Editing Gladiator (section)

===Victory and defeat===
{{See also|Pollice verso}}
A match was won by the gladiator who overcame his opponent, or killed him outright. Victors received the palm branch and an award from the ''editor''. An outstanding fighter might receive a laurel crown and money from an appreciative crowd but for anyone originally condemned ''ad ludum'' the greatest reward was manumission (emancipation), symbolised by the gift of a wooden training sword or staff (''rudis'') from the ''editor''. Martial describes a match between [[Priscus (gladiator)|Priscus]] and [[Verus (gladiator)|Verus]], who fought so evenly and bravely for so long that when both acknowledged defeat at the same instant, [[Titus]] awarded victory and a ''rudis'' to each.<ref>Martial. ''Liber de Spectaculis'', 29.</ref> Flamma was awarded the ''rudis'' four times, but chose to remain a gladiator. His gravestone in [[Sicily]] includes his record: "Flamma, ''[[secutor]]'', lived 30 years, fought 34 times, won 21 times, fought to a draw 9 times, defeated 4 times, a [[Syria (Roman province)|Syrian]] by nationality. Delicatus made this for his deserving comrade-in-arms."<ref>{{harvnb|Kyle|2007|p=112}}. Kyle is citing Robert.</ref>

A gladiator could acknowledge defeat by raising a finger (''ad digitum''), in appeal to the referee to stop the combat and refer to the ''editor'', whose decision would usually rest on the crowd's response.<ref>{{harvnb|Futrell|2006|p=101}}</ref> In the earliest ''munera'', death was considered a righteous penalty for defeat; later, those who fought well might be granted remission at the whim of the crowd or the ''editor''. During the Imperial era, matches advertised as ''sine missione'' (usually understood to mean "without reprieve" for the defeated) suggest that ''missio'' (the sparing of a defeated gladiator's life) had become common practice. The contract between ''editor'' and his ''lanista'' could include compensation for unexpected deaths;<ref>{{harvnb|Futrell|2006|p=141}}.</ref> this could be "some fifty times higher than the lease price" of the gladiator.<ref>M. J. Carter, "Gladiatorial Combat: The Rules of Engagement", ''The Classical Journal'', Vol. 102, No. 2 (Dec. – Jan. 2006/2007), p. 101.</ref>
[[File:Gladiator mosaic of a retiarius from Leptis Magna Libya 1st century CE.jpg|thumb|Mosaic showing a wounded gladiator in [[Leptis Magna]], [[Roman Libya]], 1st century AD]]
Under Augustus' rule, the demand for gladiators began to exceed supply, and matches ''sine missione'' were officially banned; an economical, pragmatic development that happened to match popular notions of "natural justice". When Caligula and Claudius refused to spare defeated but popular fighters, their own popularity suffered. In general, gladiators who fought well were likely to survive.<ref>{{harvnb|Futrell|2006|pp=144–145}}. Futrell is citing Suetonius's ''Lives'', "Augustus", 45, "Caligula", 30, "Claudius", 34.</ref> At a Pompeian match between chariot-fighters, Publius Ostorius, with previous 51 wins to his credit, was granted missio after losing to Scylax, with 26 victories.<ref>{{harvnb|Futrell|2006|p=85}}. This is evidenced on a roughly inscribed libellus.</ref> By common custom, the spectators decided whether or not a losing gladiator should be spared, and chose the winner in the rare event of a standing tie.<ref>{{harvnb|Futrell|2006|p=101}}.</ref> Even more rarely, perhaps uniquely, one stalemate ended in the killing of one gladiator by the ''editor'' himself.<ref>{{harvnb|Futrell|2006|p=102}} (The evidence is on a stylised mosaic from Symmachus; the spectators praise the ''editor'' for "doing the right thing").</ref><ref name="Barton 2728">{{Cite journal|last=Barton|first=Carlin A.|date=1989|title=The Scandal of the Arena|jstor=2928482|journal=Representations|issue=27|pages= 27, 28, note 33|doi=10.2307/2928482}} (subscription required)</ref> In any event, the final decision of death or life belonged to the ''editor'', who signalled his choice with a gesture described by Roman sources as ''[[pollice verso]]'' meaning "with a turned thumb"; a description too imprecise for reconstruction of the gesture or its symbolism. Whether victorious or defeated, a gladiator was bound by oath to accept or implement his editor's decision, "the victor being nothing but the instrument of his [editor's] will."<ref name="Barton 2728"/> Not all ''editors'' chose to go with the crowd, and not all those condemned to death for putting on a poor show chose to submit:
<blockquote>
Once a band of five ''[[retiarius|retiarii]]'' in tunics, matched against the same number of ''[[secutores]]'', yielded without a struggle; but when their death was ordered, one of them caught up his trident and slew all the victors. [[Caligula]] bewailed this in a public proclamation as a most cruel murder.<ref>Suetonius. ''Lives'', "Caligula", 30.3.</ref>
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