Lnzon

In 105 BC, the ruling consuls offered Rome its first taste of state-sponsored “barbarian combat” demonstrated by gladiators from Capua, as part of a training program for the military. They clearly show how gladiator munera pervaded Pompeiian culture; they provide information pertaining to particular gladiators, and sometimes include their names, status as slaves or freeborn volunteers, and their match records. Some of the best preserved gladiator graffiti are from Pompeii and Herculaneum, in public areas including Pompeii’s Forum and amphitheater, and in the private residences of the upper, middle and lower classes. A show of gladiators was to be exhibited before the people in the market-place, and most of the magistrates erected scaffolds round about, with an intention of letting them for advantage. Ludi and munera were accompanied by music, played as interludes, or building to a “frenzied crescendo” during combats, perhaps to heighten the suspense during a gladiator’s appeal;…