Ancient Rome Gladiators

Gladiators

Most gladiators were prisoners or slaves who were forced to fight each other, against professional fighters, or against animals. Some free men also chose to fight. Most fights did not end in death, because trained gladiators were valuable. Before fighting they marched around the arena before the imperial box. To make the competition interesting, gladiators each used a different weapon. A net and a fisherman's spear or trident was used along with the more common weapons such as daggers or swords.

Gladiators wore arm and leg armor below the knee and elbows and carried shields. They wore belted tunics. Some gladiators fought on horseback or chariots. Combatants who had fallen to the ground asked for mercy. The crowd decided by booing or cheering if the wounded gladiator should live or die. The emperor made the final choice with a hand signal. Historians are not sure which thumb signal meant life and which meant death. Successful gladiators became heroes. Some were even set free.

The biggest arena in the city of Rome was the Colosseum. It could seat up to 50,000 people. The Colosseum was made of stone and concrete. The concrete was poured into large wooden molds. The molds were in the shape of large arches.

Spartacus

Spartacus was a slave. In 73 BC, he and a group of his friends broke out of their quarters. They pulled together an army of 90,000 slaves in a very short time. The Romans sent legion after legion to capture the slaves. Finally in 71 BC, the Roman general Crassus defeated the slave army. Spartacus died in the battle, and many of his followers were put to death.

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