Gladiators are an endless source of inspiration for modern TV and cinema. Russell Crowe’s Gladiator (2000) was the first to bring the ‘sword and sandal’ epic back into fashion, with his gladiator Maximus battling for his life and honour in the Colosseum. However, Maximus was a fictional character. Spartacus is the only one of the real life Roman gladiators who is really well known, mainly because of films such as the eponymous Kirk Douglas classic and more recently HBO’s “Blood and Sand,” “Vengeance,” and “War of the Damned” (2012).

Spartacus is famous because of his sensational story, but the stories of other gladiators do survive in ancient literature and archaeology. They may not be as exciting and dramatic as that of Spartacus but they reveal something of the real lives of Rome’s other gods of the arena.

 

The Free Volunteer: Marcus Attilius.

Not every gladiator was a slave. A series of graffiti scenes outside the Nucerian gate at Pompeii record the names of some Pompeian gladiators who competed in games at Nola. Most had single names which identified them as slaves. But one of the gladiators bore the praenomen (first name) and the gens or clan name of a free man. His name was Marcus Attilius.

Why would a free man ‘put his life’s blood up for sale’ in the words of Livy and take to the arena? True, gladiators were regarded as the Roman equivalent of rock stars by some. But they were also reviled and tainted by the blood they spilled. Not only was a free volunteer required sacrifice his self-autonomy for the period of his contract, but he also gave up his civil rights and his honor.

It is most likely that Marcus Attilius took to the arena because he needed the money-desperately. Whatever the reasons for his choice, the graffiti tells us a great deal about his career in the arena. He is depicted with a gladius, long shield and short shin plates protecting his legs, making him a murmillo. The graffiti also tells us the number of contests fought and won by the gladiators. In Attilius’s case, the Nola games were his first. He was matched against Hilarius, a slave and veteran of the arena with fourteen fights under his belt, twelve of them victories. Remarkably, Attilius won this fight.

It seems his luck continued for he won his next fight too, against yet another victorious gladiator. Given his evident skill with the sword, perhaps Attilius was an ex-soldier fallen upon hard times.

The Husband and Father: Urbicus.

Most gladiators were part of burial clubs who ensured their remains were interred with respect. For most ordinary gladiators, those graves would be marked with a simple stone stating their names and perhaps the number of their fights. But the stars of the arena could afford something more detailed to ensure their immortality. It is gravestones like these which give us information about the gladiator’s lives not just in but outside the arena.

One, whose inscription is recorded in the Inscriptions Latinae Selectee preserves the story of Urbicus, a gladiator from Florence. Before his defeat and death, Urbicus was a primus palus, a champion gladiator who had survived 13 fights. But Urbicus was also a family man. His gravestone shows he was married to a woman called Lauricia for 7 years and had two young daughters Olympia and Fortunensis.

From his name, we can deduce that Urbicius probably began his career as a servile gladiator. But by the time he died, he was a freeman. The clue here is the fact that he was married at all, for slaves could not contract recognized unions.

 

The Survivor: Sergius.

Not every gladiator died in the arena. Some, such as Flavius Sigerus of Caesarea, continued as gladiators until forced to retire- In Sigerus’s case at the age of sixty. On the whole, however, life for the survivors was not easy. Like Sigerius, most who achieved their freedom would sign up again or else become trainers.   This was because once they ceased to be a gladiator, they became nothing.

For those survivors rendered unfit for the arena by injury, their prospects in life were pretty bleak. Juvenal’s Satire VI gives an account of a gladiator, Sergius who eloped with a senator’s wife, Eppia. Eppia sacrificed not only her husband but her family and honor to leave with Sergius for Alexandria –all because, according to Juvenal, he was a gladiator.

Sergius, however, had little else going for him. He must have been a success in the arena because he survived until 40. But his time as a gladiator was over. Besides damage to his face from his helmet and a weeping eye, he had an injured arm that forced his retirement.

Finding a wealthy lover was a stroke of luck for Sergius. But Juvenal warns that the ex-gladiators luck may well run out for now that he had left the arena, his allure would soon wear off since he has lost his sole attraction-his profession.

The Suicides.

Not everyone embraced the life of a gladiator. Seneca tells the tragic story of two servile gladiators who chose suicide over the arena. One, a German, who had been trained as a beastiarii suffocated himself in the latrines just before a fight by swallowing one of the sponges used by the Romans instead of toilet paper. The other deliberately broke his neck in the wheels of the cart taking him to the arena.

Sources.

Cooley, A E and M G L, (2004) Pompeii: A Sourcebook. Routledge: London and New York.

Meijer, F, (2003) The Gladiators: History’s Most Deadly Sport. Souvenir Press: London

Juvenal, Satire VI, The Sixteen Satires.

Seneca, 70, 20-23 Letters