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Gladiatorial games, called the munera, originated as funeral games which the family of the deceased would hold in their honour. The first recorded combat was for the funeral of Junius Brutus in 256 BC, where three pairs of gladiators fought to the death. By 65 BC, Caesar had no less than 320 pairs of gladiators fighting. This is testimony of how the games grew in popularity and over this period they lost their religious significance and were mostly incorporated into other arena spectacles, sponsored by wealthy men, politicians and during the Empire, the emperor.
Arena's were originally large open spaces with temporary seating but as the games gained popularity and the audiences began to flock in to be entertained, there was need for more permanent structures of wood or stone.
The morning of the games was often seen as the warm-up. The show would commence with displays of exotic animals. Sometimes these would have been trained to perform tricks for the audience but most often there would be a staged hunt, a venatio, which few animals survived. These animals included tigers, rhinos and even ostriches and polar bears amongst many others. Even during the break, entertainment was provided. Criminals who had committed particularly serious crimes such as arson, treason and murder were executed or thrown to the beasts. The afternoon was seen as the main event, where gladiatorial combat would take place, featuring many different types of gladiators who were mainly comprised of prisoners of war, slaves or convicted criminals. These gladiators were largely at the mercy of the audience, who were left to decide the fate of the fighter largely based on his performance.
I will begin with the masses of people who were the audience at these arena spectacles. Gladiatorial games were a red letter day throughout the communities and members of all classes would be present, strictly seated according to class.