Latest / Marcus Aurelius: Rome's Philosopher King — Fexingo History / The Stoic Emperor and the Gladiator's Oath
Transcript
- Lucas: For anyone coming with us through these conversations about the Mediterranean and the empire, you know we've spent a lot of time with Marcus Aurelius at war, Marcus Aurelius dealing with plague, Marcus Aurelius writing his Meditations on the frontier. But there's another side of his reign that doesn't get as much attention — his relationship with the arena, with gladiators, with the whole machinery of Roman spectacle. Luna: Interesting — I always think of Stoics as opposed to that kind of thing. Lucas: Right, and that's the paradox. Marcus Aurelius was a philosopher who famously wrote about avoiding bloodshed and treating others with kindness. But he was also the emperor, and the games — the munera — were deeply embedded in Roman political life. He couldn't just abolish them, even if he'd wanted to. Luna: What did he actually do about them? Lucas: He tried to regulate them. In 177 AD, just three years before his death, he issued a decree that capped the prices paid for gladiators. We have the text of that decree preserved in an inscription from the city of Sardis in Asia Minor. It's a fascinating document because it shows him micromanaging the economics of bloodsport. Lucas: The decree sets maximum prices for different classes of gladiators — a top-tier secutor, for example, could cost up to 15,000 sesterces, while a less experienced fighter was capped at 1,000. The idea was to curb the ruinous spending that some local magistrates were engaging in to outdo each other with lavish games. Luna: So he was trying to prevent financial ruin, not moral outrage. Lucas: Exactly. He wasn't banning the games; he was making them sustainable. There's also evidence that he limited the number of gladiators that could be used in a single show, and he required that any condemned criminals who were sent to the arena had to be convicted of specific violent crimes — not just petty theft. That's a small but significant reform. Luna: What about the gladiators themselves? How did they feel about their lot? Lucas: That's where it gets really human. Most gladiators were slaves or prisoners of war, but there were also free men who volunteered — they took a solemn oath called the sacramentum gladiatorium, where they swore to be burned, bound, beaten, and killed by the sword. It was a ritual that turned them into a kind of sacred, cursed figure. Lucas: And Marcus had a personal connection to this world through his tutor Fronto. In their surviving letters, Fronto describes attending games and comments on the fighters. Marcus writes back politely, but the tone suggests he found the whole affair distasteful. At one point he says he prefers to 'think about other things' during the spectacle. Luna: Sounds like a man doing his duty but not enjoying it. Lucas: Exactly. And we know from the archaeological record that the Ludus Magnus — the main gladiator training school in Rome — was rebuilt during his reign. It was right next to the Colosseum, and it could house hundreds of gladiators. So even if he personally disliked the games, he made sure the infrastructure was maintained. Lucas: There's also a famous story from the Historia Augusta — though it may be legend — that Marcus once refused to attend the games after a particularly brutal combat. He supposedly said that the shedding of blood for entertainment was beneath the dignity of a rational being. Whether true or not, it captures the tension. Luna: I think a lot of people would find that relatable — being stuck in a situation you can't change, trying to make it a little better. Lucas: That's the Stoic response, isn't it? You can't control the circumstances, only your own actions. And in a way, his price caps and regulations are a perfect example of Stoic ethics in governance — not grand moral gestures, but practical, incremental improvements. Luna: We deliberately don't run ads on these episodes because we want to keep that kind of thoughtful conversation front and center. If you value that approach, you can support it directly at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Lucas: Yeah, that's exactly the reason we keep it ad-free. It means we can dive into these details without any pressure to sensationalize. So thank you to anyone who helps make that possible. Lucas: Now, back to the arena. One of the most interesting gladiator types in Marcus's time was the murmillo, who fought with a large rectangular shield and a gladius. The secutor was similar but specialized against the retiarius, who used a net and trident. These matchups were carefully choreographed. Luna: Did Marcus ever write about the gladiators in his Meditations? Lucas: Surprisingly, almost not at all. There's one passage where he compares life to a gladiatorial contest, but it's metaphorical. He says, 'You are a little soul carrying a corpse, as Epictetus used to say.' That's about as close as he gets. But his letters to Fronto are more revealing. Lucas: In one letter, Fronto describes a gladiator named Bato, who he saw fight bravely. Marcus replies with a polite acknowledgment, but he doesn't engage with the details. It's like he's tolerating Fronto's enthusiasm rather than sharing it. Luna: So there was a generation gap — Fronto was older, more traditional. Lucas: Absolutely. Fronto was a great rhetorician from North Africa, and he loved the old Roman customs. Marcus was a student of Greek philosophy, more cosmopolitan. They had a genuine affection for each other, but their tastes differed. And that comes through in the letters. Lucas: There's also a legal dimension. The Roman jurist Ulpian, who wrote a century later, cites an edict of Marcus that forbade the branding of gladiators on the face. Instead, they were to be branded on the leg or arm — again, a small humanizing reform. The face, as Marcus might have said, is the mirror of the soul. Luna: So he was chipping away at the cruelty, even if he couldn't stop it. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the legacy of Marcus Aurelius as a reformer — not a revolutionary, but a gradual improver. He worked within the system to make it slightly less brutal, slightly more rational. It's the practical side of Stoicism. Lucas: I think that's what makes him so interesting as a figure. He wasn't a saint; he was a man trying to do good in a flawed world. And the arena is a perfect lens for seeing that struggle. Luna: I never thought about gladiators as part of his story, but it really adds a layer. Lucas: Yeah, and it's a reminder that history is full of these contradictions. The philosopher who wrote about the inner citadel of the soul also had to decide how many swordsmen could fight in a single afternoon. That's the reality of power. Luna: Thanks for exploring that with me. Lucas: Always a pleasure. And if you want to keep exploring these corners of history, we'll be back next time with another piece of the puzzle.