Uploaded December 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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In this episode of the Toldinstone Podcast, Michael Carter and I discuss the rules and rituals that governed the lives - and deaths - of Roman gladiators.

Check out my other channels, @toldinstone and @scenicroutestothepast

Chapters
0:00 Introduction
0:38 Becoming a gladiator
2:13 Gladiatorial schools
5:54 Types and armaments
8:22 How often they fought
9:42 Paying for the games
13:56 Advertising the games
15:58 Promotional merchandise
17:56 The rules of gladiatorial combat
25:24 Merciful gladiators
28:12 Were matches ever fixed?
32:06 The crowd
36:34 Arena music
38:43 Thumbs up, thumbs down
40:41 Fatality rates
45:43 Prizes and awards
48:27 Financial matters
50:27 Ranking gladiators
53:48 Female gladiators
56:22 Freeing gladiators
59:18 The end of the games
1:01:46 The fascination of the gladiators