August
30
/ 2020
"Flamma, secutor, lived thirty years. Fought thirty-four times, won twenty-one times, stood to draw nine times. Won a reprieve four times. Of Syrian extraction.” An eroded inscription on an ancient tombstone in modern-day Sicily is all that remains of the great gladiator Flamma. Historians are left to fill in the gaps. Flamma (the flame) was famed, franchised, and celebrated in every game he fought. Even when he was defeated and called for a reprieve, he must have carried immense charisma to be blessed by the crowd with the gift of missio, the act of mercy for a gladiator’s life. One aspect made him unique among the gladiators who have been remembered by history: Flamma is the only gladiator on record
