awarded tangible prizes, which included the prestigious victory palm and a silver platter of cash. After many years of victories, the gladiator was granted freedom.

Perhaps one of the most famous gladiators was Spartacus, who led a revolt of gladiators and slaves in 73 BC. e.

Initially, gladiators were people sentenced to death, who had nothing to lose. The statutes of ancient Rome made it possible to fight for freedom and, in case of victory, it was possible to exchange life for finances gained in battle. Then ordinary people who desperately wanted to achieve fame and material well-being joined the gladiator fights. In order to get into the number of fighters, they had to take an oath and become "legally dead." Each person who decided on this was fed high-calorie food free of charge and provided timely treatment. Sponsors of the fights spent a lot of money on the maintenance of gladiators, so it was often very expensive at the show where the fight was fought. There are cases when bloody gladiatorial battles of women were arranged.

gladiator schools

In ancient Rome, there were even special institutions in which gladiators were trained in combat. They could belong to both the state and a private person. The manager of such an institution was called "lanista". In his submission was a staff of teachers teaching fighters fencing, gunsmithing, as well as cooks, doctors and even a funeral team. The daily routine and discipline at the gladiator school were extremely strict.

In some of these institutions, fighting with wild animals was also taught. Such fighters were trained much longer. They were trained in training, habits various kinds animals. Elephants, lions, tigers, bears, panthers, leopards died in the ring along with people.

Classification of gladiators

Ancient Rome was full of gladiator fights, which were first held during church holidays, and then became an integral part of almost everyday entertainment of citizens. There was even a classification of fighters by specialization.

1. Andabats - gladiators who fought on the principle of cavalry competitions, without the right to see an opponent.

2. Bestiaries were originally criminals sentenced to fight with animals. The convicts actually had no chance to survive. Subsequently, these gladiators began to be trained. Armed with darts or, fighters began to often win in such fights.

3. Bustari - gladiators who fought in memory of those who died at ceremonial games.

4. Velites - pedestrian gladiators who fought with darts, a small dagger and a shield.

5. Venators were not gladiators, but were present at every battle. Entertained the audience, using animals. They did tricks: put their hands in the mouth of a lion, rode a camel.

6. Dimachers in the process of fighting had 2 swords with them. A helmet and shield were not allowed.

7. The Gauls were armed with a spear, a small shield and a helmet.

8. Lakvearia. Their task was to catch the enemy with a lasso.

9. Murmillos. On the crest of their helmet was a stylized fish. They are armed with a short sword and a shield.

10. Noxii - criminals who were released to fight each other. Sometimes they were blindfolded, given this or that weapon. The judge or someone from the crowd was allowed to prompt the combatants. However, most often the audience shouted over the instructions and nothing was heard by the fighting.

11. Pregenaries. Speaking first, they "warmed up" the crowd. These gladiators wrapped their bodies in rags and used wooden swords.

12. Provocateurs - armed with gladiuses and gladiator shields, were the only ones who were allowed to protect the body with a cuirass.

13. Rudiarii - fighters who deserved freedom, but decided to remain in the ranks of the gladiators. Awarded with a wooden sword. They became coaches, judges or assistants.

14. Sagittarii fought on horseback, armed with a bow.

15. Scissors - fighters armed with weapons resembling scissors.

16. Tertiary - a substitute player who came on as a substitute if, for some reason, one of the gladiators could not participate in the battle. In other battles, tertiarii fought the winner of the main competition.

17. Equites spent the first half of the battle on horseback, and after the spear with which they were armed was thrown, they continued to fight on their feet with short swords.

18. Cestus - fighters who fought using only cestus - an old analogue of brass knuckles.

The tradition of gladiator fights in the territory of Ancient Rome has been preserved for more than half a millennium.

A popular theory about the origin of gladiatorial combat is that it came from Etruria. But historical documents, such as frescoes, prove otherwise. Gladiator fight originally had a sacred ritual meaning, and originated in Campania. The custom is interpreted in different ways. Some historians believe that a rite of killing the enemy was performed over the coffin of a noble warrior in order to propitiate the gods. As a result of the withering away of the tradition, the ritual turned into battles between two captive rivals. The sword was called gladius, from which the name of the participants in the fight subsequently came.

Variety of gladiators

Gladiators were divided into several types, each of which originally corresponded to one people who were hostile to Rome. The greatest amount of information about retiarii. The retiarius is armed with a net tied to the wrist and a massive trident called a fuscina. In addition, the retiarius usually had a dagger.

Another type of gladiators - mirmillon - is almost the complete opposite of the retiarius. Armed with a heavy scutum shield and a gladius, the myrmillon was a formidable opponent. Myrmillon's weapon - the gladius sword was usually tied to the hand so as not to drop during the battle. A warrior with a medium shield that had a monstrous weight - goplomakh was armed with a short dagger. The shield acted not only as a defense, but could also be used for attack, so that there was no need for a large number of weapons.

The next type of gladiator is the provocateur. His armament was a sword with a straight blade, like a legionary. Most often, gladiators of this type fought against each other, and in exceptional cases their opponent was a fighter of a different type.

Equit weapons are interesting. Equit is a lightly armed rider. From the beginning of the battle, their weapons were spears with a tip in the form of a leaf. If the equite was knocked out of the saddle or his spear broke, the fight continued with the short sword.

Less well-known are such types of gladiators as the andabat (a warrior in a deaf helmet without slits for the eyes), velite, sagittarius and samnite. A few historical sources report that the sagittarius fought powerful bow consisting of several parts. Lakverariy was similar to the retiarius, with the difference that instead of a net he had a lasso and a short spear.

Type of weapon

Despite the rather diverse weapons of gladiators, the gladius sword remained the most famous. Its blade reached a length of 70 cm and a width of about 5 cm. After the beginning of the reign of Augustus, this type of sword was forgotten. He was replaced by the Mainz gladius, which was actively used until the middle of the 1st century AD. The massive sword weighed about 1.5 kg, and its length reached 70-75 cm. Later weapons were the Pompeian-looking gladius. Lightweight 45cm long with 45 degree edges.

Daggers of gladiators had the form of a blade with a wide diamond-shaped blade. The handle was made of bone. The length of the dagger often reached 30 cm. Less information came about thin daggers with a curved blade. Long and thin, they had a uniform bend along the entire length.

As common as the gladius was the gladiatorial spear. The length of the weapon reached 2.3 m. Most often, equites and venators (warriors who fought with wild animals) used spears. Despite many finds of three-bladed finials, historians suggest that the pommel of the gladiatorial spear had a rounded leaf or lancet shape. The three-lobed tip was most likely part of a broken retiarius trident.

Speaking about the weapons of gladiators, one cannot ignore the training swords, which have great importance and symbols of victory - rudis. Rudis was a symbol of victory and the only chance to save a life. The bravest and strongest gladiators who deserved the recognition of the crowd could be released by receiving a wooden sword. The liberated warriors were called rudiarii.

Despite numerous excavations, only the most common types of gladiatorial weapons have come down to us.

It was previously believed that the custom of gladiator fights came to Rome from Etruria. However, the frescoes from Campania2, where the custom was of a religious and ceremonial nature, as well as the testimony of Titus Livius3, allow us to lean towards the version of the Campanian origin of the gladiatorial games. The origin of this custom is variously explained; there is reason to believe that in ancient times it was customary to kill captured enemies over the coffin of a deceased noble warrior, sacrificing them to the gods of the underworld. Subsequently, these cruel sacrifices were probably transformed into ritual fights of people armed with a sword (gladius). The first gladiators were called bustuaries (from "bustum" - a fire on which the body of the deceased was burned)4, which shows the original connection of gladiatorial games (munera) with funerary celebrations, in honor of which the earliest recorded Roman spectacles of 264 BC were organized. dedicated to the funeral of Lucius Junius Brutus5. Over time, gladiatorial games began to be arranged on other occasions; they also entered the program of spectacles during some holidays.

The earliest ruins of amphitheatres that have survived to this day date from the reign of Sulla and were built in the colonies of veteran warriors, located mainly in Campania. The most famous is the amphitheater built in Pompeii, which was colonized around 80 BC. army veterans, whose presence and traditions K. Welch attributed to the primary factor in the development of gladiatorial culture in this territory7. It is absolutely true that interest in gladiator fights in the provinces was supported mainly by three groups of society: legionnaires, veterans, and the Romanized urban elite, as evidenced primarily by the ruins of amphitheaters, as well as finds of small sculptures with a gladiatorial theme in legionary fortresses and colonies8. The interest of the legionnaires in gladiatorial games was stimulated not so much by the thirst for bloody spectacles as by practical interest. From time to time, the training of legionnaires took place not on the territory of the legion camp (campus), but in gladiatorial schools (ludus). In 50 B.C. Julius Caesar planned to build a ludus gladiatorium near his legionary base at Ravenna9, not only for the entertainment of his warriors, but to train them there with the help of experienced instructors (doctores gladiatorum). only in a single method of training fencing with a sword, and besides this, in the use of some similar types of protective weapons. In this regard, it is interesting to consider one of the elements of gladiatorial weapons - a helmet, as the most representative example of a close relationship with army fashion. The constructive similarity of some gladiatorial helmets with those widely used in the 1st century BC is noted. AD in the Roman army with infantry helmets of the Weisenau type. In addition, one can trace the similarity of their decor with the ceremonial cavalry helmets of the same time. Unfortunately, it is not possible to conduct such a comparative analysis over several centuries. The earliest representative sources - gladiatorial reliefs - appear only in the era of the early principate, and the latest mosaics depicting gladiatorial weapons, more or less clearly, date back to the beginning of the 4th century. AD Not all of them, however, depict helmets in such detail as would be necessary for a comparative analysis with the real specimens at our disposal, which almost all belong to the 1st century BC. AD Thus, only for this century there is a sufficient volume of both iconographic and archaeological material. The absence of any visual sources and material finds for the Republican period does not allow us to fully imagine what types of helmets were used by gladiators during the time of Spartacus, and forms a gap in the line of development of the gladiatorial helmet. Nevertheless, a number of signs point to the genetic relationship between wide-brimmed gladiatorial helmets and the Boeotian helmet, which appeared in Greece as early as the 5th century BC. BC The Boeotian helmet was widespread not only in Boeotia, but throughout Greece, as well as throughout the Hellenistic space, up to Bactria. In addition to numerous images of him, several copies were found. The earliest finds were made in Athens10 and Mesopotamia (on the Tigris River)11 and date back to the 4th century BC. BC. From the time of Alexander the Great, cheek pads and plumes appeared on Boeotian helmets, and from the 2nd century. BC. the frontal part of the tulle begins to be decorated with volutes12, which in the future will also be characteristic of gladiatorial helmets.

Roman gladiator weapons

Figurative sources show a wide variety of types of helmets used by gladiators: from an infantry helmet of the Weisenau type, equipped with forehead volutes13, to fully closed ones, reminiscent of a medieval topfhelm14 (Plates I-III). Some types of gladiatorial helmets are presented exclusively in pictorial sources. In addition, on completely narrowly localized groups of monuments. So, for example, I know of at least four images of a rather unusual helmet with a crest that goes from the back of the head to the very chin (bas-relief and relief from Phrygian Hierapolis15, a statuette from the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge16 and a monument from Tatarevo in the Sofia Museum17). All these images come from the east of the Roman Empire, which suggests a local variety of secutor helmets18. The variety of depicted types of helmets deserves their consideration in a separate large work, where it will be necessary to consider in detail all the images at our disposal, and show which of them really reflect real-life helmets, and which are artistic fiction and author's fantasy. Taking all this into account, this article will mainly consider archaeological material. Archaeological finds are few and come mainly from cities on the coast of the Gulf of Naples, destroyed by one of the worst disasters in human history - the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in August 79 AD. e. More than 75% of the finds come from the barracks of gladiators in Pompeii, where, since 1748, the Cavalier Rocco de Alcubierre has been excavating for the Spanish King Charles III. In 1764, a young Spanish engineer, Francesco La Vega, joined the excavations and was the first to draw sketches of the objects found and keep a neat diary of the excavations19. Prior to this, the main style of excavation in Pompeii was treasure hunting. There is evidence that La Vega began to excavate the barracks of the gladiators in the same 1764, and they ended only when the building was completely cleared in 1800. In 1766/7. workers cleared a room in which they found well-preserved weapons of gladiators, conserved with volcanic ash and pumice stone20. To this we must add scattered finds in Herculaneum and its environs (helmets from the Louvre21 and the Berlin Antiquarium22).

Other finds not related to the disaster in the Gulf of Naples come from the Roman frontier. A tinned helmet crown without decoration was found in Houkedon (Suffolk, England)23, a visor in the form of a lattice comes from Aquincum (Budapest)24, a pommel in the form of a griffin was found at the site of the border fortress of the German limes25, and a cheekpiece was found in Xanten26. In addition to these finds, in the museums of the world there are several more helmets identified with the weapons of gladiators. They are held in the collections of the Museum at Castel San Angelo in Rome27, the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto28, the John Woodman Higgins Armory29 and the Detroit Institute of the Arts30.

Typology

Most helmets have fairly wide brim, according to the shape of which M. Junkelmann divides them into two types31. The first, earlier type (type "Chieti G") has horizontal brim around the entire perimeter of the helmet. In the second type (“Pompeii G”), the fields are horizontal only from the sides and behind, and in front they are sharply raised above the forehead, forming a kind of curved visor. The latter type is a transitional variant to a later type, no longer found among the finds in Pompeii. M. Junkelmann calls this type "Berlin G". It has very low (at the level of the neck) horizontal margins at the back and sides and a clear grille visor with almost vertical margins at the front. Added to this are the Provocateur G and Secutor G types.

However, the typology of M. Junkelmann relies exclusively on design features and does not take into account the design features of helmets, which in some cases was standard. All this makes it possible to make the typology of gladiator helmets more detailed, not only to highlight the features, but also, using iconographic material, to try to associate one or another version of the helmet with a certain type of gladiator.

All archaeological finds can be divided into three types with subtypes.

Type I (Plate V, 2; VII, 1-4). The crown resembles an army helmet of the Weizenau type and in most cases is richly ornamented with chased figures. A visor plate is riveted to the forehead part of the crown, as on infantry helmets. The lower edge of the frontal part of the tulle has semicircular cutouts, which, together with the cheekpieces attached to the pins, which had the same semicircular cutouts on their upper edges, formed a solid visor with round eye cutouts, which were closed by round false lattice eyecups. The butt pad is located almost at right angles to the crown and is completely similar to the butt pads of Weizenau-type helmets.

Type II (Plate V, 3; X, 3). The crown is also similar to Weizenau-type infantry helmets and is devoid of any decoration. It is also similar to the crown of helmets of the first type, but does not have semicircular arcuate cutouts on the lower edge of the frontal part, and, in addition, there is a low longitudinal ridge. The visor consists of two halves (cheek pads) attached to the crown on the side hinges and fastened together after putting on the helmet using a centrally located vertical pin plate. Eye slits in the form of small, unprotected round cutouts that significantly limit the view. A clear disadvantage of this type is poor air exchange, since the visor is devoid of any other holes except for the eye slits, and this is clearly not enough. Type III (Plate V, 1). A crown with wide curved fields, to which cheek pads are attached with the help of hinges, and lattice eyecups are attached to them, in turn, with the help of pins. According to the shape of the crest, visor and decor, helmets of this type can be divided into three subtypes.

Option A (Table VIII, 1-3). The crown is decorated with volutes and a mascaron on the forehead. On the sides, in the places where the volutes end, there are bushings for fastening the plume in the form of a bird's feather. The crest of the helmet ends with the image of a griffin's head. According to iconographic sources, this type of helmet is associated with a Thracian gladiator (Thrax) (bronze statuette of a Thracian from the former collection of F. Von Lipperheide32 - now in Hannover - gladiatorial reliefs from the tomb of Lusius Storax, National Museum, Chieti33).

Variant B (Plate VIII, 4; IX, 1-4; X, 1, 2). The top of the helmet is richly decorated with chased images of mythological scenes, various kinds of trophies, scenes of captivity of barbarians, scenes of triumphal processions. The crest of the helmet sometimes also has decoration. On pictorial sources, such helmets are worn by a gladiator-mirmillo (mirmillo) (a bronze statuette of a gladiator from Lillebon, the Museum of Antiquities in Rouen [Plate III]; a bronze statuette from the Berlin Antiquarium34) or hoplomachus (hoplomachus) (a statuette from the Berlin Antiquarium35).

Option C (Table VI; X, 4). Represented by a single copy in the Berlin Antiquarium36, but in a number of cases it is depicted on iconographic sources (for example, a relief from the Berlin Antiquarium37). It differs from the previous version by a large bend of wide fields, a visor in the form of bars over the entire face, as well as a massive crest. It is unfortunate that there is no proven provenance (herculaneum or the Adriatic Sea38 is named as the place of discovery), but comparison with objects from Pompeii and Herculaneum shows a different quality of the Berlin helmet. In contrast to the gladiator weapons, almost completely decorated with figured reliefs, located in the Archaeological Museum in Naples and in the Louvre, the light-dark contrast of the Berlin weapons resembles an elegant example chessboard. This effect was carried out by the fact that the brass of the helmet was tinned and scraped off again until a network of rasters was obtained in every second square of the tin layer. In these places, the initially golden, and now gray-green, patina-covered surface of the tin is visible. Appearing probably in the second quarter of the 1st c. AD, helmets of this variant remained popular until the end of the existence of the gladiator. Judging by the iconographic monuments, in the western part of the Empire during this time they were practically unchanged, while in the Hellenistic East there were some modifications of such helmets (for example, with reduced fields in front).