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Roman Gladiator Research Paper

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Swords, armor, shields, gore… All these things are related, but how? Well that, my friend, would be the questionable ancient Roman entertainment known as gladiator battles. Gladiator battles were a serious and beloved hobby in ancient Rome, at least for the people watching. But for the gladiators, those battles were a way of life. The gladiators, who were mostly made up of slaves and prisoners, were vigorously cared for and kept in shape with constant training and a very specific diet. Despite being brutally beaten and tortured, gladiators were rarely killed for they were loved by many, sometimes even battling at funerals of the rich. The gladiators lived a painful and oddly ironic life.
Even though gladiator battles were so glorified in ancient Rome, most gladiators did not have a choice in the matter of becoming a part of them.The majority of gladiators were slaves, with a good few prisoners of war mixed in to the bunch. Gladiators were held in rooms of about 32 square feet, mostly living in sets of two per room. New recruits were usually called Novicus. Members of Novicus were first trained to reach their peak fitness level, complete with a set diet and regimen. Gladiators only ate high protein foods and drank only water. Personal hygiene was also highly valued in hopes of preventing disease spreading. …show more content…

But, fortunately ( or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), gladiator battles were actually ended before a fighter died most of the time. In a traditional battle, the gladiators goal was to trap or injure the opponent. This is probably due to how much gladiators were loved by the Romans. Gladiators were originally meant to occupy the poor in order to avoid a revolt. Over time, though, all Romans began to enjoy watching gladiator battles, some even participating willingly. SInce so many people loved them, the gladiators were not killed unless the spectators

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