Sep 23, 2024 04:48 PM
https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/...-the-death
EXCERPTS: Popular media, such as the 2000 film "Gladiator," often depict Roman gladiators in gory battles that don't end until at least one of the fighters is slain. But in real life, did gladiators really fight to the death?
[...] Gladiator games were reformed after 27 B.C., causing the death rate to decrease, Manas noted. ... "In the 1st century A.D. we know [the] death rate perfectly: the study of the results of gladiator fights painted on the walls of Pompeii say that out of 5 fights, one ended with the death of the loser," Manas said, adding that this death rate probably remained similar during the second century A.D. Although many gladiators were slaves, with the drop in mortality, some free individuals volunteered to become gladiators, Manas added.
We don't know the specific rules that changed after 27 B.C. However, evidence does indicate that a gladiator could surrender by dropping their shield and extending their index finger, Manas said. Additionally, there was a "summa rudis" — a referee — who could enforce rules and stop the fight if a gladiator was on the verge of being killed. If the person holding gladiator fights granted it, the loser would be allowed to leave the arena without further harm. If the person hosting the event insisted on the gladiator being killed, they would have to pay a large sum to the person who provided the gladiators.
[...] This rate of death appears to have increased in the third century A.D., Manas noted. "A greater taste for cruelty became popular among the people, with fights where the loser was not allowed to ask for the pardon becoming customary again," he said. "The sources of the 3rd century suggest that one out of two fights ended with the death of the loser."
[...] Not everyone who went into the arena would have been gladiators, who had been trained and were expected to fight other people. Some were untrained prisoners who had been sentenced to death by being eaten by wild animals... (MORE - missing details)
EXCERPTS: Popular media, such as the 2000 film "Gladiator," often depict Roman gladiators in gory battles that don't end until at least one of the fighters is slain. But in real life, did gladiators really fight to the death?
[...] Gladiator games were reformed after 27 B.C., causing the death rate to decrease, Manas noted. ... "In the 1st century A.D. we know [the] death rate perfectly: the study of the results of gladiator fights painted on the walls of Pompeii say that out of 5 fights, one ended with the death of the loser," Manas said, adding that this death rate probably remained similar during the second century A.D. Although many gladiators were slaves, with the drop in mortality, some free individuals volunteered to become gladiators, Manas added.
We don't know the specific rules that changed after 27 B.C. However, evidence does indicate that a gladiator could surrender by dropping their shield and extending their index finger, Manas said. Additionally, there was a "summa rudis" — a referee — who could enforce rules and stop the fight if a gladiator was on the verge of being killed. If the person holding gladiator fights granted it, the loser would be allowed to leave the arena without further harm. If the person hosting the event insisted on the gladiator being killed, they would have to pay a large sum to the person who provided the gladiators.
[...] This rate of death appears to have increased in the third century A.D., Manas noted. "A greater taste for cruelty became popular among the people, with fights where the loser was not allowed to ask for the pardon becoming customary again," he said. "The sources of the 3rd century suggest that one out of two fights ended with the death of the loser."
[...] Not everyone who went into the arena would have been gladiators, who had been trained and were expected to fight other people. Some were untrained prisoners who had been sentenced to death by being eaten by wild animals... (MORE - missing details)