Tom Sienkewicz (Monmouth College)
Gladiators in the Latin Classroom
ACL 2009
Gladiator Packet
Table of Contents
Bibliography on Roman Sports
Bibliography on Roman Gladiators
Some Gladiatorial Vocabulary
Some Short Phrases to Start
Martial V, 24 on a Gladiator Called Hermes
Some Roman Literary Evidence about Gladiators
Female Gladiators
Gladiators in Epigraphy
Classroom Activities
Bibliography on Roman Sports
Auguet, J. K. Cruelty and Civilization: The Roman Games. London 1972 (Paris 1970)
Balsdon, J. P. V. D. Life and Leisure in Ancient Rome. New York 1960
Brown, Shelby “Death as Decoration: Scenes from the Arena on Roman Domestic Mosaics,” in Amy Richlin ed.,
Pornography and Representation in Greece and Rome. Oxford UP 1992
Barton, C. A. The Sorrows of the Ancient Romans. Princeton 1992
Benario, H. “Sport at Rome,” Ancient World 7 (1983) 39-43
Booth, A. D. “Roman Attitudes to Physical Education,” Classical News & Views 19 (1975) 27-34
Briggs, W. “Augustan Athletics and the Games of Aeneid V,” Stadion 1.2 (1975) 267-83
Buchanan, D. Roman Sport and Entertainment. 1975
Cameron, A. Circus Factions. Oxford 1976
Friedlaender, L. Roman Life and Manners. 7th ed., New York 1905
Grant, M. Gladiators. London 1967
Harris, H. A., Sport in Greece and Rome (London 1972)
Hopkins, Keith. “Murderous Games,” in Conquerors and Slaves. Cambridge 1982
___________. Death and Renewal. Cambridge, 1983
Humphrey, J. H. Roman Circuses. Berkeley and Los Angeles 1986
Jacobelli, Luciana, Gladiators in Pompeii (Los Angeles: Getty Publications 2003) [Gladiatori a Pompeii (Roma:
Bretschneider 2003)]
Koenig, Jason, Athletics and Literature in the Roman Empire (Cambridge: CUP 2005)
Kyle, Donald G. Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World. Wiley-Blackwell, 2006
Potter, D.S. and D. J. Mattingly (edd.), Life, Death, and Entertainment in the Roman Empire [Review: W. J. Slater
JRA 13 (2000) 483-484]
Rawson, E. “Discrimina Ordinum: the Lex Julia Theatralis,” Papers of the British School at Rome 55 (1987) 83-14.
Scanlon, Thomas F., Greek and Roman Athletics. Chicago: Ares, 1984
Strauss, Barry. The Spartacus War. New York: Simon & Shuster, 2009.
Welch, K. “The Roman Arena in late-Republican Italy: a new interpretation,” Journal of Roman Archaeology 7
(1994) 59-79
Welch, K. “The Stadium at Aphrodisias,” AJA 102 (1998) 547 -569
Welch, K. “Negotiating Roman Spectacle Architecture in the Greek World: Athens and Corinth,” B. Bergmann and
C. Kondoleon eds., The Art of Ancient Spectacle (Studies in the History of Art, Washington DC, 1998 or 1999)
Wiedemann, Thomas Emperors and Gladiators. Routledge: New York and London 1992
Wistrand, Magnus Entertainment and Violence in Ancient Rome. Studia Graeca et Latina Gothoburgensia LVI 1992
Tom Sienkewicz (Monmouth College)
Gladiators in the Latin Classroom
ACL 2009
Bibliography on Roman Gladiators
Roman Literary Sources
Cicero. Prō Milōne 34
Tusculānae Disputātiōnēs. 2.17.41
Philippiae 3.14.35
Cyprian. Ad Donatum 7
Epistulae 10.5
Juvenal. Satirae 6.78-81; 8.183-210
Livy. Historiae 21.42-43
Martial. Liber dē Spectāculīs, esp. VI
Epigrammata, V, 24
Petronius. Satyricon 117
Pliny. Nātūrālēs Historiae. VII.12.10.52-55;
VII.20.81
Seneca. Epistulae 7.4-5; 30.8; 37.1-2; 70.6-7;
70.21; 71.21-23
Dē Tranquillitāte 11.1-6; 11.3-5
Dē Īrā 2.8.2
Suetonius. Life of Domitian 4.1
Life of Claudius 21.10
Statius. Silvae I, vi.51-56
Tacitus. Annālēs 1.2; 3.65.2; 11.21.1; 15.32.3
Tertullian. Dē Spectāculīs, esp. 22
Sourcebooks:
Futrell, Alison The Roman Games. Blackwell. 2006
Mahoney, Anne Roman Sports and Spectacle: A Sourcebook Focus, 2001
Websites
Classics Technology Center. “The Roman Gladiator.”
http://ablemedia.com/ctcweb/consortium/gladiators.html
McManus, Barbara. VRoma. “Arena: Gladiatorial Games.”
http://vroma.rhodes.edu/~bmcmanus/arena.html
Bibliography:
Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Corpus Inscriptionum Latinorum
http://cil.bbaw.de/cil_en/index_en.html
Colini, A.M. and L. Cozza. Ludus Magnus. Rome, 1962
Espérandieu, M.Em. Inscriptions Latines de Gaule. Paris, 1929
Garcia y Bellido, A. Lapidas funerarias de gladiatodores de Hispania. In Archivo español de Arquelogia
XXXIII (1960), 123-144 = L'Année Épigraphique 1962, #44-58.
Grant, Michael. Gladiators. London, 1967.
Gregori, Gian Luca. Epigrafia Anfiteatrale dell' Occidente Romano. II. Regiones Italiae VI-XI (includes
Umbria, Etruria, Aemilia, Liguria, Venetia, Histria, and Transpadana). Rome, 1989.
Lugli, Guiseppe. Itinerario De Roma Antica. Milan, 1970.
Mau, August. Pompeii. Its Life and Art. New York, 1899.
Richardson, L. Jr. Pompeii. An Architectural History. Baltimore, 1988.
Robert, Louis. Les gladiateurs dans l'orient grec. Paris, 1940.
Tumolesi, Patrizia Sabbatini. Epifrafia Anfiteatrale dell' Occidente Romano. I. Roma. Rome, 1988.
__________. Gladiatorum Paria. Rome, 1980.
Ville, Georges. La gladiature en occident des origines à la mort de Domitien. Rome, 1981.
Tom Sienkewicz (Monmouth College)
Gladiators in the Latin Classroom
ACL 2009
Some Gladiatorial Vocabulary
tīrō, -ōnis m.:
veterānus,- ī m.:
lanista, -ae m.:
armātūra, ae f.:
Myrmillo, - ōnis m.:
Samnīs, -ītis m.:
secūtor, -ōris m.:
Thraex, Thrācis m.:
rētiārius, -iī m.:
essedarius, -iī m.:
familia, -ae f.:
ludus, -ī m.:
ludia, -ae f.
ēditor,-ōris m.:
prōcūrātor, -ōris
missio, -iōnis f.
palma, -ae f.
rudis, rudis f.
vēnātiō, -ōnis f.
vēnātor, -ōris m.
a gladiatorial recruit
gladiator who had fought at least once
a gladiatorial trainer, manager of a troop of gladiators
armament, gladiatorial equipment
heavily-armed footman with a fish on his helmets (see more below)
heavily-armed footman (see more below)
heavily-armed footman
light-armed footman bearing a shield and reversed sickle (see more
below)
unhelmeted footman armed with only tunic, net, trident and dagger (see
more below)
chariot fighter
a troop of gladiators
a place of residence and training of gladiators
female gladiator; women associated with gladiators; "a female slave
attached to a gladiatorial ludus" (OLD)
sponsor of the games who would contract with a lūdus for a troop of
gladiators to perform”. Also called ēditor muneris or dominus
m. imperial magistrate in charge of the games
permission given to gladiators to stop fighting in the arena. The same
word was used for a military discharge.
palm given to a victorious gladiator
wooden sword or staff given to a gladiator retiring permanently from
action
animal hunt in the arena
animal hunter in the arena
Samnīs, Samnītis m. Samnite, named after the mode of armor and weapons of the Samnites, an
Italic people Rome conquered early in her history. A heavily armed and armored fighter,
equipped with helmet (galea, -ae f.), oblong shield (scūtum, -ī n.), sword (gladius, -iī m.),
wide leather belt (balteus, -eī m.) and metal greave (ōcrea, -ae f.) on the left leg only.
Eventually this gladiator came to be called a secūtor, secūtōris m. chaser.
Mirmillō, -ōnis m. Mirmillo. Armed like a Samnite, but with a special, fish-shaped helmet.
Rētiārius, -iī m. Netter. This fighter was protected only with a shoulder guard (on left side only).
For attacking, he carried a trident and a net and was often pitted against a Samnite or a
Mirmillo.
Thrāx, Thrācis n. Thracian. A fighter with lighter armor, including a helmet and greaves on both
legs. With a bare torso and an arm guard (manica, -ae f. ) on his right arm, he carried a small
shield (parmula, -ae f.) in in one hand and a short sword (sīca, -ae f. ) in the other.
Tom Sienkewicz (Monmouth College)
Gladiators in the Latin Classroom
ACL 2009
Some Short Phrases to Start
Avē, imperātor. Moritūrī tē salūtant!
Pollice Versō
quondam hī cornicinēs et municipalis harēnae
perpetuī comitēs nōtaeque per oppida buccae
mūnera nunc ēdunt et, versō pollice vulgus
cum iubet, occīdunt populāriter
Juvenal. Satire III.34-37
Gladiātōrēs Pugnantēs
Pollice Verso (1824-1904)
Sacrāmentum Gladiātōrum
“With a Turned Thumb” painting, 1872
This oath is based upon one sworn by several characters
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Jean
comparing themselves to “real gladiators” in Petronius’
-Leon_Gerome_Pollice_Verso.jpg
Satyricon (117):
In verba Eumolpī sacrāmentum iurāvimus: ūrī, vincīrī, verberārī, ferrōque necārī, . . . ,
tamquam lēgitimī gladiātōrēs dominō corpora animāsque
religiōsissimē addicimus.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:
JeanVenerable Bede
Leon_Gerome_Pollice_Verso.jpg
And here is a famous quote from the Venerable Bede (Beda
Venerābilis, 673-735) about the Colosseum:
Quandiū stat Colisaeus, stat et Rōma.
Quandō cadet Colisaeus, cadet et Rōma.
Quandō cadet Rōma, cadet et mundus.
Bedae Opera Omnia Migne P.L. XCIV pg. 543. Bedae Opera
(Cologne, 1612), pg. 482
Verba Ūtenda
addīcō, addīcere, addīxī, addictum
consecrate
Avē! Hail!
bucca, -ae f. cheek
comes, comitis m. / f. attendant,
companion cadō, cadere fall (down)
Colisaeus, -ī m. “Colossus”
cornicen, cornicinis m. trumpeter
ēdō, ēdere, ēdidī, ēditum proclaim
Eumolpus ,-ī m. Eumolpus, a
character in the Satyricon
ferrum, -ī n. iron, sword
harēna, -ae f. arena
imperātor, -ōris m. commander,
general, ruler, emperor
iurō (1) swear
lēgitmus, -a, -um real, lawful,
right
moritūrī “those about to die”
mundus, -ī m. world
mūnicipālia, -e provincial
mūnus, mūneris n. public show
nōtus, -a, -um familiar
occīdō, occīdere, occīdī, occīsum
kill
populāriter with popular support
perpetuus, -a, -um permanent,
regular
quandiū as long as
quondam once
religiōsus, -a, -um pious, devout
sacrāmentum, -ī n. oath, sacred
obligation (especially one sworn
by soldiers)
ūrō, ūrere, ussī, ustum burn
verberō (1) lash, scourge, beat
vinciō, vincīre, vinxī, vinctum tie
up, fetter
Tom Sienkewicz (Monmouth College)
Gladiators in the Latin Classroom
ACL 2009
Martial V, 24 on a gladiator called Hermes
5
10
15
Hermēs Mārtia saeculī voluptās.
Hermēs omnibus ērudītus armīs.
Hermēs et gladiātor et magister.
Hermēs turba suī tremorque lūdī.
Hermēs, quem timet Helius sed ūnum,
Hermēs, cui cadit Advolans sed ūnī,
Hermēs vincere nec ferīre doctus.
Hermēs subpositicius sibi ipse.
Hermēs dīvitiae locāriōrum.
Hermēs cūra laborque lūdiārum.
Hermēs belligerā superbus hastā.
Hermēs aequoreā mināx tridente.
Hermēs cassidā languidā timendus.
Hermēs glōria Mārtis ūniversī.
Hermēs omnia sōlus et ter ūnus.
Verba Ūtenda
Advolans “Flyer,” the name
of a gladiator
aequoreus, -a, -um of the
sea, Refers to the trident,
which is an attribute of
Neptune, god of the sea.
belliger, -a, -um martial, warwaging
cassida, -ae f. helmet
dīvitiae, -ārum f. pl. wealth,
riches
ērudītus, -a, um skilled
feriō, ferīre hit, kill, slay
hasta, -ae f. spear
Helius, -iī m. “Sun,”,” the
name of a gladiator
lūdia, -ae f. a gladiator’s girl,
“girls of the ludus,” a sort
of groupie!
lūdus, -ī m. here a gladiatorial
school
languidus, -a, -um drooping
locārius, -iī m. someone who
buys show tickets as an
investment
Mārs, Mārtis m. Mars, the god
of war and fighting. Here
used as a metaphor, translate
“fighting”Mārtius, -a, -um of
Mars
mināx, minācis threatening
nocturnus,-a,um nocturnal, of
the night
pupa, -ae f. doll, girl
rētiārius, -iī m. netter
subpositicius, -iī m.
understudy
superbus, -a, -um proud,
haughty
suspīrium, -iī n. sigh,
heartthrob
timendus, -a, -um “must be
feared”
tremor, tremōris m. (cause of)
trembling, quivering
tridēns, tridentis m. trident, a
three-pronged fork
turba, -ae f. (cause of)
disorder, confusion
ūniversus, -a, -um translate
“all”
ūnus, -a, um Translate as
“only this one”
Tom Sienkewicz (Monmouth College)
Gladiators in the Latin Classroom
ACL 2009
Some Roman Literary Evidence about Gladiators
Tacitus. Annālēs XI, 21,1 (“On the Paternity of Curtius Rufus”)
Dē orīgine Curtiī Rūfī, quem gladiātōre genitum quīdam prōdidēre, neque falsa
prompserim et vera exsequī pudet.
Pliny. N.H. VII, 12, 10, 52-55 (“On the Orator Cassius Severus’ Look-Alike”)
Cassiō Sevērō celebri ōrātōri Armentāriī murmillōnis [armentarii Murmillonis?] objecta
similitūdō est.
Pliny. NH. VII. 20.81 (“On the prodigious strength of Tritanus”)
Corpore vēscō sed eximiīs viribus Tritanum in gladiātōriō lūdō Samnitium armātūrā
celebrem, fīliumque eius mīlitem Magnī Pompēiī et rectōs et traversōs cancellātim tōtō
corpore habuisse nervōs, in bracchiīs etiam manibusque, auctor est Varrō in
prōdigiōsārum virium relatiōne, atque etaim hostem ab eō ex prōvocātiōne dimicante
inermi dexterā superātum et postremō corrreptum unō digitō in castra tralatum.
Suetonius. Di. Claud. XXI.10 (“On Retiring a Gladiator”)
Illud planē quantumvīs salūbriter et in tempore: cum essedariō, prō quō quattuor filiī
dēprecabantur, magnō omnium favōre indulsisset rudem, tabulam īlicō mīsit admonens
populum quantō opere liberōs suscipere deberet, quōs videret et gladiatōri praesidiō
gratiaeque esse.
Verba Ūtenda
cancellātim in a lattice
arrangement
dēprecor, dēprecārī,
dēprecātus sum beg pardon
dextera (manus) right hand
dimicō (1) struggle
eximius, -a, -um
extraordinary
exsequor, exsequī, exsecutus
sum to pursue
genitum fathered (by)
īlicō then and there,
immediately
in tempore in a timely way
inermis, inerme unarmed
indulgeō, indulgēre, indulsī,
indultum grant, award
obicere, obiēcī, obiectum throw
before (+ dat.)
planē plainly, utterly
prompserim “I would not put
forth”
prōdidēre = prōdidērērunt
hand down, publish
prōdigiōsus, -a, -um
prodigious
pudet it is shameful
quantusvīs as much as you
want
quīdam some, certain people
salūbriter in a healthy way
vēscus, -a, -um thin
Tom Sienkewicz (Monmouth College)
Gladiators in the Latin Classroom
ACL 2009
Female Gladiators
Tacitus. Annālēs XV.32.3 (“On the Games of 63 A.D.)
Spectācula gladiātōrum īdem annus habuit pari magnificentia ac priōra; sed fēminārum
illūstrium senātōrumque plūrēs per arēnam foedātī sunt.
Suetonius. Dom. 4,1 (“On Domitian’s Unusual Games”)
Spectācula assiduē magnifica et sūmptuōsa ēdidit nōn in amphitheatrō modo, vērum et in
Circō. . . . Nam vēnātiōnēs gladiātōrēsque et noctibus ad lychnūchōs nec virōrum modo
pugnās sed et fēminārum.
Martial. Liber Dē Spectāculīs VI (“On the Games Opening the Flavian Amphitheatre”)
Belliger invictīs quod Mars tibi servit in armīs,
nōn satis est, Caesar; servit et ipsa Venus.
Statius. Silvae I, vi. 51-56 (“An account of some unusual entertainment given by Domitian
during the Saturnalia”)
Hōs inter fremitūs novōsque luxūs
spectandī levis effugit voluptās:
stat sexus rudis insciusque ferrī;
ut pugnās capit improbus virīlēs!
crēdas ad Tanain ferumque Phasim
Thermodonticas calēre turmās.
Verba Ūtenda
ac as
belliger, belligera,
belligerum warlike
crēdas “you might think”
ēdō, ēdere, ēdidī, ēditum put
forth, sponsor
ferrum, -ī n. iron; sword
ferus, -a, -um wild
foedō (1) disgrace
illūstris, -e famous
improbus, -a, -um shameless
inscius, -a, -um ignorant of,
unskilled of
levis, -e nimble, light
lynchnūcus, -ī m. lampstand
nec modo . . . sed et not only
. . . but also
nōn modo . . . vērum et not
only…but also
Phasis, Phadidos f. the Phasis,
a river in ancient Colchis, on
the Black Sea. Associated
with the Amazons in
antiquity.
quod that
rudis, -e rough; ignorant
sexus, -ūs m. sex, gender
stō, stare, stetī, statum take a
stand
Tanais, -is f. the Tanais, a
river associated with the
Amazons (now in Russia)
turma, -ae f. cavalry, squadron
ut how!
voluptās, -ātis f. pleasure
Tom Sienkewicz (Monmouth College)
Gladiators in the Latin Classroom
ACL 2009
Some Documentation from Greek Sources
Cassius Dio. LXVII 8,4
Often [Domitian] would conduct the games also at night and sometimes he would pit
dwarfs and women against each other.
Cassius Dio. LXVI, 25,1.
(in reference to the opening of the Flavian amphitheatre)
There was a battle between cranes and also between four elephants; animals both tame
and wild were slain to the number of 9000; and women (not those of any prominence,
however) took part in dispatching them. (Clay, 1968)
Cassius Dio. LXXVI, 16,1.
There took place also during those days [in the reign of Severus] a gymnastic contest at
which so great a multitude of athletes assembled, under compulsion, that we wondered
how the course could contain them all. And in this contest women took part, vying with
one another most fiercely, with the result that jokes were made about other very
distinguished women as well. Therefore it was henceforth forbidden for any women, no
matter what her origin, to fight in single combat.
CIG 6855: A relief with an inscription. From Halicarnassus. Now in the British Museum.
Fēminae Gladiātōrēs
http://www.lothene.demon.co.uk/others/womenrm2.jpg
ΑΠΕΛΥΘΗΣΑΝ
ΑΜΑΖΩΝ ΑΧIΛΛIΑ
Amazon and Achillia were granted a reprieve.
Tom Sienkewicz (Monmouth College)
Gladiators in the Latin Classroom
ACL 2009
Gladiators in Epigraphy
A Few Useful Epigraphic Abbreviations
D.M. = Dis Manibus, “to the blessed soul”
B.M. = bene merenti, “to the well-deserving”
Ñ = natiōne, “by nation”
RET = retiarius, “netter”
M = myrmillo, a heavily-armed gladiator
PUGNAR = pugnarum, “of contests”
D = dies, “days”
ANN = annōs, “years”
F = fēcit, “(s)he made [this memorial]”
V. = vīcit “he conquered, won”
L = lībertus, -a freedman, freedwoman
Gladiatorial Graffiti from Pompeii
CIL IV.8055 Oceanus and Aracintus
CIL IV.8056 Severus and Albanus
CIL IV. 10221 Monumentum Eumachiae
CIL IV. 4353 Crescens
From the Praetorian Camp in Rome
Vēnātōrēs et Tiger
Gladiatorial Tombstones
CIL V 1037 Passer
CIL, V 3468 Pardon
CIL V 3465 Generosus
CIL V, 3466 Glaucus
CIL II2/7, 363 Probus
CIL VI, 2 10195 Antonius Niger
CIL V, 2885 Iuvenis
CIL V, 5933 Urbicus
Tom Sienkewicz (Monmouth College)
Gladiators in the Latin Classroom
ACL 2009
Vēnātōrēs et Tiger
Hunters and Tiger Mosaic
2nd century A.D.. Found in the Praetorium Camp in Rome. Exhibited in the Colosseum of
Rome.
Photos.com 5266858
The inscription reads
EXVINCENTF•L•VETTV
The text is still in question. One possible reading is
EX VINCEN(NALIBUS) (MUNERIBUS)
F(ELICTER) L(UCIUS) VELT(IUS) V(ICIT)
The circle with the cross is called a theta nigrum or “black theta” and indicates that the tiger
died. (Theta is the first letter in the Greek word for death.
Photos.com 5266858
Tom Sienkewicz (Monmouth College)
Gladiators in the Latin Classroom
ACL 2009
Tombstone of a Gladiator in Spain
Here is a transcription of the Here is the expanded text:
tombstone:
MVR.>R
Mur(millō) (contrā) r(ētiārium)
PROBUS
Probus
P(ublī) A(ureliī) Vī(tālis)
l(ībertus) LXXXXIX
(victōriārum)
PAVIL.LXXXXIX
NATIONE.GERMA
H.S.E.S.T.T.L
natiōnē Germā(nus)
h(īc) s(itus) e(st). S(it) t(erra)
t(ibi) l(evis).
VOLVMNIA.SPERA
CONIVCI.PIO
MERENTI
Volumnia Sperā(ta)
coniugī piō
merentī (fēcit).
P.VOLVMNIVS
VITALIS.PATRI.PIO
S.T.T.L
P(ublius) Volumnius
Vitālis patrī piō (fēcit)
S(it) t(erra) t(ibi) l(evis).
Probus Mirmillō
Tombstone from Corduba, Spain
1st-2nd century A.D.
CIL
(Corpus
Inscriptiōnum
Latinārum) II2/7, 363
Here is the text written in standard prose:
Probus, murmillō contrā rētiārium, Publī Aureliī Vītālis lībertus, LXXXXIX victōriārum,
natiōnē Germānus, hīc situs est. Sit terra tibi levis.
Volumnia Sperāta coniugī piō merentī fēcit.
Publius Volumnius Vitālis patrī piō fēcit.
Sit terra tibi lēvis.
Verba Ūtenda
anima, -ae f. breath, soul, life
contrā + acc. opposite, against
incurrō, incurere, incurrī /
incucurrī run into
LXXXXIX victōriārum “of 99
victories”
levis, leve light
mereō, merēre, meruī,
meritum deserve
murmillo = mirmillo a
heavily-armed gladiator
necō (1) kill
natiōne “by nationality”
pius, pia, pium pious,
devout
sit “may (the earth)”
situs, sita, situm located,
buried
tamquam just as, just like
victōria, -ae f. victory
Tom Sienkewicz (Monmouth College)
Gladiators in the Latin Classroom
ACL 2009
Classroom Activities
Gladiatorial Vocabulary:
Grammar: Vēnātiō Verbōrum
1. Rearrange words by declension; rearrange by gender
2. Find a third declension i-stem.
3. Find a 1st declension masculine
4. Derivatives
Show pictures of types and have students ID them.
(possibly in Latin: Quis est? Rētiārius est.)
Let students use gladiator doll to show types.
Some Short Phrases to Start
Avē, imperātor
Grammar: Discuss future active participle, substantives, and agreement
Discussion:
Explain how this expression appears in Suetonius’s Life of Claudius (21.10),
where a group of condemned prisoners shout this to the emperor as they are
about to take part in a mock naval battle (naumachia) on Lake Fucinus in 52 A.D.
To the men the emperor replied Aut nōn. Ask the students what they think the
emperor meant and how the men might have reacted to what the emperor said.
After discussing the possibilities, explain that Claudius was probably joking and
implying that they might or might not die in the battle. The prisoners took the
emperor seriously and thought he was releasing them from combat (missiō) and
refused to fight until the emperor threatened and cajoled them into doing so.
Pollice Versō
Grammar: Discuss ablative absolute.
Figures of Speech: Ask students to find two examples of metonymy in the Juvenal
selection.
Discussion: Ask the students to translate the expression literally (“with thumb turned”).
Then ask them how Gérôme understands the gesture in the painting (“thumbs down”).
What other possible gestures might fit the expression?
Then explain that there is a great deal of debate about the “thumbs down” gesture. The
Latin expression pollicem vertere (“to turn the thumb”) may actually have referred to
turning the thumb towards the chest, not downwards, to call for death.
Tom Sienkewicz (Monmouth College)
Gladiators in the Latin Classroom
ACL 2009
Sacrāmentum Gladiātōrum
Grammar: Forming present passive infinitives!
Discussion: How does the gladiators’ oath compare to oaths sworn by members of the
U.S. Armed Forces today?
Venerable Bede
Grammar: non-copulative use of “et”
Style: Roman fondness for anaphora and parallel sentence structure.
Discussion:
1. In what way(s) you think Venerable Bede’s statement is true?
2. What do you think is the origin of the word “colosseum”? (Discuss Colossus of
Rhodes and Nero’s statue. Also note original name of building: Flavian
Amphitheatre.)
Martial V, 24 (Hermes poem)
Sentence Structure: Tell students that every line except 5 and 6 is a complete sentence
and ask them what Latin word is understood in each of these lines. Then have them
make a list of all the words which are nominative in apposition to Hermes.
Grammar:
Ablative: Ask students to find ablatives (lines 2, 11, 12, 13) and identify
types and translate
Genitive: Do the same with genitives (lines 1, 4, 9, 10, 14)
Dative: Find the three words in the dative case and translate them. To whom do
all three of these words refer?
Forms of ūnus (5, 6, 15): Review of irregular endings.
Find the two infinitives in this poem. With what word are they translated? What
kind of infinitives are they (complementary, subject or object)?
Metre: Have the students count the syllables in each line. Then ask them what
hendecasyllabic means. Show them the metrical pattern.
Discussion Questions:
1. Why does Martial repeat a form of ūnus three times in the poem?
2. Why might Hermes be a good name for a gladiator?
3. What is the general impression Martial creates about this gladiator?
4. To what extent does Martial’s description of Hermes fit your stereotype of a
Roman gladiator?
5. Compare Hermes to a famous modern athlete.
Assignment: Use Martial’s poem as a model to write a poem about your favorite modern
athlete.
Tom Sienkewicz (Monmouth College)
Gladiators in the Latin Classroom
ACL 2009
Some Roman Literary Evidence about Gladiators
Tacitus. Annālēs XI, 21,1 (“On the Paternity of Curtius Rufus”)
Use of –ēre perfect active ending. Impersonal verb with subject infinitive.
Pliny. N.H. VII, 12, 10, 52-55 (“On the Orator Cassius Severus’ Look-Alike”)
Discuss multiple interpretations: Armentarius the Murmillo or Murmillo the cowherd?
Pliny. NH. VII. 20.81 (“On the prodigious strength of Tritanus”)
Find the two infinitives in indirect statement introduced by auctor est. What is the subject
of each infinitive?
What words in this passage emphasize Tritanus’ prodigious strength?
How realistic is this story?
Suetonius. Di. Claud. XXI.10
There is no verb in the first clause. What English verb best fits the context (“in a healthy
and timely fashion”)?
What verbs in this passage have “the emperor Claudius” as their understood subjects?
How does the emperor use this gladiator as a model for other Romans?
What conclusions about the private lives of gladiators can be drawn from the four sons in
this passage?
What would be the equivalent of Claudius’ tabula at a modern sporting event?
Female Gladiators
Tacitus. Annālēs XV.32.3
What behavior causes disgrace in this passage? Why?
Suetonius. Dom. 4,1
What were some of the unusual features of the games Domitian held?
Martial. Liber De Spectaculis VI
The key to understanding Martial’s point is in recognizing the contrast between Mars and
Venus. What do you think the contract is?
Discuss poetic word order: What word does belliger modify? What word does invictīs
modify?
What is the subject of nōn satis est?
Also discuss meter of elegiac couplet.
What word is in the vocative case in this poem? What does this vocative suggest to you
about this poem?
Tom Sienkewicz (Monmouth College)
Gladiators in the Latin Classroom
ACL 2009
Statius. Silvae I, vi. 51-56 (“An account of some unusual entertainment given by Domitian
during the Saturnalia”)
Grammar: How many fourth declension nouns can you find in this poem?
How does Statius make use of the ancient image of Amazon women in this poem?
What two words modify sexus in this poem? What do these adjectives suggest about
Statius attitude towards this sex?
Indicate some comments in this passage which might be considered sexist.
Gladiators in Epigraphy
General Suggestions:
Romen nomenclature. (Some of the gladiators have formal Roman names. Others have
“stage names.”) Have the students try to identify and classify some of these names.
Roman numerals.
Abbreviations in Latin.
Pompeian Graffiti
What general conclusions can be drawn about Roman attitudes towards gladiators from
this graffiti?
From the Praetorian Camp in Rome
Use this mosaic and inscription to discuss animal contests in the Roman games.
Tombstones
What do these tombstones tell us about the private lives of gladiators? How long do they
live? Do they have families? These tombstones were expensive. What does that
suggest?
Probus’ Tombstone
Who erected this tombstone for Probus?
What do you learn about Probus’s career from this tombstone?
Who is addressed as tibi in the last line?
Tom Sienkewicz (Monmouth College)
Gladiators in the Latin Classroom
ACL 2009
Images for Identifying Gladiator Types
Clipart Item #25452201
Photos.com 5266858
http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/Images/G
azetteer/Periods/Roman/Topics/Daily_Life/spect
acles/gladiatores/1*.gif