Facts for July

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When was the first known gladiatorial combat in Rome?

The first gladiatorial combat in Rome that we know about was 264 B.C.
and it featured three pairs of armed combatants. Later combats could
feature thousands of combatants.

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When was the last gladiatorial combat?

Constantine abolished gladiatorial combat in A.D. 325, but the brutal
entertainment continued anyway. In the fifth century, Honorius abolished
them again, but we don't know for sure that the ban did the trick! In
truth, we don't know when the last fights occurred.

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Were there female gladiators?

It looks like there were. The remains of what is believed to have been a
female gladiator were uncovered two years ago in a Roman graveyard in
London. The woman, who died while still in her twenties, was buried with
ceramics, including a dish decorated with a fallen gladiator and other
vessels adorned with symbols associated with gladiators. According to
Jenny Hall, curator of early London history at the London museum, it is
"70 percent probable" that the woman was a gladiator. There is other
evidence supporting female gladiators as well. An inscription in Pompeii
refers to women in the arena and a second-century relief carving of two
women fighting bears an inscription identifying the combatants as
"Amazonia" and "Achillea," a feminine form of the Greek hero Achilles.
Emperor Septimius Severus, who ruled from A.D. 193 to 211, was said to
have permitted combat by women.

Why is Chicago called the "Windy City"?

I always assumed it had to do with weather. But apparently, Chicago's
nickname is not associated with actual windy conditions. Rather, it was
given to the city by New York Sun editor Charles Dana in 1893. Dana was
sick of hearing long-winded politicians boasting about the wonders of
the World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago that year. The first
Ferris wheel, by the way, made its debut at that event.

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What are folklorists talking about when they say "The Grateful Dead"?

"The Grateful Dead" is not just the name of a rock group. It also refers
to a particular type of folk story in which a man risks his safety to
help a corpse get proper burial and then is rewarded in some way by the
deceased. Often, the grateful dead man helps the live man find a bride.

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What is a "fifth column"?

A "fifth column" refers to a group of secret sympathizers or supporters
of an enemy that engage in espionage or sabotage within defense lines or
national borders. Basically, it means any group of subversives
attempting to undermine a nation from within its borders. The term was
originally applied to rebel sympathizers in Madrid in 1936 (during the
Spanish Civil War) when four rebel columns were advancing on the city. A
Fascist general named Gonzalo Queipo de Llano y Sierro is said to have
described his supporters within the city as a "fifth column."