Rome, slave, amphitheater, Colosseum, arena, old age, wild animals, fighter, fight, weapons, imperial age, entertainment, custom.
Of course, common to all this is the Gladiator.
Gladiators were fighters in ancient Rome, and the word itself comes from the Latin "gladius" which meant a short Roman sword. Gladiator fights were introduced in Rome in the 3rd century BC as part of funeral ceremonies: when an aristocrat died, his family organized fights of slaves who fought to the death.
Such "games" were a kind of substitute for human sacrifice, because it was believed that human blood cleansed the soul of the deceased. Roman emperors began to entertain the people with gladiator fights, first in the Forum and later in amphitheaters. The most famous is certainly the Roman Colosseum.
Gladiators were in most cases slaves bought and prepared exclusively for gladiatorial fights
When buying, great attention was paid to their strength, beauty and height (mostly chose men over 170 cm)
Newly purchased slaves were brought in chains and under strict supervision to a gladiatorial school and had to take an oath pronouncing “Uri, vinciri, uerberari, ferroque, necari” (To be burned, bound, beaten and die of steel)
Often successful gladiators served as lovers to wealthy Roman men and women
Education took place in four imperial schools: Ludus Magnus, Gallicus, Dacias and Matutius (school for venatores - fighters against animals)
Schools had dormitories, kitchens, and dining rooms as the most important part of the training arena
It was trained using blunt weapons to avoid injury
Teachers showed with wooden swords how to inflict an injury that will effectively incapacitate the enemy while entertaining the audience. For the best fighters, there were special trainers and even masseurs to keep them in top condition. Among the gladiator readers were doctores, ie former gladiators who could best show how to use certain weapons or armor.
Most gladiators were originally slaves who committed grave crimes. However, from the 1st century BC. e. the struggles attracted free people as well, because they promised them money and fame. Among them were former soldiers, but also nobles eager for excitement.
Even a few Roman emperors took part in gladiatorial battles, in strictly controlled conditions and with blunt knives, and the most famous among them is the infamous Caligula.
Throughout the Roman Empire, gladiators did not always fight to the death, more precisely, gladiatorial games evolved. In the beginning, it was such fights, and later some kind of sports competition and public spectacle.
At a time when there were even gladiatorial schools, a lot of money was invested in each warrior in order to surrender to death in the amphitheater.
The rules were clear and strict - the opponent should have been wounded, but not killed. If the fight was long and exhausting, the fighters could even surrender. And if the inflamed audience wanted the death of the gladiator in those cases, the organizers of the fights usually spared the death of the gladiator because, otherwise, they would pay compensation to the owners of the gladiator schools, to which the gladiators belonged.
The gladiatorial games were abolished in 404 by Emperor Honorius, who closed all ludus, ie schools for training gladiators.
This reminds me of a certain gladiator movie I watched,where a man whose wife and kids were murdered battles unto glory and finally slayed his king who slayed his entire family.