Just like in the Greek or Roman empire, sports are encouraged a lot in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle and stay fit, healthy and free from diseases induced by poor physical health. However, the sports popular today are very different from those that people participated in and witnessed during the times of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Common "sports" such as gladiatorial combat were very brutal, chaotic, and popular and differ greatly from today's recreational sports like walking, running, and yoga. Gladiator games were a way to simulate warfare and military training, which was very important to the Romans and Greeks. Along with wrestling, debate, shot put, and javelin, these are all events that could mimic war situations. Unlike today where sports like walking and running are simply used to keep the body healthy, ancient sports were often used and considered a form of training for war. Although we still have brutal contact sports like boxing, rugby, and gridiron today, they are not as savage as ancient sporting events that often ended in serious bloody injuries or even death. Besides the major difference in the degree of brutality, team sports are much more popular today than in the times of the Greeks and Romans. As society has grown to reject a more civilized culture, sport has also become a sport