Latin Gladiator Fights

Liandra Federico

It's true that in Ancient Rome, gladiator fights were often attended for fun; however, they were also connected to Roman religion. Gladiatorial matches were only one piece of the larger religious rituals of the Roman sports space. Like the Greeks, the Romans thought athletic games and contests pleased the gods. Gladiator fights themselves began at the start of the Punic Wars, as part of the funeral celebration for an ex-consul.

That said, gladiator fights were attended for fun. Though these matches were brutal, people enjoyed watching them. In their day, gladiators could even become celebrities.

Leading up to the hugely popular fights, there was a lot of work to do. Fighters would train under skilled instructors leading up to the big day of the fight. On the days they weren't fighting, they would eat their meals together, though they were not allowed to talk to one another. But overall, gladiators had good living conditions and most were considered freedmen.

...BUT WHAT ABOUT THE DEATHS?

... okay, yeah, there you've got us.

Though Gladiators were known to live a good life, it's true they would suffer extremely horrible deaths which were overlooked by most of Rome. There wasn't exactly a lot of friendship and fuzzy-wuzzies in that space; the winning gladiator might put their sword through the loser's neck.

So it's not all Hollywood propaganda---it really did suck. But it did a bit more than suck, and that deserves a little more recognition.