Munera Gladiatoria and Female Gladiators in the Ancient World
PDF

Keywords

Female gladiators; female gladiation; female fights; munera gladiatoria; gender studies.

How to Cite

Gatti, Angela. 2022. “Munera Gladiatoria and Female Gladiators in the Ancient World”. In Gremium. Studies in History, Culture and Politics, no. 16 (December), 23-43. https://doi.org/10.34768/ig.vi16.387.

Abstract

In recent years, the phenomenon of female gladiators has received much scholarly attention (McCullough 2008, Manas 2011, Miączewska 2012, Brunet 2014, Kocjan 2018). Some issues, however, remain unresolved, especially as regards the importance of the event in ancient Rome, its frequency, and its characteristics. The aim of this study is to offer new insights on the problem, starting from a careful analysis in chronological order of all the ancient sources that have reported the phenomenon and commented on the presence of women in the arena. In the second part of the paper, I analyse the archaeological and epigraphic evidence, although fewer in number than the literary ones. In this way, I will try to recreate a picture of the situation as complete as possible.

https://doi.org/10.34768/ig.vi16.387
PDF

References

J. N. Adams, Latin Words for “Woman” and “Wife”, “Glotta” 1972, 50, 3/4, pp. 234-255
J. N. Adams, Words for “Prostitute” in Latin, “Rheinisches Museum” 1983, 126, pp. 321-358
B. Axelson, Unpoetische Worter, Lund 1945
D. Battaglia – L. Ventura, De Rebus Gladiatoriis, Roma 2010
D. L. Bomgardner, The story of the Roman Amphitheatre, London-New York 2000
D. Briquel, Les femmes gladiateurs: examen du dossier, “Ktema” 1992, 17, pp. 47-53
M. Buonocore, Epigrafia anfiteatrale dell’Occidente Romano. III. Regiones Italiae II-V, Sicilia, Sardinia et Corsica (Vetera, 6), Roma 1992
P. Cagniart, The Philosopher and the Gladiator, “The Classical World” 2000, 93, 6, pp. 607-618
S. Cannavale, Civiltà del teatro e dello spettacolo nella Campania Antica. L’area di Capua, Napoli 2015
M. Cébeillac Gervasoni – F. Zevi, Révisions et nouveautés pour trois inscriptions d'Ostie, “Mélanges de l’École française de Rome – Antiquité” 1976, 88, 2, pp. 607-637
M. Clavel-Lévêque, L’espace des jeux dans le monde romain: hégémonie, symbolique et pratique sociale, “Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt” 1986, II, 16, 3, pp. 2405-2563
F. Coarelli, L’armamento e le classi dei gladiatori, in La Regina (ed.), Sangue e arena. Catalogo della mostra. Roma 2001-2002, Roma 2001, pp. 153-173
F. Coarelli, Ludus Gladiatorius, in La Regina (ed.), Sangue e arena. Catalogo della mostra. Roma 2001-2002, Roma 2001, pp. 147-151
K. Coleman, Missio at Halicarnassus, “Harvard Studies in Classical Philology” 2000, 100, pp. 487-500
M. Fora, I munera gladiatoria in Italia. Considerazioni sulla loro documentazione epigrafica, Napoli 1996
G. L. Gregori, I gladiatori e il loro mondo, in A. Gabucci (ed.), Colosseo, Milano 1999, pp. 89-97
P. Green (ed.), Juvenal. The Sixteen Satires, London 1998
Gros, L’architecture romaine du début du III siècle av. J. -C. à la fin du Haut-Empire, Parigi 1996
F. Guidi, Morte nell’arena. Storia e leggenda dei gladiatori, Milano 2006
E. Gunderson, The Ideology of the Arena, “Classical Antiquity” 1996, 15, 1, pp. 113-151
R. Jackson, Gladiators in Roman Britain, “British Museum Magazine” 2000, 38, pp. 16-21
L. Jacobelli, Gladiatori a Pompei, Roma 2003
M. Junkelmann, Das Spiel mit dem Tod. So kämpfen Roms Gladiatorem, Mainz 2000
T. Kocjan, A Woman’s Virtus? Perceptions of the Female Gladiator, “Chronika” 2018, 8, pp. 49-56
G. Legrottaglie, Il sistema delle immagini negli anfiteatri romani, Bari 2008
B. Levick, The Senatus Consultum from Larinum, “The Journal of Roman Studies” 1983, 73, pp. 97-115
A. Mañas Bastida, Gladiatores. El gran espectàculo de Roma, Barcellona 2013
A. Mañas Bastida, Munera gladiatorum. Mujeres gladiatoras, “Florentia Iliberritana” 2012, XXIII, pp. 127-151
A. Manas, New evidence of female gladiators: the bronze statuette at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe of Hamburg, “International Journal of the History of Sport” 2011, 28, pp. 2726-2752
C. Mann, I gladiatori, Bologna 2014
S. Mattesini, Gladiatori, Roma 2009
A. McCullough, Female Gladiators in Imperial Rome: Literary Context and Historical Fact, “The Classical World” 2008, 101, 2, pp. 197-209
A. B. Miączewska, Female Gladiators at the Roman Munera: A Fact or a Fantasy?, “Res Historica” 2012, 34, pp. 9-28
C. Newlands, Statius’ Silvae and the poetics of Empire, Cambridge 2004
T. E. Page - E. Capps - W. H. D. Rouse (eds.), Statius. Vol. 1, London-New York 1928
F. Paolucci, Gladiatori. I dannati dello spettacolo, Milano 2006
R. Paris, Origine e diffusione della gladiatura, in M. L. Conforto (ed.), Anfiteatro Flavio. Immagine testimonianze spettacoli, Roma 1988, pp. 119-130
F. Rausa, La morte come spettacolo nell’antica Roma. Osservazioni a proposito di alcuni contributi sugli spectacula, “Ludica” 2004, 10, pp.179-193
R. Rea, Il Colosseo, teatro per gli spettacoli di caccia. Le fonti e i reperti, in A. La Regina (ed.), Sangue e arena. Catalogo della mostra. Roma 2001-2002, Roma 2001, pp. 223-243
C. Ricci, Gladiatori e attori nella Roma giulio-claudia. Studi sul senatoconsulto di Larino, Milano 2006
S. Rinaldi Tufi, Gladiatori. Una giornata di spettacoli, Roma 2018
L. Robert, Les Gladiateurs dans l’Orient grec, Paris 1940
E. T. Salmon, Il Sannio e i Sanniti, Torino 1985
F. Santoro L’Hoir, The rhetoric of gender terms: “man”, “woman”, and the portrayal of character in Latin prose, Leiden-New York-Köln 1992
P. Serra, I gladiatori, atleti del passato, Roma 2014
I. Tantillo, I munera in età tardo antica, in A. Giardina (ed.), Roma antica, Roma-Bari 2000, pp. 120-125
G. Ville, La gladiature en Occident. Des origines à la mort de Domitien, Roma 1981
C. Vismara, La giornata di spettacoli, in A. La Regina (ed.), Sangue e arena. Catalogo della mostra. Roma 2001-2002, Roma 2001, pp. 199-221
R. Webb, Female Entertainers in Late Antiquity, in P. Easterling - E. Hall (eds.), Greek and Roman Actors: Aspects of an Ancient Profession, Cambridge 2002, pp. 286-287
J. Welch, The Roman Amphitheater. From its Origins to the Colosseum, Cambridge 2007