When we watch the film Gladiator, we see Roman culture and how it was represented at the time. The main historical features that stood out were the details of the Roman army and the precision of a gladiator. Throughout the film, these two features are viewed several times by the audience. By watching this film and doing some research, one can see that while it is a great film, Gladiator has some inaccuracies regarding these historical features. The origin of gladiatorial games began with hand-to-hand combat taking place during commemorative games in Rome (Brown, 2007, p.1). From there, gladiator games continued to grow and gain popularity as well as entertainment. The potential for gladiatorial combat began and was soon not limited to funerals, but to all kinds of celebrations and occasions (Brown, 2007, p. 2). Due to the scale of these games throughout Rome, amphitheaters began to be built everywhere. new towns and old towns tried to add them. With the construction of amphitheaters, more and more people came to see these games, and gladiator fights thus became a means of entertainment. During Roman times, gladiators were used as entertainment for the Republic as well as the citizens of Rome. Most of the time, gladiators were slaves and sometimes prisoners who had committed crimes. There were also times when some voluntarily enlisted in combat as free or emancipated men (Brown, 2007, p. 4). According to Wolfgang Neubauer (2014), “it was a prison; they were prisoners and lived in cells, in a fortress with only one entrance door” (p. 1). Something we see in Gladiator is gladiators traveling from town to town, which is inaccurate. When they become gladiators, the me...... middle of paper ...... imperial army. War in History, 20(1), 7-31. Gilliver, K. (2007). Display in Roman warfare: the appearance of armies and individuals on the battlefield. War in History, 14(1), 1-21. . http://web.a.ebscohost.com/. Internet. March 14, 2014. .Mueller, Tom. “DETERMINE THE SECRETS OF THE COLOSSEUM.” Smithsonian 42.1 (2011): 26-33. http://web.a.ebscohost.com/. Internet. March 14, 2014. Vergano, D. (February 25, 2014). The discovery of the gladiator school reveals the difficult lives of ancient warriors. National Geographic. Retrieved April 1, 2014 from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/02/140225-gladiator-school-discovered-roman-austria-archaeology-science/