Page 33 - SYTYGIB: Ancient Rome

Gladiators were often slaves or criminals and were very well trained in gladiator schools, although free men and more rarely, women (yup, being
a gladiator was an equal- opportunities sport in ancient Rome) often joined up, too. They would fight to the DeAtH for the entertainment of the Roman public, from the very wealthiest to the poorest.
They battled it out in vast arenas called amphitheatres. The Colosseum in Rome is the greatest of them all.
It was opened by the Emperor Titus in AD 80 and could hold a whopping 50,000 people. A huge canvas covering was often stretched over the top to provide shade from the sun and a MaSsIvE iron chandelier was dangled above the arena for night-time shows.
The floor was covered in sand . . . but
not so the gladiators could build jolly SaNdCaStLeS when they were bored between getting all stabby – it was to soak up all the BlOoD AnD gOrE. Yeuch!
FANCY THAT!
Many people think that the Roman crowds put their thumbs down if they wanted a gladiator to be executed once he was beaten in a fight. But some experts think they actually put their thumbs UP to signal death. While we may never know the truth, next time you give a pal a cheerful thumbs up, just make sure there are no gladiators hanging about nearby or it
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could end BADLY for your chum.
gladiators