When we think of ancient Rome, we think first of the gladiators. These professional fighters delighted frenzied crowds in the Colosseum, doing battle with wild animals, with condemned criminals, and with one another, sometimes fighting to the death. The archetype of the gladiator has persisted for more than two thousand years, to the present day.
When we think of ancient Rome, we think first of the gladiators. These professional fighters delighted frenzied crowds in the Colosseum, doing battle with wild animals, with condemned criminals, and...
Gladiators and gods, aqueducts and Augustuses, togas and triumvirates, legions and lions: fifteen centuries after the fall, Rome remains fixed in the popular culture—and for good reason. For five...