He had more available in Capua but the senate, mindful of the recent Spartacus revolt and fearful of Caesar’s burgeoning private armies and rising popularity, imposed a limit of 320 pairs as the maximum number of gladiators any citizen could keep in Rome. In 65 BC, newly elected curule aedile Julius Caesar held games that he justified as munus to his father, who had been dead for 20 years. Where traditional ludi had been dedicated to a deity, such as Jupiter, the munera could be dedicated to an aristocratic sponsor’s divine or heroic ancestor.
- For example, in the aftermath of the Jewish Revolt, the gladiator schools received an influx of Jews—those rejected for training were sent straight to the arenas as noxii (lit. “hurtful ones”).
- Yet, in the last year of his life, Constantine wrote a letter to the citizens of Hispellum, granting its people the right to celebrate his rule with gladiatorial games.
- Suetonius describes an exceptional munus by Nero, in which no-one was killed, “not even noxii (enemies of the state).”
- From the principate onwards, private citizens could hold munera and own gladiators only with imperial permission, and the role of editor was increasingly tied to state officialdom.
- During the Imperial era, matches advertised as sine missione (usually understood to mean “without reprieve” for the defeated) suggest that missio (the sparing of a defeated gladiator’s life) had become common practice.
- Petitions could be submitted to the editor (as magistrate) in full view of the community.
- A condemned bankrupt or debtor accepted as novice (novicius) could negotiate with his lanista or editor for the partial or complete payment of his debt.
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High status non-Romans, and possibly Romans too, volunteered as his gladiators. The gladiator munus became a morally instructive form of historic enactment in which the only honourable option for the gladiator was to fight well, or else die well. Their Campanian allies stage a dinner entertainment using gladiators who may not be Samnites, but play the Samnite role. There is evidence of it in funeral rites during the Punic Wars of the 3rd century BC, and thereafter it rapidly became an essential feature of politics and social life in the Roman world. Irrespective of their origin, gladiators offered spectators an example of Rome’s martial ethics and, in fighting or dying well, they could inspire admiration and popular acclaim.
- Ordinary citizens, slaves and freedmen were usually buried beyond the town or city limits, to avoid the ritual and physical pollution of the living; professional gladiators had their own, separate cemeteries.
- Martial wrote that “Hermes a gladiator who always drew the crowds means riches for the ticket scalpers”.
- Caesar’s showmanship was unprecedented in scale and expense; he had staged a munus as memorial rather than funeral rite, eroding any practical or meaningful distinction between munus and ludi.
- These were probably both family and public events which included even the noxii, sentenced to die in the arena the following day; and the damnati, who would have at least a slender chance of survival.
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The use of volunteers had a precedent in the Iberian munus of Scipio Africanus; but none of those had lanista been paid. Rome’s military success produced a supply of soldier-prisoners who were redistributed for use in State mines or amphitheatres and for sale on the open market. In the later Republic and early Empire, various “fantasy” types were introduced, and were set against dissimilar but complementary types.
Gladiator
Ludi and munera were accompanied by music, played as interludes, or building to a “frenzied crescendo” during combats, perhaps to heighten the suspense during a gladiator’s appeal; blows may have been accompanied by trumpet-blasts. Referees were usually retired gladiators whose decisions, judgement and discretion were, for the most part, respected; they could stop bouts entirely, or pause them to allow the combatants rest, refreshment and a rub-down. Among the cognoscenti, bravado and skill in combat were esteemed over mere hacking and bloodshed; some gladiators made their careers and reputation from bloodless victories. Combats between experienced, well trained gladiators demonstrated a considerable degree of stagecraft.
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Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their lives and their legal and social standing by appearing in the arena. You can contact us via Live Chat or by writing an email to Whether you love fast-paced video slots, classic table games, massive jackpots, or the thrill of live casino tables, Lanista Casino has something for every kind of player. Lanista Casino supports multiple payment methods including Visa, Mastercard, Bitcoin, Skrill, Neteller, and bank transfers. The casino features titles from industry-leading providers such as Pragmatic Play, NetEnt, Microgaming, and Evolution Gaming.
Their training as gladiators gave them the opportunity to redeem their honour in the munus. Yet, in the last year of his life, Constantine wrote a letter to the citizens of Hispellum, granting its people the right to celebrate his rule with gladiatorial games. Throughout the empire, the greatest and most celebrated games would now be identified with the state-sponsored imperial cult, which furthered public recognition, respect and approval for the emperor’s divine numen, his laws, and his agents. Following Caesar’s assassination and the Roman Civil War, Augustus assumed imperial authority over the games, including munera, and formalised their provision as a civic and religious duty. Thereafter, the gladiator contests formerly restricted to private munera were often included in the state games (ludi) that accompanied the major religious festivals.
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In Rome’s military ethos, enemy soldiers who had surrendered or allowed their own capture and enslavement had been granted an unmerited gift of life. For example, in the aftermath of the Jewish Revolt, the gladiator schools received an influx of Jews—those rejected for training were sent straight to the arenas as noxii (lit. “hurtful ones”). According to Theodoret, the ban was in consequence of Saint Telemachus’ martyrdom by spectators at a gladiator munus. Honorius (r. 395–423) legally ended gladiator games in 399, and again in 404, at least in the Western Roman Empire.
Courage, dignity, altruism and loyalty were morally redemptive; Lucian idealised this principle in his story of Sisinnes, who voluntarily fought as a gladiator, earned 10,000 drachmas and used it to buy freedom for his friend, Toxaris. Having “neither hope nor illusions”, the gladiator could transcend his own debased nature, and disempower death itself by meeting it face to face. Yet, Cicero could also refer to his popularist opponent Clodius, publicly and scathingly, as a bustuarius—literally, a “funeral-man”, implying that Clodius has shown the moral temperament of the lowest sort of gladiator.
In 365, Valentinian I (r. 364–375) threatened to fine a judge who sentenced Christians to the arena and in 384 attempted, like most of his predecessors, to limit the expenses of gladiatora munera. For that reason we forbid those people to be gladiators who by reason of some criminal act were accustomed to deserve this condition and sentence. Still, emperors continued to subsidize the games as a matter of undiminished public interest. Between 108 and 109 AD, Trajan celebrated his Dacian victories using a reported 10,000 gladiators and 11,000 animals over 123 days. Gladiatorial games, usually linked with beast shows, spread throughout the republic and beyond. Caesar’s showmanship was unprecedented in scale and expense; he had staged a munus as memorial rather than funeral rite, eroding any practical or meaningful distinction between munus and ludi.
Roman writing as a whole demonstrates a deep ambivalence towards the gladiatoria munera. In 167 AD, troop depletions by plague and desertion may have prompted Marcus Aurelius to draft gladiators at his own expense. Opposite him on the field, Vitellius’s army was swollen by levies of slaves, plebs and gladiators. In AD 69, the Year of the Four Emperors, Otho’s troops at Bedriacum included 2000 gladiators. As the Republic wore on, the term of military service increased from ten to the sixteen years formalised by Augustus in the Principate.
