TIME talked to historians of ancient Rome about what we know and don't know about gladiator fights.
, gladiator fights are often top of mind. And yet, very little is known about these Colosseum battles, which is what arguably makes them great fodder for imaginative screenwriters. Case in point:There are examples of gladiators in art, including mosaics, but the only written description of their fights comes from an account of gladiators Priscus and Verus in “On the Spectacles,” an anthology by the poet Marital published circa 80 AD.
the poem, the two men let out “mighty shouts” and were described as well-matched, fighting until the emperor raised a finger. “People are often surprised by the fact that we only have one description, in a poem from the end of the first century AD, of an individual gladiatorial contest between two gladiators,” says. “One of the big puzzles is, what are they for? Why are doing this? We don't know where they originated.”
What is known is that gladiator fights were beloved by Romans and a true civic bonding experience, according to Beard. Citizens of all levels of society could attend. In the movie, the crowd loves all of the blood and gore.While there really was a school for gladiators in an arena next to the Colosseum that taught several types of fighting—and Macrinus was a real person who later became emperor of Rome—Macrinus never trained gladiators himself.
“It's an ordered ritualized slaughter,” says Beard. Some audience members “must have enjoyed seeing the slaughter of people they regarded as enemies.”, including enslaved people, condemned criminals, and prisoners of war. Others were vagrants. Generally, gladiators were “on the outside of Roman society,” according to Beard.. But it is extremely unlikely that there were any sharks, as depicted in the movie.
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