10 Surprising Facts About Roman Gladiators
Gladiators are one of the most interesting facets of the history of Ancient Rome. The Romans were so like us in so many ways; they had an organized society that was codified by laws. They had engineers, laid roads and organized their towns very much in the way we do today, they even invented concrete and central heating. Go to the coliseum and you enter a building that has inspired the construction and layout of sports arenas ever since.
The games they watched in their arenas were, however, very different from the mostly harmless
baseball and football that we enjoy today. Like us they loved to watch people in the peak of their physical fitness compete against each other. Unlike the contests we watch today, however Romans enjoyed watching bloodthirsty spectacles. People thrown to the lions, gladiators fighting to the death and animals killed for entertainment. Gladiators and the games they competed in underline more than almost any other aspect of Roman life and society, just how different life and morals were in ancient times.The rules and social usages surrounding the games and the gladiators that fought in them were incredibly complex. Here are 10 surprising facts about Roman gladiators.
10Women fought as gladiators
Ladies. Bad ass since the Roman times. At least.
9Gladiators were the celebrity pin ups of their day
Gladiators were the Kardashians of their time. I’m sure they’d be thrilled to hear this news.
8Roman emperors often toyed with being gladiators to impress the mob
Roman Emporers used to play Gladiator dress-up just like this adorable little guy.
7Some gladiatorial contests were against animals instead of between people
Roman Gladiators fought Lions. Real. Live. Freakin’ huge Lions. Nuts!
6Gladiators were ranked according to performance and according to their fighting method
Gladiators were ranked. They probably had top 10 lists too! Sweet!
5Gladiators had their own trade unions
Roman Gladiators were into organized labor.
4The mob did not use a thumbs down signal to call for a gladiator to be put to death
Roman Gladiators were not put to death by a thumbs down signal.
3Not all gladiators were slaves
Some Roman Gladiators were free-men. They fought for money. Real life or death prize fighters.
2Gladiator games were part of Roman life for 700 years
Rome had Gladiators for 700 years. Let that sink in. 700 hundred years. Amazing!
1Gladiators rarely fought to the death but if they did lose gladiators were expected to submit to death valiantly
As a Gladiator you weren’t always expected to die but if you did, you were supposed to go out with some class.
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