Gladiators came from many different backgrounds. They largely came from the lower echelons of Roman society ... name from the conquered territory of Thrace (Bulgaria today).

Successful gladiators were the movie stars of the first ... gladiatorial contests are often seen as the dark side of Roman civilization. Given they belonged to such a civilized and sophisticated ...

These were more than life-and-death entertainment bouts: gladiators weren’t simply celebrities of ancient Rome. Instead ... “Celadus the Thracian gladiator is the delight of all the girls ...

The ancient Roman settlement of Liternum was found in 194 B.C. and thrived for about 400 years before rapidly declining and ...

As a stylized version of Rome’s battlefield foe, it would make sense for this type of gladiator to use the stereotypical Thracian weapon ... been out of place on an ancient battlefield was ...

One of the graves found in Liternum Credit: Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio per l'area metropolitana di Napoli Archaeological excavations in the ancient ... Roman society. Its ...

Tales of ancient Rome have long enraptured modern audiences ... Coax is soon imprisoned, sold into slavery, and forced to fight as a gladiator. Thus begins a quest for liberation and revenge ...