Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants: Frequently Asked Questions about the Ancient Greeks and Romans

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Were some of these men bisexual? Possibly. Were they gay? Perhaps. But in the final analysis, it really doesn’t matter. What is important is that 2000 years ago, same-sex relations were normal. So, how did gay sex happen with the gladiators? Well, according to books written by scholars about this topic, it usually occurred in group form. As for one of the events involving Lucian the ass and a condemned woman, a wild panther was set loose after the deed was done and put a final end to the bound woman. 2. Killed by Wild Cats That said, the tradition of depicting ancient Greek warriors naked or semi-naked in works of art is a lot older than Hollywood:

It would be erroneous to blame all of the brutal executions that took place in the Colosseum on the ancient Romans. While arguments can be made that the Pagan executions were beyond brutal, the same can be said of the executions that occurred after Rome had been Christianized. The sentence of ad gladium was death by the sword. Now this could mean just about anything, as long as the prisoner was killed with a sword. Another thing to take into account is that, in the archaic age particularly, armies would often meet on the field of battle and then agree to settle the differences by having one warrior from each side meet. This form of battle would have been more akin to the gladiatorial matches of later periods. Since the Greeks, and even the Romans to some extent, had a romanticized concept of naked warriors it is quite possible some of these matches might have taken place naked. By the classical age, these one-on-one contests were not as common. Soldiers would have wanted to wear as little as possible, especially if the weather was hot, but they would also want protection. This question fits my definition of trivial. If you copy the question and paste it into google, three of the top five responses answer the question.

In other accounts of wild cats used in executions, the victim was tied to a post that had been set up in the arena for such events. The cat would be let loose and the victim shredded to the cheers of the crowd. As their clothes burned, the victims were forced to dance for the Roman public as the pain of fire burned away their flesh. Their shrieks of pain would have been horrifying to us, but to the ancient Romans, the death cries were not only entertainment, but the auditory proof of a well deserved death. Because so many of these men were imprisoned by their masters, their ability to engage in sexual relations with women was limited (at best). Photo Credit: Bromans Female gladiators (gladiatrix) were just a thing of legend for many years. However, decades of research have made it possible to finally confirm their existence and importance in the Ancient Roman culture of gladiator fights. In many ways, this behavior mirrored that of the Tirones, the Latin name given to new recruits of the ancient Roman Army. Here, the person would volunteer to be pounded out by as many as 15 men in rapid succession. Group Deposits

On July 2, 2010, in Credenhill, Herefordshire, England, archeologists uncovered other remains which might be from a female gladiator. The burial contained the wooden chest secured with three iron bands and many iron nails. The pelvis and the head, belonged to a very common woman. However, the leg and arm bones were found to be unusually heavy and suggested that she had strong muscles. Plutarch also mentions that Spartan boys learned how to march barefoot and go naked during their training. Plutarch mentions that at the age of twelve their undergarment would be taken away and only one upper garment given them each year. This garment was a red cloak, which they would wear as Spartan soldiers once their training was complete, along with whatever armor was issued to them. The cloak itself, however, was not worn during battle, as it would be a hindrance to movement.For female criminals who were sentenced to die in the arena, this often meant reenacting the sex scenes. Unfortunately, those sex scenes included Pasiphae and the bull, as well as a scene from The Golden Ass by Apuleius. Specifically, a clad of fighters (let’s say 4-6) would take a recruit into their clutches and group penetrate him. History does not tell us if this was done by force or if it was consensual. No. The movie 300 has the Spartan soldiers fighting nearly naked without any form of body armor protecting them. Body armor was a valuable asset to the real Spartan soldiers. 300 author Frank Miller commented on this alteration in an Entertainment Weekly interview, "I took those chest plates and leather skirts off of them for a reason. I wanted these guys to move and I wanted 'em to look good. ... Spartans, in full regalia, were almost indistinguishable except at a very close angle." Death by crucifixion in the arenas was, no doubt, extremely painful. Oftentimes, the criminal’s legs were broken before being suspended. When the criminal was in position, he would slowly die by asphyxiation and blood loss.