Female Gladiators in Imperial Rome: Literary Context and Historical Fact

Abstract

Female gladiators were a definite presence in Rome whose participation paralleled that of men, though the scale of this presence in frequency and number is unknown. Senatus consultum decrees from A.D. 11 and 19 confidently mark the first appearance of this phenomenon. Later literary sources (including Martial, Cassius Dio, and Juvenal) expand the evidence, but often consist of mere sentences, giving little detail. The concentration of literary mentions in the Neronian and Flavian periods is explained by two factors: one, the intent to mark a games as splendid and lavish, and two, the intent to use this luxury context to comment on past emperors and moralize on Roman society.