The idea of the gladiators of Ancient Rome is formed from the school bench for many thanks to the course of the history of the ancient world, fiction and numerous films. However, in reality, their fates were not always as tragic as is commonly believed.
The word "gladiator" comes from the Latin gladius, which means "sword". So called prisoners of war and slaves, who were specially trained for armed struggle in the amphitheater arena. In order to please the ancient Roman public, who were greedy for the bloody spectacles, they were forced to fight not for life, but for death. The traditions of gladiatorial battles persisted for 700 years.
Gladiator's training and code of honor
Since the notions of gladiator fights are associated with Ancient Rome, it may seem that they first appeared there. In fact, they existed among the more ancient peoples, such as the Etruscans and Egyptians. The Romans initially interpreted the battle of the gladiators as a sacrifice to the war god Mars. According to the laws of Ancient Rome, criminals sentenced to death could take part in gladiatorial battles. Victory brought them a lot of money, which could redeem their lives. It happened that in the pursuit of fame and money, free citizens entered the ranks of gladiators.
Becoming a gladiator, a person took the oath, declaring himself "legally dead." After that, he was obliged to obey cruel laws. The first of them was silence: in the arena, the gladiator could be explained solely by gestures. The second law was much more terrible: the gladiator had to implicitly obey the established requirements. If he fell to the ground and was forced to admit his complete defeat, then he was supposed to take off his protective helmet and meekly expose his throat to strike the enemy. Of course, the public could give him life, but this happened quite rarely.
Most of the gladiators came from specialized gladiatorial schools. Moreover, during the training period they were treated quite carefully. They were always well fed and expertly treated. True, young people slept in pairs, in tiny closets. Intensive training continued from morning to evening - the ability to deliver accurate and powerful blows to the sword was developed.
