Gladiators: Vegetarians?

[guy]

The funerary stele of gladiator Palumbos, depicting him with a palm leaf symbolising victory. (Courtesy of: Martin Steskal)

 

 

Assessment of the gladiator cemetery in Ephesus, Turkey had been the source of new insights and research into the daily life of gladiators. Although this is an older discovery, the scientific analysis has changed our current understanding about the life of gladiators.

 

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The remains of at least 68 human individuals from a mass grave found in ancient Ephesus (Turkey) linked to gladiator tombstones, were investigated in this study to validate common theories on Roman gladiators through osteological and forensic analysis.

Anthropological investigation revealed, that 66 individuals found in the mass grave were males with an average body height of 168 cm (SD = 5 cm) [6 foot, 6 inches] – normal for the Roman population at that time-and aged between 20 and 30 years.

Well-healed ante mortal cranial traumas were found on eleven individuals along with a total of 16 healed postrcranial trauma. Ten individuals with perimortal acute cranial traumata and twenty nine acute perimortal postcranial traumata were revealed. The types and location of the traumata found confirm ancient reports on weaponry, protective gear and the existence of highly ordered rules for gladiator combats, since no evidence for multiple perimortal traumata was found. A reduced and (most likely) physiotherapeutic treated fracture of a radius as well as a professional amputation of a tibia gives insight into a well developed medical care system for the valuable gladiator team. An extensive and continuous training programme seems likely since enlarged muscle markers on arm and leg bones were found.

The research supporting a vegetarian diet:

 

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Remarkably, double the normal strontium content was found in the gladiator bones compared to the average Roman population of that time. According to reports on gladiator nutrition, these findings are consistent with a diet made up of barley and beans as well as a drink made with plant and bone ash, which served as a dietary supplement.

 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289536254_Dying_in_the_Arena_the_Osseous_Evidence_from_Ephesian_Gladiators

 

The background information:

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“In 1993, while excavating for the city’s necropolis alongside the Via Sacra (Sacred Street) of Ephesus, a team led by the then head of excavations Dieter Knibbe made an unusual discovery. For the first time ever, archaeologists had found an unequivocal burial ground of several gladiators.  
Unlike other graves that are acknowledged to be of gladiators, the graves in Ephesus have tombstones that depict gladiators, and inscriptions that identify them. This constitutes conclusive evidence for the identity of the individuals that lie beneath.“

 

https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/turkey-s-gladiator-graves-tell-a-different-story-about-the-ancient-warriors-50717
 

Summary: I was always skeptical about the almost exclusive reliance of the Roman military and gladiators on a vegetarian diet. Interestingly, the gladiators were referred to as the “barley men” (hordearii). Presumably, this resulted from their eating barley to give them strength and stamina. This research supports the theory that gladiators, at least in Ephesus, were mostly vegetarians.

 

 

 

Edited October 31, 2021 by guy

[caldrail]

There's no real shock or debate about this. They were fed a diet based on barley, which was considered animal food by the Romans (it was given to badly behaved legionaries as punishment), but this was not an issue for slave fighters, especially since the barley had a tendency to 'bulk up' the gladiator. A layer of fat was considered a good defence against minor sword cuts, and if you notice, some mosaics show very portly gladiators indeed.

Now were they specifically vegetarian? I think not. Remember that volunteer gladiators (perhaps star athletes too, I have no data) had the freedom to come and go from a Ludum, thus they would have had plenty of opportunity to purchase fast food on the street. Also, though a little less important, gladiators were usually given a last meal which doubtless included the option of meat dishes. In many areas, fish and seafood would have been just as common.

Whilst owners were not going to give all their gladiators a deliberately healthy and interesting diet - they were slaves, en par with animals even if the star athletes sometimes rubbed shoulders with the wealthiest patricians , a lot would depend on what was cheap and available in the area. Traditionally the Romans ate bread, or in earlier times, porridge (for which the Romans were derided by other peoples). Bread remained a staple of the Roman diet - it was likely this would remain true for gladiators.

Edited October 15, 2021 by caldrail

[guy]

Thank you for reading my post.

Athletes (and presumably gladiators) need a diet high in protein—maybe 2-3x the normal diet. Protein would be essential to maintaining and repairing muscles, for example.

Barley is a poor source of protein:

”Barley contains about 3.6 grams of protein per one-cup cooked serving. It provides less protein than some other whole grains. As a basis for comparison, brown rice provides about 4.5 grams of protein, quinoa provides about 8 grams per one-cup cooked serving, and Kamut provides 9.8 grams per one-cup serving.”
 

https://www.verywellfit.com/barley-nutrition-facts-and-health-benefits-5114758

 

Although barley may have been a diet staple,  the diet would require other dietary sources to sustain a gladiator’s health and fitness.
 

Maybe bread from other grains could be a source:

More likely, the protein requirements were derived from these food sources:

 

 

I doubt that a barley-based diet could sustain the dietary needs of a gladiator. In fact, I am skeptical that either gladiators or legionnaires survived on an exclusively vegetarian (let alone a barley-based vegan) diet. More likely, their diets reflected the availability of local found sources: pork, fish, eggs, diary products, etc. Gladiators, despite their low status in society, represented an investment. Their health would be important to any owner (lanista).

 

 

 

Edited October 31, 2021 by guy

[caldrail]

Don't get too wrapped up in modern dietary science. Remember that for the exertion of a legionary, the twice daily arms practice, the weekly route march, the onerous manual labour when required, the act of digging a trench and rampart when camping for the night, and for a few, having to stay awake at night to guard it. They were primarily eating bread. Okay, meat too when they could get it, but on campaign the diet must have been substantially worse than normal. They still managed.