Let the Best Man Win! Trivia Quiz

Answer: 3rd century BCE

The first documented and dated games happened in 264 BCE, with just three pairs of gladiators fighting to the death. They were held by Decimus Iunius Brutus Scaeva who thus honored his deceased father.

Answer: The forum (marketplace)

From the very beginning, gladiator fights were a public spectacle for the masses. As such, they were held in the most frequented area of the city - the forum. From the earliest games, they quickly grew in size and opulence - 216 BCE already saw a notable three-day feast with 22 pairs of gladiators and in 183 BCE, sixty pairs battled to commemorate the death of Publius Licinius, a consul and Pontifex Maximus.

Answer: Lions

While occasionally, a well-equipped gladiator would fight a beast and actually have a chance to win, most of these fights occurred as a result of a "Damnatio ad bestias" - a death sentence in which the fighter would be sent against a fierce creature, usually a lion, with inferior equipment that would not risk a severe injury to the animals.

In later amphitheater settings, these fights often pitted groups of gladiators against a whole pack of beasts.

Answer: Paeginarius

The paeginarius was not a true gladiator but rather an entertainer, a showman who bridged gaps between the lethal fights with less serious, sometimes even comical types of combat. He did not carry a lethal weapon and was relatively well-protected. Retiarii were usually paired against secutores - the retiarius used a net and trident and had only weak protection while the secutor wore good armor, but only had a gladius (short sword) to attack with.

In a one on one fight, the retiarius often had the advantage of range, thus fights of two secutores against a single retiarius were common.

Answer: False

While rare, female gladiators were used in the games, likely as early as the reign of Tiberius (14 to 37 CE). This is known from an Imperial decree that forbade certain women of status - most notably daughters and granddaughters of nobles and senators - from fighting in the arena. Gladiatrixes - female gladiators - were particularly popular under the reigns of Nero and Domitian.

Answer: False

Although the games were included in the entertainment forms called "circenses" (circus games), the large and wide open circus-style arenas were not primarily used for gladiator fights but rather for horse and chariot races and for athletic events. While those games were also quite violent and deaths were not uncommon, fatalities were more incidental than an expected outcome.

Answer: True

From as early as Caligula (ruled from 37 to 42 CE) to the late 2nd century CE, most emperors actually fought as gladiators themselves. However, those fights were hardly fair - the emperor would enter the arena much better prepared and armed than their opponents. Commodus (depicted with only mild artistic fredom in the blockbuster movie "Gladiator") was the most active emperor-gladiator, said to have defeated a hundred lions in one day, most likely fighting from a raised platform where he was rather safe from the beasts.

Answer: Religious rituals and sacrifices

During its early days (around 80 CE), the Colosseum most likely included a means to actually flood the arena with a relatively shallow layer of water (assumed by historians to be less than 1.5 meters / 5 feet), allowing for specially constructed ships or boats to float as several historical records mention such reenactments being held during that time.

This mechanism was however later removed to make room for the hypogeum, a complex of rooms and corridors beneath the arena which can still be seen today when visiting the site. Animal hunts (called venationes) were common opening spectacles on days of games, showing fighters with typical hunters' gear against often exotic animals such as zebras and gazelles. Religious rites, however, were only conducted in temples, not in the amphitheaters.

Answer: An ellipse

While the Colosseum appears circular at first glance, its plan is actually that of an ellipse measuring 156 meters at the shortest and 189 meters at the longest axis. This relatively minor discrepancy however becomes more apparent when looking at the dimensions of the actual arena - 87 meters times 56 meters. (This also means that the tiered seats around it stretched for almost 50 meters on each side - with the highest of them elevated over 40 meters from the arena itself).

Answer: The slave and gladiator revolts of the Imperial time

The decline of the games began in the 3rd century CE when it had become practically impossible for the organizers of these spectacles to better the games of their predecessors - at their peak, games could last several months and involve up to 10,000 gladiators and a similar number of beasts.

At the same time, there were fewer captives and slaves made into gladiators and voluntary participation in the games also declined. The final nail in the coffin for the games was when Christianity became the state religion in the Roman Empire with several 4th and 5th century emperors passing edicts to outlaw these games.