Roman gladiators were war prisoners and criminals, not sporting heroes
For centuries, the bloody gladiator conflicts that the Romans staged in amphitheatres throughout the empire have engrossed and repelled us. When it comes to gladiators, it is almost impossible to look away. But the arena is also the place where the Romans feel most foreign to us.
How to Stage a Bloodbath: Gladiators at the Roman Arena
Garrett Fagan explores the theatrical aspects of Roman arena games—the stage sets, equipment of the fighters, and so forth—that created an artificial landscape in which the violence of the spectacle was staged.
What the Gladiators ate
Gladiators mostly ate a vegetarian diet, and were referred to as ‘hordearii’ which means barley eaters’.
Gladiatorial games as a means of political communication during the Roman Republic
his article argues that the gladiatorial shows found their origin in the republic and were very popular. They therefore became frequent and were used for the most basic of political ends, namely votes for an election.
