In Social Studies, we just finished up on our Roman Gladiator unit. For the unit, we did a project in which we wrote a journal from the veiwpoint of the Gladiator. It showed information about the Colosseum and everyday life in Rome.
Gladiator Journal Excerpt
Arcanius was given to a ludus gladatorius, or school for gladiators. Once you entered, there was no escape and the doors were locked. His owner thought that he could make some money off of his slave by entering him in the gladiatorial games. At the ludus, slaves, Roman volunteers, wealthy forced to participate, vandals, and Romans in debt would train each day to become a fit gladiator. They were fed a high energy diet of fruits and vegetables, various animals and some soups. They also would practice with wooden swords on sacks of straw because they were not trusted with weapons yet. A lanista would be their trainer and would punish them if they did not train hard enough. When Arcanius mentions volunteers, he means people who were born free, but decided to be part of the games. Mostly, these people would do it for the down payment that they got after accepting an oath. The oath would make them slaves to the owner. Wealthy Romans would only be part of the games if they were forced to by their emperor. If they were not payed for being a gladiator, their title as a gladiator would vanish after the fight. The Colosseum is the most widely know amphitheatre in all of the Roman Empire. It is a great ellipse shaped stadium of death and victory. There were 4 parts to it. The seating, the arena, the substructure, and the circulation system. When it came to seating, there was a room for 50,000 people. The seating depended on rank, gender, and even marital status. The arena was filled with sand so blood would easily soak up. It was also more of an indent in the ground so the people in the front row seats were never in danger. The substructure contained all the animals and gladiators before the battle began. When it did, a lift would winch them up to the arena to start. The circulation system was meant to organize the spectators into their respective seats by adding staircases leading up to their seats. Also, there were different entrances. The one from the north was used by the emperor and his party. The one from the south was for the consuls. The one in the west was for the performers and the one from the east, where the dead bodies exited.