Ludus Capuanus
About
The most famous gladiator school outside Rome, and the oldest one on record: a lanista named Aurelius Scaurus was training state gladiators here around 105 BCE. It became infamous in 73 BCE when roughly 70 gladiators, led by the Thracian fighter Spartacus, broke out and touched off the Third Servile War. Its ruins lie beside Capua's amphitheater, second in size only to the Colosseum. The school was still operating, and the amphitheater still hosting games, in 117 CE.
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.
In ancient writing
- Plutarch, Life of Crassus 8.1-4
Describes the gladiatorial school at Capua run by Lentulus Batiatus, where about 70-78 gladiators including Spartacus broke out with kitchen implements in 73 BCE, sparking the Third Servile War.
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 →