(ORDO NEWS) — Archaeologists managed to find evidence that not only men, but also women took part in gladiatorial battles. Experts noted that they fought both among themselves and with a variety of wild animals.
The Roman poet Decimus Junius Juvenal noted in his notes that women trained on an equal footing with men, used the same weapons and used the same teaching methods. At the same time, no information about the school, which was intended for female gladiators, has survived.
Reported by HeritageDaily.
Such fights were arranged only for the upper class spectators. If ordinary women appeared in the arena, then the Romans practically did not care about their actions. Such female gladiators, as a rule, became a cause of contempt in society.
They were called mulieres and numerous proofs of their existence, as well as information about training and playing in the arena, were found in the inscriptions of Ostia Antica. Fights of this type were very common in the 2nd century AD.
The chronicler Cassius Dio also left some mentions of the festival, which was held in honor of the mother of the emperor Nero. During the celebration, women “rode horses, fought wild animals and fought just like real gladiators.” Some did it completely voluntarily, while others only under duress.
If we talk about the artifacts discovered, then in London, experts unearthed a rather complex funeral pyre, in which there were many oil lamps from special burial implements. A dead gladiator was painted on one of the lamps, and the remains of the bones belonged to a woman who at the time of her death was no more than 20 years old.
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