Dating back to approximately 200 BC, gladiators were warriors of the most extreme kind. Most commonly drawn from the ranks of slaves, these men provided entertainment for the masses.
Enrolled by both coercion and willful volition, gladiators attended schools known as ad ludum gladiatorium. Entering as novicius, prospective gladiators began a training regimen that would take them to the brink of their physical and spiritual limits. For those who survived, it would have been hard to imagine that the greatest challenge of mortal combat still remained.
Before entering the arena for the first time, a gladiator would recite an oath known as sacramentum. By taking this vow, a gladiator swore allegiance to the underworld promising to exact and accept, without protest, humiliation by any means.
Disciplined, ruthless, and innately driven by a desire to deliver punishment of the most barbarous kind, a gladiator lived a life of seclusion and austerity.
Leave a note.