Essay On Gladiators

Most gladiators were captured soldiers from Roman wars, slaves, or prisoners. Unsurprisingly, lives of new gladiators were harsh and unpleasant. After the Roman Empire decided they would be gladiators, they would have been sent to a gladiator school where they would have been given an exam by a doctor. If they were fit enough to fight they would have been assigned a specific gladiator job based on their size and strength. The recruits, or novicius, would go through initial training which focused on fitness and their assigned gladiator type’s specific fighting techniques often by former gladiators. After the recruits finished initial training they would have been called Tirones and were marked with tattoos to make it harder to escape. Though many the new gladiators were put in shackles and were no allowed to talk, all gladiators were fed three meals a day. They were also given medical care when needed as well as fairly comfortable housing. After some experience gladiators were treated better. Once a seasoned gladiator, they were given massages, hot baths, and women. Gladiators were expected to fight between five and three times a year and were given a public banquet before each game. They were expected to die honorably, and if they did not they were put to death in terrible ways.

The Colosseum is easily the best known gladiator fighting arena. Titus Flavius Vespasianus ordered the construction of the Colosseum in 70 A.D. and was completed in 80 A.D. . Originally called the Flavian Amphitheatre, after Titus, had a circumference of 1,788 feet, was 187 feet high, 615 feet long, and 510 feet wide. It has the capacity to hold between 50,000 and 80,000 spectators. The actual arena where the gladiators fought was 287 feet long and 180...

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...t in it. Spartacus was eventually defeated and crucified with 6,000 people. After Spartacus’s rebellion the Roman government took control of the gladiator games to prevent future rebellions. The Roman government also wanted to prevent rich nobles having their own private group of gladiators to fight for them. Amphitheater of Statilius Taurus was opened in 29 B.C. which was a stone amphitheater where gladiator events were held. The Colosseum was opened in 80 A.D. which was a much larger amphitheater than the Amphitheater of Statilius Taurus, seating between 50,000 and 80,000 spectators. The games at the Colosseum continued across the Roman Empire until gladiator games were outlawed by Constantine in 325 A.D. because of Christian values. The final schools and arenas were shut down by 404 by Emperor Honorius after a monk was stoned to death when walking into an arena.