09-10-2009, 06:38 PM
Would this thread not be better placed in 'Combat Sports'? Lots of gladiator enthusiasts over there!
Problem is, the Roman army traditionally had an almost vegetarian diet, based on beans IIRC. Isn't there an account of a legion once threatening mutiny when lack of supplies forced a temporary switch to meat rations? (a reference would be good here, I know! :? )
As for gladiators' diets, this article present some fairly reliable-sounding research (don't know what 'the oral history' refers to though!):
Source: [url:14dpzs3t]http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/ancient/AncientRepublish_1081439.htm[/url]
I remember reading somewhere that gladiators traditionally ate raw garlic as well - this might be one of those myths, however :wink: (It was in a Stephen Saylor novel, come to think of it, although he's usually pretty accurate and presumably got it from a reputable source...)
- Nathan
Quote:I think we all agree ancient gladiators,or any other warriors were strong,force comes from size(80% of it being bone and muscle), muscle size comes from protein,and protein ONLY.And protein means meat! So only soup or vegan/carbohydrate based diet for any sportsman based on strength is impossible. The same goes for gladiators, warriors etc..
Problem is, the Roman army traditionally had an almost vegetarian diet, based on beans IIRC. Isn't there an account of a legion once threatening mutiny when lack of supplies forced a temporary switch to meat rations? (a reference would be good here, I know! :? )
As for gladiators' diets, this article present some fairly reliable-sounding research (don't know what 'the oral history' refers to though!):
Quote:Roman gladiators were fat vegetarians
Robert Koch
Agençe France-Presse
Monday, 5 April 2004
Roman gladiators were overweight vegetarians and not the muscle-bound men protrayed by actors like Russell Crowe, anthropologists say. Austrian scientists analysed the skeletons of two different types of gladiators, the myrmillos and retiariae, found at the ancient site of Ephesus, near Selsuk in Turkey.
"Tests performed on bits of bone taken from the skeletons of some 70 gladiators buried at Ephesus seem to prove that they ate mainly barley, beans and dried fruit," said Dr Karl Grossschmidt, who took part in the study by the Austrian Archaeological Institute "This diet, which has been mentioned in the oral history, is rather sad but it gave the gladiators a lot of strength even if it made them fat," said Grossschmidt who is a member of the University of Vienna's Institute of Histology and Embryology.
The Austrian palaeoanthropologists relied on a method known as elementary microanalysis that allows scientists to determine what a human being ate during his or her lifetime. With the help of a sonar, they could establish the chemical concentrations inside cells in the bone samples taken from the skeletons at Ephesus. From this, they could deduce how much meat, fish, grains and fruit made up the diet of the Roman fighting machines.
A balanced diet of meat and vegetables leaves equal amounts of zinc and strontium in the cells, while a mainly vegetarian diet would leave high levels of strontium and little zinc, Grossschmidt said. Fabian Kanz, from the university's department of analytical chemistry, said the gladiators' bone density gave us clues to how they lived. "The bone density here was higher than usual, as is the case with modern athletes," he said.
This line of testing allowed the scientists to debunk another myth, that gladiators wore strappy Sparticus sandals in the arena. "The bone density is particularly high in samples taken from the feet, which would suggest that the gladiators fought with their bare feet in sand," Kanz said.
He believed that because some gladiators fought with little more than their bare hands, they could have "cultivated layers of fat to protect their vital organs from the cutting blows of their opponents". "It seems that the gladiators tried to put on some weight before their battles," Kanz said. "But this does not mean that they did not work hard to lose it again once they stepped out of the ring," he added.
Source: [url:14dpzs3t]http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/ancient/AncientRepublish_1081439.htm[/url]
I remember reading somewhere that gladiators traditionally ate raw garlic as well - this might be one of those myths, however :wink: (It was in a Stephen Saylor novel, come to think of it, although he's usually pretty accurate and presumably got it from a reputable source...)
- Nathan
Nathan Ross
