Most gladiators chose a certain type of fighting style and trained hard to master the relevant skills. In the poem, every line begins with the name Hermes, and Martial describes him as a skillful fighter who enjoyed overwhelming superiority over other gladiators. However, he earns lavish praise from a contemporary Roman poet called Martial, so much so that Martial even dedicated an entire poem to praising his skills as a gladiator.
Not much had been documented about the life of the ancient Roman gladiator Hermes. Spiculus’s fame did not only revolve around his relationship with Nero, and his depictions in several ancient Roman artworks bear testimony to his far-reaching popularity. But his aides could not get hold of Spiculus in time and Nero took his own life. Nero had become so fond of him that when he was overthrown in 68 AD, he wanted to die a swift death at the hands of Spiculus. Nero was particularly impressed by his heroics and awarded him with more palaces and riches than he could have asked for. Spiculus went on to win a number of battles and emerged victorious against many skilled adversaries. Not only was he popular with regular audiences, but he was also greatly admired by the notorious Roman emperor Nero. One of the most famous gladiators who lived in the first century AD in Rome was Spiculus.
