THIS MY FLASH, VOTE 0

Well, here I am again. I've written a wide variety of subjects but this time I am going to tell you of Roman Gladiators. There are many subjects but first I will tell you of the most famous gladiators.

Here's a name you'll recognize: Spartacus. No one knows who he is. The name seems familiar though right? Probably because his name is derivative of Spartan. The Spartans were an elite group of highly trained warriors. They were trained to fight the threat of Persia. But I digress.

Back to Spartacus. He was an enslaved man who according to shaky historians he was part of the Thracian tribe. (Thracians were nomadic and had priestesses.) Spartacus's wife was a priestess. Thracian is also a style of gladiatorial combat when the gladiator used a round shield and short-sword.

He also fought for the Romans as an auxiliary troop. Auxiliary troops are specialized troops types are: Cavalry, Archers, and Elite Shock troopers. Spartacus was forced into slavery for many years. Until he began a revolt that grew to a war.

The war was named The Third Servile War. He and 70 or so slaves sold as gladiators created a large army and tried rebelling against Rome. Men, women, and
Children were in the army. The numbers were estimated at 120,000. Spartacus is easily the most famous gladiator.

So that's one legend but gladiators have a lot of other attributes and facts. Gladiators rarely lived past the age of thirty (average was twenty.)! Unless they were exceptional and had connections. Cheating was common practice. Oh another thing is they were fat. Not overweight fat! They believed that fat acted as extra armor.

Gladiators were sellouts just like modern athletes. (Kina off topic but Imagine Romie-O's!) They endorsed and funded products. During the roman kingdom era death of the enemy was required. Another thing is Gladiators were in rankings. The higher the one you kill the more you get. (The currency was Aurei) Normal fights were 1000 Aurei.

They ate a diet of barley and dried fruits. (But they still got fat somehow!) Gladiators were usually right handed but when a lefty was in combat... IT WAS A FREAKSHOW! They also won more often. Righties were only trained to fight righties. Gravestones often told of ethnicity and right/left handedness. Jewish gladiators weren't common until after Judea was "pacified" (conquered). Judea was a land controlled by only the Jewish ancestors before enslavement in Egypt.

Gladiatorial combat was often choreographed. They went to up to four years of gladiatorial college. (Imagine the pop quizzes!) Gladiators were also of both genders. Female gladiators were often scantily clothed and called gladtrices. (Singular: Gladtrix) A ban was imposed but soon made infective by protesting perverts. Warrior's fought alongside music much like action movies.

Gladiators came in many types however they all wore no shoes barefoot completely:
%u2022 Andabatae: was one type that fought on horse back they wore Chainmail and fought like jousters.
%u2022 Bestarii: Was a type that mainly fought animals. They were criminals pit against impossible odds given only a dagger or dull spear. These guys would become celebrities.
%u2022 Bustuary: They performed for funerals of other gladiator.
%u2022 Dimachaeri: were gladiators that practiced dual wielding combat.
%u2022 Equites: Derived from equine. They were mounted knights. They wore very decorative armor and used lances.
%u2022 Gauls: They used a lance helmet and tiny well designed shields.
%u2022 Essedari: Derived from Esseda meaning war-chariot which was what they fought using.
%u2022 Hoplomachi: They wore very light armor and used a tiny shield and gladius.
%u2022 Murmillones: They wore very light armor and fought alongside Hoplomachi or Thraces. (See Thraces below) They wore helmets with a stylized fish.
%u2022 Thraces: They wore the Hoplomachi armor except they had head enclosing helmets stylized with a griffin.
%u2022 Paegniarius: They were left handed warriors using whips and clubs with a shield.

SUPER FRICKIN' SEXITIME!