Female Gladiators: We Salute You

Can you believe that the movie Gladiator came out twenty years ago today?  What's even more astonishing is that, for whatever reason over all those years, I have not once pondered whether there were female gladiators.  Well, now I have.  And after doing some research, I found that yes, they did exist.

Like other women combatants throughout history, there weren't many female gladiators.  And they were seen largely as exotic novelties.  But nevertheless, they were legitimate gladiators.  They wore the same type of clothing and equipment, fought using similar styles, and were trained in a comparable manner as men.  Interestingly, even though you think of gladiators who entered the arena as slaves, prisoners of war, or criminals, some men and women alike came from the upper class as well.  

Gladiatorial Training for Women

 

Nothing is known for sure about how women trained for combat in the arena, but inscriptions suggest that they were perhaps privately tutored in institutions specifically established to train young boys in the martial arts.  Regardless as to how and where they received instruction, they were indeed trained like their male counterparts; although, their regimens were likely less strenuous.  And when they did enter the arena, they fought against other women, never against men.

Motivations

 

The reasons that compelled female fighters to enter the arena were no different than those of men.  And they were the same incentives that drove women soldiers of the Civil War into the ranks and onto the battlefield:  adventure, independence, glory, and financial rewards.  For some female gladiators, however, their participation in the games was not voluntary as they were forced to enter the arena as slaves.

The Evidence - Literature

 Evidence can be found in ancient Roman texts which document women participating in public games and festivals.  The following are a few examples:

The Roman historian, Dio Cassius, wrote of a festival that Nero held that included female entertainers and gladiators.  The celebration was in honor of his mother and lasted several days.  Another gladiatorial event the emperor sponsored, according to Dio Cassius, involved Ethiopian women.  You may remember this woman from the movie, Gladiator:

Of course, this isn't the same woman referenced above because the emperor in the movie was Commodus.  But she was probably based off the Ethiopian women from Nero's gladiatorial events.  Another source does mention a woman fighting from a chariot in Nero's games, but it is not known whether she was one of the Ethiopian women.


A Roman biographer and historian named Suetonius noted extravagant games the emperor Domitian held: 

Domitian presented many extravagant entertainments in the Colosseum and the Circus. Besides the usual two-horse chariot races he staged a couple of battles, one for infantry, the other for cavalry; a sea-fight in the amphitheatre; wild-beast hunts; gladiatorial shows by torchlight in which women as well as men took part.

Domitian also purportedly hosted highly sensationalized gladiatorial contests in which he pitted women and dwarves against each other.

 

Legislation Regarding Female Gladiators

Further historical evidence of female gladiators exists in the form of governmental edicts.  For instance, in the year 11 AD, the Roman senate passed a law banning free women under the age of twenty from appearing in the arena.  Eight years later, this edict was replaced by another which levied additional penalties and  "prohibit[ed] the gladiatorial recruitment of daughters, granddaughters, and great-granddaughters of senators or of knights, under the age of [twenty]."  In the 3rd century, the emperor Septemus Severus outlawed single combat among women.  The compelling factor was his fear that women training as athletes could lead to their participation in the Olympic games and thus upset the patriarchal social order.  Despite these laws, women still participated in combat in the Roman arena because sponsors were able to circumnavigate the current legislation by using lower class women.

These edicts are especially interesting because their very existence confirms the existence of female gladiators.  There would be no need to legislate women participating in combat in the arena if such activities weren't occurring.

Archaeological Evidence

 

One piece of physical evidence is a relief found in Halicarnassus, Turkey of two female gladiators whose stage names were Amazon and Achillia.  The inscription above the two figures indicates that the women had fought to an honorable draw.  The marble relief is housed in the British Museum.

Another archaeological piece is a small bronze statue of a woman gladiator in a victory pose and holding a curved blade traditionally carried by a thraex, which was one type of gladiator.  It is housed currently in the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg.

The most recent discovery of physical evidence of female gladiators was the Great Dover Street Woman whose remains were unearthed when scientists were excavating a Roman cemetery in London in 1996.  The pelvis was all that was left, but that is a key part of the body that enables scientists to identify sex.  Scientists also determined that she was in her early twenties (another source says mid-thirties) and cremated in a manner that was rare in Britain.  The grave was located outside the Roman graveyard, which was typical of social outcasts, a status usually held by gladiators.  Yet, items in the grave revealed that she was not poor.  Included were various food stuffs, eight lamps — one of which depicted a fallen gladiator — and hundreds of pine cones.  These pine cones held special significance because they were native to Italy and were typically found around amphitheaters because they were burned in order to cleanse the arena.  Some dispute the claim that the "Gladiator Girl" was just that, citing a need for more evidence.  For example, lamps adorned with gladiators were popular household items according to at least one professor.  One theory was that the woman could have simply been a fan of gladiatorial contests.


And that's a basic overview of female gladiators.

Are you not entertained?

Until next formation....rest.