Gladiators
Although Rome deserves credit for developing much of what we know as
Western society, many aspects of Roman life were brutal and harsh, even
by contemporary standards. The great gladiatorial games, where partici-
pants, the gladiators (Latin; “sword men”), fought to the death in hand-to-
hand combat, are the primary example of this brutality.
The origin of the games (called circuses in Rome) is unknown. The
Romans themselves believed that the concept of fighting to the death for
spectators came from the Etruscans, the rulers of Italy before the Romans,
who would allow slaves to fight for their freedom once their master died.
The first recorded instance of gladiatorial games was in the third century
B.C. By A.D. 100, however, the great Colosseum had been constructed, and
the well-known principle of “bread and circuses” to keep the masses happy
was a core feature of Roman life. Many public holidays featured gladiato-
rial contests. At such events, sometimes thousands of gladiators were
paired against one another in grisly duels.
Unlike the combat arts of the Roman military, which emphasized
group fighting and mass combat, gladiator training emphasized individual
combat and fighting for a spectator audience. This focus did not diminish
the fighting skills of the gladiators, but did give them a different experience
from that of a soldier. The gladiators were excellent fighters, and during
some of the revolts against the Romans, most notably the Spartacan Revolt
of 70 B.C., they proved themselves well against the famous Roman legions.
Unlike the Roman soldier, who might never see combat, a gladiator was
sure of either killing or being killed in the arena.
Gladiators were usually slaves, sentenced to the arena by their mas-
ters, although there are many instances of Roman citizens and even noble-
men pursuing this dangerous profession. There was even female gladiato-
rial combat until it was outlawed around A.D. 200. Once a person was
forced into (or chose) the gladiator’s life, training began in a professional
school. It is estimated that a gladiator training school existed, at one point,
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