Gladiators - Heroes of the Colosseum

Under Augustus (63 BC - 14 AD), games were allowed only during a few specific days of the year.

An exhibition called "Gladiators - Heroes of the Colosseum" examined the lives of gladiators. The first documented gladiator fights took place in Rome in 264 BC. Descendants of a deceased citizen had three pairs of slaves compete against each other in the honor of the departed. Typically, the fight would happen in a marketplace. These private battles of nobility became increasingly popular among citizens of ancient Rome.

Gladiators were not always prisoners or slaves. Gladiator schools (ludi - singular: ludus) ensured a supply of highly trained fighters. Many free Roman citizens also joined for fame, money, and glory. The games offered a chance for the most successful warriors to earn redemption, wealth and freedom. The typical schedule of a fight day started around noon, with executions of criminals sentenced to death. Afterward, circus acts would sometimes take the stage. After a few additional fights, the gladiators were presented as the main act. Women also fought against each other. This was officially banned in the year 200.

A gladiator was most often a slave, socially marginalized, and segregated even in death. The average age of those killed in the arena was around 28. Few gladiators survived more than ten matches. Gladiatorial combat rapidly became an essential feature of social life in the Roman world. Its popularity led to ever more lavish and costly games. The games lasted for nearly a thousand years, peaking between the 1st century BC and the 2nd century AD. The games declined during the early 5th century after the adoption of Christianity.

The person who presided over the games was called the editor. He could be the emperor, a senator, or other political figure and made the final decision about the fate of the gladiators in the arena. To make sure the loser wasn’t pretending to be dead, an attendant dressed as Mercury would touch him with a hot iron wand. If still alive, another attendant, dressed as Charon, would kill him with a mallet.

If a gladiator repeatedly survived the arena and lived long enough to retire, they were given a symbolic wooden training sword, or rudis, as a token of their freedom. Even after winning freedom, the lucrative life of a gladiator appealed: rudiarii were gladiators who had earned their freedom but chose to remain fighting in the arena.

Gladius, an early ancient Roman sword

There were many types of gladiators and each had different weapons. It was usual to pair off combatants with widely different, but more or less equivalent, equipment. Studies have shown that gladiators fought to strict rules and barefooted. During combat musicians performed and altered tempo to match that of the combat. From left, a disarmed and surrendering retiarius and his secutor opponent, a thraex and murmillo, a hoplhus and murmillo (who is signalling his surrender), and the referee.

Roman Gladiator Dagger

The quadrens was a specialized close-quarter weapon used by the Roman net-fighter, or retiarius.

Roman soldiers were taught to deploy the gladius horizontally, piercing the enemy's ribs and penetrating vital organs.

Roman iron gladiator trident.

Gladiator Arm Guard

Greaves and dagger discovered at Pompeii's gladiator barracks.

Helmet of a murmillo.

Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus

Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus was a Roman general who founded the breakaway Gallic Empire. Taking advantage of Emperor Gallienus's absence, Postumus's troops in Germania declared him emperor after he executed the emperor's 18 year-old son, Saloninus. He governed Gaul, Britain, and Spain for the better part of a decade between 258–268.

Postumus ruled for nearly a decade until he was killed in 269 AD during a mutiny at Mogontiacum (modern-day Mainz, Germany). Unlike Rome, who were drastically debasing silver and gold coinages, Postumus maintained a high purity and weight for his coins. He produced spectactular issues at Western mints, primarily in Trier (Treveri) and Cologne (Colonia Agrippinensis).

Emperor Nero

On this day (June 9) in 68 AD Nero died. Nero is among the most famous of all Roman emperors – but not for good reasons. During his reign, from 54 to 68 CE, Nero had few accomplishments and many failures. Nero's mother, Agrippina the Younger, (Caligula's sister) dominated Nero's early life until he cast her off. Five years into his reign, he had her murdered. Nero's rule is thought that of a tyrant and most Romans thought him corrupt.

Silver denarius of 55/56

Nero was suspected of starting the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD in order to clear space for his new palace complex, the Domus Aurea. It caused widespread devastation and countless mansions, homes and temples were destroyed. The fire is reported to have burned for over a week. Nero seized Christians as scapegoats for the fire and burned them alive.

Nero is among the few Roman emperors who ages through their coin issues.

Nero is famous for brutally devaluing Roman currency for the first time in the Empire's history. He reduced the weight of the denarius from 3.85 grams to 3.35 grams. He also reduced the silver purity from 99.5% to 93.5%. Nero also reduced the weight of the aureus from 8 grams to 7.2 grams.

The Great Revolt between the Romans and the Jews in 63 CE began under Nero when Roman governor Gessius Florus looted the Second Temple. In 65 a conspiracy against Nero failed after being discovered. In March 68, Gaius Julius Vindex, the governor of Gallia Lugdunensis, rebelled against Nero's oppressive tax policies.

The discontent of the legions of Germany and the continued opposition of the popular Galba in Spain, despite his being officially declared a public enemy, were Nero's undoing. The prefect of the Praetorian Guard abandoned his allegiance to the Emperor. When the Senate declared Nero a public enemy it was the end. Nero could not bring himself to take his own life but instead forced his private secretary to perform the task. Epaphroditos slit his throat and Nero evaded a Senate-imposed death by flogging.

In 69 CE, Galba, the governor of Hispania (Spain), rebelled and Rome saw the 'year of 4 emperors'. Nero aurei are among the more affordable because they are not rare.

In 2017 excavations at Mount Zion in Jerusalem discovered a gold coin bearing the likeness of Roman Emperor Nero. The coin had been struck in either 56 and 57 AD. The aureus bears a bare-headed portrait of the young Nero as Caesar. The coin would have been minted before the city of Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. Researchers hypothesized that the gold coin was part of a Jewish store of wealth, amassed before their mansions were razed – along with the rest of the city – by Titus and the Roman legions. The coin was likely hidden prior to the destruction of Jerusalem and overlooked by looting Roman soldiers.

The Siege of Jerusalem in the year 70 was the decisive event of the First Jewish–Roman War. The destruction of both the first and second temples is still mourned annually as the Jewish fast Tisha B'Av. The Arch of Titus, celebrating the Roman sack of Jerusalem and the Temple, still stands in Rome.

Apophis in Earth fly past on Friday the 13th in 2029

Apophis refers to two things: the ancient Egyptian chaos serpent god, enemy of the sun god Ra, and the Near-Earth Asteroid 99942 Apophis. The ancient Egyptian God was the Deity of Chaos: Apophis is the embodiment of darkness and destruction, opposing Ma'at. (order) Every night, Apophis tries to swallow the sun god Ra as he travels through the underworld (Duat) to ensure the sun rises again.

Apophis the asteroid is about the size of the Empire State Building, some 1,100 feet (340m) across. It will pass within 19,000 miles (31,000km) of Earth on Friday, April 13, 2029. Scientists predict it won't hit Earth this time.

The asteroid's proximity and size will add to it's brightness. Apophis will capture eyeballs, and billions should be able to see it pass earth.

Scientists pinpointed Apophis' trajectory in 2029 to within a path just 7.4m (12 km) wide thousands of miles away from Earth. An impact decades in the future can't be ruled out.

Caesarion

Caesarion was born in Egypt in 47 BC. He was the eldest son of Cleopatra then 21, and was the only known son of Julius Caesar, 52. Caesarion was conceived during Julius Caesar's stay in Egypt between September 48 BC and January 47 BC. Ptolemy XV Caesar 'Caesarion' (Little Caesar), was the last pharaoh of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, reigning with his mother Cleopatra VII from 44 BC to 30 BC. He nominally reigned as sole pharaoh for a few days after his mother's death.

Julius Caesar denarius (44 BC)

An Egyptian demotic stele recovered from the Serapeum in Memphis, records his birth on 23 June 47 BC. Caesar never officially or legally recognized Caesarion as his legitimate heir under Roman law.

Julius Caesar was assassinated on 15 March 44 BC. When his will was read, Caesarion was completely omitted. Caesar posthumously adopted his grandnephew, Octavian, naming him primary heir. Cleopatra fled Rome with 3-year-old Caesarion a month after the murder, returning to Alexandria. Cleopatra had her husband/brother Ptolemy XIV murdered and replaced him with Caesarion, whom she married and made co-regent. Cleopatra continued her path of power and intrigue, becoming ally and lover of Marc Antony, earning her the enmity of Octavian. This would prove to be the death of both the Egyptian Queen and Caesarion. The earliest depictions of Caesarion are found on Cypriot coinage minted in 44 BC, which portray him as an infant held in his mother's arms.

Chicago Coin of Antony and Cleopatra. Date 37-33 BCE.

After Octavian's victory over the pair at Actium in 31 B.C., Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide. Disappointed he didn't have Cleopatra for his triump, Octavian had Caesarion, then 17, murdered around 29 August 30 BC. (the beginning of the Egyptian new year). According to Plutarch, Octavian followed the advice of Arius Didymus, who said "Too many Caesars is not good". He returned to Rome with Ptolemy Philadelphus and twins Cleopatra Selene II and Alexander Helios who were the children of Antony and Cleopatra.

History reveals little of the fates of Ptolemy Philadelphus and Alexander Helios. They are thought to have died young. Cleopatra Selene II became a queen in her own right.

The Ilminster ring

UK metal detectorist Kevin Minto expected another corroded bronze coin when his metal detector beeped in a field in Somerset in 2018. Instead, he uncovered a nearly 48-gram (1.7 oz) ring made of solid Roman gold. Now known as the Ilminster Ring, it features an engraved gemstone showing Victoria the Roman goddess of victory driving a biga, a two-horse chariot. The image on the stone was carved using intaglio, a technique in which the design is engraved into the surface rather than raised above it. The ring was buried around 297 C.E. with a Roman coin hoard, along with lead and pottery objects. The spectacular ring's owner could only be a person of high status, such as a governor, merchant, or wealthy landowner. Whomever buried the treasure never returned for it.

The ring dates to one of the most unstable periods in Roman Britain. Between 286 and 296 C.E., Britain broke away from the wider Roman Empire. Called the Carausian Revolt, Britania was politically isolated until imperial forces brought it back under Roman control. Carausius’s tenuous rule lasted until 293, when his finance minister, Allectus, killed him and took power. Allectus’s own reign lasted three years, ending when Roman emperor Constantius I invaded the island.

The South West Heritage Trust acquired the ring, along with the hoard of Roman coins, for £78,000. Proceeds were split with the land owner.

The Roman gold ring that inspired J.R.R Tolkien

In 2016 the UK National Trust and the Tolkien Society put an artifact on display for fans of "The Lord of the Rings" to decide for themselves whether this was Tolkien's precious ring of power.

The Vyne Ring or the Ring of Silvianus is a gold ring, dating to the 4th century, discovered in a field in Hampshire, England, in 1785. Weighing 12g with a ten-faceted design with a Venus-inscribed bezel, it's linked to a curse tablet. It was originally owned by a wealthy British Roman called Silvianus.

The large gold ring is inscribed in Latin, "Senicianus live well in God," and inset with an image of the goddess Venus. The ring is believed to be linked to a curse tablet (defixio) discovered 100 km away in Gloucestershire at Lydney Park. That site was a Roman temple dedicated to a god named Nodens.

The tablet says Silvianus had lost a ring, and it asks Nodens to place a curse of ill health on Senicianus until he returns it.

An archeologist who looked into the connection between the ring and the curse tablet asked Tolkien, who was an Anglo-Saxon professor at Oxford University, to work on the etymology of the name Nodens in 1929.

Parallels are drawn between Silvianus losing his ring to Senicianus (and naming the thief in a curse) and Gollum losing his precious ring to Bilbo Baggins. Made of lead, Silvianus's defixio was inscribed with a curse: DEVO NODENTI SILVIANVS ANILVM PERDEDIT DEMEDIAM PARTEM DONAVIT NODENTI INTER QVIBVS NOMEN SENICIANI NOLLIS PETMITTAS SANITATEM DONEC PERFERAT VSQVE TEMPLVM NODENTIS Translation: 'To the god Nodens. Silvianus has lost a ring; he hereby gives half of it (i.e. half of its value) to Nodens. Among those who are called Senicianius, do not allow health until he brings it to the temple of Nodens.'