Gladiator

[Lat. a swordsman, from gladius, a sword.) (Roman Hist.) A name applied to those persons who, without quarrel, fought with each other in the public arena, for the amusement of the public. The custom originated in Etruria, where such fights took the place of the human sacrifices, which had previously been customary at the funeral ceremonies of distinguished persons, but it spread rapidly throughout Italy, and in Capua especially became an established amusement of the populacs. The first appearance of the gladiatorial games ( mun us gladiator i us ) in Rome, was B. C. 265. They soon became so popular, that in the imperial times they had become one of the favorite amusements of the people, and were lavishly bestowed upon them by such ædiles, prætors, consuls, and emperors, as wished to gain, or to retain the favor of the populace. B. c. 183, at the funeral of Quinctius Varro, 120 gladiators fought to the death, and August us decreed that this number should never be exceeded; but before his time even still greater numbers had appeared upon the arena. and the number of combatants was greatly increased under the emperors Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Trajan, Adrian, and Commodus, the last of whom appeared himself in the character of G. in the arena. Under Trajan, gladiatorial fights and combats of wild animals, (the latter often conjoined with the former,) were kept up for 123 days, during which time 11,000 beasts were slain, and over 10,000 G. fought. In ancient times, the Forum was the usual place for such spectacles; but on occasions of burial, they were fought immediately in front of the funeral pyre by gladiators, thence called Bustuarii. In later days, amphitheatres were erected. The Gi's were originally slaves, for the most part captives in war. They were maintained and drilled in bands ( familia ) at Rome and other cities, particularly at Capua and Ravenna, in special establishments ( lud i gladiator i i ), under the charge of overseers ( lanista ), some of whom made it a profitable busine by the hire or sale of G.'s , and others stood at the same time in the pay of wealthy politicians, to whom the po e ion of large numbers of G.'s was something more than a matter of mere amusement. Thus Clodius and Milo carried on their contest through G.'s. Cæsar at Capua had over 5,000 of them in his pay, against whom Pompey was first obliged to defend himself, at the outbreak of the civil war. Though the G's were at first only armed with swords, yet in later days, many diff ere rent kinds of them were distinguished according to their mode of fighting, armor, . The mirmillo was armed with a buckler and a short sword, and bore on his casque the figure of the fish mirmillo, whence his name; -the retiarius , who fought against him, had a trident in the right hand, and in the other a net, with which he strove to entangle the head of his opponent; the e e dari us, who fought from a chariot ( e edum ); - the aud abates, or equestres , who fought on horseback; - the bestiarii , who fought with wild beasts, . The games were announced in advance by means of placards ( li bell i ), and usually began with blunted weapons, but with the excitement of the multitude, these were thrown aside, and the G. fought for life. When a G. was severely wounded, he threw down his arms and remained at the mercy of the conqueror, who killed him unle the spectators opposed it; if they raised their hands, turning the thumb downwards, it was a sign that they wished his life spared; but if they raised the thumb, he was slain. The arrival of the emperor was also a signal of mercy to the vanquished. After 3 years of service, the gladiators were allowed to retire from the arena, in token of which discharge, they were presented with a wooden foil ( rud is ) and a palm of silver. These cruel sports, after a continuance of over 600 years, were inter dicted by Const an tine the Great, A. D. 326; but they were not finally abolished until the time of Honor i us, A. D. 402. The ancients have left us sundry beautiful statues of gladiators, the two most celebrated of which are the Borghese Gladiator , and the Dying Gladiator , both at Rome. Gladiatorial, Glad i a to'rian, a . [Lat. gladia tori us.] Pertaining to gladiators, or to the ancient combats of men in the Roman arena.