Training to be a Gladiator

Pollice Verso / with a Turned Thumb, by Jean-Léon Gérôme

So, you want to be a gladiator, eh? Okay, to be fair you may not have had a choice. Around half who take up a life of violence for the amusement of the mob are slaves, convicted criminals, or prisoners of war. But perhaps you're an auctoratus, a freeborn man or woman (women gladiators are rare, but do exist). You may seek the nearest gladiatorial school, called the ludus, as a means of paying off debts, seeking fame and fortune, or you're impoverished and don't wish to starve in the gutter. 

Before you get too excited, there are a few things to clear up. Firstly, you're committing social suicide. It is a weird paradox that gladiators are our 'superstars', with the chance of becoming famous and even wealthy. It is still among the most infamous professions, right up there with prostitutes, undertakers (seriously), executioners, and (gasp) actors! I hope you don't mind becoming an infamis, devoid of rights such as voting, holding public office, providing testimony in legal matters, having a grave or memorial in a respectable place or indeed any of the normal rights of a Roman citizen. Of course, if you're both a woman and poor, you don't have these rights anyway!

Unfortunately, societal bias keeps more women from taking up the blade. Unless you are completely destitute, with no male relatives to prevent you from joining the ludus, forget about it. Those that do become a 'lady of the sand' are given less training and not taken as seriously as their masculine counterparts. Some do still achieve notoriety. Two of the only gladiators whose names are still remembered thousands of years later are a pair of women called Amazon and Achillia, who 'fought to an honourable draw', according to a 2nd century monument.

There's also the misnomer of most bouts being 'to the death'. Gladiators are expensive to house, train, and keep in reasonable health. It is quite the investment for the ludus owner and lanista. Before any games, the sponsor, called an editor, negotiates contracts with each lanista. Rates are paid for each contest, with an added bonus to whoever's faction wins. A small portion of this is sometimes paid to the winning gladiator. Such earnings can be used to purchase a private room within the ludus (paid directly back to the lanista) better food, or personal items. Small statues of Nemesis are quite popular.

The editor pays a deposit to a financial clerk assigned by the local government, who keeps everything legal and ensures Caesar gets his stipend. The deposit cover expenses should a gladiator die. Rates depend on factors like experience of a combatant, their fame, win-loss record, etc. A tiro, or new fighter with zero bouts (a gladiatorial "virgin") may be only worth a few hundred denarii. A veteran with more wins than losses, who fought well even in defeat, could rate 1,000. Lanistae owing renowned gladiators of Empire-wide fame, either unbeaten, or whose defeats are so few they're long forgotten, could demand as much as 10,000, should they die. By comparison, an imperial legionary has earned a wage of 300 denarii per year since the reign of Emperor Domitian, which is considered a respectable wage.

There are still risks involved when using actual weapons with sharp blades and nasty points on the ends. This is why matches are highly regulated, with at least one martial supervising the contest. Each wields a long staff, to keep from having to place themselves between two maddened adversaries wielding sharp instruments!

While fatalities are uncommon, the myth of fights to the death has persisted since Emperor Titus' shenanigans during the opening games of the Flavian Amphitheatre. Rome was having a bastard of a time since the death of his father, Emperor Vespasian. Between another Great Fire in Rome and Vulcan spewing fire from Mount Vesuvius, the gods were not pleased. Nor were the plebs, least of all the  thousands from Pompeii and Herculaneum who managed not to die from inhaling volcanic fumes and ash when their favourite mountain exploded. Titus logically reasoned the best way to appease both deity and peasant was to kill a few thousand imfames in that huge arena funded by treasures nicked from Jerusalem a decade prior.

Gladiators, from the 1st Century Zliten Mosaic

But before you're allowed anywhere near an arena, or indeed past the gates of the ludus, the lanista and his instructors, called doctors (not to be confused with a surgeon, known as a medicus), will test your basic physical conditioning and potential. Those too malnourished, weak of body, or ridden with disease, will be expelled from the ludus. If you're a slave, that means back to the mines, where you'll likely be dead within a few months.

Gladiator School, by Oleh Yolchiiev

Thankfully, you're of reasonable health, or at least are not so shrivelled that some food and exercise won't sort you out. And you at least know the pointy end of the spear or sword goes towards the enemy. You're now ready to pledge the next five years, quite possibly your very life, to the ludus. You and the other applicants swear the Sacramentum Gladiatorum, the oath of the gladiator. It's a rather cheerful refrain. 'I vow to endure to be burned, to be bound, to be beaten, and to be killed by the sword.' 

But don't think you'll be given a sword and allowed to march straight into the nearest arena. Matches are expensive, and you may only fight three times per year. Besides, though you may not be completely withered or disease ridden, you still need to get into proper gladiatorial shape!

All gladiators require immense size, even lighter classes that rely on speed. Press-ups, squats, lunges, and shoulder presses are common strength building exercises. But don't expect to use iron bars that are properly balanced! Boulders and logs with hand holds cut out are your gym equipment. At first glance, you'll think these are torture implements, and you're not wrong. These were constructed by ludus slaves, who don't give a toss whether you get splinters, or if the hand holds are placed symmetrically.  A typical four-day cycle will have one day of moderate strength training, another of heavier lifting, a third of high intensity drills (something posterity refers to as HIIT training (?)). On the fourth 'rest' day, you will still do light strength and limbering exercises. Your cardiovascular conditioning won't be neglected, either. Running is the most practical way to build up lung capacity, and requires no extra equipment.

Training is long and intense. Thankfully, you will be given massages by ludus slaves and expected to bathe daily, so it's not all bad. And you have some of the best medical care in the whole of the Empire. You are an investment, after all. Patricians hire the best veterinarians to look after their horses and livestock, so too will you have the best surgeons mending your wounds. These usually come from the army, so they have lots of experience stitching up broken bodies!

Gladiator after the fight, by Jean-Léon Gérôme

An added perk for more famous gladiators is selling their more intimate services to noble women. An imfamis you may be, but a patrician woman who shags a famous gladiator will be the envy of her girlfriends!

Now, I'm sure you're asking, when do you eat? While you may be given a breakfast of porridge and another small meal at midday, the nutritional focus of the gladiator comes in the great feast every night, after training has worked up a ravenous appetite...and after you've had a wash! Barley porridge is your main staple. Barley is also used as animal fodder and for slaves, reinforcing your place within society and the ludus. Vegetables, especially cabbage, will factor into your diet, along with beans and lentils. Meat is uncommon and reserved for experienced gladiators in the upper tiers. Yes, there is a hierarchy within the ludus, with the primus palus (derived from the army rank of centurion primus pilus) at the very top. These are gladiators who've earned their freedom with many victories, but continue to fight as contract combatants. You can expect fresh meat, fruit, vegetables, cheese, wheat porridge and bread, plus any delicacies they fancy at their table. 

There is a brief period where meat is plentiful, after public games when countless animals are killed in the arena. There is even a gladiator class called the venator, who specialises in beast fights. The hundreds, sometimes thousands of carcasses are butchered and given to the ludus, or sometimes the poor.

Female Venator, by Tracy Mace

The feast lasts until midnight. Everything you consume fuels your body the following day, while also building muscle. Beans and lentils provide muscle building and recovery when meat is scarce, especially in the gargantuan quantities you consume. Even Rome's most notoriously gluttonous (and short-lived) emperor, Vitellius, would struggle to finish a gladiator's supper! And because the public wants their gladiators 'larger than life', aesthetics, and even functionality, will be secondary to muscular bulk. Expect to gain fat as well as muscle. Having some soft subcutaneous tissue helps protect vital organs against blades and blunt trauma. Sure, all this unnatural size and endless training adds stress on the heart over the long-term. But then, no one expects you to be a grey-haired grandparent some day. Retired gladiators are as rare as honest senators. 

But what about combat training? What sort of weapons will you use? Well, the crowd wants variety in their gladiators, lest they become bored. And we cannot have bored plebs, lest they realise how crap their lives are when compared to their patrician rulers. Fat aristocrats keep the mob in check by passing out a free grain dole and tickets to chariot races and gladiatorial matches. The poet, Martial, once coined the phrase, Bread and Circuses. I wonder if it'll catch on?

There are a variety of classes, from the murmillo wearing heavy armour, retiarius with net and trident, the previously mentioned venator animal fighters, and about twenty other classes or sub-classes. Prisoners of war sometimes fight using their native weapons and fighting styles. The crowd loves a little exotic variety! You've been classed as a provocator, the challenger. Your armament is a gladius short sword and scutum rectangular shield. A grieve protects the shin of your lead leg and a padded manica covers your sword forearm. An oversized helmet with visor provides head protection. But don't expect to wear body armour, as that would be just silly! You're not a legionary, after all. Their lives actually matter to Caesar, yours do not.

Provocator and Retiarius, by Tracy Mace

At last, the day has come! After a year of training and waiting for your first match, the former consul, Claudius Severus, is hosting a series of games. You've been selected for the opening bout! Your opponent is a retiarius, also fighting their first match. A feast is prepared the night before, with roast pig and apples! The lanista even arranges prostitutes. Not an expensive one for you; you haven't earned that yet! It's still positive motivation to win glory for both you and your ludus. And should you lose...well, you'd better put on a such a show the crowd gives you the thumbs down, or leave them on earth. Severus is extremely cheap and doesn't want any bouts to the death. But the lanista will not view you kindly should the crowd give the thumbs up, or send him to the gods. Best not to lose.

Now go forth, gladiator, and fight with honour!

Contemporary mosaic of a Secutor vs a Retiarius

Recommended Reading:
If you want a fantastically fun and easy read on the life of a gladiator, I highly recommend Philip Matyszak's:

Seriously, check out Philip on Amazon or wherever you purchase books (#notsponsored I just think his works are awesome).

Then, of course, there's my own novel:

Set between 77 and 80 A.D., we follow a prisoner of war named Verus, from his enslavement in a rock quarry, to being given a chance at life by making a pact with death. In the savagery of blood, sweat, sand, and steel, his soul is forged until he meets his destiny before Emperor Titus in the Flavian Amphitheatre.

Do you like movies books about gladiators? 😄

Next Week: Fitness of the Victorian Era Redcoat

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