Noodles II
08-12-2005, 11:33 PM
Our Troops? Pshaw. Salute Romes Gladiators!
Gladiators who fought in ancient Rome's amphitheaters were highly trained, overpaid and pampered professionals who amused the crowds by showing their fighting skills, rather than battling for their lives, according to a new study which reconstructed the tactics of gladiators and the course of their bouts.
Disputing images of ancient combat such as those seen in the epic movie "Gladiator," the research suggests that gladiatorial fighting had become a form of entertaining, spectator-oriented martial art at the beginning of the first century A.D.
"What we know from literary sources and inscriptions of the High Empire is that gladiators were famous — in fact many were celebrities known by name across the Roman world." archaeologist Steve Tuck of the University of Miami told Discovery News.
"They fought seldom, had short careers, were very expensive to hire and were generally expected to survive their matches."
Tuck presented his study at the annual meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America in Boston in early January.
Focusing on fighting methods used by pairs of gladiators in one-to-one combat, Tuck examined 158 images of Roman art from the period, showing gladiatorial active combat.
Then he compared them with manuals on sword fighting and martial arts produced in medieval and Renaissance times in Germany and northern Italy.
"The manuals make good parallels for gladiatorial imagery because they involve single combat — as opposed to battlefield tactics — by warriors armed and armored in ways similar or exactly like gladiators," Tuck said.
It emerged that there were often three critical phases in the course of the bouts.
The first was the initial contact, with both gladiators on their feet, moving forward, fully armed and going for a body shot.
The second was when one gladiator, wounded or at some disadvantage, backpedaled or sought to create distance between himself and his opponent.
The third was when gladiators dropped their undamaged shields and grappling inevitably commenced.
According to Tuck, this move was a common way to conclude a fight: the aim was not to kill the opponent but to "win without wounding," as the Roman poet Martial said.
Purchased and trained to fight in the arena, gladiators represented a significant investment on the part of their owners. This would explain why a gladiatorial match did not automatically end in the death of one of the opponents, according to Bryn Walters, the director of the British Association for Roman Archaeology.
"Senators, wealthy businessmen and emperors were hardly going to have their best sporting stars butchered in the arena to appease the masses," Walters said.
The fact that gladiators were generally well armed in heavy helmets, shields, arm protection and often body armor, would provide further evidence.
"If they were marked to die, such protection would be absurd, pointless and as absent as it was for the prisoners being executed. Gladiators were armed and armored to face the chance of death, but not certain death ... ," Tuck said.
The art of gladiators showed the expectation of survival and also the ability to win without wounding. This may be the origin of the western martial arts tradition seen throughout western Europe," he said.
See, when Gladiators die, they do it with honour, When our soldiers die, they die with freedom. Personally i like honour more. It would be kinda cool to live in the ancient rome times.
Gladiators who fought in ancient Rome's amphitheaters were highly trained, overpaid and pampered professionals who amused the crowds by showing their fighting skills, rather than battling for their lives, according to a new study which reconstructed the tactics of gladiators and the course of their bouts.
Disputing images of ancient combat such as those seen in the epic movie "Gladiator," the research suggests that gladiatorial fighting had become a form of entertaining, spectator-oriented martial art at the beginning of the first century A.D.
"What we know from literary sources and inscriptions of the High Empire is that gladiators were famous — in fact many were celebrities known by name across the Roman world." archaeologist Steve Tuck of the University of Miami told Discovery News.
"They fought seldom, had short careers, were very expensive to hire and were generally expected to survive their matches."
Tuck presented his study at the annual meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America in Boston in early January.
Focusing on fighting methods used by pairs of gladiators in one-to-one combat, Tuck examined 158 images of Roman art from the period, showing gladiatorial active combat.
Then he compared them with manuals on sword fighting and martial arts produced in medieval and Renaissance times in Germany and northern Italy.
"The manuals make good parallels for gladiatorial imagery because they involve single combat — as opposed to battlefield tactics — by warriors armed and armored in ways similar or exactly like gladiators," Tuck said.
It emerged that there were often three critical phases in the course of the bouts.
The first was the initial contact, with both gladiators on their feet, moving forward, fully armed and going for a body shot.
The second was when one gladiator, wounded or at some disadvantage, backpedaled or sought to create distance between himself and his opponent.
The third was when gladiators dropped their undamaged shields and grappling inevitably commenced.
According to Tuck, this move was a common way to conclude a fight: the aim was not to kill the opponent but to "win without wounding," as the Roman poet Martial said.
Purchased and trained to fight in the arena, gladiators represented a significant investment on the part of their owners. This would explain why a gladiatorial match did not automatically end in the death of one of the opponents, according to Bryn Walters, the director of the British Association for Roman Archaeology.
"Senators, wealthy businessmen and emperors were hardly going to have their best sporting stars butchered in the arena to appease the masses," Walters said.
The fact that gladiators were generally well armed in heavy helmets, shields, arm protection and often body armor, would provide further evidence.
"If they were marked to die, such protection would be absurd, pointless and as absent as it was for the prisoners being executed. Gladiators were armed and armored to face the chance of death, but not certain death ... ," Tuck said.
The art of gladiators showed the expectation of survival and also the ability to win without wounding. This may be the origin of the western martial arts tradition seen throughout western Europe," he said.
See, when Gladiators die, they do it with honour, When our soldiers die, they die with freedom. Personally i like honour more. It would be kinda cool to live in the ancient rome times.