gladiators, combatants at games

gladiators, combatants at games
Gladiatorial combats, held at the funerals of dead warriors in Etruria (see Etruscans), were introduced to Rome (perhaps by way of Samnium and Campania) in 264 BC, when three pairs fought at the funeral games given in honour of Iunius Pera. Down to Caesar's Games in 46 BC the justification (or pretext) was always the death of a male relative, but these were in part commemorative of Caesar's daughter Julia, in part not commemorative at all. These contests, like beast-fights, became increasingly important as a route to popular favour for their promoter, forming an important, though normally brief (because highly expensive) item in games held at Rome and in other towns. However, five thousand pairs fought in eight different games given by Augustus (RG 22. 1) and the same number in a single series of games given by [The entire page is 661 words long]

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