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Gladiator Rules
#1
Greetings,
according to this article from yesterday, Gladiators did abide by a code of conduct during fights
...[url:13ai7g2w]http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyid=2006-02-22T204331Z_01_L22276551_RTRIDST_0_SCIENCE-SCIENCE-GLADIATORS-DC.XML[/url]
regards
Arthes
Cristina
The Hoplite Association
[url:n2diviuq]http://www.hoplites.org[/url]
The enemy is less likely to get wind of an advance of cavalry, if the orders for march were passed from mouth to mouth rather than announced by voice of herald, or public notice. Xenophon
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#2
This is part of the Article in the New Scientist:

http://www.newscientist.com/channel/bei ... 4.600.html

There's a little more about the two Austrian scientists and how they made their findings about the gladiators
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#3
Quote (Injuries to the front of each skull suggested that each opponent used just one type of weapon per bout of face-to-face contact, the researchers say in a paper to be published in Forensic Science International)

What does this mean ? Very confusing as the skull was not exposed, except for the Retiarius, so what caused the damage, and how does it show that one type of weapon was used ?

This new revalation would have been less of a surprise had they read a few books recenlty published and a few ancient texts :?
Conal Moran

Do or do not, there is no try!
Yoda
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#4
I think that the idea gladiators fought to a set of rules is surely a lot simpler to conclude to than carrying out forensic studies of 67 skeletons? In many images a umpires or referee is obviously seen, in a great many images he is doing 'something', his clavii would indicate he held some rank (if only in the arena) and he is clearly shown indicating things and in some hold gladiators back.

Seems a lot of work for something we have already known, hopefully the forensic studies will reveal something a little more interesting in the future, just MHO.

All the best
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#5
Graham

I hope the actual article is more illuminating than what I have read so far as it worries me when people extrapolate when they have "apparently" no basis for doing so as they have clearly(Confusedhock: ) not looked at other sources.

It doesn't do their case much good when they use the "Gladiator" guys as advisers :roll:

Conal
Conal Moran

Do or do not, there is no try!
Yoda
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#6
Apparently there is an extract in todays Daily Mail for you UK guys.
Conal Moran

Do or do not, there is no try!
Yoda
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#7
This article mixes up quite some things: This figure called Charun made sure that a person is dead by giving him a blow with a hammer, but he did this only to the noxii (people sentenced to death in the arena) and not to gladiators. Also dragging out fallen people from the arena only applied to the noxii, fallen gladiators were carried away on a bier, so in a much more dignified way. Only backstage some one checked if a gladiator who received a iugulatio was really dead and does not just pretend his death.

It's already a well known fact that gladiators fought to certain rules. There was the summa rudis (kind of referee) who could interrupt a fight if it was not according to the rules. Just check the works by Marcus Junkelmann or Thomas Wiedemann.

When the article refers to Kathleen Coleman as an advisor to the movie "Gladiator" it's true that the movie makers had consulted her in the first place but she asked that her name should be left out of the credits when she saw what they made for a kind of movie, that the gladiators there bear no resemblance to the real thing.

The forensic studies of the Austrians could only find out how a certain person died or what injuries this person had and maybe also what he usually ate. But to say that all gladiators did it like that is generalizing. Unfortunatel they do so in these articles just because it's a catchy topic.
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#8
Quote:Hi guys, you haven't watch this? Confusedhock:
http://www.technofile.com/dvds/colosseum.html

I got it along with Pompeii, it explaind everithing,

<snip>

Yes, like that gladiators on foot fought with pseudo-cavalry helmets without the face mask so that everybody could see their faces (if one thing about gladiators at that time is for sure it's that the most uniformly protected spot was the face (exc. retiarius)) in more or less fantasy armor without a referee in sight and using whatever weapon/shield/etc. combination someone on the set thought looked cool. Ack. Saw it once on TV and will never watch it again.
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#9
Quote:yes gladiators not always fought to death, it was very expensive stuff!

Yes, you are right. However this statement must be seen with caution , too, as it seems. Gravestones, graffiti etc. from the 1st c. AD IIRC implicate that about 1 in 10 fights ended with the death of a gladiator, or in other words 1 in 5 gladiator losing their duels were killed. Later, the ratio seems to change steadily with a higher percentage of gladiators being killed until sometime in the 3rd or 4th c. we even hear about fights where ties were not allowed anymore. On top of this we cannot be quite sure that the information taken from graffiti especially takes into account wounded gladiators dying of their wounds only days later. At any rate, judging by the gravestones, living beyond the age of 30 was not the normal thing for most gladiators.
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#10
Quote:Yes, like that gladiators on foot fought with pseudo-cavalry helmets without the face mask so that everybody could see their faces

Gladiators in the 1st century BCE had helmets which were similar to the Roman infantry, e.g. the provocatores. Only in the 1st century CE their armor got more and more specialized and more types appeared, e.g. the murmillo is a more specialized type of provocator, his weapons are the same, but his helmet has now a face mask. Esp. the retiarius is a quite new gladiator type which came up in the 1st century CE.
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#11
Quote:Gladiators in the 1st century BCE had helmets which were similar to the Roman infantry, e.g. the provocatores.

<snip>

Yes, you are of course right (I guess you are referring to Junkelmann, Das Spiel mit dem Tod pp. 67/68, pics. 67-69 e.g.), but note that I was talking about a film set in the Colosseum, so we should expect late 1st century AD equipment and therefore visored helmets here. Film directors seem unable to bear to have their heroes' faces hidden from the camera ...
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#12
Salve Martin,

Yes, I'm referring to the Junkelmann book. And I also have this BBC documentary. It's true that they used gladiators in the style of the 1st century BCE in a venue which was only errected at the end of the 1st century CE. Again a proof how inaccurate directors are, the more as this is a documentary and not a movie like "Gladiator".
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#13
Quote:Ok! I just saw today in History Channel a documentary about Gladiators.

Sounds interesting, what's the title of it?
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#14
Quote:But when I search in their site this is what I came across!
http://store.aetv.com/html/product/index.jhtml?id=72405

What a pity, it seems to be available only for the American market. Tried to find it for Germany/Europe, but no chance Cry
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