The games

- The first gladiator fight took place in Rome when three pairs of slaves were sent to fight to the death in 246BC at the funeral of a member of the Brutus family. It was a religious rite based on human sacrifice borrowed from the Etruscans.

- Gradually the Romans jettisoned the religious element from the sacrifice and developed it as a form of pure entertainment. The Colosseum was built in 80AD to seat 50,000 spectators with free admission for all. Trained gladiators were slaves while untrained ones were criminals or prisoners of war. Criminals were tied to posts to be devoured by beasts. Prisoners of war were dressed up in their national costumes to kill each other.
- The games were an easy way for Roman emperors to win popularity, as the masses loved to watch violence. ‘Even in the intervals the audience want blood,’ wrote Seneca. ‘While the blood soaked sand was being swept, while the bodies were being dragged away, they shouted: ‘Bring on a few condemned men for us. Cut a few throats while we’re waiting.’
- At the end of a bout, an official dressed as Chiron, the Etruscan God of the Dead, came on with a red-hot iron to press against the loser, to ensure he was dead and not faking it. 

- Endless variations were conjured up on the gory theme. Gladiators fought to musical accompaniment played by girls on water-powered organs. Dwarves were pitted against women. Catallus tells of seeing a play put on, The Death of Hercules, in which the actor playing Hercules was actually killed.

- The slaughter of large animals, such as elephants and giraffes, was a key element to arena shows. Demand for such animals became so great that lions became extinct in Mesopotamia and elephants from North Africa. Cicero, governing a part of Turkey, wrote of a  shortage of panthers and even a polar bear is recorded as being sent to Rome.

Gladiator home

Home