In Panem, young people are pitted against one another as a punishment for an earlier rebellion, and in order to try and win food for their people. It is the first of those final words, panem et circenses, which gave The Hunger Games’ author, Suzanne Collins, the name of her dystopian country. It is a pity that the satirist Juvenal’s pithy epigram about the Roman plebs is so rarely quoted in its entirety: “Those who once bestowed military power, political power, legions, everything now they limit themselves and pray for just two things: bread and circuses.” Winner of five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor.Gladiatorial combat became part of the fabric of Roman society, an example of munera (gifts, or spectacles, like chariot-racing) which were paid for by wealthy men trying to curry favour with ordinary citizens. Maximus is enslaved to fight in the gladiatorial arenas, while he plots his revenge against Commodus. When general Maximus (Russell Crowe) is chosen by Emperor Aurelius (Richard Harris), a jealous Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) kills Maximus' family. This popular book explores all aspects of gladiatorial life-its beginnings under the Republic the organization of the spectacle the day-to-day-life of a gladiator a typical show from start to finish the equipment, weapons and armor used the symbolic role of the gladiator in society and the fascination of the gladiatorial spectacle within a 21st-century context. The gladiatorial contest was the high point of the bloody sports witnessed in Rome's Colosseum and in other amphitheatres throughout the Roman Empire. Alan Baker reveals the techniques of the training school, then sets us ringside to witness the torturous battles between bulls, lions, jaguars, and battle-hardened human beings. This thrilling popular history of ancient Rome's gladiators charts the evolution of the games introduces us to the legendary fighters, trainers, and emperors who participated in the violent sport and re-creates in gripping detail a day at the bloody games. The Gladiator: The Secret History of Rome's Warrior Slaves (nonfiction)

Professor Fik Meijer has pieced together their true stories from contemporary evidence, describing the gladiators' origins, daily life, training, and the odds of their survival pitted against their legions of fans' lust for blood and spectacle. For over six cruel centuries, tens of thousands died in the blood soaked arenas of Rome and its colonies, watched by enthralled crowds screaming for violence. Superfit, muscled, and macho, gladiators were hero-worshipped for their skills and courage as they fought to the death, yet despised for their humble status. The Gladiators: History's Most Deadly Sport(nonfiction)

Spartacus rome gladiator