Gladiators at Moesgaard Museum (2016) - part one

A special exhibition about Roman gladiators is on display at Moesgaard Museum, Aarhus.
The exhibition "Heroes of the Colosseum" runs from April to September 2016.

Welcome to the show!

A Roman sword.

A gladiator sandal.

A gladiator helmet.

A bust of Vespasian, who ruled the Roman Empire for ten years (69-79).
While emperor, Vespasian began the construction of the large amphitheatre that is known today as the Colosseum. Construction took almost ten years, from 72 to 80. It was dedicated in 80 during the reign of his older son Titus.

The exhibition includes a special movie.
We are inside the Coloseeum, watching the gladiators.

The gladiators are standing in the arena in front of the Roman emperor.

During the night the arena is cleaned up for the games that will take place the next day.

The movie, which runs for 20 minutes, is shown on a giant screen.
As soon as it is finished, it starts again.

The beast-hunter: man against animal.

The lion and the man.

A pair of gladiators.

There were several types of gladiators, including the following:

bestiarius
murmillo (or myrmillo)
provocator
retiarius
secutor
thraex

Each type was defined by a specific set of weapons and equipment for defence. Gladiators fought in pairs. In most cases, two types of gladiators would be paired to fight against each other. In this way the result was less predictable, and therefore the match was more interesting and more entertaining.

Another pair of gladiators.
In the background you can see the man and the lion.

A third pair of gladiators.

This ancient wall painting from Paestum is one of the earliest depictions of "gladiators" in battle.

Detail of a polychrome mosaic which shows several scenes from an amphitheatre.

Another detail of the polychrome mosaic: gladiators in battle.

A monochrome mosaic.
Below and to the left: two men and a wild animal.
On the right and above: a geometric pattern.

The two men and the wild animal.
The Latin letter V next to the beast-hunter (on the right) shows that he was the winner.
The Greek letter theta (a cross in a circle) above the wild animal means death.
The mosaic is from AD 158.
In that year Antoninus Pius celebrated his vicennalia, i.e. he began his twentieth year as emperor.
He had succeeded Hadrian in AD 138.

This painting was painted on the façade of the house which belonged to Arctus Anicetus.
It shows the amphitheatre in Pompeii during the riots that took place in AD 59.
Gladiator fans from Pompeii clashed with gladiator fans from the neighbouring town Nuceria.
The riots are described by Tacitus in his work Annales, book XIV, chapter 17.
Because of these riots, Pompeii was not allowed to stage gladiator games for ten years.

Detail of the above.

Three Roman coins:
On the left = a sestertius minted by Vespasian (69-79)
In the middle = a sestertius minted by Titus (79-81)
On the right = a sestertius minted by Domitian (81-96)

A Roman shield (a modern copy).

Another Roman shield (also a modern copy).

Roman helmets are for sale in the museum shop.
These modern copies are quite expensive!

One of the Roman helmets on display in the shop.

Another Roman helmet on display in the shop.

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Go to the next installment:

Gladiators at Moesgaard Museum (2016) - part two

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Gladiators at Moesgaard Museum (2016) - part two

This large relief (found outside the Stabian Gate in Pompeii) is divided into three registers:

* The upper register = a parade or procession (pompa)

* The central register = gladiators in battle (munera)

* The lower register = hunting wild animals (venationes)

The left side of the relief.

The right side of the relief.

Detail of the central register.

Detail of the central register.

Detail of the lower register.

Detail of the decoration on the left side of the relief.

This relief shows four pairs of gladiators.
It is part of a funeral monument for Gaius Lusius Storax who died around AD 40.

The gladiators on the left side of the relief.

The gladiators on the right side of the relief.

This relief (from Colosseum) shows two gladiators and a master (lanista).

Detail of the relief: the master (lanista).

Detail of the relief: the two gladiators in battle.

This relief shows three gladiators. Two are standing, while one is kneeling.
The winners are standing; the loser is kneeling.



Detail of the above: the two gladiators who are standing.

This relief shows an animal fight (venatio). Six hunters battle three wild animals.
Two animals are down (far left and far right). In the centre, a lion attacks a hunter.

The left side of the above.
One wild animal is down.
It is guarded by a hunting dog.

The right side of the above.
A lion attacks a hunter (left side of the picture).
One wild animal is down (right side of the picture).

This graffiti from Colosseum shows an animal fight (venatio).

Detail of the graffiti: a man is fighting a wild animal. Two hunting dogs are helping him.

Another detail of the graffiti: a man is fighting a wild animal.

This relief shows three gladiators, two in battle and one who is watching the pair.

The man on the left is Ludus Lillianus.
According to the inscription, he is the winner of the battle.

The name of his opponent is Clemens.
The Latin letter M above him tells us that he was released (missus).
The Greek letter theta (a cross in a circle) means death.
Apparently Clemens was killed, even though he was released.

The man on the right has no name.
The Latin letter M above him stands for missus.
The Greek letter theta means death.

This relief shows three groups of gladiators.

On the left one person, on the right two persons.

In the middle two persons who were archers (sagittarii), a rare type of gladiators.

Tombstone of a gladiator called Urbicus, a secutor.

The upper register: a relief which shows the gladiator Urbicus.

The lower register: the inscription on the tombstone.

Here is an English translation:

"For Urbicus, a secutor. A Primus Palus [i.e. the best fighter] from Florence, he engaged in 13 fights and lived for 22 years. He is survived by two daughters - Olympia, aged five months, and Fortunensis - and by his wife Lauricia, who lived with her respected husband for seven years. I urge you to kill the man who defeated me! His supporters will preserve the memory of Urbicus with honour."

The tombstone of Cornelia Frontina was raised by her parents:
Marcus Ulpius Callistus and Flavia Nice.
Her father was manager of arms and equipment (praepositus armamentario) at the gladiator school located next to the Colosseum (Ludus Magnus).

Detail of the tombstone - the first five lines of the text.

Detail of the tombstone: the last five lines of the text.

Here is the Latin text:

DIS MANIBUS
CORNELIAE FRONTINAE
VIXIT ANNIS XVI MENSIBUS VII
MARCUS ULPIUS AUGUSTI LIBERTUS CALLISTUS
PATER PRAEPOSITUS ARMAMENTARIO
LUDI MAGNI ET FLAVIA NICE CONIUXS
SANCTISSIMA [HOC MONUMENTUM] FECERUNT SIBI
LIBERTIS LIBERTABUSQUE POSTERISQUE EORUM

Here is an English translation:

"To the spirits of the departed. To Cornelia Frontina, who lived for 16 years and seven months. Her father Marcus Ulpius Callistus - freedman of the emperor and manager of arms and equipment at the gladiator school, Ludus Magnus - and his most faithful wife Flavia Nice erected [this monument] for themselves and their freedmen and freedwomen and their descendants."

The Latin word for "wife" at the end of line # 6 was mispelled by the stonecutter who wrote CONIUXS. The correct spelling of this word is CONIUNX.

Tombstone of a gladiator called Quintus Sossius Albius from Aquileia, a murmillo.

The upper register: a relief which shows the gladiator Quintus Sossius Albius.

The lower register: the inscription on the tombstone.

Here is the Latin text:

DIS MANIBUS

QUINTI SOSSI ALBI

MYRMILLIONIS

SOSSIA LUSTA

LIBERTA PATRONO

BENEMERENTI

Here is an English translation:

"To the spirits of the departed and to the spirit of Quintus Sossius Albius, murmillo. The freedwoman Sossia Lusta [dedicated this monument] to her meritorious patron."

The best seats in the Colosseum were reserved for the Roman elite.
The name of the man who had the seat was inscribed on the stone.
In this case Fabius Felix Passifilius Paulinus who was praefectus urbi ca. 450-476.

Female gladiators are depicted on this relief from Halicarnassus in Asia Minor.
The original is in the British Museum in London.
Moesgaard Museum shows us a photo of the marble relief.

Detail of the above.

The Greek inscription above the female gladiators says:

APELYTHISAN, which means: "They were released."

Apparently, the match was a draw and both combatants survived.

Detail of the above.

The Greek inscription below the female gladiators gives us the names of the combatants:

On the left = Amazonia

On the right = Achillia

These names are hardly real. 

They are probably stage names.

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Moesgaard Museum has published a book which is a companion to the exhibition. 

Unfortunately, this book is only available in Danish. 

For information in English, see the following books:

Gladiators: Violence and Spectacle in Ancient Rome by Roger Dunkle (2008)

Gladiator: Fighting for Life, Glory & Freedom by Ben Hubbard (2015)

Gladiators and Beasthunts: Arena Sports of Ancient Rome by Christopher Epplett (2016)

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Moesgaard Museum is open every day of the week except Monday.

Here is a link to the official website:

Moesgaard Museum

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