In the arena of the Colosseum, not only male gladiators met in mortal duels – this is a scientific fact. It is confirmed by the surviving texts of Roman laws and archaeological finds. In 11 AD, by a special decree, the Roman Senate officially banned free women under the age of 20 from entering the arena. And in 1919, additions to this decree appeared. Roman senators banned both men and women from the upper classes – senators and equestrians – from participating in gladiatorial games.
For other Roman women, not to mention slaves, there were no such restrictions. The participation of women as fighters in the arena is demonstrated, for example, by a marble bas-relief from Halicarnassus, depicting two female gladiators in heavy armor. Their names have been preserved, engraved under the figures of the fighting, their names were Amazonia and Achilles. The ancient Roman author Petronius the Arbitrator even mentions a woman Essedarii in the Satyricon. This is a very specific kind of gladiators. The Essedarii were armed with a bow and arrow and fought in chariots. It is believed that for the first time such gladiators were introduced into the arena by Julius Caesar himself.
The Roman historian Tacitus wrote that in 63 AD. a large number of noble women “tarnished themselves by entering the arena.” As you can see, the decisions of the Senate were not always respected by the noble Romans. However, many more ordinary women took part in such games. Another Roman historian, Dio Cassius, has a description of gladiatorial games during the reign of Emperor Titus Flavius Vespasian. They were attended by ordinary townspeople – not only singly, but also in groups. The same thing happened under the Emperor Domitian, who replaced Titus, about which Suetonius writes in the book “The Life of the Twelve Caesars.” Not only famous historians, but also many ancient Roman satirical poets, such as Juvenal and Martial, mention women gladiators in their epigrams.
The fashion for female gladiator fights existed in ancient Rome even before our era, they acquired a special scope under the emperor Nero. A large number of female gladiators took part in the festivities organized by him in honor of his mother. Moreover, some of them were pushed into the arena forcibly – in this way Nero wanted to disgrace several noble families. But much more free women became gladiators voluntarily, for the sake of fame or for self-affirmation. Or even for the sake of fashion, along with friends.
With whom did the women fight in the arena? This depended heavily on the status of the lady in gladiatorial armor. Slaves sold as gladiators – fought with whom they ordered. Noble or just free women usually took part in duels with the same women. But sometimes they could participate in the persecution of wild animals, if they themselves wished to. As far as is known, there were no fights between women and male gladiators. Often women gladiators were invited to participate in “closed” performances in the homes of patricians, usually such fights served to entertain the jaded Roman public and were not fought to death.
Officially, the participation of women in gladiatorial games was prohibited by decree of the emperor Septimius Severus in 200 AD. But it is unlikely that this prohibition was observed very strictly, judging by the inscription found by archaeologists from the city of Ostia, dedicated to the local magistrate, with a mention of female gladiator fights. This inscription dates back to the 3rd century AD, and this despite the fact that Ostia is located very close to the city of Rome. It is possible that female gladiators performed in arenas as long as the gladiator games themselves existed.
