Aiax grew up in a small village in northern Hispania. He learned the craft of blacksmithing in his father’s forge, while a retired legionnaire taught him how to wield a gladius and shield. Thus, he became familiar with weapons and combat at an early age. However, his passion for wine and gambling proved to be his undoing. After a dispute during a dice game, Aiax killed a Roman soldier. To escape the harsh labor of galley service, he accepted an offer to fight as a gladiator in the arena. Since then, he has competed as a Murmillo in the arena of Carnuntum, striving to earn his freedom one battle at a time. 

Andraste came from a Celtic tribe along the Danube. Together with her husband, she fought against the Roman legions until her tribe was finally defeated. Her husband fell in battle, and the survivors were enslaved as a means of humiliating the “barbarians.” However, during the journey to Rome, Andraste repeatedly caused trouble for her guards. Since the long journey with the unruly prisoner became too arduous, she was eventually sold in Carnuntum to the local ludus. There she now fights as a gladiatrix in the arena—driven by her unyielding will to survive and her desire never to be completely broken. 

Astyanax was born into a Numidian family in Africa Proconsularis. He first tried his luck at sea. This led him to travel on a merchant ship, first to Italy and later all the way to Carnuntum. There, he voluntarily joined the Ludus as an Auctorati. The young man was motivated by a desire for honor, fame, the admiration of young women, and, above all, regular meals. After a career spanning over 10 years, he is one of the most senior fighters in the Familia and, in addition to his work as a gladiator, also serves as a mentor in the training of new recruits. 

Cerberus was once a free citizen of Rome and worked as a shield-maker near the legionary camps at Carnuntum. His trade provided him with a hard but secure livelihood, as the legions’ equipment had to meet the high standards of the Roman army. After killing one of his superiors in a dispute, Cerberus was charged with murder. The verdict was “ad ludum”—instead of death, he lost his freedom and was sent to a gladiator school. He barely survived his first fight in the arena. Seriously injured and delirious with fever, he spoke repeatedly of the hellhound Cerberus, who blocked his path out of Hades. However he escaped death—since that day, he has borne the name Cerberus himself and continues to fight in the arena of Carnuntum. 

Cerva grew up in rural Britain, where her life was marked by hard work and constant hunger. Hoping for a better life, she joined a caravan bound for Rome, but eventually stayed behind in Carnuntum. There, she soon realized that even here, little more than hard work and hardship awaited a simple young woman. Instead of letting her fate depend on marriage, Cerva chose an unusual path and joined the ludus. Life there was hard and full of pain, but for the first time in her life, she no longer had to go hungry. Today, she fights as a Provokatorix in the arena. Particularly striking is her red shield, adorned with two deer—a symbol of her name, for Cerva means “the doe.”

Raised in a small village near Vindobona, Hilarius made a name for himself in various taverns for his wit and cheerful stories. He never minced words and didn’t hold back, even when it came to high-ranking politicians. When a senator heard that Hilarius was making jokes about him and his wife’s promiscuity, he had him arrested and forced to fight as a gladiator in the arena, so that he would never tell another joke. He embraced this new challenge, however, and vowed to one day gain his freedom so that he could bring cheer back to the Roman Empire through his humor. 

Meles was born Liscos, the son of a low-ranking tribal noble of the Eravisci in Pannonia. While many of his people accepted Roman rule, he clung to the old traditions and joined the resistance against Rome. Together with a small group of renegades, he attacked Roman outposts and supply lines along the Danube. However, the uprising was quickly crushed. Liscos was taken prisoner and escaped execution only because a slave trader recognized the value of the battle-hardened warrior. He was thus sold to the Ludus of Carnuntum. There he lost his old name and has since fought in the arena as Meles—for his survival and the memory of his former life. 

Scorpio was born in Noricum as the only son of a Roman veteran. After his mother’s early death and the loss of his father in a hunting accident, he had nothing left to keep him in his home village, so he joined the Legion. He served as a border guard with Legio XIV in Carnuntum and was promoted to optio for his exceptional service, a position in which he occasionally took command of parts of the city guard. After an escalating argument with a tribune, he broke the man’s nose, whereupon he was given a choice: mine work or the Ludus. Scorpio chose the arena. As a Retiarius, he bears his name for good reason: quick as a scorpion, striking from a distance and just as swiftly retreating out of reach. 

Taranis hails from Gaul and was sold to the Ludus in Carnuntum as a prisoner of war after his capture. He quickly made a name for himself in the arena thanks to his formidable fighting prowess and ruthless style. After more than ten years as a gladiator, he is one of the most famous fighters in the Familia and is known in many places as the “Terror of Pannonia.” His long-standing rivalry with the retiarius Icarus, the “darling of the women,” continues to thrill audiences to this day. Taranis has now earned the lanista’s trust and regularly enters the arena as the summa rudis. 

Born in a small village on the Elbe, the young Germanic man learned the art of war at an early age—but also to love the finer things in life. After a night spent in bed with the wrong woman, he narrowly escaped a furious husband and was forced to leave his village. He was captured by a Roman patrol, who sold the warrior to the Ludus south of the Danube. At first, the Cheruscan couldn’t quite come to terms with the idea of fighting for the entertainment of others. But he quickly took a liking to the cheers of the crowd and the brotherhood in the Ludus. Through his tenacity and fighting spirit, he quickly made a name for himself in the arena and eventually rose to become the top fighter, the Primus Palus. 

Ursus was born a free Germanic man and worked as an innkeeper for many years. He was considered quarrelsome, cunning, and not particularly honest. He often served his guests watered-down wine, until one day, of all people, an influential Roman official happened to be among them. To avoid severe punishment, Ursus voluntarily chose to enter the Ludus. Even there, he never lost his cunning. Ursus fights less with elegance than with experience, guile, and dirty tricks, much to the delight of the audience. He has been in the arena for many years now and still knows how to defeat especially young and agile gladiators with his cunning ways.