Going through tough, rough, sometimes to-the-death battles in ancient Rome, the gladiators were the superstars of the day. The battles brought in thousands of fans to the arenas; even powerful patriarchs graced these spectacles with their presence. Gladiators were traditionally purchased as slaves and given fancy gifts, even freedom, if they won enough victories. Given these crude circumstances the gladiators had many supporters who acknowledged their glory and fame outside of the arena as well as inside. Many of these gladiator names are still well-known .
1. Spartacus
A Thracian soldier, captured and sold into slavery, known as Spartacus is the most famous of the gladiators. The man who purchased him, Lentulus Batiatus of Capua had the intention of transforming Spartacus into a great gladiator. He did not know that Spartacus was not going to give up his freedom so easily.

In 73 B.C. Spartacus led a revolt with seventy other gladiators, including Crixus. Lentulus Batiatus did not survive the revolt and the escaped gladiators went to Mount Vesuvius, setting many other slaves free along the way.

Many Roman armies went after Spartacus and his new army of 70,000 freed slaves. In 71 B.C. Marcus Licinius Crassus was finally able to trap and kill Spartacus in Southern Italy

2. Commodus

Another one of the famous gladiator names is Commodus. He was known as being a narcissist. He believed he was the best and most important gladiator in the world, which is why he would battle other gladiators as often as he could.

Commodus likened himself to the mythological hero, Hercules, but mainly fought against gladiators with wood swords or animals. He did not accumulate many supporters due to his disrespectfulness and easy to win battles. Commodus was never officially invited to fight in the arena and was assassinated by fellow gladiators in AD 192

3. Flamma

Flamma lived to fight in thirty-four battles, twenty-one of which he won. Although he only lived until thirty, he was offered the rudis four times. When a gladiator received the rudis, they were free to live as a normal Roman citizen. Flamma, the Syrian gladiator, chose to continue fighting and refused the rudis.

4. Mevia

One of the gladiator names known around the world is Mevia, one of the few female gladiators. Rather than being on equal ground as the male gladiators, Mevia was used as a novelty and was known for fighting wild animals with a spear. Having to do all this topless made her quite the spectacle during the gladiator battles.

5. Emperor Claudius

Known as an extremely vain ruler, Emperor Claudius took the ring to obtain even more glory. He was known as a violent and cruel ruler. Although he did not receive lavish praise for his wins, Claudius continued to take the gladiatorial ring to fight in unfair match ups.

6. Tetraites

Unknown by many, Tetraites was renowned across the Roman Empire. Historians found his battle accounts within graffiti in the ruins of Pompeii and on pottery found throughout the empire. These images tell of him fighting only with a sword, shield, and simple armor.

7. Carpophorus

Specializing in Bestiarii, Carpophorus was the best gladiator who combated beasts. Most of the time, he would fight many creatures at one time. Carpophorus is known for taking down a bear, leopard, and lion during the same battle at the opening of the Flavian Amphitheatre.

8.Crixus

Crixus was a Gallic gladiator who greatly disliked his Lanista (his owner and head at the gladiator school). Crixus soon escaped the school and fought in a slave rebellion against the Roman Senate. Crixus continued to rebel, even against the rebellion leader, and created his own rebellion group. He and his group set out to destroy Southern Italy. However, the Roman armies killed Crixus before he could get revenge on his oppressors.

9. Priscus and Verus



Two fierce gladiatorial rivals, these men battled each other in the inaugural contest of the Flavian Amphitheatre in the 1st Century AD. The fight reportedly went on for hours, and ended only when both men conceded to each other and declared a draw. In response, the watching emperor Titus granted them the rudis, making it their last ever fight.

10.Spiculus

Some of the more famous gladiators were on personal terms with the emperors they performed before, as in the case of Spiculus. Close friends with the infamous Emperor Nero, Spiculus received almost Hollywood-level star treatment, including wealth and property granted to him by his ruler. During his overthrow in 68 AD, Nero reportedly even asked for Spiculus to kill him, as an alternative to his eventual fate of taking his own life.

Interesting read.

11. Hermes
Not much had been documented on the life of ancient Roman gladiator Hermes. However, he earns lavish praise from a contemporary poet Martial – so much so that Martial even dedicated an entire poem praising his skills as a competent gladiator. In his poem, Martial describes Hermes as a skillful fighter who enjoyed an overwhelming superiority over other gladiators. On the second line of his poem in which each line begins with the name of Hermes, Martial describes the versatility of said gladiator. Hermes was well trained at using different weapons that the gladiators used in their fights.

Most of the gladiators chose a certain type of fighting style and train hard to master the relevant skills. Hermes was not only well versed in most of those fighting styles, but also proficient in at least three different gladiators techniques – a knowledge that gave him a huge advantage over his opponents.

12. Marcus Attilius


When Marcus Attilius fought his first battle as a gladiator, he was just a young novice and was given the designation of “tiro” – a title given to a gladiator who was commencing his career. Usually, the organizers would pit gladiators of similar status and experiences together during these fights. But as fate would have it, Marcus Attilius was facing Hilarus – an imperial gladiator who had already fought fourteen fights and won twelve of them. Right when everyone was convinced Marcus did not stand a chance, this newcomer scored a thumping win against the veteran – staging an upset that earned him much admiration. Then rose, the legend of Marcus Attilius, who went on to defeat the likes of Raecius Felix – another fighter who had won twelve fights in a row.

13. Theokoles
Theokoles is a retired legendary Greek gladiator, known famously as the Shadow of Death.
Theokoles is a huge Greek albino gladiator with deathly pale skin and reddish eyes. His skin is covered with scars, supporting Varro's rumour that he has been cut 1000 times; in particular his face, across which there are two deep gashes, alongside his torso and arms. He has a tattoo on one shoulder, which was given to him by a band of pirates he served with for a time. Theokoles' albinism accounts for his pale skin, red eyes and photophobia, which allowed Crixus to easily blind him with reflected sunlight. He fights wearing very little armor, only adorning a balteus and wields two swords. His swords are much larger than standard gladii, a benefit to his massive size.

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