Ludus Alexandrinus
About
Alexandria's gladiator school was one of a small group of provincial ludi absorbed into direct imperial administration by the late 1st century CE, training fighters for Egypt's amphitheaters. Its physical location within the ancient city is not archaeologically fixed, and it is known chiefly through literary references grouping it with the state schools at Pergamon, Praeneste, and Capua. Alexandria's rank as the empire's second city made it a natural site for imperial investment in the games.
What happened here
The day starts before dawn with a run and weapons drill against a wooden post, twice the weight of a real sword so the real one feels light after. A doctor and a trainer are on the payroll, because a dead fighter in training is money wasted. Meals are heavy on barley and beans — fighters are called hordearii, barley men, for it — and the diet is meant to pack on fat as padding over muscle, not to make anyone lean. Men here range from slaves bought for the purpose to free volunteers who signed a contract away, sold their bodies by oath, and can be flogged or killed under its terms. A cell is barely wide enough to lie down in. Rank inside the school follows the win record exactly, and everyone knows everyone else's.
Sources
Roman Maps shows the empire frozen at 11 August 117 CE, the day Trajan died — its moment of greatest territorial extent. Explore the full map →