On Wednesday the 26th of March Senior Ancient History students were visited by Back 2 History, a Roman Reenactment group specialising in the Roman Army and Gladiators. The students were presented with reconstructions of the graffiti on the walls of Pompeii, advertising combats paid for by the local elites, where they learned about the importance of the Munira (the Roman word used for a gladiatorial display) to the town’s livelihood and for the local politicians to show their wealth. They also got to experience a selection of the armour the gladiators wore and learned about the influence on their weaponry. Students got the play Retiarius (net man), Myrmillo (fish) and Hoplomachus (the hoplite) and looked resplendent in the ornate armour they were dressed in. They practiced some gladiator drills in armour and were told about life in a ludus (gladiator school) whilst the other group cooked up an authentic gladiator recipe by Galen, the Greco-Roman physician who made his name caring for gladiators in his early years as a doctor. To finish off, they were presented with a mock gladiator combat between the evenly matched Retiarius and Myrmillo where the boys didn’t hold back! I’m pleased to report that the students, so pleased with the performance of the gladiatori, they granted him missio (reprieve), sparing his life!
The students had a fantastic afternoon, learned a lot and had great fun!
