The truth about the 'standard body' of the ancient gladiator

Is the gladiator image with a standard body shape and 6-pack abs appearing only on movies?

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The gladiator is a symbol of bravery, virtuosity, and self-determination as non-needers, who are "ready to die" (oath to Caesar the Great).

So in today's movies, the images of gladiatorians appear very beautiful and majestic, including films like Spartacus (2004), Gladiator (2000), HBO's Stars, Rome 's Spartacus series. .

The most impressive thing in the movies is that when the gladiator also has muscular muscles, extremely perfect body with beautiful abdominal muscles like Apollo. But the reality is that sometimes, the current scientists have proved that it is not certain that the gladiator in the past was 'manly' .

All fat guys .

In the Archeology Journal of November 12, 2008, author Andrew Currey turned to the research of Austrian scientist Karl Grossschmidt about the diet of ancient Roman gladiator.

This study is based on the study of the remains of excavated gladiator in Turkey. Specifically, Grossschmidt realized that the gladiator was trained by the masters (also known as Lanista, the caretakers of Ludus - training and possessing gladiator). protein.

Mostly, gladiator daily must eat starchy foods, sometimes supplemented with calcium and zinc to increase bone hardness. Today, scientists have proven that with such a diet, muscle development is unfounded.

If you look through the menu of the gladiator, surely many people feel sick. Main dishes include: barley porridge, green bean porridge, red bean porridge, pear soup and lots of fruits, absolutely no meat.

So it would not be surprising if the gladiator of the time did not have the 6-pack abs as you imagine, instead of the belly fat layer is both big and bad .

Grossschmidt explains: 'The gladiator needs a lot of fat. A lot of fat will protect you from slashes, protect blood vessels and tendons in the fight. '

He humorously said: 'If I were cut into fat, I would have the strength to fight and not hurt so much, but the audience could see it very well.'

And the "glorious" is the goal that every gladiator is aiming for when entering the ring. Even if they die, they have to make everyone look at them with admiring eyes.

And the fat girls too .

If you think that only men can be a gladiator, you're wrong. The word "Gladiatrix " was born to refer to the gladiator of the female body.

The Larinum law under Emperor Tiberius clearly stated: 'Prohibit children, grandchildren, grandchildren of senators in the senate institute and all the female members of the husband, father or grandfather who once stood in the aristocracy Get involved and practice like the gladiator '.

The first game of 'premiere' gladiator women was under Emperor Nero (the 5th king of Rome from 54 - 68). There are also many other material recorded in The Twelve Caesars, showing that the Roman Emperor Domitian enjoyed the torch-burning match surrounded by the gladiator women and the dwarfs. Accordingly, the gladiator women compete in the night, partly due to the rarity of this particular genre.

And of course, with the same carbohydrate diet as the men above, it is as difficult to maintain a good shape as "picking stars in the sky".

'Eating so much starch is not necessarily fat!'

The historical truth is always the controversial issue and the 'fat or not fat' theme of the gladiator is not out of the above rule.

The author David Black Mastro - an ancient food researcher, diet says that Grossschmidt's 'need for fat to avoid damage' argument is unfounded.

Indeed, the fat layer can prevent you from deep wounds caused by short weapons such as knives, scissors . or something similar but say that they can help you survive the gladius or sica blades is difficult. imagine.

Not everyone knows where the name Gladiator comes from. That famous name is from gladius . This sword is the great invention of the Romans, helping the Roman army dominate the world for a long time.

The advantage of this sword is that it can both stab back and slash. Raw materials for making swords are not too expensive (due to not too long), extremely convenient to use in melee with high ability to deal critical damage.

Meanwhile, sica is the typical weapon of the Balkan people with extremely sharp tongues at the top, the fear of Macedonians and Romans when fighting with Thrace. Many people wonder that, do not understand the other fat has any effect when the gladiator body has to confront these two superior weapons.

The David Black Mastro also points out that Grossschmidt's theory of whole-grain diet is obviously problematic. In the Gladiator, another scholar Michael Grant points out that there are doctors in the ludus who specialize in eating and taking care of martial artists.

And in the process of 'raising' , they also realized that such a starchy menu is not conducive to gladiator. Another hypothesis is that ancient martial artists can eat meat like Roman soldiers, but not much.

Other evidence that Mastro points out is in ancient reliefs. This relief captures the image of the gladiator-fighting gladiator (this type of martial artist is called bestiarii). Perhaps the old people let fat guys full of fat fight to buy pleasure while being aware that having to be big, the new 6-zone belly is so beautiful?

If that's the case, then it is clear that the amount of fat burned completely during practice. Although it is a bit hard to believe, this can be considered the most logical explanation because the gladiator must be extremely tired from morning until late at night.

The title has been changed.