The ancient Romans were known for enjoying violent forms of entertainment - public executions, animal hunts, chariot racing, and gladiatorial games. However, the blood and gore didn’t stop with the...
Roman Emperor Lucius Aurelius Commodus was a corrupt ruler who was not well-received by the Roman people during his reign. He also believed himself to be a reincarnation of Hercules and enjoyed...
Amphitheaters, with their gladiators, executions, and macabre contests, have fascinated people for millennia. They have featured in countless novels, books, and video games. One of the best-preserved...
"Flamma, secutor, lived thirty years. Fought thirty-four times, won twenty-one times, stood to draw nine times. Won a reprieve four times. Of Syrian extraction.” An eroded inscription on an ancient...
The arenas built by the Romans are without a doubt their most notorious monuments. They were the scene of public executions, where combats between criminals, prisoners of war and slaves were held,...
Commodus, the son and heir of the distinguished ‘ philosopher emperor’ Marcus Aurelius , was a failure as a Roman emperor. He was appointed co-emperor of Rome and ruled alongside his father when he...
Amphitheaters were a large part of the Roman culture and they were built in many of their cities across their empire, such as El Jem in Tunisia, Nimes Arena in France, and Leptis Magnus in Libya...
Archaeologists digging at the Roman Cartagena amphitheater have discovered artifacts and a pre-gladiatorial holding chamber, shedding more light on that side of the city’s history. The archaeological...
Archaeologists in Pompeii have unearthed a well-preserved fresco in a gladiators’ tavern illustrating the end of a fight in gory detail. The fresco of two gladiators fighting was discovered beneath a...
Famous ancient Greek historian Herodotus once wrote of the Amazons - or as he called them Oier Pata (‘Killers of Men’) – a tribe of fierce warrior women. Though in today’s world, the name ‘Amazon’ is...
The long reach of the Roman Empire was felt in southern Turkey , where in the town of Anazarbus the Romans erected a triumphal arch after defeating a Parthian force in the first century BC. And...
Somewhere around 2,000 years ago on a Greek island, a very strong man had a seven-pointed spear, known as a styrax, thrust through his chest with such a violent force that it punched a perfectly...
Boxing is the most popular spectator combat sport in the modern world and its champions earn more than most other professional sportsmen. The defining fight of this big money era was the 2015...
The amphitheatre is one of the most iconic architectural contributions of ancient Rome. The most famous example of such a structure is the Colosseum in Rome, where brutal gladiatorial battles took...
The Italian word graffiti dates only to 1851, online sources say, but the practice of drawing and scribbling on walls and surfaces in public places dates back millennia. In fact, a Professor from...
The gladiator is most likely the first image one calls to mind when thinking about entertainment in ancient Rome. As most would already know, gladiators fought either each other or wild animals, in...