The Part Roman Elites Played in Gladiatorial Spectacles

Gladiatorial contests and events that took place during the munera were central to the Roman way of life (Wiedemann 1). While they were initially put on by senatorial families in the Republic as part of a funeral, Roman emperors later began to use gladiatorial spectacles and wild beast hunts to celebrate military victories, the completion of the construction of a major building in Rome, or important dynastic events, and eventually gladiators and wild beast hunts became a regular aspect of the ludi put on by Roman magistrates (Edmondson 9). These events were a way to display how powerful the Roman state was and was a visual symbol of how Rome had control over the entire Mediterranean (Wiedemann 3). Part of this symbolism was the reliance on slaves and those of the lowest social status for these events. A majority of gladiators were slaves that had been sent to a lanista as punishment, defeated enemies and prisoners of war, and condemned criminals (Wiedemann 102). Very rarely did free-born men chose to fight as a gladiator, as he had to give up his rights and status and willingly submit to various forms of punishment and training (Edmondson 24). However, while gladiators were seen as the lowest of the low, even by those in the lower class, senators would sometimes practise as gladiators (Wiedemann 28). In the Imperial period, some members of the Roman elite willingly chose to fight as gladiators or beast hunters in order to showcase their virtus, performing mostly in private, but sometimes in the public arena. While the state did attempt to create laws against free born men and elites competing in the arena, there were still several instances of free born and elite gladiators.

There were several reasons why Roman elite might have chosen to participate as gladiators or wild beast hunters. However, every reason comes back to the notions of virtue or courage. When Scipio returned to Carthage to hold funeral games for his father and uncle, Livy recounts that, “All the service of the combatants was voluntary and gratuitous…To show an example of the natural courage of their people…Others were induced to give and accept challenges, by a spirit of emulation and a desire of victory” (Livy 28.21). For the funeral games put on by Scipio, men offered to compete to showcase their courage and desire for victory. This is also a reason why some Roman elite chose to become gladiators. Gladiators faced a possibility of death every time they entered the arena (Wiedemann 34). However, if a gladiator lost, but was able to show courage and skill during their battle, he would be spared, as he was able to demonstrate that he possessed virtus (Wiedemann 35). The concept of virtus was often attributed to military personnel (Wiedemann 36). Since Rome was a military culture, showing virtus to the public was very important, especially for the Roman elite (Edmondson 25). Courage and skill in hand-to-hand combat was required of Roman soldiers (Wiedemann 36). These same traits were also found in gladiatorial combat, and were the only way that a gladiator would be able to show his virtus. Roman elite were known to demonstrate their prowess at public spectacles in order to show the courage they have in military combat (Edmondson 25). This is one of the reasons why elite would participate in gladiatorial shows. They would be able to showcase their military prowess in public. However, it is important to note that not all elite who showcased or participated in gladiatorial combat were “professional” gladiators (Wiedemann 111). In fact, it was very common for younger Roman elite to train with a lanista to learn how to fight before becoming a commander of the Roman army (Wiedemann 110).

While virtus was typically the driving force behind why Roman elite chose to become gladiators, it was not the only reason. Some Roman elite chose to pursue life in the arena due to a desire to obtain a new identity (Wiedemann 111). The most prominent example of this is the emperor Commodus. When describing Commodus and his gladiatorial spectacles, Dio explains, “Now this “Golden One,” this “Hercules,” this “god”…As for wild beasts, however, he slew many both in private and in public. Moreover, he used to contend as a gladiator…As for the lion-skin and club, in the street they were carried before him” (Dio 73. 16-17). Commodus, who had always had an admiration for the gladiatorial spectacles and wild beast hunts, had a desire to be like the god, Hercules (Wiedemann 136). He had the lion-skin and club to represent the god and even renamed the month of September “Hercules” (Lampridius 12.1). Wiedemann explains that like Hercules, “Commodus wanted to do divine work on earth in order to achieve a place among the gods” (Wiedemann 110). Commodus’ desire to obtain a new identity as a god led to his participation in wild beast hunts and gladiatorial combat. For Roman elites, the concept of virtus and the desire for one to create a new self were the reasons why they took part in spectacles. However, not all elite performed inside the arena.

As previously mentioned, gladiators were among those at the bottom of the social hierarchy in ancient Rome. Those who wished to compete as gladiators went against the status-distinction that Roman society was based on (Wiedemann 102). The ultimate threat against the class distinction was when a Roman elite would appear in the arena as a competitor, which is why many competed in the privacy of their own homes (Wiedemann 131). Many Roman elite used gladiatorial combat and training as their own private past times (Wiedemann 110). The skills that they would learn from the training and competition inside their own homes were “proper” for Romans of high status to know (Wiedemann 111). By practicing and competing privately, Roman elites avoided suffering from infamia; a moral loss of status (Edmondson 24). However, there are cases of Roman elite performing in the public arena. One example is when the emperor Nero forced Roman elite into competing in the arena (Suetonius 12). At one of the gladiatorial games that he had put on, “He had no one put to death, not even criminals. However, he put on show as fighters four hundred senators and six hundred Roman knights, some of whom were wealthy men of good reputation. Even those who fought the wild beasts and served as assistants in the arena were drawn from the senatorial and equestrian orders” (Suetonius 12). While Nero forced his senators to compete in the arena, not all Roman elite that appeared as gladiators had to be forced. Commodus was known to compete in both public and private (Dio 72.10). Dio explains that, “Commodus devoted most of his life to ease and to horses and to the combats of wild beasts and of men. In fact, besides all that he did in private, he often slew in public large numbers of men and of beasts as well” (Dio 72.10). Commodus had such a desire to compete as a gladiator that he willingly performed in public. While both Nero and Commodus went against the morality of Roman society by lowering their status or the status of others to compete in the arena, there were legislations in place that were meant to prevent the Roman elite from entering the arena as competitors and the emperors were expected to uphold those legislations (Wiedemann 131).

Many Roman emperors sought to preserve the social and class distinctions that were set in place in the state (Edmondson 24). However, when Romans of high status competed in the arena as gladiators or wild beast hunters, they disgraced themselves and their status as an elite (Tacitus 15.32). Thus, legislations were brought into place in order to prevent high ranking Roman officials from appearing in the arena (Edmondson 24). The most famous example is the decree of the senate that was put out during the Imperial period in AD 19. It states that, “No senator’s son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, great-grandson, great-granddaughter, or that no man…ever had the right of watching the games in the seats reserved for equestrians should be brought on the stage by anyone or that they should be requested for a fee to fight in the arena” (SC AD 19). It was important for an emperor to protect “good” order and enact rules for controlling the gladiatorial spectacles (Wiedemann 130). By forbidding not only Roman elite but any relative of a Roman elite from competing in gladiatorial spectacles, social order and high ranking officials could be protected from infamia (Edmondson 24). However, it is important to point out that Roman elite could not be requested for a fee to fight in the arena. There is nothing forbidding a member of the Roman elite from competing in gladiatorial combat or wild beast hunts to show his virtus (Wiedemann 111). The idea that one is forbidden from competing for money is also seen in a previous senate decree from AD 11, where consuls Manius Lepidus and Titus Statilius Taurus put forward the motion that, “no free-born female who was less than twenty years old or that no free-born male who was less than twenty-five years old should be permitted to enter the arena or to hire out his services” (SC AD 19). While there were several regulations in place to deter free-born citizens and Roman elites from competing in the arena, these laws were not able to prevent it from happening. It was those who held imperial office that were the most tempted to break the laws against competing (Wiedemann 102). Both Nero and Commodus are examples of this. Tacitus described Nero as showing “daily-increasing impatience to appear regularly on the public stage” (Tacitus 15.32). Commodus, on the other hand, regularly appeared in the public and very often fought as a gladiator in the presence of the spectators in the arena (Lampridius 14.8). The fact that not only did emperors get away with competing in the arena, but that several legislations had to be introduced against elite competition, suggests that the laws set in place were in effective (Edmondson 24). The senate was unsuccessful in keeping Roman elite from competing in the arena and therefore unsuccessful in maintaining the status quo of social hierarchy of Rome.

During the Imperial period, some members Roman elite showed their desire to perform as gladiators or wild beast hunters to show their virtus, both in private and public and did so by disobeying the laws and legislations that had been set up against Roman elite competition. Roman elite desired to show how courageous and skilled in combat they were, on and off the battlefield. Some also wanted to take on a new identity, such as Commodus being referred to as Hercules. While many performed in private in order to not disrupt the social hierarchy in place in Rome, there were some exceptions that took place in the public arena that went against the clearly ineffective senate legislations set out in AD 11 and 19. Despite the vast amount of sources available that describe Roman elite competition, it should be noted that this was not a common occurrence. Free born men of high status becoming gladiators is emphasized because it is unusual (Wiedemann 102). The cases of Roman elite in the arena did not detract from the fact that status was so important in ancient Roman society and that very few were willing to suffer from infamia.