Search results
A gladiator (Latin: gladiator, "swordsman", from gladius, "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals.
May 24, 2024 · Gladiator, professional combatant in ancient Rome. The gladiators originally performed at Etruscan funerals. At shows in Rome these exhibitions became wildly popular and increased in size from three pairs at the first known exhibition in 264 BCE to 300 pairs in the time of Julius Caesar (died 44 BCE).
May 3, 2018 · Perhaps the most famous gladiator of all was Spartacus, who led an uprising of gladiators and slaves from Capua, the leading producer of gladiators, in 73 BCE. From Thrace, the former Roman soldier had become a bandit until his capture and forced training as a gladiator.
Perhaps no figure from ancient Rome is as famous as the gladiator — a warrior of the arena that fought to the death against beasts, criminals, and other gladiators, for the entertainment of Roman society.
Mar 4, 2014 · Gladiators often became celebrities and sex symbols. Though often dismissed as uncivilized brutes by Roman historians, the gladiators won massive fame among the lower classes.
Jun 30, 2022 · Who were the most renowned Roman gladiators? From slave rebel Spartacus to debauched emperor Commodus, they varied widely.
Jun 21, 2022 · In the early days of the Roman Empire, gladiators were enslaved peoples, criminals, or prisoners of war brought to the arena in chains. But by the first century A.D., being a gladiator had...
