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Pollice verso orverso pollice (Classical Latin:[ˈpɔlʲːɪkeˈu̯ɛrs̠oː]) is aLatin phrase, meaning "with a turned thumb", that is used in the context ofgladiatorial combat. It refers to a handgesture orthumb signal used byAncient Roman crowds to pass judgment on a defeated gladiator following duels incolloseums.
The precise gesture described by the phrasepollice verso, and its meaning, are the subject of scholarly debate.
According toAnthony Corbeill, aclassical studies professor who has extensively researched the practice, thumbs up signalled killing a gladiator, while "a closed fist with a wraparound thumb" meant sparing him.[1][2]
ZoologistDesmond Morris describes human gestures of this type to be culturally determined and transmitted.[3]
The reason for the supremacy of the thumb over the other digits was debated even in ancient times.[4] Roman provincialMacrobius observed that the name of the thumb (pollex) was derived from the Latin word for power (polleo).[4] Another explanation is based on the thumb's unsuitability for the adornment of rings, thereby making it morally superior to the other fingers.[4]Lactantius emphasized its utility and functionality, along with its strength and size.[4] According toFulgentius, the outstretched thumb paralleled other organs which were consideredapatropaic, and like them it was seen as capable of warding off evil.[4]
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The exact gesture described by the phrasepollice verso is unclear. From historical, archaeological, and literary records it is uncertain whether the thumb was turned up, turned down, held horizontally, or concealed inside the hand to indicate positive or negative opinions.[5][6][7]Horace writes of a gesture using both thumbs to applaud asporting event, though his exact meaning is unclear.[4] According to Encyclopaedia Romana,Corbeill, who gave the most extensive discussion of the topic, translatesPliny'spollices premere as "pressing of the thumbs".[4] According to his conclusion a merciful gesture consisted of the pressing of the thumb on theindex finger of a closed fist, and a negative gesture signifying death, calledinfesto pollice byQuintilian, consists of an "erect thumb pointing upward".[4] The definition ofpollex in theLatin dictionary of Lewis and Short follows Corbeill's conclusion.[4]
Juvenal usesverso pollice in theSatires:
Quondam hi cornicines et municipalis harenae | These men once were horn-blowers, who went the round of every provincial show, |
Prudentius mentions the thumb gesture (converso pollice), used by aVestal virgin who delights in the carnage:
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The notion of thepollice verso thumb signal was brought to modern popular attention by an 1872 painting by Frenchhistory painterJean-Léon Gérôme entitledPollice Verso (usually translated into English asThumbs Down). It is a large canvas that depicts theVestal Virgins signifying to amurmillo that they decree death on a fallen gladiator in the arena. The picture was purchased from Gérôme by U.S. department-store magnateAlexander Turney Stewart, who exhibited it in New York City, and it is now in thePhoenix Art Museum in Arizona.
The painting almost immediately kicked off a controversy over the accuracy of Gerome's use of the thumbs-down gesture by spectators in the Colosseum. A 26-page pamphlet published in 1879,"Pollice Verso": To the Lovers of Truth in Classic Art, This is Most Respectfully Addressed, reprinted evidence for and against the accuracy of the painting, including a letter dated 8 December 1878 from Gérôme himself.[11] Gérôme's painting greatly popularized the idea that thumbs up signaled life, and thumbs down signaled death, for a defeated gladiator. The gesture is used in many movies about Ancient Rome, including the 2000 filmGladiator, in which the Roman emperorCommodus uses a thumbs-up to spare the life of the film's hero,Maximus.[12]
Pollice Verso is also the title of a controversial 1904 drawing ofthe Crucifixion by Australian artistNorman Lindsay,[13] depicting Christ being rejected by nudepagans.