Gladiators

While most schools ask us to consider Roman Britain as a whole, some ask us to concentrate on gladiators to illustrate specific aspects which still have relevance today. We look at who became gladiators and why. We compare the Roman institution of slavery with modern slavery, and examine where the population of Roman Britain came from. What was a day out watching the games really like, for the audience and for the fighters themselves? What was their life like, their health, food, and how were they healed?

• Who are gladiators? And what is a gladiatrix?

• Slavery in the Roman Empire, and in Roman Britain

• The life of a gladiator

• Artefacts specifically associated with the arena

• Roman medicine, food and health

• Blood on the sand, death in the arena