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Gladiators in the Colosseum: how the fights really worked
Much of what people “know” about gladiators comes from films. Here is what a day of games in the Colosseum actually looked like, and which popular details historians still argue about.
A day of games
A full day followed a set order. Mornings belonged to animal hunts, with exotic beasts brought from across the empire. Around midday came executions of condemned criminals and lighter acts. The gladiator bouts, the main attraction, took place in the afternoon.
The games were paid for by the emperor or a wealthy magistrate who wanted the crowd on his side. Entry for spectators was free, and seating was strictly by social rank: the higher your status, the closer to the arena.
Who the gladiators were
Most were slaves, prisoners of war or convicted criminals, but some free men signed up voluntarily for money and fame. They lived and trained in gladiator schools. The largest, the Ludus Magnus, stood right next to the Colosseum, and its remains are still visible beside it.
Gladiators fought in fixed pairs of types. The best known is the net fighter, armed with a net, a trident and a dagger, set against the secutor, who carried a large shield and wore a smooth, round helmet the net could not catch on.
Did every fight end in death?
No. A trained gladiator was expensive, and many bouts ended with one fighter surrendering. The sponsor of the games decided whether the loser lived, often listening to the crowd.
The famous thumbs-down gesture is uncertain. Roman writers mention a turned thumb, but historians disagree about which way it pointed and what it meant.
Emperors, films and the end of the games
Emperor Commodus, the villain of the film Gladiator, really did appear in the arena himself, to the dismay of the senators. The film, though, was not shot in the Colosseum: its arena was a partial replica built in Malta and extended with computer graphics.
Gladiator fights faded out in the fifth century. Animal hunts lasted longer; the last recorded one in the Colosseum took place in 523.
Can you stand where the gladiators fought?
Part of the arena floor has been rebuilt, and you can walk on it with a separate Full Experience ticket. The standard 24h ticket shows the arena from the stands.
Where did the gladiators wait before a fight?
In the underground beneath the arena, among corridors, cages and lifts that raised animals and scenery to the surface. The underground is open only with a Full Experience ticket.
Were Christians thrown to the lions in the Colosseum?
Christians were executed in Rome, but there is no reliable evidence that it happened in the Colosseum specifically. The building was dedicated to the martyrs much later, in 1749.
- The remains of the Ludus Magnus, the gladiator school, are next to the Colosseum on the side of Via Labicana. They can be seen from the street without a ticket.