Jewish gladiators in ancient Rome?

HISTORY AND CINEMA: There aren’t Jewish fighters in Ridley Scott’s ‘Gladiator II.’ But what about in ancient Rome? The real history of Jewish gladiators, from Reish Lakish to Kirk Douglas (Luke Tress, JTA).

It’s at least as likely that Jews took to the arena in ancient Rome as it was that gladiators fought sharks, a key plot point of Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II,” the hotly anticipated action movie that landed in theaters this weekend. A sequel to 2000’s “Gladiator,” which ended with the death of Maximus (Russell Crowe), “Gladiator II” casts no light on the possible history of Jewish gladiators; its strongest Jewish connections are the presence of Jewish actors, including Israelis Lior Raz and Yuval Gonen and former “Great British Baking Show” host Matt Lucas, in its cast. They join Kirk Douglas, who starred in 1960’s “Spartacus,” in the ranks of Jews who have portrayed gladiators on screen.

But many have occupied themselves with questions about the role of Jews in ancient Rome’s famous bloodsport, including whether fights took place in ancient Israel and what Jews thought about the activity, whether or not they participated. Here’s what the scholars and evidence have to say.

A long, informative article, which interviews Lawrence Schiffman and other scholars.

For more on that possibly Jewish gladiator's helmet, see here and links. For the more general question of whether there were Jewish gladiators, see here.

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