L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2019 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano A day in the life of… Gladiators G ladiators: the stars of the ancient Roman world: but it's not gold all that glitters. Before Pompeii and Hercola- neum were rediscovered by archaeologists in the 18th centu- ry, we knew relatively little about them and the way they lived, but today, also thanks to the findings coming from these two cities, we can reconstruct fairly well the way these enter- tainment-warriors were selected, perceived by the public and trained. Who were they? First of all, gladiators were not a prerogative of the Romans: indeed, sources tell us that the Etruscans, too, had a penchant for arena fights, a way to enter- tain but also a window for the rich and famous of the time to show off their wealth and power. In this, our cousins the Etruscans were not much different from our forefathers, the Romans, who used gladiatorial games as a way for the Emperor to display power, riches and, often, his right of life and death upon other human beings. Mind, in Roman times gladiators also had a pretty strong political role: rulers used them and their combats to sweet- en up common people and bring away their attention from more pressing issues such as high taxes, lack of food, poverty, another war to fight. Thanks to archeological research, we know today that Roman gladiators were usually aged between 20 and 35 and had an average height of 1.68 meters (around 5ft5in): do you think they are tiny? Well, not for those times, when the average height for a man was just that. But the first question to ask ourselves is: who were gladia- tors and where did they come from? Well, there is a fairly widespread misconception they were exclusively war prisoners and slaves forced into fighting for the sake of Roman pleasure, but sources tell us a fairly differ- ent story. If, indeed, a great part of them had been captured dur- ing combat and forced into becoming an arena hero (a bit like the way you see in the movie Gladiator, with Russell Crowe, where his best fighter friend was a captured enemy warrior), there is proof quite a good amount of free, Roman men decided to take up this dan- gerous carrier. Dangerous, yes: because you virtually risked your life every time you went to work, but the rewards could be incredi- ble, if you were good and lucky. Free gladiators came usually from Rome's poorer social stra- ta, and saw the arena as a way to gain prestige, popularity and, first and foremost, wealth: the best gladiators were protected by noble families, received lavish gifts and could in fact lead a pretty glamorous lifestyle. Many of them, it seems, were also favorites in the bedrooms of Rome's most powerful Matrons: it is even said that Eppia, wife of a Roman senator, abandoned her husband to be with a gladiator. Living as a gladiator In many a way, gladiators in Rome were like modern day ath- letes. They bonded during train- ing and fighting and often shared profound friendships, to the point official unions called colle- gia were formed. Collegia took care of many aspects of the life of gladiators, including the expenses related to their funeral and burial, should they die dur- ing a combat, and financial com- pensation for their family. If you wanted — or were selected — to become a gladia- tor, you had to attend one of the Empire's gladiatorial school, the most important of which was in Capua. And, just as it happens today with footballers or other athletes, there were bona fide tal- ent scouts cruising the Empire, looking for fresh talent to add to their "teams." If you were a free man, they'd entice you to become a fighter with tales of wealth and status; if you were a slave or a prisoner, you had no choice but go with them. Life in the gladiatorial school was very strict: all men had to train daily and it was not all about fight- ing. Indeed, the first months were dedicated to become "gladi- ator fit," which means physical exercise and strain could become rather excruciating. They all fol- lowed a healthy, three-meal-per- day diet, which is thought to have included fruit, vegetables, cheese, grains and meat, although recent archaeological findings appear to prove many gladiators were, in fact, vegetari- ans. But the comparison with mod- ern athletes ends pretty much here: all gladiators attending school had to sleep and spend all of their free time in shackles and they were freed from them only while training and eating. They would fight four to five times a year, and most of them special- ized in specific types of combat. A harsh life, for sure, but the rewards were worthy in the eye of a vast majority of them, because gladiators were the Empire's stars: they endorsed products, their portraits were placed in public places, children had toys — often clay figurines — modeled after them. They were, we said, also considered great lovers and Roman women thought their sweat was aphro- disiac. Little curiosities about our fighting heroes Gladiators have always been very popular characters of Roman history: they embody strength, courage and have also a good deal of sex appeal, as we have seen. But there are many things we believe about them that are not as true as we think. For instance, not all gladiators were men: women liked their fighting, too. Contrarily to men, though, their vast majority chose to become fighters freely, attract- ed by the lifestyle and by the allure of the arena. There is also a lot to say about the gladiators and death: while the risk of not ending up alive at the end of a combat was certainly high, death in the gladiatorial arena was not as common as many of us may have learned from history books and tv; indeed, gladiators were only part of the arena entertain- ment offered during the games, which usually involved also ani- mal fights and, alas, executions. This meant that people got their need for blood and gore out of the way by the time gladiators came "on stage," which often allowed them to end up their fights alive, even if they lost. Last but not least, our gladiators had their own energy drinks, too: apparently, they would mix together water, vinegar and wood ashes to create an reinvigorating concoction, the chemical traces of which were found in the bones of gladiators analyzed few years ago by the people of the Medical University of Vienna. Gladiators, this is how they were: strong, idolized, at the centre of attention. And not necessarily slaves and prisoners FRANCESCA BEZZONE LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE

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