1. Gladiators

2. Gladiator
Gladiator ,(Lat. gladius, "sword"), was a professional fighter who performed in spectacles of armed combat in the amphitheaters of ancient Rome.

3. Gladiator
The practice of armed men fighting to the death originated in Etruria, in central Italy, probably as a funeral sacrifice.
The first gladiatorial exhibition in Rome was in 264 BC, when three pairs of gladiators fought as part of a funeral celebration.
By 174 BC, at a 3-day spectacle, 37 pairs participated. Julius Caesar's large-scale exhibitions (300 pairs on one occasion) prompted the Roman Senate to limit the number of contestants.

4. The largest contest of gladiators was given by the emperor Trojan as part of a victory celebration in ad 107 and included 5000 pairs of fighters.
The emperor Domitian in ad 90 presented combats between women and between dwarfs. Mostly males, gladiators were slaves, condemned criminals, prisoners of war, and sometimes Christians.

5. Forced to become swordsmen, they were trained in schools called ludi, and special measures were taken to discipline them and prevent them from committing suicide.
One gladiator, Spartacus, avenged his captivity by escaping and leading an insurrection that terrorized southern Italy from 73 to 71 BC.

6. A successful gladiator received great acclaim; he was praised by poets, his portrait appeared on gems and vases, and patrician ladies pampered him.
A gladiator who survived many combats might be relieved from further obligation.
Occasionally, freedmen and Roman citizens entered the arena, as did the insane Emperor Commodus.

7. According to their arms and methods of fighting, gladiators were divided into various light- and heavy-armored classes.
For example, the retiarius ("net man"), clad in a short tunic, attempted to entangle his fully armed opponent, the secutor ("pursuer"), with a net and then to kill him with a trident.
Other classes fought with different weapons, or from horseback or chariots.

8. According to the most common tradition, when a gladiator had overpowered his opponent, he turned to the spectators.
If they wished to spare the defeated man, they waved their handkerchiefs; to indicate that he should be killed, they turned down their thumbs.
Although Constantine the Great proscribed gladiatorial contests in ad 325, they continued to be held until about 500.

9. How did the games become so important
The original point of the games was religious. Rich Romans organized fights between their slaves as a tribute to a dead FRIEND OR FAMILY MEMBER.
Later criminals, prisoners of war, disobedient slaves or anyone who offended the emperor were all sent to die in the arena.

10. How did the games become so important
Eventually the emperors took control of the games in Rome.
They controlled the gladiator schools and planned the events.
The emperor knew that staging games made them popular with the people.
The games also made Romans feel proud of their Empire.

11. Types of Gladiator Fighting Styles
Retiarii fought tridents (three- pronged forks) and nets.
Murmillones carried a gladius, helmet and square shield.
Thracians fought with curved daggers and small round shields.

12. Weapons fascina: harpoon galea: visored helmet
galerus: metal shoulder piece
gladius: sword
hasta: lance
iaculum: net
manicae: leather elbow or wrist bands
ocrea: metal or boiled leather greave
parma: round shield
scutum: large shield
sica: curved scimitar
subligaculum: loin cloth

13. Gladiator Information
Gladiators were different from Roman citizens because most of them were slaves
Patricians paid for the close up seats, while the poor got the far seats where it was hard to see
Gladiators had to fight for 3-5 years to earn there freedom

14. Other Gladiator Information
Slaves were mostly the people that fought each other
Gladiators fought wild animals
Gladiators used the armor and weapons that best fitted them
Romans treated the animals badly and didn’t feed them.
Usually the gladiator fights were to the death

15. Spared by the Crowd
If a gladiator was wounded , he would raise his finger, asking for mercy.
If his fighting had pleased the crowd, he would be spared.
If not, his opponent killed him.
When the Colosseum was opened in AD 80, there was a special games lasting for 100 days. Over 1000 gladiators died.

16. Bibliography Source: Discovery – United Streaming
Source: Discovery – United Streaming