[Skybird]

Some historians indeed think that the thumb up symbolized the blank sword and meant "kill him!", where as "let him live!" was signalled by putting the thumb of the right hand into the covering fist of the left hand. It is claimed that some passages in historic texts of time witnesses from that era also indicate that. The modern way of seeing it exactly the other way around (thumbs down for death, thumbs upo for live) was installed by some famous painting of an arena scene by some French painter (one that also inspired Ridley Scott for his movie). Also, in mediterranean countries the thumbs up, even more the Tramper's thumb up, can get you into troubles, since it means an invitation for sex, the Tramper's signal in some parts like Turkey even means homosexual sex. I once thumb-signalled an okay to our team while being in Algeria and lcoals were around, and the scene got hot quite quickly, because I did not know it, some of the men got very angry. Another member of our team calmed down the situation with the locals (he spoke the language), and explained it to me afterwards.

I tend to think that indeed the modern interpretation of thumps up for saving the live of a gladiator is wrong.


Quite some gestures that have a certain meaning for us in the West, can mean somethign very different in outher places and cultures. I learned my lesson on that day.