Rounding out our trilogy of special episodes on Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II, we are joined by gladiator expert, Alexandra Sills.

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Special Episode – Gladiator II with Alexandra Sills

Alexandra holds a BA in Classical Studies from Birkbeck College, University of London and a MA in The Classical Mediterranean from the University of Leicester. Alexandra’s MA dissertation was awarded the Mark Pluciennik prize in Archaeology & Ancient History. Alexandra has published outreach articles for Bad Ancient and Working Classicists and recently published an academic article entitled ‘The Tropification of Hollywood Heroes Thrown Into the Arena’ for Melita Classica in 2023. Alexandra’s current research focuses on gladiators in the ancient world and their reception on film and television. We’re thrilled to have her on the show to discuss all things gladiators.

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We start with a history of the development of the gladiator in the Roman world including:

• The Etruscan evolution





• The Julius Caesar effect and the subsequent influence of Augustus





• The osteo-archaeological evidence for gladiators

Are there things that Gladiator II gets right from the perspective of the ancient evidence? We discuss the possibilities with Alexandra.

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Fred Hechinger plays Emperor Caracalla, Pedro Pascal plays General Acacius and Joseph Quinn plays Emperor Geta in Gladiator II

Things to listen out for

• The nobility of the screen gladiator versus the infamia of gladiators historically





• The contrast between the crowd of spectators in the ancient world and in cinematic representations





• The dehumanisation involved in the arena





• The role of the love interest





• The gladiator connection of Katniss Everdeen





• The trope of the woman in the refrigerator





• How to make sure gladiators are dead in the arena and on film





• The complexities of katabasis (journeys to the Underworld) in the context of films and sequels





• The challenges of setting a film in Ancient Rome but changing key elements of history through the storytelling





• The deep specialisation of the different gladiatorial fighting styles





• Where are the shields? Where are the nipples?





• Sexuality in the Roman imperial era versus the representation on screen

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Gladiator II – Macrinus played by Denzel Washington

Screen examples discussed

• Spartacus 1960 – Stanley Kubrick





• Gladiator 2000 – Ridley Scott





• Gladiator II 2024 – Ridley Scott





• Spartacus: Blood and Sands 2010-2013 (Starz series)





• Those About to Die 2024 (television series)





• Fall of the Roman Empire 1964 – Anthony Mann





• Pompeii 2014 – Paul W.S. Anderson

Gladiator II Analysed

Check out our other episodes on Gladiator II with experts Dr Lindsay Steenberg and Professor Martin M. Winkler.

Sound Credits

Our theme music is by Bettina Joy de Guzman.

Automated Transcript

Lightly edited for the Latin and our wonderful Australian accents!

Dr Rad 0:15
Welcome to The Partial Historians.

Dr G 0:19
We explore all the details of ancient Rome,

Dr Rad 0:23
everything from political scandals, the love affairs, the battled wage and when citizens turn against each other. I’m Dr Rad.

Dr G 0:33
And I’m Dr G. We consider Rome as the Romans saw it, by reading different authors from the ancient past and comparing their stories.

Dr Rad 0:44
Join us as we trace the journey of Rome from the founding of the city.

Dr G 0:54
Hello and welcome to a new, very special episode of The Partial Historians. I am one of your hosts, Dr G.

Dr Rad 1:04
And I am Dr Rad.

Dr G 1:07
And we are super thrilled to have a special guest with us today, Alexandra Sills. Now I’ll just give you a quick bio. Alexandra Sills holds a BA in Classical Studies from Birkbeck College, University of London, and an MA in the Classical Mediterranean from the University of Leicester. Alexandra’s MA dissertation was awarded the Mark Pluciennik prize in Archeology and Ancient History. Alexandra has published a range of articles for Bad Ancient and Working Classicists, and recently published an academic article entitled ‘The tropification of Hollywood heroes thrown into the arena’ for Melita Classica in 2023. Alexandra’s current research focuses on gladiators in the ancient world and their reception on film and television. And if you haven’t guessed already, we are thrilled to have Alexandra on the show to discuss gladiators. And of course, the most recent foray of gladiators on the big screen, Ridley Scott’s Gladiator Two. Welcome Alexandra.

Alexandra Sills 2:21
Hello. Thank you for having me. Absolutely thrilled to talk about this film. There’s so much to talk about.

Dr G 2:28
Soooo much to talk about. So to get us started, a soft launch, if you like, into this foray. What makes a gladiator in the ancient Roman world. When do they originate and when do they go out of fashion?

Alexandra Sills 2:45
Okay, that’s a really good question, and it’s one that’s got quite an interesting answer, I think, because everyone assumes that they’re really stereotypically Roman. But actually, the Romans stole the idea from other cultures, and we’re not entirely sure which other cultures they got the most inspiration from, because nobody bothered writing that down. But we do know that down in Campania, which is the area around Naples and Pompeii, they were having fights long before they did in Rome. That tended to be something that they did after battles with prisoners of war and sometimes during feasts. And also, the Etruscans were having combats as well. So the Romans were looking to the north and to the south and seeing, Oh, this is actually quite a fun entertainment. Why don’t we try it? So the first recorded fight in Rome, according to Livy, was in 264 it was for a funeral of a former consul, and it was put on by his sons. They decided that they were going to have something to make this particular funeral, som