[Top 15] Most Famous Roman Gladiators

Roman gladiators were part of the most brutal sport in history

Updated:

19 Dec 2022

Roman gladiators were part of one of the most brutal sports in history. With all the mysticism and history accompanying the ancient Romans, we tend to forget how brutal this time in history was. One form of entertainment in ancient Rome was entertaining arenas of audiences with violent confrontations between gladiators. Some gladiators were volunteers looking to upgrade their social standing. Others were condemned criminals. These armed gladiators were in combat with each other and sometimes even with wild animals. History tells us that there were more than 2000 Roman gladiators. Today, we are going to look at only the 15 most well known and famous gladiators. Gladiators were somewhat like celebrities today. Let’s take a look at how they would have ranked on social media. Here are the best of the best:

15 – Marcus Antonius Exochus

A depiction showing Marcus Antonius Exhochus.

Marcus Antonius Exochus was born in Egypt. He came to Rome to fight in the gladiator games. On the second day he fought against Caesar’s slave and received missio.

Missio- This is when a fight is stopped before one of the gladiators is slain.

What does this gladiator’s Facebook profile look like:

Born in Alexandria, Egypt.
Came to Rome in 117 AD to fight as a gladiator.
Received missio and retired as a Roman citizen.

14/13 – Amazon and Achilla

Amazon and Achilla etched in history to promote gender equality.

In ancient Roman times it was seen as scandalous for women to contribute in combat. Amazon and Achilla were two female gladiators who paved the way for women forward.

What would their Facebook page tell you:

They were originally from Turkey.
They were always heavily armed with blades, shields, and swords.
They were granted a reprieve before the end of their combat

12 – Hermes

A depiction of what Hermes might look like based on the poems about this gladiator.

Martial, the poet, wrote poems about a skilled gladiator called Hermes. In the poems it is said that Hermes brought fear to his foes, and had the strength of three men.

This gladiator would not have been active on social media:

He was named after the Greek and Roman god Hermes.
He was adept in more than one weapon during combat.
He trained for several hours each day before combat.

11 – Carpophorus

Carpophorus says that his opponents will not win.

Carpophorus was known for fighting animals in the arena. He was often compared to the Roman legend of Hercules.

What would you have seen on his Facebook page:

He was known for fighting more than one animal at once.
His greatest battle was when he fought and defeated a leopard, lion, rhinoceros, and bear at the same time.
On one day, he once fought and defeated a total of 20 wild animals.

10 – Tetraites

A depiction of the basic armour that Tetraites wore.

Poems depicting the fights of this gladiator were written, and are still read in both Rome, and modern England and France.

What do the poems of Tetraites tell us:

He wore only basic armour during his fights.
He used only a sword and a shield.
He was even known in poems that were found in the remains of Pompeii.

9 – Mevia

Mevia used to battle topless.

Since it was seen as scandalous for women to be gladiators, Mevia was one of the few female gladiators who earned her place.

Her social media profile would have shown that:

She was forced to battle topless, which made her battles more of a curiosity to spectators than a serious fight.
She fought against animals such as lions and bears.
She was one of the more famous women gladiatrix of ancient Rome.

8 – Crixus

Crixus hyping up the crowd in the arena before his battle.

Crixus was the right hand man of the best gladiators in Roman history. This did not mean that he did not have his own leg to stand on.

His following would have talked on social media about how:

He was given the nickname of the undefeated gaul for the brutal battles that he won.
He was eventually killed in 72 BC.
When he died, 300 captured warriors and slaves was sacrificed in his honour.

7 – Spiculus

Spiculus in action and ready for battle.

During the reign of Emperor Nero, Spiculus made a good show of how to use being a gladiator as a full time paying career.

His LinkedIn profile would have told potential scouts that:

He was part of the network of people who were first tier friends of Emperor Nero.
He won himself large amounts of land, slaves, and other items with his battles.
He was nowhere to be found when Nero was overthrown in 68 AD, the emperor wanted Spiculus to kill him.

6 – Marcus Attilius

Marcus Attilius is facing many battles to pay his debt.

Marcus was a regular Roman who was engulfed with debt. To escape his debt he sold himself to a gladiator school.

His online portfolio would have told us that:

He defeated the champion gladiator of Emperor Nero.
He defeated the gladiator Felix, after Felix had won 12 fights in a row.
He did not kill Felix and he was set free after the battle.

5/4 – Priscus and Verus

Priscus and Verus are battling for their freedom.

Priscus and Verus were both captured slaves who were forced to become gladiators.

There website would show that:

They were matched as rivals who had to face off against each other.
Their strength was so evenly matched that the fight lasted for several hours.
They were both conceded, and the Roman emperor Titus was so pleased with their battle show that he granted them both their freedom.

3 – Flamma

Flamma composed with giving up his freedom to pursue being a lifelong gladiator.

Flamma was a gladiator who was true to his sport and lived and died as a gladiator. For the 30 years that he lived, he was known in the latter part, as an exceptional fighter with great skills.

There would have been fast Tweets about how:

He was a Syrian slave captured to be a gladiator.
He was granted his freedom four times and refused – he kept fighting as a gladiator.
He won 21 of the 34 battles that he fought and drew only 9 battles.

2 – Emperor Commodus

Most of Commodus’s battles were rigged and more for show and keeping his status.

From all the Roman emperors, Commodus was the most famous for being a gladiator himself.

When searching the tabloids online you would have found that:

Rigged most of the battles that he fought so that he would win.
He won over 1000 battles in his time of fighting.
He would instruct newspapers to inscribe all his victories.

1 – Spartacus

Spartacus the gladiator who did not fight in an arena, but on the battlefield in his led rebellion against the Roman empire.

Spartacus was the most famous, and most powerful, Roman gladiator in history who never fought in an arena.

His private online profile would tell you that:

He was a prisoner of the war who had to serve in the Roman army.
He was sold as a slave again to a gladiator school owner. This is where he also learned a lot of his skills.
He escaped with more than 700 other prisoners and they started a powerful rebellion against the Roman Empire.

Having social media in the savage ancient Roman battles would have been very interesting. These gladiators were so well known, that even without social platforms their battles made them known across continents.