Gladiators: Let the Games BeginImagine a life of criminal, war captive, disobedient slave in possession of a strong body and an ingenious mind fighting for the pleasure of the people around you. A life where you had to kill those who trained with you daily to stay alive while death was a given at some point in the arena. Gladiators played a huge role in the Roman Empire. These fights were a way for wealthy emperors to gloat over the power they held as well as a way to bring a city together. The origin of gladiators is questionable as there is not enough evidence to determine exactly where they came from. Speculation says that the gladiator games may have been inherited by their predecessors in Italy, the Etruscans. Meanwhile, Titus Livius Patavinus, also known as Livy, a Roman historian author of The History of Rome, wrote that the Campanians, to celebrate the victory over the Samnites, held games for the first time gladiators. Livy goes on to state: "While the Romans used armor to honor the gods (raising a trophy tower of captured Samnite armor), the Campanians, out of contempt and hatred for the Samnites, had gladiators who performed at of their banquets. and they called them “Samnites”” (Livy, 9.40.17). Often in gladiator games, the honoring city recreates battles and relives past victories using gladiators, as Livy points out in his article. The Campanians made their gladiators wear Sanmite armor. The first recorded Roman gladiator games took place in 246 BCE when Marcus and Decimus Brutus had three groups of matched gladiators fight to the death, outside of the funeral of their father, Junius Brutus. These gladiator fights took place at the Roman Forum Boarium. The gladia...... middle of paper...... tone and powerful. The upper level was reserved for commoners. Beneath the floor of the Colosseum was a passageway made up of rooms, corridors and cells where weapons and animals were stored and where gladiators waited their turn to fight. The Colosseum could also be flooded to stage naval battles and recreate part of Roman history. Special pipes made it possible to pump and evacuate the water. Overall, in ancient Rome, death had become a form of entertainment. Gladiators came from all walks of life to perform for Roman citizens. They undergo different types of training to prepare for the battles that await them. Maybe life isn't as bad as you might think for a gladiator. Elite gladiators were given fame, money and freedom as well as the opportunity to perform in front of 80,000 people in honor of your city and especially the emperor..