Gladiators

Hail, Caesar,
Those about to die
Salute thee

This ancient quote was coined by Suetonius, a historian of Rome. This quote points to the fact that those who fought in the arena were doomed to die.

I wanted to start my look on the ancient games by first looking at the gladiators themselves. Gladiators were condemned criminals, prisoners of war, or slaves, who faced the death penalty. Criminals who committed a capital crime were sent into the arena weaponless, ensuring death. Those who did not commit capital crimes along prisoners of war and slaves were trained in gladiator schools. There learned how to fight in the arena. Gladiators could sometimes win their freedom if they survived three to five years of combat. Most though did not make it to freedom as the arena is a very violent place.

Freed man also joined the ranks of the gladiators, they were know as auctorati. Many times these men sold themselves in to gladiator schools as they were in debt and this was a sure way to get out of it. These men became professional gladiators, training and working to kill in the arena. This gained popularity for them throughout the masses.

Gladiators had very low social status, barely better than that of a slave. But they still were idolized, some even recieved hero status. They can be compared to modern day athletes in the sense that they were seen as heros. The competed in the arena much like an athlete does today, through success their popularity would rise.