Arenarii
Arenarii are mentioned in inscriptions as formed into collegia (Orelli-Henzen, Nos. 2773, 4063). The meaning of the name is variously explained as gladiators fighting in the arena, persons who swept it and looked after it (Orelli), or diggers in an arenaria or sand-pit (Muratori). The first of these three senses is the most probable; they are named in connexion with lanistae, scenici, venatores, &c., and Tertullian calls them amentissimi and infames (de Spect. 22, cf. Petron. Sat. 126; Capitol. Aurel. Philosoph., 100.19; Rein, ap. Pauly, i.2 s. v.).
From William Smith (ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. Text provided under a CC BY-SA license by Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Tufts University. Data accessed from https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-pdlrefwk/ on 17 October 2026.