Flamma and the Death of the Games

In the later Roman Empire it was gladiators and emperors alike frequently came from overseas. Emperor Septimius Severus was born in Africa and his wife in Syria, as was a gladiator named Flamma who was captured and sent to fight in Sicily. There, in the ludus, he fights alongside fellow gladiators such as Delicatus, forging bonds that define his career. His epitaph records 34 fights: 21 victories, 9 draws, and only 4 defeats. After his final bout, he dies at the age of 30. His gravestone exposes not only the brutal realities of gladiatorial life but also the comradeship and loyalty of the gladiators. Flamma’s story embodies the grandeur, violence, and complexity of Rome’s obsession with bloodsport.