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Gladiators: Fighting to the Death in Ancient Rome
The gladiator is one of the most enduring figures of Ancient Rome. Heroic, though of lowly status, they fought vicious duels in large arenas filled with baying crowds. The survivor could be either executed (the famous ‘thumbs down’ signal) or spared at the whim of the crowd or the Emperor. Few lasted more than a dozen fights, yet they were a valuable asset to their owners.
But how did they fight and how did their weapons and techniques develop? Who were they? This book gives an entertaining overview of the history of the gladiator, debunking some myths along the way. We learn about the different forms of combat, and the pairings which were designed to carefully balance the strengths and weaknesses of one against the other. The retiarii (with nets) were lightly armed but mobile, the secutores and murmillones were protected but weighed down by their armor. Gladiators also participated in simulated naval battles on large artificial lakes or even in the arena of the Colosseum.
Although their lives were brutal and short, gladiators often were admired for their bravery, endurance, and willingness to die. They were the celebrities of their day. This book reveals what we know and how we know ancient remains, contemporary literature, graffiti, modern attempts to reconstruct ancient fighting techniques and the astonishing discovery at Pompeii where a complete gladiator barracks was found alongside multiple skeletons, telling their story.
Table of Contents
Timeline
Technical glossary
1. Introduction
2. Origins
3. Rise of the gladiators
4. At the peak
5. Hardware and venues
6. Life as a gladiator
7. The end of the gladiators
Sources
Note on Translations
Index
But how did they fight and how did their weapons and techniques develop? Who were they? This book gives an entertaining overview of the history of the gladiator, debunking some myths along the way. We learn about the different forms of combat, and the pairings which were designed to carefully balance the strengths and weaknesses of one against the other. The retiarii (with nets) were lightly armed but mobile, the secutores and murmillones were protected but weighed down by their armor. Gladiators also participated in simulated naval battles on large artificial lakes or even in the arena of the Colosseum.
Although their lives were brutal and short, gladiators often were admired for their bravery, endurance, and willingness to die. They were the celebrities of their day. This book reveals what we know and how we know ancient remains, contemporary literature, graffiti, modern attempts to reconstruct ancient fighting techniques and the astonishing discovery at Pompeii where a complete gladiator barracks was found alongside multiple skeletons, telling their story.
Table of Contents
Timeline
Technical glossary
1. Introduction
2. Origins
3. Rise of the gladiators
4. At the peak
5. Hardware and venues
6. Life as a gladiator
7. The end of the gladiators
Sources
Note on Translations
Index
- GenresHistory
160 pages, Paperback
Published October 19, 2017
4 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
About the author
M.C. Bishop
40 books12 followersM. C. Bishop (Mike Bishop) is a freelance writer, publisher, and archaeologist who – among other things – walks, drives, cycles, flies, tweets, blogs, draws, and photographs Hadrian’s Wall. His particular specialities are Roman arms and armor and the Roman site at Corbridge in Northumberland, but he confesses to being at his happiest when working on articles or books (writing, illustrating, editing, copy-editing, typesetting, proofreading, and indexing!).
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 11, 2024
Barbaric, yes. Fascinating, too.
It's hard to imagine a world in which gladiatorial combat was permissible, even demanded. We can, of course, equate today's mano-a-mano contests - ultimate fighting, boxing, and both amateur and professional wrestling - as near comparisons, but three little words - "to the death" - set gladiators apart. The author carries us through the history, the personalities, into the arenas (a Latin language connection that caught me completely off guard) and even into the graveyards of the gladiators themselves to read their epitaphs. It's a short history, by design, but it's wonderfully perceptive.
The book is well illustrated with some of the best sources we have to truly understand what gladiatorial life was like, the various forms of art that depicted the warriors in their gear and in their contests. Bishop shows that the "sport" did not just pit any two men against each other. Over hundreds of years there were numerous challenges for gladiators, both against each other, with different classes of combatants using their own forms of weapons and armor, and against animals of many kinds. Each emperor tried to outdo the last one, putting on more lavish and decadent shows that reflected their money and their reach; the more exotic the animal, the farther it had to travel, the more powerful the event's sponsor could claim to be.
For me, perhaps the most startling fact about these shows is that they still exist today, in one small, regionally-specific form of entertainment: bullfighting. Two thousand years on, gladiators fight on.
It's hard to imagine a world in which gladiatorial combat was permissible, even demanded. We can, of course, equate today's mano-a-mano contests - ultimate fighting, boxing, and both amateur and professional wrestling - as near comparisons, but three little words - "to the death" - set gladiators apart. The author carries us through the history, the personalities, into the arenas (a Latin language connection that caught me completely off guard) and even into the graveyards of the gladiators themselves to read their epitaphs. It's a short history, by design, but it's wonderfully perceptive.
The book is well illustrated with some of the best sources we have to truly understand what gladiatorial life was like, the various forms of art that depicted the warriors in their gear and in their contests. Bishop shows that the "sport" did not just pit any two men against each other. Over hundreds of years there were numerous challenges for gladiators, both against each other, with different classes of combatants using their own forms of weapons and armor, and against animals of many kinds. Each emperor tried to outdo the last one, putting on more lavish and decadent shows that reflected their money and their reach; the more exotic the animal, the farther it had to travel, the more powerful the event's sponsor could claim to be.
For me, perhaps the most startling fact about these shows is that they still exist today, in one small, regionally-specific form of entertainment: bullfighting. Two thousand years on, gladiators fight on.
June 2, 2018
Not so much a story i.e. a history missing a story as it is a glossary. Very uninspiring. Repetitive.
May 29, 2023
Nüüd, kui kolleeg Volli on kodumaa tolmu jalgelt pühkinud, et soojemas ettevõtluskliimas õnne proovida, on mul kodus kolm riiulitäit temalt päritud ingliskeelset kirjandust juures.
Gladiaatorite teema pole mind iseenesest kunagi huvitanud, aga Junkelmanni viitsisin ilmumise ajal ikka ette võtta. Bishopi raamatu suhtes oli mul üksjagu eelarvamusi, aga kokkuvõttes oli tegemist meeldiva üllatusega. Isegi ajajoon (algab elevantide esmakordse osalemisega triumfikäigus 275 eKr ja lõpeb filmi „Gladiaator“ esilinastusega aastal 2000) on originaalne. BTW, Bishopi märkus selle kohta, et Ridley Scottil õnnestus kõik segi ajada, on ikka täiega asjakohane.
Kui millegi kallal norida, siis gladiaatoritüüpide kirjeldamine tekstikastides on sihuke kaheldava väärtusega trikk. Kisub ka sinna poole, et armatura pole autori kõige tugevam külg. Seevastu gladiaatorimängude areng ja detailid on väga põhjalikult läbi võetud. Bishop märgib (mitte küll esimesena), et tervitust „Ave, imperator, morituri te salutant“ kasutati ainult ühel korral… ja teps mitte gladiaatorite poolt. Kui meie kandis on kombeks merevaiku muus maailmas metsikuks defitsiidiks pidada, siis Nero võis endale lubada luksust kaunistada sellega areenil võitlejate relvi, rääkimata juba laipade transpordiks mõeldud kanderaamidest.
Eriti südamelähedane paistab autorile olevat eksootiliste loomade-lindude teema (ninasarvikud, kaelkirjakud ja jaanalinnud), millest on ikka üksjagu põhjalikult juttu. Ja möödaminnes antud hinnangule Spartacuse ülestõusu kohta võib küll kahe käega alla kirjutada.
Minul tekkis Bishopit lugedes üks isevärki küsimus. Ta mainib Jean-Léon Gérôme’i ülikuulsat maali Pollice Verso (1872), kus kujutatakse Vesta neidiseid eriti entusiastlikult retiaariusele surma nõudmas. Nende verejanu mainib ka Raffaello Giovagnoli oma „Spartacuses“, mis esmakordselt ilmus aasta hiljem. Huvitav, kust selline arusaam pärit on? Bishopi raamatus leidub selle kohta üsna napp tsitaat Prudentiuselt, kes oma eluajal ilmselt ühegi Vesta neitsiga kokku ei sattunud.
Gladiaatorite teema pole mind iseenesest kunagi huvitanud, aga Junkelmanni viitsisin ilmumise ajal ikka ette võtta. Bishopi raamatu suhtes oli mul üksjagu eelarvamusi, aga kokkuvõttes oli tegemist meeldiva üllatusega. Isegi ajajoon (algab elevantide esmakordse osalemisega triumfikäigus 275 eKr ja lõpeb filmi „Gladiaator“ esilinastusega aastal 2000) on originaalne. BTW, Bishopi märkus selle kohta, et Ridley Scottil õnnestus kõik segi ajada, on ikka täiega asjakohane.
Kui millegi kallal norida, siis gladiaatoritüüpide kirjeldamine tekstikastides on sihuke kaheldava väärtusega trikk. Kisub ka sinna poole, et armatura pole autori kõige tugevam külg. Seevastu gladiaatorimängude areng ja detailid on väga põhjalikult läbi võetud. Bishop märgib (mitte küll esimesena), et tervitust „Ave, imperator, morituri te salutant“ kasutati ainult ühel korral… ja teps mitte gladiaatorite poolt. Kui meie kandis on kombeks merevaiku muus maailmas metsikuks defitsiidiks pidada, siis Nero võis endale lubada luksust kaunistada sellega areenil võitlejate relvi, rääkimata juba laipade transpordiks mõeldud kanderaamidest.
Eriti südamelähedane paistab autorile olevat eksootiliste loomade-lindude teema (ninasarvikud, kaelkirjakud ja jaanalinnud), millest on ikka üksjagu põhjalikult juttu. Ja möödaminnes antud hinnangule Spartacuse ülestõusu kohta võib küll kahe käega alla kirjutada.
Minul tekkis Bishopit lugedes üks isevärki küsimus. Ta mainib Jean-Léon Gérôme’i ülikuulsat maali Pollice Verso (1872), kus kujutatakse Vesta neidiseid eriti entusiastlikult retiaariusele surma nõudmas. Nende verejanu mainib ka Raffaello Giovagnoli oma „Spartacuses“, mis esmakordselt ilmus aasta hiljem. Huvitav, kust selline arusaam pärit on? Bishopi raamatus leidub selle kohta üsna napp tsitaat Prudentiuselt, kes oma eluajal ilmselt ühegi Vesta neitsiga kokku ei sattunud.
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