Gladiator's Last Meal...

In ancient Rome, the sport of the day was gladiators fighting in the arena. It was the decimal equivalent of football in today's sports world. Initially rich private individuals organized these, often to gain political favor with the public, but was then monopolized by the Emperor to keep the good citizens happy.

Most gladiators were slaves sold into fighting. They were also prisoners of war, and sentenced criminals. There was also the occasional volunteer, which was crazy, since your life expectancy in this profession was to die young. Only noted fighters that outlived the others were a celebrity fighter named Flamma, who died at the age of 30 after winning 21 of 34 fights. Another respected fighter, Felix, was one of the more long-lived, dying at age 45 after receiving Roman citizenship. Of course the life expectancy of a gladiator didn't just fall on the combatant's skill in the arena, but to the spectators themselves. Once a gladiator could fight no more, he would raise his left hand to the emperor or the highest public official present. At that point, the emperor looked to the crowd for their recommendation. If they showed thumbs down and shouted "Iugula!" (Cut his throat!), he was killed. If they showed thumbs up and shouted "Mitte!" (Release him!"), he was allowed to leave the arena and have his wounds treated. This was a plus since gladiators got the best medical treatment in the Roman Empire.

Now since gladiators were the equivalent of the sports stars we have today, they needed to stay healthy and energized. The meals they ate showed this. A typical last meal a gladiator would enjoy was:


Barley grains (thought to protect the arteries with fat and prevent bleeding to death)
Boiled beans
Oatmeal and, ash, believed to help fortify the body.


It turns out gladiators weren't these muscular fighting men, like Russell Crowe in the movie Gladiator, but in fact were fat vegetarians.
Gladiators ate so much barely that they were called hordearii or "barley men."
Quite a misconception on how movies, films, and even painting portray gladiators and how they actually lived.