Gladiators In Ancient Rome

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Warpath of Success or Death

Hearts pounding with sword, and shield in hand dripping blood, and covered in dust. Men gather around to watch death and pain in a glorious battle of life and death. Arenas full of blood thirty people ready for a gruesome fight to the dead. Arenas big enough to hold thousands of screaming fans all shouting “death!”, and with a swift blow the crowd cheering. Anything could happen a lion, bear, or tiger attack were all possible in the deadly game played by the best players alive. The only goal of a gladiator was to live one more day. Gladiators were such a big part of Rome from their history to the lifestyle they maintained, they faced gruesome battles for the pure entertainment of others, they endured suffering. …show more content…

Its is believed that the first fights were introduced in Rome in 264 BC when three pairs of gladiators fighting were introduced to Brutus by his son as honorary tokens” leading a way for generations of games (Hronis 32). Rome was a great warrior state during its expansion of the great empire with 60 million people (Hopkins 16). Evidence shows that the games were connected to funerals thus,called funeral games (Hopkins 17). During two centuries of the Roman Empire gladiator shows grew and in 65 BC Julius Caesar hosted the games for his father with 650 fighters who were forced to fight to the death (Hopkins …show more content…

Gladiatorial games were at the center of Rome for hundreds of years because Romans simply couldn’t get enough blood (Lids 1). There was a vast diversity of fighters in the arena, many were criminals and prisoners of war, condemned to battle often and trained at a school's expense (Witherbee 2). Successful gladiators received praise by poets, their the portraits would appear in painting and on vases, and the finest women in Rome pampered them (Lids 1). From a single fight, a man could win more than a year pay than that of a Roman soldier..
An oath was taken to be initiated as a gladiator to fight for glory. Being burned, beaten, or killed would be punishment for not obeying the commands of the master, often referred to

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