The Life of a Gladiator
Gladiators were selected from the slave class. If a male slave had the correct attributes, such as great physical fitness he would be considered a suitable gladiator. After swearing an oath, the gladiator then was initiated into the familia or troop and begin his intensive gladiator training at a school known as lundus.The gladiator school were run like army camps with severe discipline and very harsh conditions. Evidence of this was found in the remains of the Pompeian gladiator school, where six shackled bodies were evacuated in the punishment cells. For training purposes the gladiators were divided into two groups, the tirones, who had never before entered the fighting arena, and the veterani, who had some experience of combat.
You could use this picture as a primary source piece of evidence. Analyse what you see in the picture (a mosaic on a tile) and this shows what the Romans considered important and their perception of what was occuring.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget to reference all your blogs.