Classical Archaeology News: I, for one, am skeptical that this is a female and not just a….
[another spin on that so-called ‘female gladiator statue’]
Blogosphere ~ I, for one, am skeptical that this is a female and not just a…
quidquid bene dictum est ab ullo, meum est
rogueclassicism 
The ‘gladiatrix’ is a obviously a female athlete. The idea that female athletes wore a tunic exposing only one breast comes from Pausanias’ description of the Heraia held at Olympia (5.16.2-7). There’s no reason to think that this particular dress was widespread. On the other hand, Atalanta is depicted topless but wearing trunks as she wrestles Peleus on Athenian vases (see Miller, Ancient Greek Athletics, p. 152). Also, a series of sixth-century bronze mirror handles that imitate Laconian work are in the form of topless young girls with trunks on as well. This ‘female gladiator’ story is manufactured from nothing: of course, it’s a strigil!
Nigel M. Kennell
Athens, Greece