Angela
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It seems to be extremely carb heavy by design. I'm not sure I buy that this means they had fat on them though. With all that training, is it likely? Plus, their bones aren't going to show if there was fat on them are they?
My daughter swam competitively, and they always ate pasta before meets, and don't cross country skiers eat a lot of carbs too? They're lean as gazelles.
Sometimes I think archaeologists are a little too fond of punchy headlines.
Anyway, see:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-did-gladiators-eat
"[FONT="] The evidence suggests gladiators carbo-loaded. They ate a diet high in carbohydrates, such as barley and beans, and low in animal proteins. Their meals looked nothing like the paleo or meat-and-fish centric diets now associated with elite warriors and athletes."
[/FONT]"[FONT="]This relatively meat-free diet is described in texts from the time, too: [/FONT]Pliny’s Natural History[FONT="] refers to gladiators by the nickname [/FONT]hordearii, [FONT="]which translates to “barley eaters.”
[/FONT]"[FONT="]Well, you might do it to improve their battlefield performance. The Vienna team posits that the fighters ate weight-gaining foods because extra fat created a layer of bodily protection. Nerve endings would have been less exposed, and bleeding cuts would have been less perilous. As an added benefit, the extra, protective layer of fat would have created a more satisfying spectacle: The gladiators could sustain wounds and gush blood, but, because the wounds were shallow, they could keep on fighting.[/FONT][FONT=platform web, helvetica neue, sans-serif]"
"[/FONT][FONT="]Notably, the gladiators’ extra fat doesn’t mean they were unhealthy, and their treatment wasn’t all harsh. In fact, both the archaeological evidence from the Ephesus site and writing from the period suggest the opposite. Gladiators were a significant investment, and archaeological sites evidence the fortresses as “also [including] heated floors for winter training, baths, infirmaries, plumbing, and a nearby graveyard.” Though prisoners, they likely received superior medical care. For example, the historical record shows that at least some gladiators were treated by elite doctors, such as Galen of Pergamum, the Greek physician and writer whose theories and research deeply influenced the medical field for centuries. The quality of gladiators’ medical care is also evidenced by a comparison of injuries on the bones of average citizens to those of the gladiators, which evince superior care with clean, smooth healing lines along old breaks.[/FONT][FONT="]Gladiators’ good-health was not just a consequence of quality medical treatment. They also regularly drank calcium supplements made of either charred plant or bone ash. Like modern athletes, they took their calcium—scholarly analyses describe the calcium levels in gladiators’ bones as “exorbitant” compared to average citizens. And the Elder Pliny records the same in Natural History XXXVI.203: “‘For abdominal cramp or bruises,’ states Marcus Varro, and I quote his very words, ‘your hearth should be your medicine chest. Drink lye made from its ashes, and you will be cured. One can see how gladiators after a combat are helped by drinking this.’”[/FONT]
[FONT="]"Gladiators did have the occasional chance to nosh on more decadent foodstuffs. To kick off gladiator games, elite Romans held large banquets, which the fighters might be invited to. The first-century B.C. historian Livy described these feasts as shows complete with sacrificial animals, athletes, and famous horses, while “banquets too were prepared for the delegations with equal sumptuousness and attention to detail.”
I also think that while all gladiators probably didn't look like the Riace bronzes of Calabria, I doubt local artists went to the trouble of idealizing local depictions of local gladiators. They probably knew these men very well and saw them often in the arena.
These are local mosaics from Britain. The men look beefier, not as elegant, but I don't think you'd call them fat, would you?
It's not so unusual for men to look like this if they're athletic and work out. [/FONT]
My daughter swam competitively, and they always ate pasta before meets, and don't cross country skiers eat a lot of carbs too? They're lean as gazelles.
Sometimes I think archaeologists are a little too fond of punchy headlines.
Anyway, see:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-did-gladiators-eat
"[FONT="] The evidence suggests gladiators carbo-loaded. They ate a diet high in carbohydrates, such as barley and beans, and low in animal proteins. Their meals looked nothing like the paleo or meat-and-fish centric diets now associated with elite warriors and athletes."
[/FONT]"[FONT="]This relatively meat-free diet is described in texts from the time, too: [/FONT]Pliny’s Natural History[FONT="] refers to gladiators by the nickname [/FONT]hordearii, [FONT="]which translates to “barley eaters.”
[/FONT]"[FONT="]Well, you might do it to improve their battlefield performance. The Vienna team posits that the fighters ate weight-gaining foods because extra fat created a layer of bodily protection. Nerve endings would have been less exposed, and bleeding cuts would have been less perilous. As an added benefit, the extra, protective layer of fat would have created a more satisfying spectacle: The gladiators could sustain wounds and gush blood, but, because the wounds were shallow, they could keep on fighting.[/FONT][FONT=platform web, helvetica neue, sans-serif]"
"[/FONT][FONT="]Notably, the gladiators’ extra fat doesn’t mean they were unhealthy, and their treatment wasn’t all harsh. In fact, both the archaeological evidence from the Ephesus site and writing from the period suggest the opposite. Gladiators were a significant investment, and archaeological sites evidence the fortresses as “also [including] heated floors for winter training, baths, infirmaries, plumbing, and a nearby graveyard.” Though prisoners, they likely received superior medical care. For example, the historical record shows that at least some gladiators were treated by elite doctors, such as Galen of Pergamum, the Greek physician and writer whose theories and research deeply influenced the medical field for centuries. The quality of gladiators’ medical care is also evidenced by a comparison of injuries on the bones of average citizens to those of the gladiators, which evince superior care with clean, smooth healing lines along old breaks.[/FONT][FONT="]Gladiators’ good-health was not just a consequence of quality medical treatment. They also regularly drank calcium supplements made of either charred plant or bone ash. Like modern athletes, they took their calcium—scholarly analyses describe the calcium levels in gladiators’ bones as “exorbitant” compared to average citizens. And the Elder Pliny records the same in Natural History XXXVI.203: “‘For abdominal cramp or bruises,’ states Marcus Varro, and I quote his very words, ‘your hearth should be your medicine chest. Drink lye made from its ashes, and you will be cured. One can see how gladiators after a combat are helped by drinking this.’”[/FONT]
[FONT="]"Gladiators did have the occasional chance to nosh on more decadent foodstuffs. To kick off gladiator games, elite Romans held large banquets, which the fighters might be invited to. The first-century B.C. historian Livy described these feasts as shows complete with sacrificial animals, athletes, and famous horses, while “banquets too were prepared for the delegations with equal sumptuousness and attention to detail.”
I also think that while all gladiators probably didn't look like the Riace bronzes of Calabria, I doubt local artists went to the trouble of idealizing local depictions of local gladiators. They probably knew these men very well and saw them often in the arena.
These are local mosaics from Britain. The men look beefier, not as elegant, but I don't think you'd call them fat, would you?
It's not so unusual for men to look like this if they're athletic and work out. [/FONT]
