By Eva Sheahan
Ridley Scott’s Gladiator (2000) is very powerful and ironically entertaining, following a brave and honourable gladiator named Maximus who fights for glory and democracy for Rome after Emperor Marcus Aurelius’ death. Over two decades later, the sega returns with a sequel set 16 years after the death of Marcus Aurelius. I think it’s safe to say that everyone is currently thinking about the Roman Empire. Gladiator II was released in theatres over the past weekend with a powerful cast led by Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal. While I find sequels are often not as good as the originals, I was still pleasantly entertained with the fast-paced Gladiator II which even opened up the film with a dramatic battle scene between Roman troops, led by Pascal, invading the ancient North African Kingdom of Numidia (modern-day Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Morocco), led by Mescal. The Gladiator films are loosely based on the political and social climate of the Roman Empire during the Imperial Era (“Roman Empire: A Brief History”).
The historical role of gladiators in Ancient Rome was to fight each other publicly to the death in arenas. Gladiators were the main form of entertainment in Ancient Rome– they were professional fighters and kings of entertainment. The emphasis on entertainment through violence is what leads Maximus to yell out his iconic line in Gladiator, “Are you not entertained?”, after demolishing several fellow gladiators in the arena (“The Roman Empire. Or Republic. Or…Which Was It?”).
Throughout Gladiator II, Mescal’s character, known by “Hanno” or his real name Lucius, was often put in extremely bizarre circumstances during his fights in the iconic Colosseum, including fighting off feral baboons and somehow even having to avert sharks. These perplexing battles left me wondering whether the Romans historically placed Gladiators in violent and complex situations such as Lucius’ aforementioned forced conflicts. Let’s find out.
Naval Battle and Shark-Infested Waters inside the Colosseum:
In one scene in Gladiator II, The Colosseum is filled with shark-infested waters and the gladiators have to engage in a naval battle against another ship while simultaneously floating atop a hungry, fishy threat.
Sharks in The Colosseum is very improbable and completely unrecorded in Roman history. The lack of sharks is most likely due to how difficult it would be to transport sharks to the arena, and there’s no historical evidence that Romans even knew what sharks were ("Gladiator II: Animals, Rhinos, Sharks, and Baboons"). They probably would’ve had a field day–had they known. However, the shocking sight of The Colosseum filled with bright blue water, sloshing against the stone walls, is historically accurate. It’s true that the Romans could and did flood the amphitheatre for gladiator events. This act was known as ‘naumachia’, invented in 46 BCE by Rome’s leader Julius Caesar on a mock lake he created ("Naumachia").
The battles reached The Colosseum when Emperor Titus (reign 71-89 CE) ordered that the theatre be flooded to replicate the naval battle between Athens and Syracuse, even including an artificial island for fighters to land ("Colosseum Naval Battles"). Romans relied on aqueducts heavily to receive water and would’ve used the pipes and canals within The Colosseum to fill the arena with water– it’s estimated that it would’ve taken 2-5 hours to fill the arena ("Naval Battles in the Colosseum"). The reason for the aquatic endeavours was for prisoners and slaves to recreate and mimic real naval battles where Rome was triumphant to inspire this patriotism which was rampant in Ancient Rome.
Animals vs Gladiators:
In many scenes in Gladiator II, Lucius fought various animals including baboons and rhinos. Lucius’ first fight as a gladiator, he battled a pack of feral baboons and even went as far as to bite one. Baboons weren’t an animal that ever made their way to The Colosseum during the period of the Roman Empire– but monkeys took over the amphitheatre once under Antonius Pius’ reign (“Gladiator II: Animals Rhinos Sharks Baboons”). The sheer barbarity of a human being forced to fight a large and vicious animal seems inhumane and fictional- but animals being invited to gladiatorial contests was actually quite common, including bears, rhinos, tigers, and elephants ("Roman Gladiators: Fact vs. Fiction"). When gladiators fought animals it was hosted as a contest known as venationes or ‘wild beast hunts’ ("Roman Gladiators: Fact vs. Fiction"). Often many exotic animals were brought to the amphitheatre, not necessarily for violence, but to symbolize the reach and scope of the Roman Empire as animals were venturing all over including from Asia and Africa (“Gladiator II: Fact vs. Fiction”).
Coda
Not only are the Gladiator movies amusing, but it’s beneficial to look to our past to teach us about our future. The ‘more, more, more’ mentality of Ancient Rome, constantly pushing the boundaries of war and trade to conquer and take from surrounding lands is eerily reminiscent of global capitalism. Here we are, thousands of years later, continuing to watch men fight and violence for amusement– maybe humanity hasn’t evolved as much as we thought.
Works Cited
"Colosseum Naval Battles." The Roman Guy, https://theromanguy.com/italy-travel-blog/rome/colosseum/colosseum-naval-battles/. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.
"Gladiator II: Animals, Rhinos, Sharks, and Baboons." Today, https://www.today.com/popculture/movies/gladiator-ii-animals-rhinos-sharks-baboons-rcna180993. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.
"Gladiator II: Fact vs. Fiction." People, https://people.com/gladiator-ii-fact-vs-fiction-sharks-rhinos-colosseum-exclusive-8748991. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.
Milwaukee Public Museum. “Roman Empire: A Brief History.” Milwaukee Public Museum, https://www.mpm.edu/research-collections/anthropology/anthropology-collections-research/mediterranean-oil-lamps/roman-empire-brief-history. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.
"Naumachia." Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/technology/naumachia. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.
"Naval Battles in the Colosseum." Carpe Diem Tours, https://carpediemtours.com/blog/naval-battles-in-the-colosseum/#:~:text=The%20tricky%20logistics%20of%20flooding%20the%20Colosseum. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.
Overly Sarcastic Productions. “The Roman Empire. Or Republic. Or...Which Was It?” YouTube, uploaded by Overly Sarcastic Productions, 3 Dec. 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPNOdkLcL_g. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.
"Roman Gladiators: Fact vs. Fiction." USHistory.org, https://www.ushistory.org/civ/6e.asp#:~:text=They%20used%20metal%20gloves%20to,%22wild%20beast%20hunts%22. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.