What did it take to eat like a gladiator?

If you think gladiators were all rippling muscle, think again. Evidence suggests fighters weren't as cut as we've been led to believe. This article dives into the diets of ancient Roman gladiators, who may have eaten mostly vegetarian. Archaeological evidence gathered from the skeletons of 68 gladiators found in a 2,000-year-old Turkish grave suggests the fighters' diets mainly relied on barley and legumes, with little animal protein.

How ancient Roman gladiators got ready to rumble

Before they could lay the smackdown in the arena, gladiators were professionally trained, combining a physical regimen with an education in the rules of the ring. Contrary to popular belief, archaeological evidence suggests most gladiators weren't killed in the action, and women may have fought on rare occasions. This article breaks down a life of a Roman gladiator.

A Roman-era cemetery in York may hold the remains of gladiators

A burial ground in York, used from the 1st to the 4th centuries CE, contained around 80 skeletons of unusually tall and muscular young men. Many show fatal combat wounds, including one with a bite mark from a large predator.

Read how Roman writers described gladiators

This article, drawn from an older classical dictionary, synthesizes the views of ancient Roman authors on gladiators. While archaeological knowledge has advanced, the core textual evidence remains the same, with links to translations of the sources.

Gladiator training is known mainly from art, not ancient texts

Since literary sources provide little information about gladiator training, scholars rely on visual evidence. This illustrated essay draws on artifacts from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, including an oil lamp from Cyprus showing a gladiator practicing against a wooden stake.

Gladiators fought in specialized armatures designed only for the arena

This illustrated guide breaks down the most common gladiator armatures, showing how each was highly stylized for spectacle rather than warfare. This explanation suggests why gladiators generally made poor soldiers when drafted into the legions.

What did the Vikings eat?

Examining a culture's culinary practices gives insight into its social structure, skills, and ideology. This article follows culinary archaeologist Daniel Serra as he explores the food habits and choices of Vikings. His findings have effectively ended "the myth of Vikings gnawing off the meat of the bones of wild animals," with evidence providing a clearer picture of Viking society as filled with farmers who didn't have time to hunt.

Some Colosseum fighters battled wild animals instead of other humans

Not everyone who entered the Colosseum was a gladiator. Learn about the bestiarii—who ranged from trained animal fighters to condemned prisoners—and how their encounters with wild beasts became one of Rome’s most lethal spectacles.

Female gladiators fought in Roman arenas, though they were rare

While most gladiators were men, a small number of women also fought in the arena. Their presence fascinated and unsettled Roman audiences, and they adopted stage names invoking Amazons and mythic heroines.

A recently discovered fresco in Pompeii depicts gladiators fighting

Archaeologists uncovered a gladiator combat fresco beneath a shop staircase in Pompeii. Its location suggests it decorated a low-end tavern near the gladiator barracks—possibly a hangout for fighters themselves.

See third-century mosaics inside a Roman villa, which show gladiator games

Discovered at Nennig, these third-century CE mosaics depict gladiators, animal hunts, and arena musicians. Set in a lavish villa atrium, they likely commemorated games sponsored by the estate’s wealthy owner.

The Greeks weightlifted using massive stones and admired strength—but they viewed muscles differently

The evolution of the human diet

Could eating like our ancestors make us healthier? One estimate suggests prehistoric hunter-gatherer communities obtained 75% of their calories from meat and fish.

Retired gladiators often became trainers, referees, or exhibition fighters

Few gladiators survived to retirement, but those who did rarely left the arena behind. Many returned for high-pay exhibition bouts, trained new fighters, served as referees, or leveraged their fame into unexpected careers, including local politics.

Roman gladiator referees wore tunics and carried switches

Drawing on visual and textual evidence, a Roman social historian shows that referees were a constant presence in gladiatorial combat. Rather than armor, they wore striped tunics and used long switches to signal fouls and control fights from a safe distance.

Bake bread like a Roman, and honor Ceres, the goddess of wheat

Grains made up about 70% of the Roman diet, and the word "cereal" stems from the goddess Ceres—the Roman equivalent of Greece's Demeter—to whom they prayed for good harvests. Cato the Elder, a famous statesman, left behind a simple home recipe for a Roman loaf.

Hear how gladiator fights were funded, judged, and sometimes fixed

In a wide-ranging interview, Professor Michael Carter unpacks the business of gladiatorial games—from advertising and fighter merch to referees, match rules, and a code of conduct that often pushed gladiators to spare defeated opponents.

How do we know what prehistoric humans ate?

Without recourse to ancient menus, how can historians know what our ancient human ancestors—as far as 3 million years ago—ate on a daily basis? Researchers evaluate several factors, including the type of teeth the species had evolved, chemical analysis of the teeth, patterns of wear and tear on teeth, as well as food scraps found in the vicinity of ancient remains. Learn the approach to discovering ancient hominin diets.

See unused gladiator helmets discovered in Pompeii.

The strange endurance of consuming blood for health

Blood's importance to humanity is best summarized this way: without it, we die. This importance naturally begets assumptions about its medicinal properties, many of which appear accessible through drinking or eating the fluid connective tissue. This article details the history of blood drinking, from ancient Roman gladiators to modern-day sanguinarians.

Ancient Greek gymnasium: where philosophy met fitness

In ancient Greece, gymnasiums were not just places of physical training, but centers of intellectual life. This article explores the ways in which exercise, philosophy, and education were deeply intertwined, reflecting a cultural belief that physical fitness was essential for mental development.

Vikings had pretty bad teeth

Vikings, the medieval marauders of northern European land and seas, were actually famous for their excellent hygiene. Despite this, evidence from Viking burial grounds points to one exception: their teeth. Roughly 60% of those Vikings studied had at...

Should you eat an all-meat diet?

The carnivore diet is reportedly a way of eating inherited from human ancestors, a tale that has roots in anthropology's early days. This article explores the all-meat diet's ancestral claims and what happens if you cut vegetables and fruits from...

Structures from ancient Rome have endured for millennia because tiny pieces of lime in Roman concrete enabled it to self-heal and prevent cracks from spreading when exposed to water.

Emperor Commodus fought as a gladiator while ruling Rome

Commodus, who reigned from 180–192 CE, scandalized Rome’s elite by appearing in the arena despite being the son of Marcus Aurelius. The ancient biography—though partly fictional—captures the shock his gladiatorial performances provoked.

See how the elite warriors of the Aztec Empire trained

This video explores the Aztec military’s elite Eagle and Jaguar warriors, known for their courage and combat skills, and highlights their rigorous training regimen. It concludes with a workout routine modeled on their methods.

Mummification in Ancient Egypt transformed a body into a divine statue

Rather than for preservation, the ritual was a means of turning the biological body into an eternal vessel for the top percent of society. With no way to preserve eyes that would shrivel during dehydration, eye sockets were filled with onions or black and white stones.

Gastroliths, or ‘stomach stones,’ help animals digest plants in their stomachs

Most often used by birds and reptiles, gastroliths help break down the cellulose of plant cells, which can resist decomposition from stomach acid alone. Over time, gastroliths become smooth and are regurgitated before being replaced by larger stones.

Synchronized swimming dates back to Ancient Rome

Known for gruesome gladiatorial contests, ancient Rome's aquatic spectacles may have been even more over-the-top. This article dives into the art of synchronized swimming in ancient Rome. Lakes were dug and amphitheaters flooded to provide space for aquatic reenactments of naval battles and artistic performances. Swimmers playing the role of water nymphs would create elaborate shapes, including ships with billowing sails.

What ancient goat teeth reveal about ancient human-animal relationships

About 4,000 years ago, several goats with terrible teeth managed to outlive their better-teethed brethren. With such intense dental damage, the goats were likely fed higher-quality feed than the more dentally gifted herd members, a dietary shift that would've contributed to the difference in life span. These goat teeth underscore the hard truth that humans may inflict harm on the animals they care about most, regardless of intention.

Spartacus: Enslaved ancient Roman gladiator turned revolt leader

Sold into slavery and forced to be a gladiator, Spartacus ultimately took the fight outside the arena and revolted against the Romans. This article dives into the history of the rebel leader. Spartacus was originally from Thrace, a part of ancient Europe that included parts of modern-day Bulgaria, Turkey, and Greece. Exactly what led to his enslavement is unclear, but it likely involved ancient Rome's attempt to subjugate Thrace.

Eduard Baltzer encouraged 'natural eating' in the 1860s

Historian Corinna Treitel credits the Protestant minister with inventing the concept of “natural eating” in Nordhausen, Germany, in the 19th century. Baltzer believed that people were consuming excessive amounts of schnapps, sugar, and meat, and that this behavior was having a detrimental impact on their lives. He encouraged a diet mostly of fruits and vegetables, though he was not opposed to food grown with artificial fertilizers.

What is glacial archaeology?

Melting glaciers continue to reveal archaeological and anthropological evidence previously hidden by solid ice. This article details the newer archaeological field, which was popularized after the 1991 discovery of Ötzi the Iceman. A German couple came across Ötzi as they hiked the Ötzal Alps near the Italy-Austria border. Ötzi was initially believed to be the corpse of an unlucky mountaineer, but further study revealed he had been dead for about 5,300 years.

An analysis of ancient texts found that dementia was rare in ancient Greece.

Bad Ancient: a site to fact-check claims about the ancient world

Peruse popular questions about ancient Rome, Egypt, Greece, and more, from whether Greek boxers were ripped or to what extent Alexander the Great conquered the world.

In ancient Rome, toast was added to drinks

Toasted bread crumbs absorbed the acidity of bitter wine and, in some cases, added flavor. Although the term "toasting" was not yet in use, the practice was common. Some say the Roman Senate decreed in the first century CE that all citizens must drink to the honor of Emperor Augustus before every meal, though scholars debate the validity of that claim. Eventually, the literal toast became associated with the tributes.

Fossilized bite marks suggest some dinosaurs may have engaged in cannibalism

An excavation site near the Colorado-Utah border contained Allosaurus bones with tooth marks of other Allosaurus, which may have occurred in response to a dry season in the area. The Tyrannosaurus and Majungasaurus have also been shown to eat their own.

A 15th-century university student documented a surprisingly detailed fitness plan.