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I. Gladiators came from many different backgrounds.

They largely came from the lower echelons of Roman society. Some of the earliest were prisoners of war, who fought wearing their own culture's traditional armour. Later, criminals were sometimes sentenced to fight in the arena. While a gladiator’s life was brutal, they at least had some chance of survival, so for some this seemed preferable to labouring in the mines. During the height of the gladiator's popularity, runaway slaves could be sold to gladiator schools.

Colosseum in Rome, where gladiatorial fighting took place. (Getty Images)

II. A successful gladiator could earn their freedom.

While being a gladiator was considered a punishment, there were some star fighters who were allowed to retire after surviving several years. Some were given gifts and were followed by groups of admirers for their fighting prowess.

III. One famous gladiator turned the offer of freedom down – four times.

His name was Flamma, the Muhammad Ali of his time, who fought 34 times during the reign of Emperor Hadrian in the second century. He died in the arena at age 30.

IV. Gladiators swore an oath.

“I will endure to be burned, to be bound, to be beaten and to be killed by the sword.” And their lives were far from glamorous. In the morning, gladiators were released from their cells and brought to the school's practice arena, where they were given wooden weapons and began long and arduous training sessions.

V. There were around 20 types of gladiator.

Historians have gleaned these from various sources, such as literary descriptions or graffiti. The standard gladiatorial combat was not two people with same weapons and armour, but two fighters with different equipment. This made for more interesting viewing and betting.

VI. The ‘murmillo’ gladiator was a fan favourite.

Murmillo literally means “fish man”. He wore a large bronze helmet adorned with a fish fin on top and feathers on the side. He carried a long, straight sword and a large shield that could weigh between 13 and 25 pounds. Murmillos were pitted against faster moving gladiator types, such as the thraex. Thraex took their name from the conquered territory of Thrace (Bulgaria today). They carried a short, curved dagger called a sica, and a small shield. In the first century AD, the emperor Domitian, a fan of the murmillo gladiators, is said to have had a man thrown to the dogs just for speaking favourably of a thraex. A diehard fan, you might say.

Old engraved illustration of gladiators saluting the Emperor before joining combat. (Getty Images)

VII. There were even some ‘freelance’ gladiators.

As demand for the sport continued to rise, permanent stone amphitheaters cropped up across the Italian peninsula. By the first century, gladiators were in such high demand that even Roman citizens began volunteering to fight. It seems a violent death was a risk worth taking for them.

VIII. The strangest volunteer gladiator was a Roman Emperor.

His name was Emperor Commodus, who you might recognise from the movie Gladiator. He was a deeply unpopular emperor who ruled Rome until his assassination in 192 AD. In an attempt to show off his greatness, he chose to fight in staged bouts against opponents he was bound to beat – such as wounded soldiers, or random crowd members.

IX. Gladiators’ popularity waned during the fourth century.

The main reason was more the expense of the games than any ethical reservations. The Emperor Constantine passed a law in 325, which forbade sending criminals to the gladiatorial school. (They were to be sent to the mines instead.) There is evidence that the games carried on for another century or so, before other spectacles such as chariot racing took over. After the Western Roman Empire began to collapse in the late fourth century, Rome’s Colosseum fell into disrepair.

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