March 23, 2026

Flamma Lamma Ding Dong: Flamma The Gladiator

A single tombstone inscription from Sicily gives us a gladiator story that feels too weird to be real: Flamma, a Syrian-born fighter in Ancient Rome, steps into the arena 34 times, wins 21, fights to nine draws, loses four, and then gets offered freedom four separate times. And he turns it down. Every. Single. Time.

We walk through what that record actually means in Roman gladiator combat, including why the “fight to the death” myth falls apart once you understand how expensive fighters are to train and how mercy decisions work. We also break down Flamma’s fighting class as a secutor and the built-in drama of facing a retiarius with a net and trident, plus what it must have felt like to fight inside a heat-trapping helmet with tiny eye holes while a crowd demands action.

From there, we zoom in on the ludus, the gladiator training school that functions like a high-security sports academy: heavier practice weapons, relentless drilling, supervised sparring, a barley-heavy diet that builds muscle and padding, and surprisingly serious medical care (including the famous physician Galen’s connection to gladiator schools). Finally, we ask the question that won’t go away: if the rudus is the wooden sword that symbolizes freedom, why would a celebrity fighter refuse it and stay in the system that could kill him?

We wrap with a lighter detour into idioms like “right as rain” and “I smell a rat.” If you like smart history with a buffoon streak, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave us a rating and review.

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00:00 - Welcome And Beer Banter

03:46 - A Tombstone Reveals Flamma

10:04 - Inside The Ludus Training Life

15:20 - Secutor Versus Retiarius Explained

21:40 - Wins Draws Defeats And Mercy

26:00 - Why Flamma Refused The Rudus

31:40 - Lost Tombstone And Colosseum Questions

33:59 - Idioms Right As Rain

40:13 - Where To Find Us Next

WEBVTT

00:00:15.839 --> 00:00:16.800
Oh hey there.

00:00:17.039 --> 00:00:17.920
Oh hey there.

00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:19.120
How are you today?

00:00:19.359 --> 00:00:19.920
I'm good.

00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:20.559
How are you?

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I am well.

00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:22.320
I am Bradley.

00:00:22.480 --> 00:00:23.280
And I'm Kate.

00:00:23.519 --> 00:00:25.120
This is the History of Buffoons.

00:00:25.839 --> 00:00:26.399
Welcome.

00:00:26.640 --> 00:00:27.359
Yes, welcome.

00:00:27.679 --> 00:00:29.039
To another episode.

00:00:29.359 --> 00:00:30.960
What do you got for us today?

00:00:31.280 --> 00:00:34.079
We are gonna talk about Flamma.

00:00:34.479 --> 00:00:35.920
Flamma Lamma Ding dong?

00:00:36.159 --> 00:00:38.880
Flamelama ding dong the gladiator.

00:00:39.200 --> 00:00:40.880
Flamma the gladiator.

00:00:41.039 --> 00:00:41.520
Yeah.

00:00:41.759 --> 00:00:44.320
So we are talking Roman times.

00:00:44.719 --> 00:00:45.280
Yeah.

00:00:45.520 --> 00:00:45.840
Right?

00:00:46.079 --> 00:00:46.399
Yes.

00:00:46.640 --> 00:00:48.240
I mean you you hesitated.

00:00:48.399 --> 00:00:51.280
Well, Roman is still a thing, but yeah.

00:00:52.479 --> 00:00:53.439
Ancient Roman things.

00:00:53.840 --> 00:00:54.560
Oh, there you go.

00:00:54.719 --> 00:00:55.520
Ancient Roman.

00:00:55.679 --> 00:00:58.240
I forgot the A for ancient.

00:00:59.600 --> 00:01:00.560
My apologies.

00:01:00.799 --> 00:01:02.960
I just have my trusty modello today.

00:01:03.200 --> 00:01:08.959
I, however, have Saint Bernadus.

00:01:09.359 --> 00:01:10.879
That is quite the bottle.

00:01:11.120 --> 00:01:11.599
It is.

00:01:11.840 --> 00:01:13.920
It is not cheap either.

00:01:14.239 --> 00:01:15.760
My brother's favorite beer.

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Is it?

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Corey who wrote our music for us.

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And uh while I'm unscrewing this and uncorking it, if you like us, follow all that stuff, support our show on our website, link at the top.

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We appreciate anyone who uh listens to us.

00:01:34.159 --> 00:01:38.079
So um this is Corey's favorite beer.

00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:40.959
Ooh, a nice little pop to the quark.

00:01:42.959 --> 00:01:47.840
It's um a beer you wouldn't really care for.

00:01:48.319 --> 00:01:51.439
It's more like oh, what was that one we just had that wasn't far off from it?

00:01:51.680 --> 00:01:52.239
You had it.

00:01:52.400 --> 00:02:01.760
Um It's like uh I just lost the wording.

00:02:02.239 --> 00:02:02.640
Christ.

00:02:03.439 --> 00:02:05.120
It's made by monks.

00:02:06.640 --> 00:02:08.240
But it's really delicious.

00:02:08.639 --> 00:02:10.240
What kind of beer is it?

00:02:10.960 --> 00:02:15.039
It is too hard for me to read.

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It's a product of Belgium.

00:02:20.319 --> 00:02:26.159
Yes, it's um what do they call it?

00:02:26.319 --> 00:02:26.639
Abby?

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Abby triple?

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Abby triple, is that right?

00:02:30.319 --> 00:02:31.280
Holy Christ.

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I need to drink something.

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Something in my throat.

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Cheers.

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Cheers.

00:02:35.919 --> 00:02:36.639
Oh my gosh.

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Have you had this beer before?

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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It's really good.

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I got this glass for my brother from my father-in-law.

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For your brother?

00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:48.560
Yeah, but he forgot it last time it was over.

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That was uh, I don't know how long ago that was a little bit, but so I'm like, well, I might as well, you know, it's an actual Saint Bernadist glass.

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So thought I should drink it properly.

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Yeah.

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And uh yeah, it's uh buy a four-pack, it's like twenty-three or four dollars.

00:03:08.319 --> 00:03:10.080
Okay, that's a lot, yeah.

00:03:10.319 --> 00:03:12.319
But I mean, how big was that bottle?

00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:14.400
This well, you don't get four of those.

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Like a four-pack is like regular size bottles.

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Okay, got it.

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This is uh 19.

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whatever.

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Yeah.

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Um, it's 10%.

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So how much was that one single bottle?

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One pint nine point four fluid ounces, so it's twenty-five point four ounces.

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Uh, this was thirteen bucks for just this one.

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So you get a couple beers out of it.

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Heck yeah.

00:03:40.319 --> 00:03:41.919
Or a couple glasses, if you will.

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It's derish.

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So awesome.

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So we're talking about flamading dong.

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Yeah, so in uh Sicily, oh hey, um island.

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Yes, yes, okay.

00:04:00.560 --> 00:04:10.400
In the earth somewhere in Sicily, there was a slab of limestone that was discovered.

00:04:10.719 --> 00:04:16.240
Um, time had worn its edges, letters weren't exactly ornate.

00:04:16.480 --> 00:04:16.879
Sure.

00:04:17.040 --> 00:04:23.040
Um, but the message was um about a man named Flamma.

00:04:23.279 --> 00:04:24.079
Flamma.

00:04:24.319 --> 00:04:24.639
Yes.

00:04:24.879 --> 00:04:26.160
That's an interesting name.

00:04:26.480 --> 00:04:28.240
It is his tombstone.

00:04:28.399 --> 00:04:32.319
Don't know if he's actually buried there, if it was just like a marker of some kind.

00:04:32.560 --> 00:04:32.879
Okay.

00:04:33.600 --> 00:04:34.399
What was that?

00:04:34.639 --> 00:04:35.279
What was what?

00:04:35.439 --> 00:04:36.480
There was a ding-dong.

00:04:37.040 --> 00:04:42.720
Not like a not like a house ding-dong, but no, there was like a jingle.

00:04:43.040 --> 00:04:44.160
I I did not hear it.

00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:45.040
I think I made it up.

00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:46.639
I think you a Mandela effect.

00:04:46.720 --> 00:04:47.920
No, wait, that doesn't work for that.

00:04:48.079 --> 00:04:49.279
No, you made it up.

00:04:49.439 --> 00:04:50.560
I mean, maybe, I don't know.

00:04:50.639 --> 00:04:51.360
I didn't hear it.

00:04:51.680 --> 00:04:55.519
So, um, again, not sure if it was just a marker, but sure.

00:04:55.680 --> 00:04:59.040
Um, the inscription was a little like statistic.

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Oh.

00:04:59.839 --> 00:05:00.319
Yeah.

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It listed his profession, his origin, and the tally of his career in the arena.

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How how good was he?

00:05:08.800 --> 00:05:11.839
So it said that Flama was Syrian by birth.

00:05:12.240 --> 00:05:12.800
Syrian.

00:05:13.680 --> 00:05:16.399
He was a secular gladiator.

00:05:16.639 --> 00:05:17.920
What is do you know what that means?

00:05:18.399 --> 00:05:24.720
It was a type of Roman gladiator um that literally means like pursuer or chaser.

00:05:24.959 --> 00:05:34.560
And the role was designed to hunt down and defeat a Retarius, which is a lightly armored gladiator who fought with a net and a trident.

00:05:34.720 --> 00:05:35.040
Oh, okay.

00:05:35.199 --> 00:05:36.959
So some of these words you're gonna hear throughout.

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Sure.

00:05:37.759 --> 00:05:39.519
But he was a secutor.

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Okay.

00:05:40.319 --> 00:05:42.160
He fought 34 times.

00:05:42.480 --> 00:05:43.199
Damn.

00:05:43.439 --> 00:05:45.519
He won 21 victories.

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What happened to the other 13?

00:05:47.920 --> 00:05:49.759
He fought nine draws.

00:05:50.000 --> 00:05:50.639
Oh, okay.

00:05:50.959 --> 00:05:52.879
And lost four times.

00:05:53.199 --> 00:05:54.879
I thought if you lost, you died.

00:05:55.439 --> 00:05:56.319
Not necessarily.

00:05:56.560 --> 00:06:06.240
Well, so I don't remember how long ago I heard this, but it was more or less that like everything we know about um gladiators isn't entirely true.

00:06:06.480 --> 00:06:06.879
Yeah.

00:06:07.199 --> 00:06:18.240
Whereas like they said it was more like wrestling today back then, where you had these people and it was more or less scripted.

00:06:18.560 --> 00:06:19.439
I'm like, really?

00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:20.079
Oh.

00:06:20.560 --> 00:06:23.199
That's not what Gladiator the movie taught me.

00:06:24.720 --> 00:06:27.199
And that's what I base everything off of Gladiators.

00:06:27.600 --> 00:06:28.160
That is historical.

00:06:28.639 --> 00:06:29.600
It's a historical document.

00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:30.720
Yeah, it is.

00:06:31.120 --> 00:06:34.639
So I I don't know if that's true, of course.

00:06:34.879 --> 00:06:39.040
I never really fully looked into it because I also kind of don't want to.

00:06:39.360 --> 00:06:39.680
Yeah.

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Because I feel like it will ruin the myth of the gladiator legend, you know.

00:06:45.199 --> 00:06:51.839
So the rest of the line on this limestone said that he was offered the rudus.

00:06:52.399 --> 00:06:53.199
The rudest?

00:06:53.360 --> 00:06:59.519
Oh, is that the wooden sword from yeah, it's the wooden sword that symbolized freedom.

00:06:59.680 --> 00:07:00.000
Yeah.

00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:02.079
He was offered it four times.

00:07:02.319 --> 00:07:02.879
Oh, wow.

00:07:03.040 --> 00:07:05.040
And denied it four times.

00:07:05.519 --> 00:07:07.360
He just really liked being a gladiator.

00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:08.160
Something.

00:07:08.399 --> 00:07:09.040
Wow, okay.

00:07:09.279 --> 00:07:10.000
Isn't that crazy?

00:07:10.160 --> 00:07:11.040
That is wild.

00:07:11.279 --> 00:07:24.800
So it was the prize at the end of years of brutal training and combat, and yet there's this man who received it four times or was four times, yeah.

00:07:24.959 --> 00:07:27.199
Yeah, and declined it every time.

00:07:27.439 --> 00:07:29.120
Every time that's wild, okay.

00:07:29.439 --> 00:07:41.839
So the tombstone doesn't say anything else about Flama other than that's those statistics, but it does offer enough clues for us for history historians to kind of piece things together.

00:07:42.160 --> 00:07:42.480
Okay.

00:07:42.639 --> 00:07:51.279
So Flama was born somewhere in Syria, a region that is uh in the second century, which was part of the Roman Empire at the time.

00:07:51.600 --> 00:07:51.839
Sure.

00:07:51.920 --> 00:07:56.000
Where where is is Syria still a thing today, correct?

00:07:56.240 --> 00:07:57.279
Yeah, I think so.

00:07:57.519 --> 00:07:58.399
I believe, right?

00:07:58.639 --> 00:07:59.920
Yeah, it's in the Middle East.

00:08:00.079 --> 00:08:01.040
That right, okay.

00:08:01.360 --> 00:08:02.240
Yeah, yeah.

00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:05.199
It's uh between Turkey and Iraq.

00:08:05.439 --> 00:08:06.160
Oh yeah.

00:08:06.319 --> 00:08:06.560
Yeah.

00:08:06.800 --> 00:08:10.240
I go there a lot in my dreams.

00:08:11.839 --> 00:08:14.079
So exactly where in Syria.

00:08:14.160 --> 00:08:15.279
Um nobody knows.

00:08:15.519 --> 00:08:20.000
Nobody knows, of course, which I mean lost the records or time, I should say.

00:08:20.319 --> 00:08:22.560
Yep, and it just tells us that he's not Roman.

00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:23.439
Right, yeah.

00:08:23.680 --> 00:08:29.839
So he was a foreigner, likely taken from his homeland and drawn into the Roman cog.

00:08:30.079 --> 00:08:36.799
It's just like Maximus, he was they called him Spaniard because he was from Spain, and Russell Crowe does not look Spanish.

00:08:37.679 --> 00:08:39.759
Maybe that's why he got so tangent.

00:08:40.559 --> 00:08:42.000
I love that movie so much.

00:08:42.080 --> 00:08:43.919
Yeah, one of my favorites of all time.

00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:47.919
We also don't know exactly how he became a gladiator.

00:08:48.320 --> 00:08:51.360
Um, there were several paths into the arena.

00:08:51.519 --> 00:08:51.840
Okay.

00:08:52.080 --> 00:08:59.120
Um, some gladiators were prisoner of war, um, captured during Roman campaigns and sold into slavery.

00:08:59.200 --> 00:08:59.440
Yep.

00:08:59.600 --> 00:09:02.399
Others were criminals condemned by the courts.

00:09:02.639 --> 00:09:03.039
Yep.

00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:07.440
Um, but surprisingly, quite a few people also volunteered.

00:09:07.759 --> 00:09:12.159
Well, because you could get rich doing it, and you could get fame and fortune and all that stuff.

00:09:12.639 --> 00:09:16.159
I mean, I guess I was redundant by saying rich and fame, but either way.

00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:16.559
Yeah.

00:09:16.720 --> 00:09:17.279
Or fortune.

00:09:17.360 --> 00:09:19.360
I mean, god, I fucked that up really bad.

00:09:19.679 --> 00:09:25.840
But debt and poverty and desperation pushed many people into this agreement.

00:09:26.159 --> 00:09:27.919
So you you like fuck, I got nothing.

00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:28.720
What am I gonna do?

00:09:28.799 --> 00:09:34.559
Well, I can go kill people in the in the arena and try and better our situation.

00:09:34.720 --> 00:09:36.000
So yeah, I get that.

00:09:36.320 --> 00:09:57.440
So because the inscription on the tombstone names him as Syrian and does not describe him as a Roman uh citizen, historians often suspect that he may have begun life in the arena as a slave gladiator, which or perhaps purchased by a slave or excuse me, a gladiator school.

00:09:57.759 --> 00:10:04.240
Sure, I could I could see that being a rational thought process because if he's not from there, yeah, for sure.

00:10:04.559 --> 00:10:10.320
But he eventually arrived at one of the Empire's gladiator training schools known as the Ludus.

00:10:10.720 --> 00:10:11.279
Ludus.

00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:12.320
Okay.

00:10:12.559 --> 00:10:18.000
The word Ludus technically means school, but these were unlike anything else.

00:10:18.159 --> 00:10:18.399
Right.

00:10:18.559 --> 00:10:25.200
A gladiator school was part training camp, part prison, part professional, like athletic facility.

00:10:25.519 --> 00:10:28.159
Um, high walls surrounded the complex.

00:10:28.399 --> 00:10:28.639
Sure.

00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:30.799
Armed guards would stand watch.

00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:31.600
Oh dear.

00:10:31.919 --> 00:10:36.639
Fighters lived, trained, and prepared for the moment when they would step into the arena.

00:10:36.879 --> 00:10:37.200
Wow.

00:10:37.360 --> 00:10:37.679
Yeah.

00:10:38.559 --> 00:10:41.279
So the men who ran these schools were called the Lanniste.

00:10:42.720 --> 00:10:46.480
To the Romans, the profession had a unsavory reputation.

00:10:46.639 --> 00:10:46.879
Okay.

00:10:47.039 --> 00:10:54.799
The Lanniste bought and sold gladiators, trained them, and rented them out to the sponsors of public games.

00:10:55.039 --> 00:10:55.600
Gotcha.

00:10:55.679 --> 00:10:56.000
Okay.

00:10:56.320 --> 00:11:01.360
Um, but from a financial perspective, gladiators were were valuable assets.

00:11:01.679 --> 00:11:02.960
Sure, yeah, no, no doubt.

00:11:03.200 --> 00:11:06.320
So a skilled fighter could bring prestige and profits.

00:11:06.399 --> 00:11:08.639
Uh, so training was very serious.

00:11:08.879 --> 00:11:09.200
Okay.

00:11:09.679 --> 00:11:14.559
And a new recruit like Flamma would begin with a wooden weapon.

00:11:14.879 --> 00:11:16.159
Yeah, yeah, makes sense.

00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:21.360
Heavy wooden swords and shields were used to teach technique and endurance.

00:11:21.440 --> 00:11:21.840
Yep.

00:11:22.159 --> 00:11:30.960
And these practice weapons were often heavier than the real things, so that when the gladiator finally fought with steel, the equipment felt lighter in the hands.

00:11:31.200 --> 00:11:32.879
Well, that's just like uh in baseball.

00:11:33.360 --> 00:11:34.399
I know, I was just gonna say that.

00:11:34.799 --> 00:11:38.559
When the batter's going up the bat, he's taking his practice swings, he puts that weight on it.

00:11:38.639 --> 00:11:38.960
Yep.

00:11:39.120 --> 00:11:41.600
So he gets that movement better and all of the things.

00:11:41.679 --> 00:11:42.559
Yeah, so that makes sense.

00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:43.120
It does.

00:11:43.200 --> 00:11:44.320
Yeah, yeah.

00:11:44.639 --> 00:11:46.559
So training was relentless.

00:11:46.720 --> 00:11:50.320
The gladiators drilled in footwork, balance, precision.

00:11:50.559 --> 00:11:56.799
They learned how to block, how to maneuver, how to survive long enough to entertain a crowd without also being killed.

00:11:56.960 --> 00:11:57.279
Right.

00:11:57.440 --> 00:12:01.440
And life inside the Ludus uh followed a very strict routine.

00:12:01.600 --> 00:12:01.919
Okay.

00:12:02.320 --> 00:12:05.519
Morning hours were devoted to conditioning and drills.

00:12:05.679 --> 00:12:06.000
Sure.

00:12:06.240 --> 00:12:09.200
Gladiators practiced striking poses.

00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:12.639
Nope, striking posts with their wooden swords.

00:12:12.960 --> 00:12:16.159
To like strike a pose like Madonna here, we would score.

00:12:17.200 --> 00:12:17.679
Vogue.

00:12:18.159 --> 00:12:18.720
Vogue.

00:12:19.120 --> 00:12:20.399
Strike pose.

00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:22.720
Wow, that was great.

00:12:24.320 --> 00:12:29.039
Um, so they would um practice striking posts with their wooden swords, right?

00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:33.519
Repeating the same motions again and again until they became instinctive.

00:12:33.840 --> 00:12:35.440
Can I ask you a ridiculous question?

00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:36.480
Sure.

00:12:36.960 --> 00:12:39.120
What kind of wood did they use for the swords?

00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:42.799
That is a ridiculous question, but they actually used maple.

00:12:43.039 --> 00:12:43.919
You're making that up.

00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:45.279
I'm making it up.

00:12:46.720 --> 00:12:48.480
I mean, that's a strong wood, right?

00:12:48.639 --> 00:12:50.799
That's pretty pretty dense.

00:12:51.039 --> 00:12:51.360
Yeah.

00:12:51.519 --> 00:12:52.720
What would you think?

00:12:53.120 --> 00:12:54.480
Oak, maple.

00:12:54.720 --> 00:12:56.240
Definitely not pine.

00:12:56.399 --> 00:12:56.639
Yeah.

00:12:56.879 --> 00:12:57.519
Pine's light.

00:12:57.759 --> 00:13:00.799
I feel like this might be a question for not that Nathan would know.

00:13:01.039 --> 00:13:02.799
But he could at least give it an educated guess.

00:13:03.120 --> 00:13:05.679
A more educated guess, just because he works with wood.

00:13:05.919 --> 00:13:06.000
Yeah.

00:13:06.240 --> 00:13:09.200
Not for a living, but it's a hobby of his, yeah.

00:13:09.440 --> 00:13:11.039
And he makes makes different things.

00:13:11.120 --> 00:13:13.440
Like he made, well, shit, how many?

00:13:13.600 --> 00:13:15.600
I don't remember how many years ago you said he even made it.

00:13:15.759 --> 00:13:18.000
That chessboard that he ended up giving to Xavier.

00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:18.399
Yeah.

00:13:18.559 --> 00:13:21.600
I mean, stuff like that, you know, he just likes making stuff out of wood.

00:13:21.679 --> 00:13:21.919
Yeah.

00:13:22.080 --> 00:13:24.320
So he would have a better guess than you and I would.

00:13:24.559 --> 00:13:25.039
I think so.

00:13:25.519 --> 00:13:26.480
All we're trying to say.

00:13:26.559 --> 00:13:26.799
Yeah.

00:13:27.519 --> 00:13:28.480
So yeah.

00:13:28.720 --> 00:13:29.279
Anyways.

00:13:29.440 --> 00:13:31.200
I should have grabbed another Kleenex.

00:13:31.440 --> 00:13:32.159
Oh, they're over there.

00:13:32.320 --> 00:13:33.600
Yeah, they're just over there.

00:13:33.840 --> 00:13:35.360
Go, go gadget arms.

00:13:35.759 --> 00:13:36.799
Wouldn't that be something?

00:13:37.039 --> 00:13:37.840
I love that show.

00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:38.639
That was a great show.

00:13:38.960 --> 00:13:39.519
I was growing up.

00:13:39.679 --> 00:13:40.080
Pity.

00:13:40.720 --> 00:13:49.120
So later came sparring matches with fellow trainees, carefully supervised by the instructors who corrected mistakes and barked out orders.

00:13:49.279 --> 00:13:49.679
Yep.

00:13:49.840 --> 00:13:51.200
Um, and the diet.

00:13:51.440 --> 00:14:04.320
Um Roman writers actually joked that the gladiators were called barley men because their meals balanced um their their meals were based heavily on barley, beans, and legumes.

00:14:04.559 --> 00:14:06.080
Oh, good old legumes.

00:14:06.240 --> 00:14:06.559
Yeah.

00:14:06.960 --> 00:14:07.679
Like beans.

00:14:08.159 --> 00:14:19.840
The high carbohydrate diet helped them build muscle and maintain a layer a good layer of body fat um that added extra padding that actually serve a purpose.

00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:24.799
It helped protect against superficial cuts and made injuries less immediately fatal.

00:14:25.039 --> 00:14:31.840
And yeah, not as you know, you're getting hit by the blunt side of a sword, even that's gonna pad you better than not.

00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:36.080
So yeah, I mean bruises are gonna happen, but well, clearly.

00:14:36.240 --> 00:14:44.080
I mean, in this type of profession, if you will, you're gonna get fucked up no matter what, but you might not die from it, is what we're saying.

00:14:44.399 --> 00:14:48.480
But medical medical care was also better than one would expect.

00:14:48.720 --> 00:14:54.159
Well, gladiator rep gladiators represented financial investments, so their health mattered.

00:14:54.320 --> 00:15:01.360
One of the most famous physicians of the ancient world, Galen, once worked as a doctor in a gladiator school.

00:15:01.840 --> 00:15:09.039
He later wrote that the experience taught him more about anatomy and trauma than any academic training could have.

00:15:10.799 --> 00:15:18.159
Within this harsh but structured environment, a gladiator gradually became that professional fighter that we know of.

00:15:18.399 --> 00:15:18.639
Okay.

00:15:18.799 --> 00:15:19.759
That we know, you know.

00:15:20.240 --> 00:15:26.399
Flama eventually specialized in a particular class of gladiator known as the Secutor.

00:15:26.720 --> 00:15:27.200
Yes, yes.

00:15:28.720 --> 00:15:32.480
So Roman gladiator combat was not a chaotic free-for-all.

00:15:32.879 --> 00:15:37.679
No, fights were carefully arranged between specific types of fighters, right?

00:15:37.840 --> 00:15:40.639
Each with distinctive armor and weapons.

00:15:40.960 --> 00:15:42.960
So kind of like what I said, I heard.

00:15:43.200 --> 00:15:43.519
Yeah.

00:15:43.759 --> 00:15:45.440
I mean, to a degree at least so far.

00:15:45.679 --> 00:15:45.840
Yeah.

00:15:45.919 --> 00:15:51.519
So, like I said, the secutor was designed to face um one particular opponent.

00:15:51.759 --> 00:15:52.240
Right.

00:15:52.799 --> 00:15:56.320
The ret r I said it earlier.

00:15:56.559 --> 00:15:57.120
You're good.

00:15:57.440 --> 00:15:59.200
Ret Retiarus.

00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:00.799
Retiarus.

00:16:01.039 --> 00:16:01.919
Retiarus.

00:16:02.080 --> 00:16:03.600
I'm so sorry, Italians.

00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:04.639
Italians.

00:16:04.879 --> 00:16:08.639
The pairing created one of the more dramatic matchups in the arena.

00:16:08.879 --> 00:16:09.200
Okay.

00:16:09.440 --> 00:16:15.120
Um, the sector carried the large shield and a short sword now known as a gladius.

00:16:15.279 --> 00:16:15.440
Yeah.

00:16:15.679 --> 00:16:21.279
His helmet was smooth and rounded with only two small eye holes for vision.

00:16:21.600 --> 00:16:22.000
Sure.

00:16:22.399 --> 00:16:24.639
Could you imagine how much that impaired your vision?

00:16:25.279 --> 00:16:27.440
Even with the eye holes for it.

00:16:27.679 --> 00:16:30.399
Man, your peripherals gotta be fucked and everything.

00:16:30.480 --> 00:16:35.360
Like, I think of the again, I go off of everything I know from the movie Gladiator.

00:16:35.600 --> 00:16:40.559
Think of the mask that he wore early on when he was hiding his identity before he revealed himself.

00:16:40.720 --> 00:16:41.120
Yeah.

00:16:41.360 --> 00:16:43.360
That couldn't have been easy to look out of.

00:16:43.600 --> 00:16:50.399
Because it's just, you know, it's got the sides, the tooth pieces, and then just those slits, it's like oh shit.

00:16:51.120 --> 00:16:52.080
Didn't see over there.

00:16:52.480 --> 00:16:54.159
Hey buddy, what'd you get there?

00:16:54.399 --> 00:16:56.480
He's lapping here for an hour.

00:16:56.799 --> 00:16:59.600
It's like, dude, I've been here forever.

00:16:59.919 --> 00:17:06.799
So the design of the helmet uh prevented the opponent's net from snacking on any protrusions.

00:17:06.960 --> 00:17:09.279
Okay, it totally sounded like you said snacking.

00:17:09.759 --> 00:17:10.880
Snagging.

00:17:12.079 --> 00:17:17.839
So the ret Reti erus, yes, on the other hand, fought lightly armored.

00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:21.519
They carried a net, a trident, and a dagger.

00:17:22.240 --> 00:17:26.160
And their strategy relied on speed and distance.

00:17:26.319 --> 00:17:35.200
So rather than charging directly into combat, um, they circled his opponent looking for an opportunity to throw throw the net and entangle him.

00:17:35.440 --> 00:17:36.640
And then jab jab.

00:17:36.720 --> 00:17:36.880
Yeah.

00:17:37.119 --> 00:17:38.000
With the trident, yeah.

00:17:38.319 --> 00:17:41.359
It created more of like a cat and mouse type of battle.

00:17:41.599 --> 00:17:42.000
Sure.

00:17:42.240 --> 00:17:50.960
Um, the Retiarius, I'm so sorry, uh, would dart and maneuver and the secutor um advanced behind his shield.

00:17:51.119 --> 00:17:51.440
Right.

00:17:51.680 --> 00:17:56.720
If the net landed, the secutor could be dragged off balance and struck with a trident.

00:17:56.960 --> 00:17:57.279
Sure.

00:17:57.519 --> 00:18:09.279
But if the net missed, the lightly armored um Retiarius suddenly faced a heavily armed opponent closing in super fast.

00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:10.480
Super fast.

00:18:10.720 --> 00:18:16.079
And this is one of those times where just the the crowd just loved to watch this.

00:18:16.319 --> 00:18:19.599
Well, yeah, I mean, because it's like you said, it's the whole cat and mouse.

00:18:19.920 --> 00:18:25.519
So, I mean, there's strategy on either side, like, how do I get this guy?

00:18:25.759 --> 00:18:29.519
From you know, brute force, and the other one's like, I gotta dance around you.

00:18:29.759 --> 00:18:30.079
Right.

00:18:30.319 --> 00:18:30.880
Basically.

00:18:31.200 --> 00:18:32.240
Do you remember in the street?

00:18:33.920 --> 00:18:34.400
What's it called?

00:18:34.720 --> 00:18:37.039
Float like a butterfly sting like a now.

00:18:37.200 --> 00:18:37.920
Who said that?

00:18:38.319 --> 00:18:38.880
Mr.

00:18:40.319 --> 00:18:40.640
Ali.

00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:43.440
Famous is he, Ali.

00:18:45.599 --> 00:18:45.920
Yes.

00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:49.279
Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun.

00:18:49.839 --> 00:18:51.359

Flamma Lamma Ding Dong: Flamma The Gladiator

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