The Flame) was a Syrian gladiator under the Roman Empire during the reign of Hadrian.
[citation needed] He was most likely forced into slavery and then into a gladiator school.
Fighters were granted retirement or freedom if they showed great skill and bravery; in doing so they were rewarded with a wooden baton known as rudius.
[1][2] The number of fights Flamma engaged in is higher than most gladiators.
[4] His gravestone in Sicily includes his record and reads in Latin:[5] Flamma s[e]c(utor) vix(it) ann(os) XXX / pugna(vi)t XXXIIII vicit XXI / stans VIIII mis(sus) IIII nat(ione) Syrus / hui(c) Delicatus coarmio merenti fecit.Which translates as: "Flamma, secutor, lived 30 years, fought 34 times, won 21 times, fought to a draw 9 times, won reprieve 4 times, a Syrian by nationality.