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170
STEPHEN BRUNET
about the use of women in the arena. we should avoid treating female
gladiators and venatores as some form of burlesque. which derived its
humor from the inability of these women to fight like their male counterparts.
Rather. these female warriors exercised a great attraction on
the Roman imagination specifically because of their ability to fight
bravely. Moreover. the Romans were careful about how they employed
women in the arena. They were never matched against dwarfs or
against other men in order to ensure that they would have a chance to
demonstrate their courage and skill. It was recognized that the only appropriate
opponents were either other women or animals. Finally. because
the Romans were interested in female gladiators for the same reason
they were attracted to gladiatorial contests in general. namely
because they felt there was something to be learned from such matches.
female gladiators should be seen as constituting an integral component
of the Roman games.
CLASSICS PROGRAM
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