09-12-2012, 05:56 AM
There are such records on the inscriptions of charioteers, I believe. Possibly gladiators too (retired ones!), but the closest we've got, I think, are the graffiti inscriptions left by gladiators themselves at Pompeii.
'Florus' records that he was victorious in Nuceria on July 28, and again on August 15 in the arena of Herculaneum. But the most famous ones describe the arena and amorous exploits of Celadus and Crescens:
Celadus the Thracian, three times victor and three times crowned, adored by young girls!
Celadus the Thracian makes the girls gasp!
Crescens the Retiarius, lord of the girls!
Crescens the Retiarius, doctor to nighttime girls, morning girls, and all the rest!
Not exactly what you were after, but a 'popular culture' alternative perhaps! We might imagine this sort of thing also scrawled on the walls around the amphitheatre, by the gladiators' fans...
'Florus' records that he was victorious in Nuceria on July 28, and again on August 15 in the arena of Herculaneum. But the most famous ones describe the arena and amorous exploits of Celadus and Crescens:
Celadus the Thracian, three times victor and three times crowned, adored by young girls!
Celadus the Thracian makes the girls gasp!
Crescens the Retiarius, lord of the girls!
Crescens the Retiarius, doctor to nighttime girls, morning girls, and all the rest!
Not exactly what you were after, but a 'popular culture' alternative perhaps! We might imagine this sort of thing also scrawled on the walls around the amphitheatre, by the gladiators' fans...
Nathan Ross
