Roman gladiators are often depicted as heroes in bloody battles. These contests continued until at least one participant was killed.
In reality, did they really fight to the death? In fact, some cases were like that, but others were not. Researcher Alfonso Manas from the University of California, Berkeley, USA, states that the mortality rate of gladiators varied over time.
For instance, up until the 4th century BC, gladiators could suffer terrible wounds, such as being impaled through the skull by a spear, making death inevitable.
After 27 BC, the rules of these fights changed. Consequently, the death rate of gladiators decreased. These reforms occurred during the reign of Emperor Augustus and Emperor Tiberius (from around 30 BC to 37 AD).
Gladiator battles in ancient Rome were extremely brutal. (Photo: peepo/Getty Images).
In the 1st century, 1 in 5 fights ended with the gladiator losing their life. This ratio remained the same in the 2nd century. Although many gladiators were slaves, the decrease in the death rate led some free individuals to voluntarily become gladiators.
We do not know exactly how the regulations changed after 27 BC, but evidence suggests a gladiator could surrender by removing their armor and raising their index finger.
Additionally, some matches may have had referees. The referee could enforce the rules and stop the match if a gladiator was about to be killed, and if the match organizer allowed it, the defeated gladiator could leave the arena.
However, if the host of the match insisted that it should only end when the defeated gladiator was killed, they had to pay a large sum to the gladiator supplier. This amount could increase up to 50 times the cost if the gladiator remained alive after the match.
By the 3rd century, the mortality rate of gladiators rose again, possibly due to spectators wanting to witness more dramatic outcomes. The defeated gladiator was not allowed to plead for mercy. Evidence shows that in every 3 matches, 2 resulted in the death of the defeated gladiator.
By the 4th century, the situation remained the same, but by the 5th century, such matches were no longer as popular as before, and contests did not necessarily have to conclude with a gladiator’s death.
Untrained Prisoners
Not everyone who participated in the matches was a trained gladiator. Some were untrained prisoners, lacking combat experience, or had only received minimal training with a few basic weapons, sentenced to death by being fed to wild beasts. Most of these individuals perished in the arena.
Because untrained prisoners were either very little trained or poorly equipped, their purchase price for matches was relatively low.
Virginia Campbell, a history lecturer at Open University, USA, explains that using death row inmates as gladiators not only saved costs for this deadly entertainment but also served as a deterrent against crime, as individuals would think twice knowing their fate could end this way.
