Spartacus (109 BC – 71 BC) is considered to be the greatest gladiator in Roman history. Let us now look at the names of famous Roman gladiators, who were considered the best of their time.įamous Ancient Roman Gladiators Spartacus With the increasing popularity of this blood sport, free men volunteered to fight in such matches, as the rewards for winners were very rich. With time even convicts were sentenced to death by fighting in the arena. The earliest gladiators were either slaves or prisoners of war, who fought other men or animals for the entertainment of spectators. The first gladiatorial games were held in 246 BC by Marcus and Decimus Brutus as a funeral gift for their dead father, where the slaves fought each other to death. This happened because training and maintaining a good standard of fighters was an expensive business, and regular killing of such skilled fighters was not practical. On the other hand, a long-drawn and boring match could also end in a stalemate. While most fights ended this way, in rare cases, both the fighters were also permitted to leave the arena with awards and honor, if they managed to put up an exciting display for the audience. In reality, most fights were done under the supervision of a referee, who would usually stop the fight once any of the participants were severely wounded. Did You Know? Contrary to what popular movies would have you believe, gladiators did not always fight to death.
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