Successful gladiators were the movie stars of the first ... gladiatorial contests are often seen as the dark side of Roman civilization. Given they belonged to such a civilized and sophisticated ...

I. Gladiators came from many different backgrounds. They largely came from the lower echelons of Roman society. Some of the earliest were prisoners of war, who fought wearing their own culture's ...

Even though it’s at least 1,500 years since the last Roman gladiators fought, thanks to TV and movies such as Spartacus (1960) and Gladiator (2000), audiences remain fascinated with them and the ...