Gladiators of Pompeii
The Ancients
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The Life Expectancy of a Gladiator
There were also female gladiators in ancient Rome known as a gladiatrix although it's not clear whether they made an appearance in Pompeii. The life expectancy of a gladiator was unsurprisingly quite short with most only making it to their mid 20s. By the first century AD there's evidence of freeborn people signing up seduced by the celebrity, prize money and the roar of the crowds. It looks probable then that Marcus Atilius signed up to be a gladiator voluntarily. We can't know why but it may have been to pay off debts and he may well have one big.
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