Gladiator contests frequently come to mind when we consider ancient Rome. However, knowledge of these Colosseum battles is limited, making them ideal for creative screenwriting. This is evident in Gladiator II—the sequel to the five-time Oscar-winning 2000 blockbuster Gladiator—now in theaters (Nov. 22).
While mosaics and other art depict gladiators, the only written account of a fight comes from Martial’s “On the Spectacles,” circa 80 AD. This poem describes gladiators Priscus and Verus engaging in a well-matched contest, concluding only when the emperor signaled its end.
“The fact that we possess only one description, from a first-century AD poem, of a gladiatorial contest between two individuals is surprising,” notes Mary Beard, a classicist and author of Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient Roman World. “The purpose of these contests remains a major mystery. We don’t know their origins.”
Gladiatorial combats were popular among Romans and fostered a sense of civic unity, according to Beard. All social classes attended. The film portrays the crowd reveling in the violence.
Gladiator II depicts Marcus Aurelius’s illegitimate grandson becoming a gladiator slave after his city-state’s conquest. Macrinus, a powerful businessman, buys Lucius to build a gladiator army.
While a gladiatorial school existed near the Colosseum, offering various fighting styles, and Macrinus was a real historical figure who later became emperor, he did not train gladiators. It’s true that gladiators could originate from conquered territories. The film depicts a fight as a “victory of Rome over the barbarians.”
“It’s an ordered ritualized slaughter,” Beard explains. Some spectators “likely enjoyed witnessing the deaths of those they considered enemies.”
Gladiators were chosen from the fringes of society
Gladiators were recruited from society’s margins, including enslaved people, criminals, and prisoners of war. Vagrants also filled the ranks. Beard notes that gladiators were generally “outsiders in Roman society.”
The Colosseum’s periodic flooding for naumachia (recreated naval battles) is historically accurate. Andrew Scott, a Villanova University professor of classical studies, compares these events to modern battle reenactments. However, the film’s depiction of sharks is highly improbable. “I don’t think I’ve ever read the word shark in an ancient historical narrative,” Scott states.
Staged hunts were also common, and gladiators may have ridden exotic animals. Gladiator II features a rhinoceros. While conquering soldiers might have brought animals back, wild boars from the surrounding countryside were probably more typical arena prey.
Gladiator II’s plot might not be entirely historically accurate, but, as Beard observes, the franchise captures “the wondrous, almost unbelievable spectacles” of real gladiatorial contests.
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