The gladiatorial games became immensely promoted and advertised to raise public attention. Descriptions of upcoming contests, appeared on walls and on the grave stones beside main roads. The opening ceremonies began the day before the fights. It was then that the supporter of the show donated a exquisite feast to the contestants about to appear on the following day. The proceedings

hounded them on much like a modern boxers trainer would. Meanwhile the crowd shouted commands of their own including beat, kill and burn. When a man fell, the herald raised their trumpets, and spectators yelled ‘Got him! He’s had it!’ (habet, hoc habet). The fallen fighter if he was in a state to move, laid down his shield, and raised one finger of his left hand for mercy. The decision whether his life should be spared, rested with the provider of the games, but he generally let the crowd make the decision. Thumbs up, and a waving of handkerchiefs, meant his life would be spared, thumbs down and he would be killed without hesitation. While African boys raked over the bloodstained sand, fallen gladiators were taken away. The only task left now was to remove the dead body. A charon (attendant) impersonating Pluto, the god of the dead, struck the corpses with a mallet, perhaps signifying the god's ownership of the body. Another charon dressed as Mercury, escorter of souls to the !

of the day began with a chariot drive and parade. Led and presented by the sponsor of the games. The gladiators displayed themselves in uniforms topped by cloaks dyed purple with gold embroidery. Climbing down their chariots, they marched around the arena, followed by slaves carrying their arms and armor. Gladiators, especially those who belonged to the emperor’s own troop, were often finely equipped. When the combatants arrived opposite the emperor’s platform, they extended their right hands towards him and cried ‘Hail, emperor, greetings from men about to die!’ (Ave, imperator, morituri te salutant!). This sentence was addressed only on one occasion to Claudius by condemned criminals who were about to participate in a naumachia, a sta

Some topics in this essay:
Gladiatores Meridiane, Junius Brutus, Honorius Theodosius', , Etruscans Rome, life spared, body charon, carried contracts,