Gladiators were exciting figures. The sport was thought to have been started by the Etruscans, as a religious practice for sacrifice to the deceased spirits. They were brave men (and sometimes women) who fought against other men and animals. Some gladiators only had swords for defense, while others were decked out in armor. As we now know, this sport was not a smart form of entertainment, but the Romans loved their gladiators.

The gladiatorial games were not only religious but also entertaining because Romans enjoyed seeing death and bloodshed. The ability, perseverance, and events that affected the gladiators in ancient and medieval Rome were as important then as they are now. The gladiators wanted to look like barbarians by wearing advanced armor and using special weapons, like any warrior of that time. Gladiators had to go to gladiatorial schools, which taught them many things, including how to die. A gladiator wasn’t allowed to yell or request life, but instead die with dignity. In big cities, the gladiators would fight until death, but in small cities the gladiators would mostly fight until one man was badly injured.

However, there w!ere more than just man-to-man fights at the amphitheaters and coliseums. At the beginning of a gladiatorial event, men fought with animals, such as bears, bulls, ostriches, lions, tigers and alligators. The animals were usually physically forced to fight these brutal battles against these savage men. Consequently, many animal races disappeared because of these games since captured animals were to fight against the man until they died. If the man was eaten, which was rare, the crowd would cheer wildly. Presently, we might think of this as silly; why would a crowd cheer at a man’s death? Unfortunately, at the time, the Romans saw it differently.

Chariot racing was also very popular during the Roman Empire. Imagine getting on to your chariot, not knowing whether you would live to see the end of the race. Then, a sudden rush comes to you as you realize the amount of fame that can come from this one single race. You could even buy yourself out of slavery! The race begins and you are first, the bend in the race track of the circus approaches you, the audience roars their approval as you make a very sharp turn. You are a charioteer, a slave with chariots owning masters. Circus Maximus was the center of most chariot races with 25,000 audience seats available.

Unlike our racing, chariots were raced in a circus. These vehicles were driven by slaves most of the time, but there were some professional drivers. This was a very dangerous sport because of possible crashes, especially on the turns. The racers wanted to make the fans happy, so they attempted to turn very sharply at the corners of the arena. There were no official rules, except the first to go around the stadium seven times won. There were also no lanes because the stadium was made of sand. Prizes and money were given to the winner. Teams were formed into the four following groups: red, white, blue and green. The rider wore his colors on his shirt and helmet. There were several races on a single racing day. From about 63 BCE to 14 BCE, 10-12 races were held, during and after 37 CE, 24 races were held.