Rome’s Colosseum reveals secret history of women

[JackLuis]

The Colosseum in Rome held a special tour to mark Women’s Day on Thursday, exploring the famous monument’s feminine angle — from female gladiators to noblewomen in love with the arena fighters.

“From senators’ wives to humbler women, many were crazy about gladiators. They were like footballers today,” said Lucilla Rossi, a tour guide.

She said the problem was that stories about the liaisons between Roman women and gladiators were all contained in chronicles written by men.

I throw down the Gantlet! How would a woman write the story of a gladiator liaison?

Commoner or Noble, rich or comfortable, a woman and a gladiator, an man who riskes his life for what?

 

[Stella_Omega]

It isn't that those guys were warriors, it's because they were public entertainers. They were like rock singers, or sports figures. Hell even now there are women who get ladyboners for boxers.

I've been thinking about this phenomenon recently, remembering my huge crushes on various rock singers as a teen, and some of my friends' fannish obsessions.

We all love to watch people do things well. And we all have the habit of infusing what they see with what they want to see-- like a form of affective Pareidolia come to think of it.

Some of us-- some men, but many women, IMO-- tend to perceive an emotional significance in a person's physical presentation when such might not actually exist. They can feel a lot of attachment for someone who they've simply watched a lot, like an actor or singer. Mannerisms become familiar. We think we actually know the person, and that they would know us.

 

[R. Richard]

I throw down the Gantlet! How would a woman write the story of a gladiator liaison?

Commoner or Noble, rich or comfortable, a woman and a gladiator, an man who riskes his life for what?

A Roman gladiator had very little social standing, in ancient Rome. Thus any liaison between a Roman woman and a gladiator would almost certainly be done in secret. The realistic story of such a liaison would, of necessity, be pretty much just a 'stroke' story.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

You are incorrect, or at least you are only looking at the gladiator from a select time in the Empire. While many gladiators started as slaves the most successful of them received so many presents from adoring fans that they were able to buy their freedom and go on to considerable wealth. And female gladiators were adored by the colosseum-going public. We have the tombs and the images thereon to prove it.

 

[TE999]

Hero/Heroine worship, whether in ancient Rome or today is a manifestation of transference on the part of the adoring fan. They wish they were killing an opponent, on stage singing or playing or making the winning touchdown or basket. Most people lead mundane lives and idol worship is a way of putting themselves in the famous persons place.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Hero/Heroine worship, whether in ancient Rome or today is a manifestation of transference on the part of the adoring fan. They wish they were killing an opponent, on stage singing or playing or making the winning touchdown or basket. Most people lead mundane lives and idol worship is a way of putting themselves in the famous persons place.

Well, that's often been true for me-- but not every time, and it's certainly not true for everyone who hero-worships...

 

[womaol]

Most people lead mundane lives and idol worship is a way of putting themselves in the famous persons place.http://www.filii.info/g.gif

 

[Cruel2BKind]

Most people lead mundane lives and idol worship is a way of putting themselves in the famous persons place.http://www.filii.info/g.gif

clever spambot-lady...

I gotta write some gladiator stories. They had gay marriage (of a sort) in rome before that pesky Christianity thing came along. It was a pretty open society, and I wont have to deal with secrecy or decency

Will have to ignore the female gladiators tho.