Marble relief fragment with gladiators

Marble relief fragment with gladiators

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Gladiatorial shows were essentially a Roman phenomenon, but their popularity quickly spread to the Greek cities of the eastern part of the Empire. This fragmentary relief with its Greek inscription is evidence for the existence of gladiators in the Greek-speaking world. The scene shows two types of gladiators pitted against each other in the arena. In the Imperial period, there were seven main types of fighter; each was known by a different name, wore distinctive armor, and carried specific weapons. Most were heavily armed and wore helmets; these were the murmillo, thrax, hoplomachus, provocator, and secutor. In addition, there were the eques, who only fought against another eques since the contest started on horseback, and the retiarius, who was lightly armed with a trident, wore no helmet, and carried a net. Here a retiarius is being pursued by a secutor, and behind them to the left is part of the stage scenery or props that often featured in the games.

Greek and Roman Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Marble relief fragment with gladiatorsMarble relief fragment with gladiatorsMarble relief fragment with gladiatorsMarble relief fragment with gladiatorsMarble relief fragment with gladiators

The Museum's collection of Greek and Roman art comprises more than thirty thousand works ranging in date from the Neolithic period (ca. 4500 B.C.) to the time of the Roman emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity in A.D. 312. It includes the art of many cultures and is among the most comprehensive in North America. The geographic regions represented are Greece and Italy, but not as delimited by modern political frontiers: Greek colonies were established around the Mediterranean basin and on the shores of the Black Sea, and Cyprus became increasingly Hellenized. For Roman art, the geographical limits coincide with the expansion of the Roman Empire. The department also exhibits the art of prehistoric Greece (Helladic, Cycladic, and Minoan) and pre-Roman art of Italic peoples, notably the Etruscans.