Gladiators were slaves, criminals, prisoners of war, or paid fighters who entertained Roman crowds by fighting each other or wild animals in amphitheaters. The gladiator fights were often brutal and could result in death. While some Romans enjoyed the violence and demanded death in the arena, others like the writer Seneca criticized the fights as making people cruel. Gladiator contests in places like the Colosseum in Rome were major public entertainment events but also resulted in the deaths of over 800,000 people.

2. What was it like to be a
Roman Gladiator?
Lesson Objectives
 To understand what it was like to be a
gladiator
 To consider if the Romans were cruel and
blood thirsty

3. Starter
 What different things
can you see going on in
the picture?
 What does this picture
tell us about Roman
entertainment?
 How does this picture
make you feel?

4. Does it serve any purpose to know that our leader,
Pompey, was the first to show the slaughter of eighteen
elephants in the amphitheatre, putting criminals against
them in a pretend battle? He, a leader of the state and
one who, according to report, was known for his kind
heart, thought it was a fun spectacle to kill human
beings in this way! Do they fight to the death? That is
not enough! Are they torn to pieces? That is not enough!
Let them be crushed by animals of monstrous bulk!
 Seneca THE SHORTNESS OF LIFE, xiii. 6-8

5. The Roman amphitheatre was the centre of public
entertainment all over the Roman Empire. People would go to
the amphitheatre to see men fighting wild beasts or each
other. These men were called gladiators.

6. Who were the Gladiators?
 Slaves, criminals, prisoners of war or
paid professional fighters.
 The gladiators would train/exercise
every day to help prepare them for
fights.
 If they won a lot of fights they would
earn money which they could use to
buy their freedom.
 If you were a really good gladiator and
won a lot of fights you would become
quite famous in the Roman Empire.

8. The Games
 Some gladiator fights were part of
a big event called ‘the games’
 These games would take place in
the Colosseum in Rome.
 50,000 people could watch the
games.
 During the games they had three
different fights. In the morning
there would be animal shows were
animals would fight each other.
 In the afternoon gladiators would
fight against animals and then
finally it would be time for
gladiator fights.

9. What was it like at a gladiator fight?
 The popularity of these fights led to the deaths of
over 800,000 people in the Colosseum in Rome.
 The Emperor would decide if the gladiator should
live or die he would listen to the crowds noises
before deciding if a gladiator should live or die.
 A lot of Roman citizens would gamble money on who
would win certain fights.
 Rich citizens normally sat near the front and the
poor citizens sat at the back
 The crowd were often very rowdy and enjoyed
seeing the violence of the fights.

10. Different
types of
Gladiators
1) Samnite
3) Thracian
2) Murmillo
4) Retiarius

11. Weapons

12. What did the Roman’s think of Gladiator fights
 “Kill! They shout. ‘Beat
him! Burn him! Why
won’t he face the
sword? What a coward!
Why can’t he die more
eagerly? We must have
something to watch.’’
 ‘Wasting your time at
a show that makes you
more cruel and less
decent. In the morning
men were thrown to
the lions and bears.
The crowd shouted
,‘kill him! Flog him! Burn
him!’
A Roman writer criticising what
he had seen at the Games.
Written by Seneca in AD 60

13. What did the Romans think of Gladiator fights?
 Some Romans thought they were a good idea. We
know this because a Roman writer at the time
commented that the crowds would shout ‘Kill! Burn
him!’ this shows that the Romans were eager to see
death at gladiator fights.
 On the other hand, some Romans did not enjoy them
as much. We know this because Seneca writing in
60AD wrote that gladiator fights made ‘you more
cruel and less decent’. This shows that he thought
they were degrading and made you less of a human.

14. What did the Roman’s think of Gladiator fights
 “Kill! They shout. ‘Beat
him! Burn him! Why
won’t he face the
sword? What a coward!
Why can’t he die more
eagerly? We must have
something to watch.’’
 ‘Wasting your time at
a show that makes you
more cruel and less
decent. In the morning
men were thrown to
the lions and bears.
The crowd shouted
,‘kill him! Flog him! Burn
him!’
A Roman writer criticising what
he had seen at the Games.
Written by Seneca in AD 60

15. Your task
 To produce a sports
newspaper page on a
gladiator fight
 During this report talk
about the event and
who won
 Make it exciting but
informative.
The Roman Sports News

16. Some suggestions
 Include a catchy headline
 Include pictures
 Make sure you write about the event
 You could also have an interview with a gladiator
or the gladiators coach.
 You could ask the audience what they thought of
the fight/ race