However, it’s been disputed that the contests were also to commemorate the deaths of distinguished aristocrats and wealthy nobles, forcing condemned prisoners to fight, with the act of combat and bravery representing to the virtues of those who had died.
Many historians believe the tradition of gladiator fighting dates back to the Etruscans who hosted the contests as part of religious rites of death. The term gladiator is derived from the Latin gladiatores in reference to their weapon the gladius – short sword. We tend to associate gladiators with an image of blood, gore and brutality but we wanted to give them a bit more credit and explore the real history behind these characters to learn about what ‘being a gladiator’ was really like. The expectations of gladiators are incomparable to anything we see or do today, making their lives even more fascinating and yet inconceivable. Their portrayal in films and through stories have turned them into archetypal legends who faced death on a daily basis – certainly something not to be taken lightly. Roman gladiators are some of the most iconic characters in history and they have defined how we think of entertainment in ancient Rome.
