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Transcript
· Reaching retirement
0:08 · The average gladiator did not survive to retirement. Sooner or later, whether an
0:15 · untried tyro or a battle-scarred champion, he fell to the bloody sands of the arena and was dragged
0:21 · away through the funeral goddess' gate. Although the odds of any given match ending in death were
0:28 · relatively low – during the first century, perhaps one in five – those odds accumulated,
0:34 · since some men fought more than a hundred times during their careers.
· Leaving the arena
0:39 · But a few survived. Some gladiators were allowed to retire after completing the
0:44 · term – often three or five years – stipulated by their sentence or contract. A very skilled
0:51 · fighter might be released in the arena by the sponsor of the games, and publicly awarded a
0:57 · rudis – the wooden sword that symbolized his freedom. Once, after watching an epic
1:03 · struggle between two well-matched gladiators, the emperor Titus freed both combatants.
1:09 · Regardless of whether they won or lost, gladiators were paid every time they
1:14 · fought. They received additional prizes when they were victorious; the emperor Claudius
1:20 · liked to toss gold coins to men who had fought well. And after they were granted the rudis,
1:26 · they might be richly rewarded. A gladiator named Spiculus received a mansion and estate from Nero.
1:33 · Few gladiators, however, could support themselves for the rest of their lives
1:37 · on their winnings. Many had families; Claudius freed one gladiator after receiving a petition
1:44 · from his four sons. And some ex-gladiators lived on for many decades after retirement. The
1:51 · tombstone of a paegniarius (mock-fighter) named Secundus records that he died at the age of 99.
· Infamia
2:00 · The career options of retired gladiators were limited by their
2:03 · low social status. Whether freeborn, former slaves, or prisoners of war,
2:09 · gladiators were infames, disgraced. This meant that – like executioners, undertakers,
2:17 · and actors – they were excluded from the full benefits of Roman citizenship, unable to hold
2:23 · office, appear in court, or even (in the case of former slaves) make their own wills.
· Exhibition fighters and referees
2:30 · Some gladiators continued to fight after their release, especially if they were
2:35 · famous enough to be invited back to the arena for exhibition matches. A prominent
2:40 · rudiarius – freed gladiator – would receive top billing before the games, and be handsomely
2:46 · compensated after. Tiberius paid some stars 100,000 sestertii for a single appearance.
2:54 · Alternatively, an ex-gladiator could become a referee. Each gladiatorial match was supervised
3:01 · by a head referee – the summa rudis – and his assistant, the secunda rudis. These men
3:07 · intervened with shouts and wooden switches when a fighter broke the rules or was incapacitated.
3:14 · (The tombstone of a gladiator named Diodorus laments that he was killed after a referee
3:19 · allowed his defeated opponent to get back on his feet.) Some referees had long careers:
3:25 · the tombstone of a summa rudis who lived to 60 was found at Caesarea Maritima.
· Trainers
3:32 · Retired gladiators might also train new fighters. Every gladiator was assigned to an armature – a
3:38 · specialized set of arms and armor – on the basis of his size, speed, and proficiency with
3:45 · weapons. A small, quick man, for example, might be taught the trident and net of the retiarius,
3:52 · while a larger but less nimble candidate learned to maneuver in the heavy armor and slitted helmed
3:58 · of the secutor. Since men with experience of the arena made the best trainers, a veteran fighter
4:04 · was a welcome addition to any gladiatorial school. Other gladiators embarked on very different
4:10 · careers. More on them, after a brief word about this video's sponsor.
· Curiosity Stream [redacted]
5:27 · Returning to our topic. Outside the ambit of the arena, many gladiators became bodyguards.
· Bodyguards
5:34 · During the turbulent last years of the Republic, the rival politicians Clodius and Milo recruited
5:40 · whole troupes of gladiators. A band of gladiators shadowed Nero and his drinking companions whenever
5:47 · they went carousing in dive bars and brothels. Aristocratic ladies sometimes hired former
5:54 · gladiators to protect them on journeys. And in late antiquity, wealthy landowners might recruit
6:00 · what amounted to private armies, captained by gladiators, to patrol their estates.
· Legionaries
6:07 · Because of their low status, gladiators were normally excluded from service in the legions.
6:13 · Amid the civil wars of the Late Republic, however, a consul briefly formed Julius Caesar's gladiators
6:19 · into a cavalry unit. During the chaotic Year of the Four Emperors, Otho enrolled 2,000
6:26 · gladiators as legionaries. A century later, Marcus Aurelius formed a unit of gladiators
6:32 · that was optimistically named the obsequentes, "obedient ones." Although gladiators were regarded
6:39 · as unreliable soldiers, Caligula made Thracian gladiators captains of his personal bodyguard.
· Farmers and priests
6:47 · Not all former gladiators dedicated their lives to violence. A few became farmers;
6:53 · the Roman poet Horace, retiring to his estate,
6:57 · compared himself to a gladiator who had given up his weapons and moved to
7:01 · the countryside. Other gladiators may have become black-cloaked priests of the war-goddess Bellona,
7:08 · or dueled in the Sacred Grove of Aricia for the crown of the priest-king of Nemi.
· Political careers
7:14 · Gladiators were barred from holding elected office. But in the eastern provinces,
7:19 · where athletes had long been honored, a few former gladiators achieved respectability. One,
7:26 · later a referee, became an honorary citizen of no fewer than seven cities. Even more dramatically,
7:33 · the emperor Vitellius made a freedman whom he had
7:36 · rescued from a gladiatorial school a member of the Equestrian order.
7:41 · According to the unreliable Historia Augusta, Marcus Aurelius once reprimanded a former
7:47 · gladiator for trying to become a Roman official, and was told that many other ex-gladiators
7:53 · already held positions in the government. Although this is almost certainly satirical,
7:58 · there is no reason to doubt that – as Juvenal claimed – the sons of gladiators
8:04 · could be found in the Equestrian seats of Rome's theaters; the social and legal
8:09 · restrictions that hindered former gladiators did not apply to their children. The Historia
8:15 · Augusta's suggestion that Emperor Macrinus was a former gladiator is less believable.
· "Friends" of wealthy ladies
8:21 · Gladiators unburdened by political ambition might exploit their sex appeal. Rumor alleged that the
8:28 · wives of Roman senators took gladiators as lovers. Empress Messalina reportedly had an affair with an
8:35 · ex-gladiator named Sabinus, and it was whispered that the real father of Commodus, son of Marcus
8:42 · Aurelius, was a gladiator. (According to an alternate version, Empress Faustina confessed
8:48 · her attraction to Marcus, who – after consulting with some astrologers – had the gladiator killed
8:54 · so that Faustina could bathe in his blood.) While there is no reason to believe that any
8:59 · of this happened, at least a few former gladiators must have established liaisons with Roman ladies.
· Elusive antiheroes
9:07 · For more than half a millennium, gladiators were at the center of Roman society. They
9:12 · were applauded by slaves and emperors. They were figured in mosaics, modeled by figurines,
9:19 · stamped on lamps. Their blood was said to cure impotence, and the very sand on which
9:24 · they fought was gathered for spells. But the gladiators themselves remain elusive. Perhaps,
9:31 · to those who watched them, they always were – marionettes who played out the fantasies of
9:37 · a civilization before vanishing, upon death or retirement, behind the anonymity of the stage.
9:47 · My new book – Insane Emperors, Sunken Cities,
9:50 · and Earthquake Machines – is now available as a paperback, e-book,
9:55 · and audiobook. You can buy your copy through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your local bookstore.
10:02 · For more toldinstone content, check out my channels Toldinstone Footnotes and Scenic Routes
10:08 · to the Past, which are linked in the description. Please consider joining other viewers
10:14 · in supporting toldinstone on Patreon. Thanks for watching.

Transcript
	·	Reaching retirement
0:08	·	The average gladiator did not survive to retirement. Sooner or later, whether an
0:15	·	untried tyro or a battle-scarred champion, he fell to the bloody sands of the arena and was dragged
0:21	·	away through the funeral goddess' gate. Although the odds of any given match ending in death were
0:28	·	relatively low – during the first century, perhaps one in five – those odds accumulated,
0:34	·	since some men fought more than a hundred times during their careers.
	·	Leaving the arena
0:39	·	But a few survived. Some gladiators were allowed to retire after completing the
0:44	·	term – often three or five years – stipulated by their sentence or contract. A very skilled
0:51	·	fighter might be released in the arena by the sponsor of the games, and publicly awarded a
0:57	·	rudis – the wooden sword that symbolized his freedom. Once, after watching an epic
1:03	·	struggle between two well-matched gladiators, the emperor Titus freed both combatants.
1:09	·	Regardless of whether they won or lost, gladiators were paid every time they
1:14	·	fought. They received additional prizes when they were victorious; the emperor Claudius
1:20	·	liked to toss gold coins to men who had fought well. And after they were granted the rudis,
1:26	·	they might be richly rewarded. A gladiator named Spiculus received a mansion and estate from Nero.
1:33	·	Few gladiators, however, could support themselves for the rest of their lives
1:37	·	on their winnings. Many had families; Claudius freed one gladiator after receiving a petition
1:44	·	from his four sons. And some ex-gladiators lived on for many decades after retirement. The
1:51	·	tombstone of a paegniarius (mock-fighter) named Secundus records that he died at the age of 99.
	·	Infamia
2:00	·	The career options of retired gladiators were limited by their
2:03	·	low social status. Whether freeborn, former slaves, or prisoners of war,
2:09	·	gladiators were infames, disgraced. This meant that – like executioners, undertakers,
2:17	·	and actors – they were excluded from the full benefits of Roman citizenship, unable to hold
2:23	·	office, appear in court, or even (in the case of former slaves) make their own wills.
	·	Exhibition fighters and referees
2:30	·	Some gladiators continued to fight after their release, especially if they were
2:35	·	famous enough to be invited back to the arena for exhibition matches. A prominent
2:40	·	rudiarius – freed gladiator – would receive top billing before the games, and be handsomely
2:46	·	compensated after. Tiberius paid some stars 100,000 sestertii for a single appearance.
2:54	·	Alternatively, an ex-gladiator could become a referee. Each gladiatorial match was supervised
3:01	·	by a head referee – the summa rudis – and his assistant, the secunda rudis. These men
3:07	·	intervened with shouts and wooden switches when a fighter broke the rules or was incapacitated.
3:14	·	(The tombstone of a gladiator named Diodorus laments that he was killed after a referee
3:19	·	allowed his defeated opponent to get back on his feet.) Some referees had long careers:
3:25	·	the tombstone of a summa rudis who lived to 60 was found at Caesarea Maritima.
	·	Trainers
3:32	·	Retired gladiators might also train new fighters. Every gladiator was assigned to an armature – a
3:38	·	specialized set of arms and armor – on the basis of his size, speed, and proficiency with
3:45	·	weapons. A small, quick man, for example, might be taught the trident and net of the retiarius,
3:52	·	while a larger but less nimble candidate learned to maneuver in the heavy armor and slitted helmed
3:58	·	of the secutor. Since men with experience of the arena made the best trainers, a veteran fighter
4:04	·	was a welcome addition to any gladiatorial school. Other gladiators embarked on very different
4:10	·	careers. More on them, after a brief word about this video's sponsor.
	·	Curiosity Stream [redacted]
5:27	·	Returning to our topic. Outside the ambit of the arena, many gladiators became bodyguards.
	·	Bodyguards
5:34	·	During the turbulent last years of the Republic, the rival politicians Clodius and Milo recruited
5:40	·	whole troupes of gladiators. A band of gladiators shadowed Nero and his drinking companions whenever
5:47	·	they went carousing in dive bars and brothels. Aristocratic ladies sometimes hired former
5:54	·	gladiators to protect them on journeys. And in late antiquity, wealthy landowners might recruit
6:00	·	what amounted to private armies, captained by gladiators, to patrol their estates.
	·	Legionaries
6:07	·	Because of their low status, gladiators were normally excluded from service in the legions.
6:13	·	Amid the civil wars of the Late Republic, however, a consul briefly formed Julius Caesar's gladiators
6:19	·	into a cavalry unit. During the chaotic Year of the Four Emperors, Otho enrolled 2,000
6:26	·	gladiators as legionaries. A century later, Marcus Aurelius formed a unit of gladiators
6:32	·	that was optimistically named the obsequentes, "obedient ones." Although gladiators were regarded
6:39	·	as unreliable soldiers, Caligula made Thracian gladiators captains of his personal bodyguard.
	·	Farmers and priests
6:47	·	Not all former gladiators dedicated their lives to violence. A few became farmers;
6:53	·	the Roman poet Horace, retiring to his estate,
6:57	·	compared himself to a gladiator who had given up his weapons and moved to
7:01	·	the countryside. Other gladiators may have become black-cloaked priests of the war-goddess Bellona,
7:08	·	or dueled in the Sacred Grove of Aricia for the crown of the priest-king of Nemi.
	·	Political careers
7:14	·	Gladiators were barred from holding elected office. But in the eastern provinces,
7:19	·	where athletes had long been honored, a few former gladiators achieved respectability. One,
7:26	·	later a referee, became an honorary citizen of no fewer than seven cities. Even more dramatically,
7:33	·	the emperor Vitellius made a freedman whom he had
7:36	·	rescued from a gladiatorial school a member of the Equestrian order.
7:41	·	According to the unreliable Historia Augusta, Marcus Aurelius once reprimanded a former
7:47	·	gladiator for trying to become a Roman official, and was told that many other ex-gladiators
7:53	·	already held positions in the government. Although this is almost certainly satirical,
7:58	·	there is no reason to doubt that – as Juvenal claimed – the sons of gladiators
8:04	·	could be found in the Equestrian seats of Rome's theaters; the social and legal
8:09	·	restrictions that hindered former gladiators did not apply to their children. The Historia
8:15	·	Augusta's suggestion that Emperor Macrinus was a former gladiator is less believable.
	·	"Friends" of wealthy ladies
8:21	·	Gladiators unburdened by political ambition might exploit their sex appeal. Rumor alleged that the
8:28	·	wives of Roman senators took gladiators as lovers. Empress Messalina reportedly had an affair with an
8:35	·	ex-gladiator named Sabinus, and it was whispered that the real father of Commodus, son of Marcus
8:42	·	Aurelius, was a gladiator. (According to an alternate version, Empress Faustina confessed
8:48	·	her attraction to Marcus, who – after consulting with some astrologers – had the gladiator killed
8:54	·	so that Faustina could bathe in his blood.) While there is no reason to believe that any
8:59	·	of this happened, at least a few former gladiators must have established liaisons with Roman ladies.
	·	Elusive antiheroes
9:07	·	For more than half a millennium, gladiators were at the center of Roman society. They
9:12	·	were applauded by slaves and emperors. They were figured in mosaics, modeled by figurines,
9:19	·	stamped on lamps. Their blood was said to cure impotence, and the very sand on which
9:24	·	they fought was gathered for spells. But the gladiators themselves remain elusive. Perhaps,
9:31	·	to those who watched them, they always were – marionettes who played out the fantasies of
9:37	·	a civilization before vanishing, upon death or retirement, behind the anonymity of the stage.
9:47	·	My new book – Insane Emperors, Sunken Cities,
9:50	·	and Earthquake Machines – is now available as a paperback, e-book,
9:55	·	and audiobook. You can buy your copy through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your local bookstore.
10:02	·	For more toldinstone content, check out my channels Toldinstone Footnotes and Scenic Routes
10:08	·	to the Past, which are linked in the description. Please consider joining other viewers
10:14	·	in supporting toldinstone on Patreon. Thanks for watching.