In the city of Cyzicus in Asia Minor, there was a large gladiator school. Around the time of the Battle of Actium, the gladiators were training for victory games that were expected to celebrate Antony's defeat of Octavian.



When news arrived that Antony had fled to Egypt after the battle, they were shocked and confused. However, they still remained loyal to him. They decided to march all the way to Alexandria so they could offer their services to Antony and fight for him.



During the winter, they reached Galatia, but King Amyntas who had been restored to power by Octavian blocked their path and fought them repeatedly. The gladiators eventually forced their way through Galatia and entered Cilicia, where they again had to battle their enemies as they continued eastward.



In the spring, they reached Syria and sent messengers to Antony. They begged him to come to them and allow them to serve as his bodyguards. However, Octavian's governor in Syria intercepted the messengers, and Antony did not learn of their offer until much later.



Even when they were surrounded on all sides by enemies, not even then would they accept any terms of surrender. 



Either because Antony could not contact them or go to them, the gladiators eventually assumed that he had died and so exhausted and discouraged, they abandoned their journey and reluctantly made peace with Octavian, who promised to grant them land near Antioch. Later, however, Octavian broke his agreement with them. On the pretext of recruiting them in the legions, he had them scattered and killed them all.



Another plausibility is that they all died in the fighting on their way to reach Antony but Octavian’s propaganda portrayed them to have betrayed Antony by accepting terms of surrender to diminish their loyalty.



Whatever the case maybe, their unwavering loyalty showed how much Antony was respected and loved by tough fighting men. Their devotion to him must have also made a strong impression on Cleopatra.

The remarkable part of this story is that these gladiators stayed loyal to Antony even after Actium, when most people believed his cause was lost. They were willing to march such long distance and fight their way to him just to die by his side.

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Source: Cassius Dio, Roman History, Book 51, 7.

Mark Antony's Gladiators