207
In ancient Rome, being a gladiator meant not only fame or profits, but also a low social status, writes Success in UA.
However, it was a path to independence, which, in addition to men, was also used by women.
In one of the museums of Great Britain, there is an ancient marble relief depicting a duel between two gladiators. Despite the usual plot, the artifact intrigued scientists, as both gladiators are women, it is reported focus.ua.
A relief found in Halicarnassus, Turkey states that the battle ended in an honorable draw. This raises the question of whether female gladiators were common in ancient Rome or whether this is an extraordinary depiction.
Researchers often encounter difficulties in the interpretation of ancient cultures, but there is still convincing evidence of the existence of female gladiators. Relief is one of the clear testimonies.
Additionally, a nearly 2000-year-old bronze statue now housed in Hamburg's Museum of Arts and Crafts has long been believed to depict a female athlete with a strigile, a sickle-shaped metal scraper used by athletes to clean their bodies.
However, in 2011, Alfonso Manas of the University of Granada argued that the statue actually depicted a female gladiator fighting with a curved dagger that the untrained eye could mistake for a scimitar.
Manas emphasizes that only ten literary fragments and one inscription provide written evidence of female gladiators, which makes it difficult to form a complete picture.
Ancient Roman society considered gladiators to be of low status, and women who fought in the arena faced additional discrimination. The Roman satirist Juvenal criticized female gladiators, reflecting the social shame associated with their participation in combat.
Despite their rarity, women gladiators still existed and came from different social strata. Their motives likely included a desire for independence, fame, and financial gain.
According to Joshua Mark, content director of the Encyclopedia of World History, these women, while sacrificing respectability, were sometimes honored as highly as male gladiators.
