Some are taught that Gladiators were absolute savages. People often envision Gladiators as these brutes who walk into the arena and lust for blood; however, that’s far from the truth. Gladiator Fighting started around the turn of the millennia. However, the Fights really started to pick up in the 2nd century AD. The art of Gladiator Fighting became a big part of Roman life. Whether a person was a war criminal or a noble wanting to prove themselves; the Colosseum did not judge. 

The common misconception about Gladiators comes from modern media. People often think the fighting was brutal and not well calculated. Many believe the goal was to kill the other fighter. That may have been the case sometimes but normally people wanted both fighters to live. In actuality, the fights were very similar to how sports are today. Prominent Gladiators would get sponsors just like modern athletes. Many Gladiators had merchandise made for them to sell to viewers of the fights. There was money to be made so normally more notable Gladiators were spared even though they may have submitted and lost to the winner. More often than not the fate of the loser of the fight was determined by the crowd. Normally, if criminals or slaves were to win a fight, they would be emancipated and be let go by being given a wooden sword as a token of freedom.

Although modern sports may have less casualties than Gladiator fighting, they still are very similar. Gladiatorial fighting was essentially a forerunner to what modern sports are today. The complex nature to the fights also added a dynamic to the arena that had been never seen before.