The deepening political divide in the U.S.
Indeed, an Olympic Games under Emperor Septimius Severus that included traditional Greek female athletics was met with cat-calls and jeers, and their appearance in Roman histories is extremely rare, invariably being described by observers as everything from exotic to abhorrent.įrom 200 AD female gladiatorial performances were banned on the basis that they were unseemly. Some regarded gladiatrices as a symptom of corrupted Roman sensibilities, morals and womanhood. Gladiatrices offered a rare and opposing view of femininity that was perceived by some to be exotic, novel and sexually titillating. In contrast, women in ancient Rome traditionally occupied conservative roles within the home and were dressed modestly. They fought each other, people with physical disabilities and occasionally wild boars and lions. Gladiatrices wore loincloths and fought bare-chested, and they used the same weapons, armour and shields as male gladiators. Some may have trained under private tutors at official youth organisations where young men of over 14 years could learn ‘manly’ skills, including the basic arts of war. There is no evidence of a formalised training school or similar for gladiatrices.
This indicates that discrimination was primarily class-based rather than gender-based. Roman morality thus required that all gladiators be of the lowest social classes.Īs such, gladiatrices were typically low-status (non-citizen) women, who may have been slaves or emancipated slaves (freedwomen). ‘Ludus Magnus’, a gladiatorial school in Rome.Īs a result, all who appeared in the arena could be declared infames, which limited the participation of high-status women in the games but would have made little difference to those already defined as one. In 19 AD, this was extended to include equities and women of citizen rank. In 22 BC, it was ruled that all men of the senatorial class were prohibited from participating in the games on the penalty of infamia, which involved loss of social status and certain legal rights. Gladiatrices were lower class and had little formal trainingĪncient Rome prescribed a number of legal and moral codes to gladiators and gladiatrices. As a result, gladiatrices became increasingly popular during the late Roman Republic, with their presence sometimes being regarded as proof of the host’s high status and enormous wealth. Female gladiators encapsulated all three, since they were rare, androgynous and were radically different to most women within ancient Roman society, who had to dress and behave in a more conservative fashion. The ancient Romans loved novelty, the exotic and the outrageous. Gladiators were divided into different categories depending on their weapons and fighting styles, and some achieved widespread fame. In ancient Rome, gladiatorial fights were popular and widespread throughout the Roman Empire, and they were attended by everyone from the poorest members of society to the emperor. However, female gladiators – known as ‘gladiatrices’ – existed and, like their male counterparts, they fought each other or wild animals to entertain audiences. The image of a gladiator in ancient Rome is traditionally male.