Briefly about gladiators
Ave, Caesar, morituri te salutant
The gladiator (Latin gladiator - “sword-bearer”, from gladius - “sword”, “gladius”) is a phenomenon from Ancient Rome, as everyone knows, who fought of his own free will for money or under coercion in the circuses of the Empire. The gladiator was not completely a slave, but he was not completely free, having a lot of restrictions in his legal status, he could not engage in commerce and politics, which was a very big limitation for Rome. The battles went like this: the equites (horsemen) opened the gladiator fights, fought in the morning, immediately after the ceremonial pomp, preceding the baiting of animals, the execution of criminals and the fights of foot gladiators.
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As you know, the Flavian Amphitheater (lat. Amphitheatrum Flavium), more often called the Colosseum (from lat. colosseus - huge, colossal), was built for gladiatorial fights. The construction of the largest amphitheater of the entire ancient world, with a capacity of over 50 thousand people, was carried out over eight years, as a collective construction of the emperors of the Flavian dynasty. Construction was necessary to erase Nero’s reign from memory, so an amphitheater was built on the site of his park and lake, and the palace was given over to state needs. Construction of the Colosseum began in 72 AD. e. under Emperor Vespasian, and in 80 AD. e. The amphitheater was consecrated by Emperor Titus. In 105 BC. e. gladiatorial games are introduced into the number of public spectacles organized by local authorities; the custom was inherited from the Etruscan funeral rite and ritual combat over the grave. Along with chariot races, gladiatorial games are becoming a favorite spectacle both in the capital and throughout the country. They even aspire to become gladiators, finding this an opportunity to advance in society - gladiators are popular. But the craft is complex: gregarius (gregarius) is a novice gladiator of the same age, literally “herd”, since they were released, as a rule, in a crowd, they trained a lot and hard. They went to a gladiator school, where the lanista was in charge, he bought slaves for his school, taught them, and rented them out to the editor, who organized the games. The profession of a lanista was considered very lucrative, but on the social scale he was listed on a par with the leno (brothel owner, “pimp”) as a “dealer in human flesh.” An editor, also called a “munerarius”, organized gladiator fights at his own expense and was actually involved in promotion and producing his own creative work. After serving as a triton - a student of the gladiator school for a couple of years (depending on talents), you became a tiro - a debutant gladiator in the arena, and then, if you were lucky, a veteran (veteranus) - a gladiator who had fought several fights in the arena. Well, it’s quite lucky to become a rudiarius (rudiarius) - freed and awarded for unusual valor shown in the arena (they say Spartacus was a rudiarius). The name comes from "rudis" - a wooden sword that was given to dismissed gladiators. Often the rudiarii remained gladiators, in which case they were popular with the public. Those rudiarii who left fights could become trainers or judges in the arena.
In 63 AD e. Emperor Nero issued a decree allowing free women to participate in gladiatorial tournaments. Then the courts were ordered to send criminals not “to the arena”, but to hard labor in the mines; this was practiced as an exception rather, so it was recorded as a remarkable event. In 357, Emperor Constantine II banned all Roman soldiers and officers from voluntarily enrolling in gladiatorial schools, due to the disapproval of the Christian Church. In 365, Emperor Valentinian confirmed Constantine's edict prohibiting Roman judges from sentencing criminals "to the arena," and in 399 Emperor Honorius closed the last gladiatorial schools. The final and absolute ban on gladiatorial combat followed again five years later.
In the case when the gladiator was wounded and could not fight, he raised his index finger up, thus asking the public to decide his fate; if the public wanted, he was finished off. There is a widespread myth, which arose from an incorrectly drawn picture, replicated in films, that a “raised finger” meant “life”, and a lowered one meant “death” (in this form, gestures are now used for approval and condemnation), in most ancient games, regardless of direction the protruding finger meant "death", symbolizing the finishing sword, and "Life" simply meant the thumb tucked into the fist, symbolizing the sheathed sword. There is an opinion that the emperor did not lower his finger down, but put it out to the side and, bending his hand, touched his neck with it; the victorious gladiator lowered the prostrate to his knees and, in the event of a death sentence, plunged the blade deep vertically down into the neck, behind the collarbone, piercing the heart.
Equites (eques, “horseman”) - the most revered type of gladiator, directly derived from the name of the class of horsemen - originally a mounted Roman militia, the equite armor consisted of a helmet, a cavalry round parma shield (parma equestris) with a diameter of 60 cm and armor for the forearm (manica ) on the right hand, sometimes the equites wore scale armor (lorica squamata). The helmet had a wide brim, a visor with a grille and no top; feathers were inserted on the sides. Equitus was armed with a hasta spear (hasta) and a gladius. The battle tactics of the Equita resembled the usual tactics of the Roman cavalry, that is, dragoons: having thrown a spear, they dismounted and fought with a sword, exclusively among themselves.
Retiarius (retiarius literally means “fighter with a net”, “networker”) is one of the most common types of gladiators; fortunately, he is light, agile, cheap and can entertain the public for a long time; he did not enjoy special respect from the public. The armament consisted of a long trident (tridens), which was also called a “pitchfork” (furcina), a net (rete, retia) and a pugio dagger (pugio) on the belt. Since the retiarius net was a throwing weapon (jaculum), this type was sometimes also called “jaculator” (iaculator, jaculator), that is, “thrower”. The pugio dagger became very popular over time and it was a status weapon among legionnaires. The retiarius had a small armor: a manica bracer and a developed galley pauldron (galerus), on the left hand, which to some extent protected the neck, from clothing: a bandage on the lower abdomen, a subligaculum, a belt (cingulum or balteus) and windings ( fasciae). The retiarius net had a round shape with a diameter of about 3 m and was equipped with lead weights along the edges, and was possibly attached with a rope to the wrist of the left hand, the purpose was to entangle the enemy in it. With a trident, the retiarii simultaneously attacked the enemy and repelled blows. His opponents were secutors, sometimes myrmilons. Laquearius, laquearius, laqueator “armed lasso”, “arcannik”) - a type of retiarius, the equipment consisted of a lasso (laqueus), a short spear and a dagger.
A secutor (lat. secutor - pursuer) is a type of gladiator who was created specifically for combat with retiarii, armed with a gladius, protected by a helmet, a scutum shield, short greaves on his left leg and a bracer on his right hand. The secutor's helmet had a smooth shape with a crest, without a plume, with a massive visor so that it would not be penetrated by a trident; the helmet was deliberately smoothed so that the net could not cling to it. The battle tactics were as follows: the retiarius ran away, the secutor pursued, the retiarius counterattacked if he could.
Myrmilon, murmilon (presumably from the name of the fish in Greek). Myrmilon's armor consisted of a helmet, a bracer on his right arm, a short (below the knee) greave on his left leg, and a shield - scutum. He did not have a shell, he fought naked to the waist, which made it possible to demonstrate to the public his powerful torso and muscles. The myrmilon helmet had a wide brim, a visor with a grille, and a characteristic fish-shaped crest, which could be plated with silver. Myrmilon fought with the usual sword of the Roman infantry - gladius, from the 2nd-3rd centuries AD. e. the myrmilons received a long sword instead - a spatha and began to be called “myrmillones-spatharii”. Myrmilon's traditional opponent was the Thracian. The “Myrmilon-Thracian” pair was one of the most common during gladiator fights. Less often, the Myrmilons fought with Hoplomachus or Retiarii, but never with each other. Gallus - a type of gladiator of the Republic period, were equipped with a spear, helmet and a small Gallic shield, the armor and weapons of the Gaul gladiators were supposed to resemble Gallic warriors, in the 1st century BC. e. Gaul gladiators “transformed” into myrmilons.
Scutar (scutarius) is a term used to refer to any type of gladiator who wore a scutum shield (myrmilons, secutors, provocateurs).
The Thracian (Thraex from the defeated state of Thrace) is one of the most common types of gladiators. It is certain that this type of gladiator arose as a result of the appearance in the 1st century BC. e. a large number of Thracian prisoners of war. Equipment of this type repeated the national Thracian one: a curved dagger-siko, a helmet that had wide brims, a visor with a grille and a characteristic headpiece in the form of a griffin - one of the symbols of the goddess of revenge Nemesis, quilted windings on both legs, high leggings, a small rectangular strongly curved shield and a bracer on his right hand. Thracian gladiators were considered a pronounced attacking type of fighters prone to close combat; the main rivals of the Thracians in the arena were the myrmilons, sometimes the Thracians also fought with the hoplomachus.
Hoplomachus (hoplomachus from the Greek “armed fighter” or “warrior with a hoplon”) is a fairly common type of gladiator, his equipment imitated the Greek hoplites (heavy infantry familiar to us from the Spartans). The armor of the hoplomachus consisted of a helmet, a small round parma shield or a large legionary shield made of a single sheet of thick bronze, quilted windings on both legs or high greaves (ocree), and a manica bracer on the right hand. The hoplomachus helmet had wide brims, a visor with a lattice, a top with a plume, feathers were inserted on the sides of the helmet, weapons were a hasta spear (hasta) and a pugio dagger. The traditional opponents of the hoplomachus were the Myrmilon or, less commonly, the Thracian.
Parmularius is a term used to refer to any type of gladiator who carried a small shield - a parma (Hoplomachus, Equites, possibly Thracians).
Dimacherus (dimachaerus from the Greek literally means “double saber, with two sabers”) - acted in the Macedonian way, was armed with two curved machaira swords (machaera) or sicam daggers, according to data he was the most dangerous of the gladiators, this is understandable, To act in Macedonian, the highest level of training is required. Dimacher's armor consisted of a helmet, it had a closed visor with bars and wide brims, short leggings and chain mail (lorica hamata). It is not known exactly what type of gladiator was Dimacherus's opponent in the arena.
Samnite (Samnis, plural - Samnites from the Italian region of Samnia, conquered by the Romans in the 3rd century BC) - the most popular type of gladiator of the Republic period. The Samnite armor consisted of a helmet with a visor, with a crest or feathers (galea), a shield (oval or rectangular), a leather greave on the left leg), a manic bracer and a shell; he was armed with a spear and a sword - a gladius.
Pegniarius (paegniarius from "toy", "toy", "comic performance") - a gladiator designed to entertain the public in between fights, were armed only with wooden rudis swords and whips. The protective equipment consisted of a wooden shield and wooden guards on the arms and legs instead of handguards and greaves, and instead of a helmet they wrapped a cloth around the head. Gladiatrix (gladiatrix, plural - gladiatrices) - a female gladiator, usually amused the public as a pegniarius, fought among themselves, they were not allowed to fight real gladiators, it was for some time a fashionable entertainment.
A provocator is a criminal condemned to death, armed with a gladius, known since the time of the Republic. The armor of the provocateur consisted of a bracer on the right hand, a short greave on the left leg, a chest plate-cardiophylax (cardiophylax) in the form of a rectangle or crescent, which was attached to the chest with straps, a helmet and a shield, slightly smaller than the scutum of the myrmilon. At the beginning, the helmet of a provocateur was no different from the helmet of a legionnaire, but from the 2nd century AD. e. gradually evolved into a closed helmet with a visor, which had round, barred holes for the eyes and large brims that protected the neck. There was no plume on the provocateur’s helmet, only feathers were inserted on the sides. From the 2nd-3rd centuries AD. e. gladius is replaced by spatha, provocateurs with it were called “provocateurs-spatarii”. A characteristic feature of the tactics of warfare by provocateurs were constant imaginary retreats with instant counterattacks. The provocateurs fought almost exclusively among themselves, only in some cases their opponents became gladiators of other types.
Crupelarius, crupelarius (crupellarius) - a type of physically strong gladiator, whose armor consisted of a plate shell of a lorica segmentata, manic bracers on both arms and high leggings, the helmet was closed, with slits for the eyes and mouth, reminiscent of a medieval tophelm, armed with a shield - scutum and gladium. They were used in group battles, but without much success due to their clumsiness.
Bestiary (bestiarius from bestia - “beast”, “animal”) - an unpopular, but widespread, often completely unprepared gladiator, intended for combat with predators, they were armed with a spear without armor, they were usually used on criminals sentenced to death. Later bestiaries underwent special training in special schools - “bestiariorums” (scholae bestiarum or bestiariorum) and fought with animals for money; they already had a spear, sword, greaves, bracers and shield.
Velite (veles) - a gladiator armed with darts (hastae velitares), repeated the ancient Roman light infantrymen-velites.
Esedarius (essedarius from essedum - chariots of the Celts) is a gladiator on chariots, nothing really is known about them, but judging by the usual use of chariots, there was a charioteer and an archer or javelin thrower. Perhaps they used scythes like Boudicca (my personal guess is shared with Jeremy Clarkson "they call them covins - on which they use axles equipped with scythes").
Andabata - fought in a helmet without slits for the eyes, or with a single opening - that is, blindly. The Andabats were armed with short daggers; perhaps their armor also included chain mail; the Andabat’s opponent in the arena was another Andabat.
Bustuarius (bustuarius from bustum - “coffin”, “grave”, “burial place, fire”) - a gladiator who participated in funeral games and battles in honor of the deceased.
Caste or cesta (cestus comes from the ancient Roman boxing glove) is a fist fighter, a boxer in the circus arena.
Sagittarius - gladiator archer. He wore a conical helmet and the scaly shell of a lorica squamat, and was armed with a bow (arcus) and arrows (sagittae).
Scissor, scissor (scissor, set - scissores from the word scindo "cut", "creased") or arbelas (arbelas, set - arbelai possibly from the ancient Greek ??????? - shoemaker's knife) - a gladiator armed with a butcher's knife attached to his bracer a knife in the shape of a crescent sharpened on all sides, inflicting shallow but bleeding wounds in the left hand and a gladius in the right, respectively, without a shield. The scysor's armor consisted of a closed helmet, chain mail or plate armor of a loric segmentata, a bracer on the right hand and short greaves, a smooth helmet with a crest in the form of a fish fin. Scisor was one of the most heavily armed types of gladiators (weight 22-26 kg), they fought either among themselves or against the retiarius. That is why the skisor’s helmet was similar to the secutor’s helmet - a streamlined shape with a solid folding visor and small holes for the eyes.
Whether there were any special gladiators to simulate sea battles is unknown, but both on the lakes and ponds, and in the Colosseum itself, before the lower tiers were built there, naumachia, or naumachia (ancient Greek - “sea battle”) - a gladiatorial sea battle - took place revered as a particularly luxurious event. One of the first major naumachia of Julius Caesar was the performance of 46 BC. e., it was a staging of the Battle of Salamis between the fleets of the Greeks and Persians, for which an entire lake was dug on the Campus Martius in Rome. The largest naumachia was the spectacle organized by order of Emperor Claudius: Lake Fucin saw a hundred warships, the number of combatants (convicted criminals) was 19,000 people, they were guarded by several legions.
Therefore, you shouldn’t think that gladiators are guys with six-packs, all eager to go back to their homeland, to chop birch trees and catch oysters. These were well-fed men who wanted fame and money in Rome, citizenship, professional athletes - their closest analogues. They were treated, fed, trained, equipped. The spectacle was far from cinematic - like a football match - you can’t see anything from the distant rows, up close too, but from the VIP box it’s better, that is, if your eyesight is good. The circuses were huge, the provincial ones were much smaller, and the quality of the gladiators was very rural. There are no replays, no screens, announcements that the last minute of the match is underway, the score is 1:1, “Pompeian Krupelarius” is inferior in the series to “Capuan Myrmilon”, and in the overall standings “Herculaneum Scisor” is in the lead, having taken the lead in the standings by five retiarii and two no tiger either. Don’t look at the recording, if they plowed the amphorae to unload overtime for a dozen sesterces, in the amphitheater you can also get any neighbors (however, as now at the stadium, if the match is free). This is not what the movie gladiators were like.
