Were Roman gladiators ever enlisted into the military?
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The training was too expensive. A gladiator, especially a good one, was a commodity; a valuable asset to his owner. For the duration of their gladiatorial careers, gladiators were viewed as their owners property, and few owners would give them up to the army just like that. The gladiatorial version of martial arts emphasized visual effects: more like stage combat than actual combat. Also, it was believed that a layer of fat can protect a gladiator (somewhat) against deep wounds. Soldiers were trained to be quick and efficient killers; gladiators were trained to be showmen. Few gladiatorial fights ended in death or even just injury: again, they were assets, too expensive to waste.
About twenty years ago a former heavyweight champion decided to join the Marines. He asked to be honorably discharged after about a week.
There were, of course, some exceptions.
The Wikipedia article on gladiators has a great deal of fluff despite its brevity, but here's the link anyway:
Upvote:1
Yes, they did at times. During the 3rd Servile war lead by none other then Spartacus of Thrace. Yes, roman soldiers were trained to kill more proficiently but they were not trained in the art of an arena fighter. They enlisted aged gladiators that were once champions, to train the Romans against the threat. Even Crassus himself hired gladiators to train him in the arts.
How else do you expect nothing but 70000 slaves and gladiators, against constant legions, to last 3 years with nothing but the scraps they picked up on the road? They would have made it to Rome, if Spartacus's right hand man Crixis hadnt split the army in half and lost half his force in one battle on a ambush. Yes, Roman's did enlist gladiators to fight along side and even during the days of Hannibal horde.
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