Flamma Lamma Ding Dong: Flamma The Gladiator

A single tombstone inscription from Sicily gives us a gladiator story that feels too weird to be real: Flamma, a Syrian-born fighter in Ancient Rome, steps into the arena 34 times, wins 21, fights to nine draws, loses four, and then gets offered freedom four separate times. And he turns it down. Every. Single. Time.

We walk through what that record actually means in Roman gladiator combat, including why the “fight to the death” myth falls apart once you understand how expensive fighters are to train and how mercy decisions work. We also break down Flamma’s fighting class as a secutor and the built-in drama of facing a retiarius with a net and trident, plus what it must have felt like to fight inside a heat-trapping helmet with tiny eye holes while a crowd demands action.

From there, we zoom in on the ludus, the gladiator training school that functions like a high-security sports academy: heavier practice weapons, relentless drilling, supervised sparring, a barley-heavy diet that builds muscle and padding, and surprisingly serious medical care (including the famous physician Galen’s connection to gladiator schools). Finally, we ask the question that won’t go away: if the rudus is the wooden sword that symbolizes freedom, why would a celebrity fighter refuse it and stay in the system that could kill him?

We wrap with a lighter detour into idioms like “right as rain” and “I smell a rat.” If you like smart history with a buffoon streak, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave us a rating and review.

Transcript

Welcome And Beer Banter

SPEAKER_00 0:15

Oh hey there.

SPEAKER_01 0:17

Oh hey there.

SPEAKER_00 0:18

How are you today?

SPEAKER_01 0:19

I'm good. How are you?

SPEAKER_00 0:20

I am well. I am Bradley. And I'm Kate. This is the History of Buffoons. Welcome. Yes, welcome. To another episode. What do you got for us today?

SPEAKER_01 0:31

We are gonna talk about Flamma.

SPEAKER_00 0:34

Flamma Lamma Ding dong?

SPEAKER_01 0:36

Flamelama ding dong the gladiator.

SPEAKER_00 0:39

Flamma the gladiator.

SPEAKER_01 0:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 0:41

So we are talking Roman times.

SPEAKER_01 0:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 0:45

Right?

SPEAKER_01 0:46

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 0:46

I mean you you hesitated.

SPEAKER_01 0:48

Well, Roman is still a thing, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00 0:52

Ancient Roman things. Oh, there you go.

SPEAKER_01 0:54

Ancient Roman.

SPEAKER_00 0:55

I forgot the A for ancient. My apologies.

SPEAKER_01 1:00

I just have my trusty modello today.

SPEAKER_00 1:03

I, however, have Saint Bernadus.

SPEAKER_01 1:09

That is quite the bottle.

SPEAKER_00 1:11

It is. It is not cheap either. My brother's favorite beer.

SPEAKER_01 1:16

Is it?

SPEAKER_00 1:16

Corey who wrote our music for us. And uh while I'm unscrewing this and uncorking it, if you like us, follow all that stuff, support our show on our website, link at the top. We appreciate anyone who uh listens to us. So um this is Corey's favorite beer. Ooh, a nice little pop to the quark. It's um a beer you wouldn't really care for. It's more like oh, what was that one we just had that wasn't far off from it? You had it. Um It's like uh I just lost the wording. Christ. It's made by monks. But it's really delicious.

SPEAKER_01 2:08

What kind of beer is it?

SPEAKER_00 2:10

It is too hard for me to read. It's a product of Belgium. Yes, it's um what do they call it? Abby? Abby triple? Abby triple, is that right? Holy Christ. I need to drink something. Something in my throat. Cheers.

SPEAKER_01 2:35

Cheers.

SPEAKER_00 2:35

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01 2:37

Have you had this beer before? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:39

Yeah. It's really good. I got this glass for my brother from my father-in-law. For your brother? Yeah, but he forgot it last time it was over. That was uh, I don't know how long ago that was a little bit, but so I'm like, well, I might as well, you know, it's an actual Saint Bernadist glass. So thought I should drink it properly.

SPEAKER_03 3:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:01

And uh yeah, it's uh buy a four-pack, it's like twenty-three or four dollars. Okay, that's a lot, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:10

But I mean, how big was that bottle?

SPEAKER_00 3:12

This well, you don't get four of those. Like a four-pack is like regular size bottles. Okay, got it. This is uh 19.

SPEAKER_01 3:20

whatever. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:22

Um, it's 10%.

SPEAKER_01 3:24

So how much was that one single bottle?

SPEAKER_00 3:26

One pint nine point four fluid ounces, so it's twenty-five point four ounces. Uh, this was thirteen bucks for just this one. So you get a couple beers out of it.

SPEAKER_01 3:39

Heck yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:40

Or a couple glasses, if you will. It's derish.

SPEAKER_01 3:44

So awesome.

SPEAKER_00 3:46

So we're talking about flamading dong.

SPEAKER_01 3:50

Yeah, so in uh Sicily, oh hey, um island.

SPEAKER_00 3:56

Yes, yes, okay.

SPEAKER_01 4:00

In the earth somewhere in Sicily, there was a slab of limestone that was discovered. Um, time had worn its edges, letters weren't exactly ornate.

SPEAKER_00 4:16

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 4:17

Um, but the message was um about a man named Flamma.

SPEAKER_00 4:23

Flamma.

SPEAKER_01 4:24

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 4:24

That's an interesting name.

SPEAKER_01 4:26

It is his tombstone. Don't know if he's actually buried there, if it was just like a marker of some kind.

SPEAKER_00 4:32

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 4:33

What was that?

SPEAKER_00 4:34

What was what?

SPEAKER_01 4:35

There was a ding-dong. Not like a not like a house ding-dong, but no, there was like a jingle.

SPEAKER_00 4:43

I I did not hear it.

SPEAKER_01 4:44

I think I made it up.

SPEAKER_00 4:45

I think you a Mandela effect. No, wait, that doesn't work for that. No, you made it up. I mean, maybe, I don't know. I didn't hear it.

SPEAKER_01 4:51

So, um, again, not sure if it was just a marker, but sure. Um, the inscription was a little like statistic. Oh. Yeah. It listed his profession, his origin, and the tally of his career in the arena.

SPEAKER_00 5:07

How how good was he?

SPEAKER_01 5:08

So it said that Flama was Syrian by birth.

SPEAKER_00 5:12

Syrian.

SPEAKER_01 5:13

He was a secular gladiator.

SPEAKER_00 5:16

What is do you know what that means?

SPEAKER_01 5:18

It was a type of Roman gladiator um that literally means like pursuer or chaser. And the role was designed to hunt down and defeat a Retarius, which is a lightly armored gladiator who fought with a net and a trident. Oh, okay. So some of these words you're gonna hear throughout. Sure. But he was a secutor.

SPEAKER_00 5:39

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 5:40

He fought 34 times.

SPEAKER_00 5:42

Damn.

SPEAKER_01 5:43

He won 21 victories.

SPEAKER_00 5:45

What happened to the other 13?

SPEAKER_01 5:47

He fought nine draws. Oh, okay. And lost four times.

SPEAKER_00 5:53

I thought if you lost, you died.

SPEAKER_01 5:55

Not necessarily.

SPEAKER_00 5:56

Well, so I don't remember how long ago I heard this, but it was more or less that like everything we know about um gladiators isn't entirely true.

SPEAKER_01 6:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:07

Whereas like they said it was more like wrestling today back then, where you had these people and it was more or less scripted. I'm like, really? Oh. That's not what Gladiator the movie taught me. And that's what I base everything off of Gladiators.

SPEAKER_01 6:27

That is historical. It's a historical document. Yeah, it is.

SPEAKER_00 6:31

So I I don't know if that's true, of course. I never really fully looked into it because I also kind of don't want to.

SPEAKER_01 6:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:39

Because I feel like it will ruin the myth of the gladiator legend, you know.

SPEAKER_01 6:45

So the rest of the line on this limestone said that he was offered the rudus.

SPEAKER_00 6:52

The rudest?

SPEAKER_01 6:53

Oh, is that the wooden sword from yeah, it's the wooden sword that symbolized freedom. Yeah. He was offered it four times. Oh, wow. And denied it four times.

SPEAKER_00 7:05

He just really liked being a gladiator.

SPEAKER_01 7:07

Something.

SPEAKER_00 7:08

Wow, okay.

SPEAKER_01 7:09

Isn't that crazy?

SPEAKER_00 7:10

That is wild.

SPEAKER_01 7:11

So it was the prize at the end of years of brutal training and combat, and yet there's this man who received it four times or was four times, yeah. Yeah, and declined it every time.

SPEAKER_00 7:27

Every time that's wild, okay.

SPEAKER_01 7:29

So the tombstone doesn't say anything else about Flama other than that's those statistics, but it does offer enough clues for us for history historians to kind of piece things together. Okay. So Flama was born somewhere in Syria, a region that is uh in the second century, which was part of the Roman Empire at the time.

SPEAKER_00 7:51

Sure. Where where is is Syria still a thing today, correct?

SPEAKER_01 7:56

Yeah, I think so.

SPEAKER_00 7:57

I believe, right? Yeah, it's in the Middle East. That right, okay.

SPEAKER_01 8:01

Yeah, yeah. It's uh between Turkey and Iraq.

SPEAKER_00 8:05

Oh yeah. Yeah. I go there a lot in my dreams.

SPEAKER_01 8:11

So exactly where in Syria. Um nobody knows.

SPEAKER_00 8:15

Nobody knows, of course, which I mean lost the records or time, I should say.

SPEAKER_01 8:20

Yep, and it just tells us that he's not Roman.

SPEAKER_00 8:22

Right, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:23

So he was a foreigner, likely taken from his homeland and drawn into the Roman cog.

SPEAKER_00 8:30

It's just like Maximus, he was they called him Spaniard because he was from Spain, and Russell Crowe does not look Spanish.

SPEAKER_01 8:37

Maybe that's why he got so tangent.

SPEAKER_00 8:40

I love that movie so much. Yeah, one of my favorites of all time.

SPEAKER_01 8:44

We also don't know exactly how he became a gladiator. Um, there were several paths into the arena.

SPEAKER_02 8:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 8:52

Um, some gladiators were prisoner of war, um, captured during Roman campaigns and sold into slavery.

SPEAKER_02 8:59

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 8:59

Others were criminals condemned by the courts.

SPEAKER_02 9:02

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 9:03

Um, but surprisingly, quite a few people also volunteered.

SPEAKER_00 9:07

Well, because you could get rich doing it, and you could get fame and fortune and all that stuff. I mean, I guess I was redundant by saying rich and fame, but either way.

SPEAKER_01 9:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:16

Or fortune. I mean, god, I fucked that up really bad.

SPEAKER_01 9:19

But debt and poverty and desperation pushed many people into this agreement.

SPEAKER_00 9:26

So you you like fuck, I got nothing. What am I gonna do? Well, I can go kill people in the in the arena and try and better our situation. So yeah, I get that.

SPEAKER_01 9:36

So because the inscription on the tombstone names him as Syrian and does not describe him as a Roman uh citizen, historians often suspect that he may have begun life in the arena as a slave gladiator, which or perhaps purchased by a slave or excuse me, a gladiator school.

Inside The Ludus Training Life

SPEAKER_00 9:57

Sure, I could I could see that being a rational thought process because if he's not from there, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 10:04

But he eventually arrived at one of the Empire's gladiator training schools known as the Ludus. Ludus. Okay. The word Ludus technically means school, but these were unlike anything else. Right. A gladiator school was part training camp, part prison, part professional, like athletic facility. Um, high walls surrounded the complex. Sure. Armed guards would stand watch.

SPEAKER_00 10:30

Oh dear.

SPEAKER_01 10:31

Fighters lived, trained, and prepared for the moment when they would step into the arena. Wow. Yeah. So the men who ran these schools were called the Lanniste. To the Romans, the profession had a unsavory reputation.

SPEAKER_03 10:46

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 10:47

The Lanniste bought and sold gladiators, trained them, and rented them out to the sponsors of public games.

SPEAKER_00 10:55

Gotcha. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 10:56

Um, but from a financial perspective, gladiators were were valuable assets.

SPEAKER_00 11:01

Sure, yeah, no, no doubt.

SPEAKER_01 11:03

So a skilled fighter could bring prestige and profits. Uh, so training was very serious. Okay. And a new recruit like Flamma would begin with a wooden weapon.

SPEAKER_00 11:14

Yeah, yeah, makes sense.

SPEAKER_01 11:16

Heavy wooden swords and shields were used to teach technique and endurance.

SPEAKER_02 11:21

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 11:22

And these practice weapons were often heavier than the real things, so that when the gladiator finally fought with steel, the equipment felt lighter in the hands.

SPEAKER_00 11:31

Well, that's just like uh in baseball. I know, I was just gonna say that. When the batter's going up the bat, he's taking his practice swings, he puts that weight on it. Yep. So he gets that movement better and all of the things. Yeah, so that makes sense. It does.

SPEAKER_01 11:43

Yeah, yeah. So training was relentless. The gladiators drilled in footwork, balance, precision. They learned how to block, how to maneuver, how to survive long enough to entertain a crowd without also being killed.

SPEAKER_02 11:56

Right.

SPEAKER_01 11:57

And life inside the Ludus uh followed a very strict routine. Okay. Morning hours were devoted to conditioning and drills.

SPEAKER_02 12:05

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 12:06

Gladiators practiced striking poses. Nope, striking posts with their wooden swords.

SPEAKER_00 12:12

To like strike a pose like Madonna here, we would score.

SPEAKER_01 12:17

Vogue. Vogue.

SPEAKER_00 12:19

Strike pose. Wow, that was great.

SPEAKER_01 12:24

Um, so they would um practice striking posts with their wooden swords, right? Repeating the same motions again and again until they became instinctive.

SPEAKER_00 12:33

Can I ask you a ridiculous question?

SPEAKER_01 12:36

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 12:36

What kind of wood did they use for the swords?

SPEAKER_01 12:39

That is a ridiculous question, but they actually used maple.

SPEAKER_00 12:43

You're making that up.

SPEAKER_01 12:44

I'm making it up.

SPEAKER_00 12:46

I mean, that's a strong wood, right? That's pretty pretty dense.

SPEAKER_01 12:51

Yeah. What would you think?

SPEAKER_00 12:53

Oak, maple. Definitely not pine.

unknown 12:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:56

Pine's light.

SPEAKER_01 12:57

I feel like this might be a question for not that Nathan would know.

SPEAKER_00 13:01

But he could at least give it an educated guess.

SPEAKER_01 13:03

A more educated guess, just because he works with wood. Yeah. Not for a living, but it's a hobby of his, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:09

And he makes makes different things. Like he made, well, shit, how many? I don't remember how many years ago you said he even made it. That chessboard that he ended up giving to Xavier. Yeah. I mean, stuff like that, you know, he just likes making stuff out of wood. Yeah. So he would have a better guess than you and I would.

SPEAKER_03 13:24

I think so.

SPEAKER_00 13:25

All we're trying to say. Yeah. So yeah. Anyways. I should have grabbed another Kleenex. Oh, they're over there.

SPEAKER_01 13:32

Yeah, they're just over there.

SPEAKER_00 13:33

Go, go gadget arms.

SPEAKER_01 13:35

Wouldn't that be something?

SPEAKER_00 13:37

I love that show.

SPEAKER_01 13:38

That was a great show.

SPEAKER_00 13:38

I was growing up.

SPEAKER_01 13:39

Pity. So later came sparring matches with fellow trainees, carefully supervised by the instructors who corrected mistakes and barked out orders. Yep. Um, and the diet. Um Roman writers actually joked that the gladiators were called barley men because their meals balanced um their their meals were based heavily on barley, beans, and legumes.

SPEAKER_00 14:04

Oh, good old legumes.

SPEAKER_01 14:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:06

Like beans.

SPEAKER_01 14:08

The high carbohydrate diet helped them build muscle and maintain a layer a good layer of body fat um that added extra padding that actually serve a purpose. It helped protect against superficial cuts and made injuries less immediately fatal.

SPEAKER_00 14:25

And yeah, not as you know, you're getting hit by the blunt side of a sword, even that's gonna pad you better than not.

SPEAKER_01 14:32

So yeah, I mean bruises are gonna happen, but well, clearly.

SPEAKER_00 14:36

I mean, in this type of profession, if you will, you're gonna get fucked up no matter what, but you might not die from it, is what we're saying.

Secutor Versus Retiarius Explained

SPEAKER_01 14:44

But medical medical care was also better than one would expect. Well, gladiator rep gladiators represented financial investments, so their health mattered. One of the most famous physicians of the ancient world, Galen, once worked as a doctor in a gladiator school. He later wrote that the experience taught him more about anatomy and trauma than any academic training could have. Within this harsh but structured environment, a gladiator gradually became that professional fighter that we know of. Okay. That we know, you know. Flama eventually specialized in a particular class of gladiator known as the Secutor.

SPEAKER_00 15:26

Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_01 15:28

So Roman gladiator combat was not a chaotic free-for-all. No, fights were carefully arranged between specific types of fighters, right? Each with distinctive armor and weapons.

SPEAKER_00 15:40

So kind of like what I said, I heard. Yeah. I mean, to a degree at least so far.

SPEAKER_01 15:45

Yeah. So, like I said, the secutor was designed to face um one particular opponent.

SPEAKER_00 15:51

Right.

SPEAKER_01 15:52

The ret r I said it earlier. You're good. Ret Retiarus.

SPEAKER_00 16:00

Retiarus.

SPEAKER_01 16:01

Retiarus. I'm so sorry, Italians.

SPEAKER_00 16:03

Italians.

SPEAKER_01 16:04

The pairing created one of the more dramatic matchups in the arena. Okay. Um, the sector carried the large shield and a short sword now known as a gladius.

SPEAKER_02 16:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:15

His helmet was smooth and rounded with only two small eye holes for vision.

SPEAKER_00 16:21

Sure. Could you imagine how much that impaired your vision? Even with the eye holes for it. Man, your peripherals gotta be fucked and everything. Like, I think of the again, I go off of everything I know from the movie Gladiator. Think of the mask that he wore early on when he was hiding his identity before he revealed himself. Yeah. That couldn't have been easy to look out of. Because it's just, you know, it's got the sides, the tooth pieces, and then just those slits, it's like oh shit.

SPEAKER_01 16:51

Didn't see over there. Hey buddy, what'd you get there?

SPEAKER_00 16:54

He's lapping here for an hour. It's like, dude, I've been here forever.

SPEAKER_01 16:59

So the design of the helmet uh prevented the opponent's net from snacking on any protrusions.

SPEAKER_00 17:06

Okay, it totally sounded like you said snacking.

SPEAKER_01 17:09

Snagging. So the ret Reti erus, yes, on the other hand, fought lightly armored. They carried a net, a trident, and a dagger. And their strategy relied on speed and distance. So rather than charging directly into combat, um, they circled his opponent looking for an opportunity to throw throw the net and entangle him.

SPEAKER_00 17:35

And then jab jab. Yeah. With the trident, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:38

It created more of like a cat and mouse type of battle. Sure. Um, the Retiarius, I'm so sorry, uh, would dart and maneuver and the secutor um advanced behind his shield.

SPEAKER_02 17:51

Right.

SPEAKER_01 17:51

If the net landed, the secutor could be dragged off balance and struck with a trident. Sure. But if the net missed, the lightly armored um Retiarius suddenly faced a heavily armed opponent closing in super fast.

SPEAKER_00 18:09

Super fast.

SPEAKER_01 18:10

And this is one of those times where just the the crowd just loved to watch this.

SPEAKER_00 18:16

Well, yeah, I mean, because it's like you said, it's the whole cat and mouse. So, I mean, there's strategy on either side, like, how do I get this guy? From you know, brute force, and the other one's like, I gotta dance around you.

SPEAKER_01 18:29

Right.

SPEAKER_00 18:30

Basically. Do you remember in the street?

SPEAKER_01 18:33

What's it called?

SPEAKER_00 18:34

Float like a butterfly sting like a now. Who said that?

SPEAKER_01 18:38

Mr. Ali.

SPEAKER_00 18:42

Famous is he, Ali. Yes. Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun. Muhammad Ali said that. Do you know Muhammad Ali's real name? Yeah. No. Cassius Clay.

SPEAKER_01 18:56

Cassius Clay. I think that's an awesome name, too.

SPEAKER_00 18:59

I think it is too. But he adopted what is the the Muslim faith, is that's what it is, right?

SPEAKER_01 19:03

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00 19:03

And that's why he became Muhammad Ali, which is fine. Yeah. But I think Cassius Clay is a fucking super great name. Awesome boxer name. Yeah. So I'm just saying. No disrespect, Mr. Ollie, but I liked your original name.

SPEAKER_01 19:17

So at some point in his early career, Flama walked into the arena for the first time. Roman arenas were enormous theaters of spectacle. Thousands of spectators filled the stands. Yep. Trumpets would announce the starting of the games. Yep. The sand of the arena floor was always freshly raked, ready to absorb sweat and blood.

SPEAKER_00 19:37

For sure.

SPEAKER_01 19:38

Flama would have stepped out in full armor, shield raised, sword at his side, and across the arena would be his opponent holding a coiled net and long trident.

SPEAKER_00 19:49

Could you imagine how warm that would be in that armor? I know like they always portray him as like having like a fucking basically like a loincloth and then their armor and stuff or whatever. But could you imagine how sweaty you would get in that armor? Because I'm just thinking of the the It would be so slick. Oh my god. I'm just thinking of the locations that they had a lot of these in because of where the Roman Empire was. But god damn, that had to be warm.

unknown 20:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:14

Not good warm. But yeah. Can I can we take a second for me to get one of those?

SPEAKER_01 20:21

You need a blow your nose? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:24

Alright. Back from uh my nose adventure. I got another one just in case.

SPEAKER_01 20:30

Okay, so it's a left side. I don't fucking get it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:33

I hate it.

SPEAKER_01 20:34

It's not right. What can you say?

SPEAKER_00 20:36

Because it's left.

unknown 20:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:39

Let's move on.

SPEAKER_01 20:40

The fight.

SPEAKER_00 20:42

The fight began. The glorious fight.

SPEAKER_01 20:44

The Retiarius circled, testing his distance. Flama advanced slowly. Shield forward. The net suddenly flew through the air. What the if it struck, the secutor could be pulled sideways and stabbed before he regained balance. But a trained gladiator like Flamma would try to deflect the field with his shield. Imagine the net missing. Now the advantage has shifted. The ret Reti You had me until you butchered it. Reditarius backed away, trying to recover his weapon. And Flamma pressed forward, the distance closing quickly. The sword flashed. And moments later, the opponent laid wounded in the sand. The crowd roared a victory.

Wins Draws Defeats And Mercy

SPEAKER_00 21:39

They gave him a real sword for this, right? Yeah. Not a wooden one anymore. Okay, good. Oh boy.

SPEAKER_01 21:45

Flama would go on to fight 34 times. That's just crazy. It's an impressive number for any gladiator.

SPEAKER_00 21:52

Right.

SPEAKER_01 21:53

Many fighters never survived long enough to accumulate such a record.

SPEAKER_00 21:58

Oh no, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 21:59

His victory. As I said earlier, number 21.

SPEAKER_00 22:02

So how do you get a draw?

SPEAKER_01 22:04

So a draw meant something specific in combat.

SPEAKER_00 22:09

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 22:10

It indicated that both fighters had performed skillfully, bravely enough that the sponsor of the games decided neither deserved death.

SPEAKER_00 22:19

That's enough. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 22:21

So after a long and exoting battle, both men could leave the arena alive. Those matches were often grueling. Picture Flama Flama deep into one of these contests, which the fight has to be so much longer because neither of one are being killed. Right. Longer than expected. His helmet is trapping this heat and sweat and tiny eye holes. He's probably like dripping into his eyeballs.

SPEAKER_00 22:48

Well, I imagine there's sand flying around from the arena and everything.

SPEAKER_01 22:52

And then like the breath coming back into the shell, the metal shell. Across the arena, the retiere retiarius remains frustratingly elusive.

SPEAKER_00 23:03

Elusive.

SPEAKER_01 23:04

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 23:05

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01 23:06

He circles prodding with the Triant, retreating whenever Flamet advances.

SPEAKER_00 23:12

Shuck and drive, shuck and drive.

SPEAKER_01 23:14

The crowd begins to murmur. Oh my god. What are you doing later? Spectators want action. The fighters are exhausted. And eventually the official overseeing the games, the editor.

SPEAKER_00 23:30

The editor? Okay.

SPEAKER_01 23:31

Signals the end of the match, a draw. Both men survive to fight another day.

SPEAKER_00 23:36

That's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 23:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:38

Okay. I I guess I didn't know they did draws for gladiator battles. I always thought you're always kind of taught, at least the way I remember it, is fight to the death.

SPEAKER_01 23:49

Right.

SPEAKER_00 23:50

You know? So I guess I didn't realize there was actually draws in gladiator battles.

SPEAKER_01 23:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:57

That's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 23:58

So Flame's record also included four defeats.

SPEAKER_00 24:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:02

Losing a match did not mean death. Right. Automatically mean death.

SPEAKER_00 24:08

Right.

SPEAKER_01 24:08

Gladiators were so expensive to train, and a skilled fighter was worth preserving.

SPEAKER_02 24:15

Oh, sure.

SPEAKER_01 24:15

So if a gladiator was defeated but had still fought well, they he could request uh mercy.

SPEAKER_03 24:23

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 24:23

The gesture was simple. The defeated man raised one finger. It was a silent plea for release. They called it miso.

SPEAKER_00 24:33

So it's it's basically a uh a medieval like a white flag. Not a medieval, but you know, it's an ancient thing for like today in like UFC, you tap out. Like if you're yeah, right. Yeah, yeah. Basically.

SPEAKER_01 24:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:46

Okay. Yeah. Or a white flag, yeah. But you're like, you're tapping out.

Why Flamma Refused The Rudus

SPEAKER_01 24:49

I like that analogy, definitely. Pardon me. The crowd and the sponsor would have to decide his feat. A popular or brave fighter often did receive mercy. Oh, Flama obviously did at least four times. Sure. So these defeats were not the end of his career. Nope. They were part of the long path that eventually made him one of the um most seasoned veterans. Sure. So over the years, Flama's reputation probably had grown. The fact that he was offered the rudus, which was the wooden sword symbolizing freedom, suggests that he became a crowd favorite. Sure. Receiving the rudus was one of the greatest honor honors a gladiator could receive. Yeah. It meant the fighter had earned release from its his contract or slavery. His career in the arena was considered complete, and many gladiators dreamed of that moment. Flammer reached it once, twice, three times, and then a fourth time. And each time, according to the inscription on his tombstone, he refused. That's wild. The answer as to why is lost to history. Of course. But um the possibilities reveal more about the uh strange world of Roman gladiators. Sure. Successful gladiators could earn significant prize money.

SPEAKER_02 26:14

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 26:14

Um, victorious fighters received payments from gifts um from sponsors.

SPEAKER_02 26:19

Oh, sure.

SPEAKER_01 26:19

Um, over time a popular popular gladiator might accumulate far greater wealth than he could have earned anywhere else.

SPEAKER_00 26:26

Right, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 26:28

So fame was another powerful incentive.

SPEAKER_00 26:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:31

And gladiators were kind of considered celebrities in Roman society.

SPEAKER_00 26:36

They were rock stars or whatever. Yeah. Whatever you want to call them here, but yeah. And is it is it true that like ladies like fine ladies of higher standing would go and bang popular gladiators? I didn't read that. You never came across that? Okay, because I always remember that was like a thing that I remember reading. I don't know if it's true. Yeah, I almost find it like really, yeah, but I guess maybe. I don't know. There were wild times back then.

SPEAKER_01 27:05

Yeah. Well, graffiti discovered in ancient cities like Pompeii show fans praising their favorite fighters.

SPEAKER_00 27:13

Oh, sure.

SPEAKER_01 27:14

Um, there were women that did leave like declarations of admiration, um, but I don't know much about like what actually would happen.

SPEAKER_00 27:24

Yeah, but that's that's just like name your band here, like I love you, right, Taylor Swift or whatever.

SPEAKER_01 27:31

You know, it doesn't mean anything beyond that, but um so there was another matter of identity after years inside the gladiator school in the arena fighting might have become the only life that Flamma really knew.

SPEAKER_00 27:46

Sure, which I you know I get that.

SPEAKER_01 27:49

The Brotherhood of the Ludus, the Aurora of the Crowd, the adrenal of a combat, all formed like this powerful world that he was in. Sure. So freedom meant uncertainty. So outside the arena, was he a slave with no clear place in Roman society? The arena offered danger, but also fulfilled a purpose.

SPEAKER_00 28:16

Um almost kind of a structure for him, too. A structure to his life where training the food and you know the meals and everything he got through the Ludus, right?

SPEAKER_01 28:27

Ludus, yes.

SPEAKER_00 28:28

Ludus, that's the place where he trained. So you had that uh curriculum almost, if you will, like, hey, you gotta learn this so you can be a better fighter, right? Or just your your everyday routine. So yeah, I I can see why it would be like I don't want to go out there. Yeah. Well, it's kind of like uh Brooks from Shawshank. He's institutionalized.

SPEAKER_01 28:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:52

I mean, it's the same kind of concept to a degree. You don't know anything but what you're in. And so I could see why he'd want to stay. A lot of benefits to staying, a lot of not benefits for staying, but you know, a lot of uncertainty for if you leave. So yeah, I I I totally get it.

SPEAKER_01 29:12

Yeah, yeah. So four times Flama declined the wooden sword. He chose to remain a gladiator, but Flama did die eventually at the age of guess.

SPEAKER_00 29:24

Oh dear. Age of 47. Younger, 27, older, 37, 30, Jesus Christ. He was only 30. He was only 30. He was only 30 and he won 34 or he fought 34 battles, won 21 times. Yeah. Nine times spared, and then four times lost. Look at me go. Numbers. 30. Jesus. Well, I guess that's probably like an ancient man back then.

SPEAKER_01 29:50

Yeah, so this is not unusually young, um, but it suggests that he had survived a long career um in this profession.

SPEAKER_00 29:58

When would you guess he started this profession? Like how old would you guess?

SPEAKER_01 30:03

Well, the typical schedule of experienced gladiators, they would fight approximately two to three times a year.

SPEAKER_00 30:13

So two to three times a year. So we're looking at 34 battles, so we're looking at 11 years, yeah. Potentially, yeah, if not more. So if he died when he was 30, he probably started when he was 16, 17 years old. Like started training and then if you had if I had to guess, which is a pure fucking guess. Yeah. Wow, that's wild.

SPEAKER_01 30:35

So somewhere along the way, someone paid for his tombstone. Yeah. Not sure if it was a fellow gladiator, a sponsor, an admirer.

SPEAKER_00 30:44

Or just, you know, someone who respected what he did, yeah. Kind of thing.

SPEAKER_01 30:50

Um, and they carved his record into this stone so it wouldn't be forgotten.

SPEAKER_00 30:56

Which is wild, really.

SPEAKER_01 30:57

Most gladiators have vanished from history without leaving even a name behind.

SPEAKER_00 31:03

Well, except for Maximus.

SPEAKER_01 31:04

There's there's not much out there for no, there really isn't. Even with Flama, there's not much, but I added in like what could have happened with his training and stuff.

SPEAKER_00 31:15

It's speculation, it's what happened during that time. So he probably went through that, most likely. Yeah, we know absolutely not a hundred percent, but it's very probable he went through that yeah, that line of training and so on.

SPEAKER_01 31:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:29

Yeah.

Lost Tombstone And Colosseum Questions

SPEAKER_01 31:29

So a man who stood in the arena again and again started staring down opponents beneath the crowd, and when freedom was finally placed in his hands, he chose he chose the sword instead. Yeah. The gravestone's exact archaeological setting and where it is today is unknown.

SPEAKER_00 31:48

Oh no, really? They don't know where it ended up.

SPEAKER_01 31:51

It was discovered centuries ago and later disappeared, but even without the stone, the inscription still marks as marks him as one of the most remarkable gladiators remembered in the Roman arena.

SPEAKER_00 32:03

And where did you say they found they found that when they did? Did you have a location?

SPEAKER_01 32:08

It was in Sicily.

SPEAKER_00 32:09

Sicily, that's right.

SPEAKER_01 32:10

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 32:12

Wow, that's that's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 32:14

Yeah, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 32:14

Like, do you think he like well clearly it doesn't sound like he retired, but because he passed up?

SPEAKER_01 32:22

He died at 30, so not sure if he died in the arena or or what, but or died from injuries outside the arena.

SPEAKER_00 32:30

Yeah, but it's it's crazy that it'll end up in. So do you think, and again, pure speculation and uh your opinion, do you think he ever fought at the Coliseum? Or did he fight at the outlier like territories and all the other because they had him everywhere they did back then, so I mean, sorry for my runny nose. Yeah, it's just it's just my left side because we know what's not right. Right. See?

SPEAKER_01 33:03

I don't know. I think in my research, it I think well, they don't they don't know anything about him other than his tombstone, so it's hard to say.

SPEAKER_00 33:13

It's just pure speculation. So because I mean, could you imagine like like I just picture the when they walk in for the first time they're looking around like holy fuck? What is this?

SPEAKER_01 33:25

Okay, so with someone with such a huge record, I'm gonna say yes. Like he is a he is a popular, yeah, skilled gladiator. Yeah, they're gonna bring him to Rome.

Idioms Right As Rain

SPEAKER_00 33:37

That's kind of where I was going with that. Yeah. Because if I had to purely speculate a guess, I would say he did. Yeah. Because of his record alone, it would make sense that he would have went there, but again, who the fuck knows? Don't know. Because, like you said, it was lost to time. It was. All right. Would you like some more idioms? Back-to-back episodes with idioms. Oh my god, are you serious?

SPEAKER_01 34:06

The heck.

SPEAKER_00 34:07

So hopefully these are not bad.

SPEAKER_01 34:09

Yeah, let's hear them. All right, let me get it.

SPEAKER_00 34:13

You can put yours down, I will pick that up. Alright. Have you heard of the idiom? Right as rain. Yes. Good, because you're the one who told it to me. And if you didn't, well then that's fucked.

SPEAKER_01 34:31

Well, that's right as rain.

SPEAKER_00 34:35

All right. All right. The idiom right as rain means perfectly fine, in good health or in proper order. So, for example, after a few days' rest, he was right as rain. So, where it most likely came from, which you'll understand why it kind of makes sense, is it likely originated in Britain in the late 1800s and was first recorded in print around 1894. So it has been around for a while, in print even. Um, pretty much the wording is kind of a bit of a mystery, though, but they have a few theories as to it. Um, rain is something that is normal and reliable, especially in Britain, because it gets pretty rainy there. So, um, because rainy weather is so common in Britain, rain may have symbolized something natural, predictable, and exactly as it should be. Which, you know, right as rain. So if something was right as rain, it meant everything was back to normal. Um, there apparently is another similar sayings expressions. I don't I don't think I've ever heard these. Right as a trivet? Nope. Right as a ninepence? Nope. Right as nails. That one I might have heard of, but I don't even recall if I have or not.

SPEAKER_01 35:56

What kind of nail? Like a hammering nail or like a fingernail?

SPEAKER_00 36:00

I'm guessing uh like a like this one? This one?

SPEAKER_01 36:04

Yeah, like right as finger right as nail.

SPEAKER_00 36:06

It could be this one, but it might be this one.

SPEAKER_01 36:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:09

That was gold. Anyways.

SPEAKER_01 36:11

What was it right as rain?

SPEAKER_00 36:15

Stop. So these all meant something was correct, stable, or satisfactory. Eventually, right as reign stuck compared to the other ones, because other ones are dumb as fuck, if you ask me. Right as nine pence. Right as trivet. Right is trivet, am I right? Right as ninepence, none the richer. That's a band. Anyways. Um so of course the meeting today is basically everything is good, everything is where the way it's supposed to be, and so on. So I do have one more for you.

SPEAKER_01 36:53

Doki doke. Because one up, governor.

SPEAKER_00 36:57

Chip chip. Wait, pip, pip. There it is. Pip pip cheerio. Let's let's sor sorry, UK.

SPEAKER_01 37:07

And and Rome.

SPEAKER_00 37:10

For all my sorry, uh no, I'm not sure. Sorry, everybody. Sorry, everyone. Just sorry. Okay. The idiom I smell a rat.

SPEAKER_02 37:22

Ooh.

SPEAKER_00 37:23

Means you suspect you suspect something dishonest, wrong, or suspicious is going on. So apparently, this phrase goes back to at least the 1500s in England. Oh. So it's been around a hot minute.

SPEAKER_01 37:41

A couple years, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:42

A couple, two, three million minutes. I don't know how many minutes. Like what? No. So early examples appear in English literature, so it actually has shown up in print and stuff, including a line in the 1599 play by Ben Johnson, where the character says, I smell a rat. That's like thanks for elaborating, but anyways. Okay, so why a rat? Um, the expression comes from the behavior of animals, especially cats and dogs, that can smell a rat nearby. Kind of like when I when I was doing this, instantly thought of Lady and the Tramp, where the uh tramp smells the rat in the baby's room. Yeah. Do you remember that?

SPEAKER_01 38:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:23

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 38:24

Um, I tried not to watch that movie very often because um the rat part scared me. And um also uh dogs at the pound. Um, no. Uh nope. But they sing. No, they no. There's there's a scene where Vesper was watching it and I had to leave because the dogs at the pound were crying. I can't handle that.

SPEAKER_00 38:46

Fair enough. And Vesper's like, uh, doggy. Anyways, all right. So if they caught the scent, it meant something hidden was lurking. People borrow this idea to describe sensing that something isn't right even before you see proof, basically. So, of course, rats were also strongly associated with disease and filth, betrayal, or informers, because rat later became slang for a snitch. Ratten it out, yeah. Yeah, you know, you're a rat, man. Yeah, snitches get stitches or whatever. Anyways, um, so someone said I smell a rat, I meant they sense trouble, deceit, or betrayal.

SPEAKER_03 39:23

Very good.

SPEAKER_00 39:24

Yeah, so basically, the meaning today, very, very similar to those origins, but something feels suspicious, someone might be lying or hiding something. So yeah, if you smell a rat, you're you're not very keen on what they're fucking doing.

SPEAKER_01 39:40

I'm not keen on that.

SPEAKER_00 39:42

I'm not keen on that. I smell a rot.

SPEAKER_01 39:45

How was your beer?

SPEAKER_00 39:47

It was delicious.

SPEAKER_01 39:48

Is it gone? Uh no.

SPEAKER_00 39:50

Oh, okay. I think I have at least one more glass pour. How's your beer?

SPEAKER_01 39:55

It's delicious as always.

SPEAKER_00 39:57

It's consistent?

SPEAKER_01 39:58

It's consistent. It's consistently great.

SPEAKER_00 40:01

Mandalo knows what they're doing.

SPEAKER_01 40:03

It's right as rain.

SPEAKER_00 40:04

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 40:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 40:06

Because I was gonna say, I smell a rat if you don't use that. Welp.

SPEAKER_01 40:11

I suppose.

Where To Find Us Next

SPEAKER_00 40:12

Okay. All right, buffoons. That's it for today's episode.

SPEAKER_01 40:16

Buckle up because we've got another historical adventure waiting for you next time. Feeling hungry for more buffoonery? Or maybe you have a burning question or a wild historical theory for us to explore?

SPEAKER_00 40:27

Hit us up on social media. We're History Buffoons Podcast on YouTube, X, Instagram, and Facebook. You can also email us at history buffoonspodcast at gmail.com. We are Bradley and Kate, music by Corey Akers.

SPEAKER_01 40:41

Follow us wherever you get your podcasts and turn those notifications on to stay in the loop.

SPEAKER_00 40:46

Until next time, stay curious and don't forget to rate and review us.

SPEAKER_01 40:50

Remember, the buffoonery never stops.