Games of Death

"Ave Caesar, morituri te salutant!" 

 That how's began the games of death in the arena of the Romans emperors. Led by the motto of "bread and spectacles" Roman statesmen often organized bloody games of battles between specially trained gladiators, wild animals or between humans and animals ending in death. Providing the Roman popularization with such entertainments the rulers diverted public attention from their social problems as hungers or lack of work. But also led a lot of statements to invest money in gladiators games to became more popular in Rome and their gladiators to became champions and favorites of the public.

The existed of these games is even before the Colosseum was build in Rome.

Actually they were a tradition in the Etruscan society that inhabited parts of Northern Italy. Since IV century BC the Etruscans organized gladiators fights as part of funeral ritual. With the time this ritual was also accept by the Romans and in 264 BC it was the first time when were organized three gladiatorial battles in honor of June Brutus in the Roman Republic.

The games were also held as funeral ceremonies in Rome and soon after became so popular that the first training academies were established and senators, consuls and rich people start official to invest in organization of them.

Most gladiators were prisoners of war, slaves, thiefs and criminals who were forced to fight among themself without choice. Among the gladiators there were also paid volunteers as well as females gladiators but they were very rarely. The gladiators were divided into groups according to the type of armament usually the battles were fought between gladiators with different weapons.