ARTICLES
Πέτρος Εμμ. Τσαγκλής
Μεταπτυχιακό πρόγραμμα Αρχαίας Μεσογειακής Ιστορίας
Πανεπιστήμιο Κρήτης
Abstract: Throughout the ages, the gladiators of the ancient Greco-Roman world consist a subject that magnetizes the interest of the public and has become the inspiration of many historical researches, philosophical texts and artifacts. Their glorious feats in the roman arenas gave them money and fame converting them from common mortals to heroes and demigods, whose names were almost equally known to the name of the Emperor himself. However, the main purpose of this article is not to praise the gladiators’ achievements in the arenas but to enlighten the unknown aspects of their everyday lives: their social status, their organization and living conditions, their obligations and privileges, their fears, needs and anticipations· in other words, to come closer to the human beings that were lurking under the shining armors. Through a combination of data extracted from modern historical researches, ancient literary sources and epigraphical evidence this article features the daily grind and the many contradictory traits of the gladiator’s nature from the moment that the amphitheater’s voices were hushed until the next (and maybe the last) time they should enter the hot sand of the arena.
