Pen ae ie perp cae Cee re eer Mt . THE GLADIATORS Whether in it for glory or freedom, these elite warriors could become heroes, famous throughout the Empire jhe name gladiator comes from Must prospective gladiators were pursed the Latin word gladius for sword from the sie markets, being chosen for their STUFF OF LEGEND. (hence ‘swordsman’. The earliest sirens, stamina and good looks. Although Gladiators’ exploits were so revered, they reference to a gladiatorial fight taken from the eet ranks ofits mses common mablect of syste carvings appears during the funeral ‘the gladiator wasa breed apart from) of aristocrat Brutus Pera in the “normal slave or prisoner of war, fighters, or thrown to wikd animals, Not all those 5 264 BC, when, as a way to fr these were the wel-tmined ‘who fought as gadators were slaves or conv 5 commemorate and celebrate = ‘well armoured combatants, however for some were Roman elizens down on 5 the life of thelr father, the P siose one role in fe was to thee luck (or heavily in debt) while others, ike Brutus family made a number Bent andoccasionally toll for the Emperor Commoxhs, simply iit for tun the amusement of the Roman, ‘Whatever their dreumstances or reasons for i wercalso selected forthe arena, not admired and adored by the Roman public for hosting gladiatorial combat had as gladiators, but ws condemned men to be {her bravery and spi, Ler image appearing { been constructed in the Aisposed of public. They could be forced to frequently in mosaics, wall-paintings and on 2 Forum Romanum: tack ach ott usc reales a 4 HistoRYREVEALEDCOMTHAT’S ENTERTAINMENT Many dierent varieties of fighter, each with thee own ‘armour and fighting techniques, were established in order to ‘etter entertain the crow Putting cifferentclarees of combatant up against one another in the ‘arena in so-called matched pars, created a sense of excitement inthe dice, 2s certain advantages of weaponry and armour outweighed the Siow-moving Myrmile gladiator, against te igly armoured, agile Retiarius. While the Myrmilo was wellprotected behind his shield and helmet, he could only inf ijury by getting up close and personal while he tre to enare him wth the nt TO THE DEATH Anough fete were overetn by eters knoum a ri fecordefanyniesot pay orthesene rerutnscouasops | LIVING tut astrarwetsou thee ereroininacistertarpay. «© CONDITIONS Iesalso unlikely that these bouts hac a time iit battles usualy continued until mortal nur, surender or some otherincapactation, _Gladiatorial schools (or /uol gladiator’, ‘The wamnersreweived teshprizesendails as walasa pa leel=@ were established by the sae Here, symbol f victory Ha gladiator hac fought wel entertaining both \warriors-to-be underwent a punishing ‘crowd and sponsor with courage, eslience and sll he cou winthe regime, being tauaht to fightin different lutimate prize hs freedom. Some gladiators, perheps unableto adjust styles with a variety of armour and weapons, under ‘enorme, signed back on as professona ghters ater eceving the control ofan entrepreneur known as a lanista, Each thel freedor. school had its own doctors, masseurs, faht trainers, cooks and weapon-makers. I was, after all in the lanistas interests to ensure his aladiators were in peak condition. ste Accommodation at the schools was pretty basic, with military-style Ata a F eee eee ea en eae ae ae Paine: HET eS SEA ia Pep om gar ST ee at gee ne ie Woe creed Gifts trom visiting fens may have improved living conditions end diet Pe Punishment for misdemeanours (oF lack of fighting spirit) was often severe ~ each school had its own prison where beatings, whippings td branclings with hot tons were common