Can someone describe for me a gladiators fight?
There was a certain procedure, but nothing fixed. A major gladiatorial show hosted by the emperor on a major occasion was vastly different from a privately hosted show on a minimum budget. Usually the morning opened with animal hunts. The intermezzo was the execution of criminals. In the afternoon the arms and shields of the gladiators were ceremoniously inspected and shown to the public. Then the gladiators made their entrance. They would do some warming up. They would be divided in teams or pairs by the umpire(s). When the show was ready, the person hosting the show would give the starting signal. Bad performing gladiators would be forced to do better with white-hot irons, or whips. Fallen gladiators would be carried out by assistants, dressed as Charon (god of death). Before being carried out, the body would be touched with red hot sticks, to make sure he wasn’t faking it. He would be carried through a different exit, the gate of Charon. At the end of the games, the hoster would awa
