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166 STEPHEN BRUNET
carnassus or some nearby site (the relief showing Amazon and Akhillia).
Another noticeable feature is that women were seemingly not required
to participate in any of the elaborate spectacles. such as naumachiae
or Domitian's re-creation of the geranomachy. which became
increasingly popular in the early empire. The only special staging was
the use of some costuming to make them resemble Venus (Titus' show
according to the interpretation given above) or more often as Amazons
(for certain in the Halicarnassus relief, probably in the Saturnalia of
Domitian. and implied as the typical dress of a female venator in Juv.
1.22-23).6, It made sense that female gladiators and venatores would
wear such costumes. The effect of including women in munera would
have been lost if audiences did not recognize that they were in fact
watching women. But this may have been difficult to achieve when
women were dressed in full armor. In this connection it is important to
remember that. except for not wearing breastplates. the two gladiators
on the Halicarnassus relief were fully armed. including having their
heads covered by helmets. It was only their imitation of the tradition
that Amazons fought bare breasted. along with their having names that
were appropriate for female warriors, which identified their gender 62
Having female gladiators dress as Amazons was also connected with
the major motivation for employing women as gladiators. Contrary to
what has often been assumed by many scholars. women did not play at
being gladiators in an amusing burlesque of their male counterparts.
Rather. their combats represented a serious undertaking in that they
allowed women to demonstrate the courage n rmally expected only of
men. Wiedemann captures this aspect of women gladiators well: "Paradoxically.
the very fact that women were not expected to share male
virtues enabled a female gladiator to symbolize that virtus as an abstract
quality. ,,63 Ancient authors are very explicit about the outstanding
6' The Roman interest in Amazons is apparent from at least two other incidents.
When he began his campaign against Vindex. one of the first things Nero
did was to arm his concubines like Amazons (Suet. Nero 44.1). In his triumph to
celebrate his Dacian victory Aurelian claimed that the women who had fought
on the side of the Goths were Amazons and displayed them in his triumph as
such without actually having them fight (SHA Aurel. 34.1).
62 Their names were probably made known to the audience either by being
announced by a praeco or being written on tabulae. On announcements to the
audience. see Ville (above, n. 7) 274 n. 100.375-376; Junkelmann (above. n. 59)
133-134. fig. 10-13.204.207.
63 Wiedemann (above. n. 4) 112. Women were used in other contexts as examples
of the fortitude that one should imitate. In Dial. 6.16 Seneca describes in
some detail the strong-minded reaction of famous women from Roman history
as a way of demonstrating the path that anyone should follow when faced by a