Gladiator: The Complete Guide To Ancient Rome's Bloody Fighters

Gladiatorial games at first served as a solemn funeral rite to honor noble citizens. At the height of their eight-century reign of popularity, the games—which constantly evolved to include new events such as combat with animals and full-scale naval battles—formed the centerpiece of a huge entertainment industry run by cunning entrepreneurs and regulated carefully by the Roman government. Professional gladiators were highly trained and often highly paid, and their ranks, for a time, included...