The real history of the gladiators

By Debra Adams Simmons, HISTORY Executive Editor

It’s hard to understand how people in ancient Rome could sit in the stands of an amphitheater and watch someone get beaten to death for sport.

The ancient spectacle of gladiator fights perhaps was not as deadly as presented, Andrew Curry writes for National Geographic. During the past 20 years, research has revealed that gladiators weren’t trying to kill each other. Nine out of ten gladiators survived a match.

To reconstruct the real story of the ring, archaeologists and historians search to find clues in art, at excavations, and by reading between the lines of ancient texts. Re-enactments, such as the clash pictured above in a 1,900-year-old Roman arena in Arles, France, help researchers as well.

Like many things about ancient Rome, some of the best-preserved evidence for gladiators comes from Pompeii, south of modern-day Naples, Italy. Once a thriving city, Pompeii was buried suddenly by a volcanic eruption in A.D. 79. Even after three centuries of excavations, archaeologists continue to uncover fresh evidence at Pompeii, Curry writes.

In 2019, archaeologists discovered a fresco of two gladiators with what look like ostrich plumes adorning their bronze helmets painted on the wall of a small tavern. (Pictured above, gladiator armor and weapons uncovered at Pompeii.)
Despite the fascination with gladiators, it’s hard to understand how this was acceptable. Perhaps future generations will raise the same questions about American football and wrestling.

By law, gladiators were considered property, not people. They could be killed at the whim of whoever was paying for their fight. “That’s fundamental to understanding how the Romans could sit in the stands and watch this happening,” says Harvard University classicist Kathleen Coleman.

It may be easy to judge the Romans, but when it comes to a taste for violent spectacle, we’re closer to them than we like to imagine. Athletes who engage in violent sports—from football to boxing to mixed martial arts—are idolized as exemplars of discipline, toughness, and grit, Curry writes. Their bouts attract millions of spectators, even as the long-lasting damage to athletes has become widely known.

Do you get this newsletter daily? If not, sign up here or forward this to a friend.

TODAY IN A MINUTE

Dixie fire: The massive blazes in northern California now add up to the state's second largest wildfire in recorded history. It has destroyed more than 400 homes and businesses, the Los Angeles Times reports, and firefighters are preparing to risk their lives to rescue people who have refused to retreat from the advancing flames.

When does COVID end? That’s what people want to know about this drawn-out pandemic. It will be a long wait, Jillian Kramer writes for Nat Geo. A century after the horrific Spanish influenza, weakened versions of the pandemic still hit the world seasonally. Kramer warns that COVID-19 also will likely be termed endemic (weakened, but not wiped out). Only two diseases in recorded history affecting humans or animals have been eradicated: smallpox and rinderpest, a viral malady attacking cattle.

Falling from grace: He once was hugely popular—and tens of millions of Americans hung on his words. Then Charles A. Lindbergh flew too close to fascism, suggesting negotiating with Hitler, History reports. It took his eventual support of the war effort—and 50 air missions against the Axis powers—to help rehabilitate the reputation of the aviation pioneer.

Important debt forgiveness: Young Black adults take on 85 percent more education debt than their white counterparts, and that disparity compounds by 7 percent each year after the borrowers leave school. And nearly 87 percent of Black students take student loans, as opposed to 60 percent of white colleagues. That’s why the move by more than 20 historically Black colleges and universities to forgive student debt will make a dent in the racial wealth gap, Kori Hale writes for Forbes.

Emissions must end: That's the headline from the most comprehensive report on climate change, issued today, Nat Geo's Alejandra Borunda reports. Climate change has already touched every corner of the planet and will continue to reshape the human experience for centuries to come, its impacts intensifying as warming grows, scientists warn. We'll have more on the report in tomorrow's newsletter.

THE BIG TAKEAWAY

The secrets of the Stasi: In the old East Germany, the Communist government empowered far-reaching spying on its citizens through its all-powerful Stasi internal intelligence operation. It seemed like everyone was spying on their neighbors and telling the state. After Germany reunited in 1989, East Germans dug into the Stasi files to see how extensive the betrayals were. The files are being moved from one central location to several national archives' offices now, but the grim legacy remains, Emily Schultheis reports. (Pictured above, Stasi surveillance camera footage.)

SEE THE ESPIONAGE 

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Snorkeling with Obama: Last week, our popular Photo of the Day feature dove in for this 2016 image of former President Barack Obama swimming off the Midway Islands. The dive, captured by photographer and Nat Geo Explorer Brian Skerry, was part of the Hawaii-born president’s trip to celebrate the expansion of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. The change made Papahānaumokuākea one of the world’s largest protected areas—twice the size of Texas.

SEE VINTAGE PHOTOS 

IN A FEW WORDS

DID A FRIEND FORWARD THIS TO YOU?

On Tuesday, Laura Parker will cover the latest in the environment. If you don't get the daily newsletter, sign up here for Victoria Jaggard on science, George Stoneon travel, Rachael Bale on animal and wildlife news, Debra Adams Simmons on history, and Rachel Buchholz on families and kids.

LAST GLIMPSE

Look out! From her tower in Montana’s Glacier National Park, fire-spotter Karen Reeves writes about listening to the birds and insects, “and, rarely but wonderfully, wolf howls or elk bugles.” If the wind isn’t too loud, she hears the water falling over rocks in the creek a thousand feet below. Reeves (pictured above) often enjoys a morning cup of coffee on most pleasant side of the narrow, wrap-around catwalk. But wait—is that a fire rising in the distance?

READ ON