Who Became Gladiators ?
Initially, only slaves and prisoners of war were made to become gladiators and fight in the arena using their traditional weapons and equipments. Slaves were bought by lanistas, owners of the gladiators, for the sole rationale of making them fight in the bloody gladiatorial combats. |
At times, even the convicts or the condemned criminals were sentenced to die while fighting in the arena. Besides, there were professionals who became gladiators voluntarily. Successful gladiators received huge rewards and riches. It was the lavish lifestyle of successful Roman gladiators that inspired men to risk their lives in the arena.
In the later years, even the Roman Emperors fought gladiatorial combats in the Colosseum to prove their worth. However, the knights and the Senate members were forbidden to take part in combats. This restriction was imposed by the Roman Emperor Augustus to preserve their virtues and pietas. The ban was later lifted by Nero and Caligula, allowing both the classes to become gladiators.
According to Petronius, the Roman spectators preferred gladiatorial combats between free men or the Emperors over those that involved slaves. Condemned criminals, who were sentenced to death for a capital crime, were made to enter the combats without any weapons. Other criminals, slaves, and prisoners of war were trained in gladiatorial schools called Ludi. Some infamous Roman citizens who voluntarily sold themselves to the gladiator owners, lanistas, were called autocrati.
The gladiators were trained in special combat techniques in the gladiatorial training schools. They were allowed to fight with weapons and equipment of their choice and they had to fight 2 to 3 times a year. Some gladiators even survived these combats annually and were awarded freedom thereafter.
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