Drawing of gladiatorial combat
((:certamen gladiatorum))
| Description of Drawing (English): | gladiator combat |
|---|---|
| Findspot: |
Smyrna, Basilica
(Agora.1)
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| Drawing Category: | Gladiators |
| Writing Style: | charcoal |
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| Bibliography: | Bagnall, R. S. et al., Graffiti from the Basilica in the Agora of Smyrna (2016): 282. Langner, M. 2001. Antike Graffitizeichnungen. Motive, Gestaltung, und Bedeutung. Palilia, 11. Wiesbaden: no. 788. |
| Commentary: | Dipinto of three fighting gladiators, located in the upper half of the back wall of Bay 28, toward the middle. They are all provocatores. At the scene’s bottom, toward the left, is a gladiator drawn from behind (height 16.5 cm, width 7 cm). His figure is the most schematic: he is striding forward with his right leg advanced. The shield covers most of his body. Notable is the helmet: plain and tight over the head, it is depicted with a long crescent-shaped flange descending over the neck and shoulders. At the top left corner of the scene is a second gladiator, the best preserved of the three (height 12 cm, width 7 cm). He is thrusting forward, the body in three quarter and oriented toward the viewer, with his right leg advanced. The helmet has a broad visor and rounded flange covering neck and shoulders. The rectangular shield covers most of his body. His right arm appears to the side of the shield. The man holds in this hand a short, straight blade. Of the third gladiator, to the bottom right, only an arm with a hand holding a short sword is visible. The rest is faded or was deleted when concentric lines where drawn over the whole scene. A close comparison may be found in a graffito from Ephesos, dated to the Late Antique period, from a domestic context (Langner 2001: no. 788). |
| Suggested Citation: | AGP-SMYD00285, The Ancient Graffiti Project, <http://ancientgraffiti.org/Graffiti/graffito/AGP-SMYD00285> [accessed: 26 Apr 2024] |
| Contributions: |
Editor: Roger S. Bagnall Principal Contributor: Roger S. Bagnall Last Revision: 2016-10-03 |
