Known and Unknown History of Roman Gladiators Gladiators are always known for the bloody fights to the death depicted by HBO, but that's not what happened in the era of the gladiators. Gladiators were not always slaves forced into combat. Gladiator fights were originally part of a funeral service. Not all gladiators fought to the death in the arena. There were many signs that could have meant death. Different classes of fighters attracted different types of crowds. For added entertainment, animals were installed in the arena as an opening event to thrill the crowd. Women were also fighting for their lives in the arena. The gladiators began to form their own government to rule over each other. The emperors showed that "the referees supervised the action and probably stopped the fight as soon as one of the participants was seriously injured" (Andrews np). Some sports today could come from gladiators: MMA fighting. If the crowd grew bored of the fight, both men could walk away with their honor and their lives (Andrews np). Both men were evenly matched and neither could win. The leader therefore made the decision to continue the game so that the crowd would not rebel and tire of the games. It was a way for emperors to maintain crowd control. “As gladiators were expensive to house, feed and train, their promoters were reluctant to see them killed needlessly” (Andrews np). Most leaders would have the weakest fighters killed because they were not worth the money needed to keep and feed them. “Most only lived into their mid-twenties, and historians have estimated that between one and five or one in ten [fights] left one of their participants dead” (Andrews np). Overall, few gladiators lost their lives in the arena, it was mainly to entertain the many spectators who came. “The Colosseum and other Roman arenas are often associated with gruesome animal hunts, but it was rare for gladiators to be involved” (Andrews np). As gladiators rarely participated, these hunts were reserved for emperors and other high officials in Roman times. “Animal hunts were usually the opening event of the games, and it was not uncommon for dozens of unfortunate creatures to be slaughtered in a single exhibition” (Andrews np). The chases were quick and to the point, so the first act got the crowd excited for the main event. “Criminals and convicted Christians were often thrown to ravenous dogs, lions and bears as part of the day's entertainment” (Andrews np). It was another form of human sacrifice and a way to reduce the number of criminals to fewer numbers. When the Colosseum opened, more than 9,000 animals lost their lives (Andrews np). These animals lost their lives during a 100-day festival that marked the opening of