Roman Blood Gladiator

Gladiators are professional fighters who entertain viewers in violent and bloody confrontations in Ancient Rome. Although the Gladiators were taken from slaves, or criminals, but the Gladiators who were successful in battle received the same attention as celebrities today, so the ideals of being a Gladiator became a magnet for the lower classes of society.

The Origin of the Gladiatorial Fight

The gladiators originally appeared at the Etruscan cemetery (the person who first occupied Rome), as part of a ritual to provide bodyguards to people who have died. Therefore, the fight usually causes the fighters to die.

Meanwhile, Roman historian Titus Livius (Livy) said the gladiatorial battle was first held in 310 BC by the Campanians, in the context of celebrating the victory over the Samnites.

Undeniably, Rome adopted many Etruscan rituals. For example in 264 BC, when the family of M. Brutus seriously celebrated the funeral with a gladiatorial battle. From then on, funerals that were presented by gladiators became ordinary and large. Gladiatorial schools and types of battles were growing rapidly.

Gladiator Classes
There are various classes of gladiators that are distinguished by their battle equipment or models. In the hand to hand combat model there is a Samnite class that fights with national weapons - large shields, visors, feathered helmets, and short swords. Thraces that use small round bucklers and sickle-like daggers; they are generally pitted against mirmillone, who wear Gaul clothing with helmets, swords and shields. The name mirmillone is taken from the name of the fish that symbolizes their helmets.

There are also fighters who use horses, such as Andabatae who are believed to fight on horseback and wear helmets with closed visors - to fight with their eyes closed; dimachaeri ("man of two knives") who carry short swords in each hand; and essedarii who fought off trains like the ancient English.


In addition to fighting against fellow gladiators, gladiators sometimes also have to face wild animals like lions and fight criminals.

The Way of the Gladiator Fight
The signal for gladiatorial battles is marked by the sound of trumpets and those who show fear are driven into the arena with whips and hot iron. When a gladiator was injured, the audience shouted "Habet" (He was injured); if he is under enemy power, he will raise his index finger to beg for clemency from the people.

If the audience supports compassion, they wave their handkerchiefs, but if they want the death of a conquered gladiator, they turn their thumbs down. (This is a popular view; another view is that those who want the death of the defeated gladiator point their thumbs at their chest as a signal to stab him, and those who hope he will avoid turning their thumbs down as a signal to drop the sword.)

Development of the Gladiatorial Fight
The cruelty that must be accepted by the gladiators resulted in a revolution to oppose this show. In 73-71 BC, a gladiator named Spartacus led the slave revolution in southern Italy. He managed to obtain several victories over the Roman army, until finally stopped by Marcus Licinius Crassus

The development of the gladiators reached a peak at the end of the Republic, when the candidates held large performances for public pleasure and political influence, which culminated in the election of Julius Caesar as aedile in 65 BC.

He held a large-scale celebration, complete with more than 300 pairs of gladiators. From then on, the contest became an important part of imperial control of the Roman masses, satisfying the thirst of the Romans for action and releasing their frustration.

However, the gladiator is actually not a major part of the gambling (public games are held many times throughout the year in Rome). Instead, the battle was staged privately by powerful families. The authorities are expected to provide the same entertainment as the grandeur of their government.

The August Emperor (27 BC-14 AD) overhauled the gladiatorial grip which was previously part of a funeral ritual, becoming a sport of entertainment for people. This policy was then followed by his successor.

In 80 AD, Emperor Titus (79-81 AD) inaugurated the Colosseum with a series of elaborate ceremonies and gladiatorial performances that lasted for 100 days. The Colosseum itself is a circular arena where around 50,000-70,000 eyes witness the death battle.

One of the rulers known to be very fond of gladiatorial performances was Trajan (98-117 AD). He celebrated his victory in the Dacian War by presenting 5000 gladiators in the Colloseum. He really liked the show and his government was recorded because of the show.

Some authorities even participated in gladiatorial performances, such as Hadrian, Caligula and Commodus.

With the advent of Christianity, gladiatorial performances began to fall into disorder. Christians strongly oppose the show and even consider it part of a pagan ritual. Emperor Constantine I finally abolished the gladiatorial battle in 326 AD

But Constantine's policy did not immediately eliminate gladiators completely. Throughout the fourth century stricter laws were passed, until finally around 399 Honorius ordered the last gladiatorial school to be closed.