The Gladiator: The Secret History of Rome's Warrior Slaves

Condemned yet feared by emperors, slaughtered yet adored by the masses, and loved by women, the gladiator lived an invariably short and violent life. His existence was an abyss of bloody darkness illuminated only faintly by the prospect of honor, wealth, public attention, and the amorous attentions of adoring women. With fear and danger as his constant companions, his enemy was as likely to be a starved tiger as a fellow battle-hardened human being. Yet men gave up their freedom to become gladia…