9Gladiators Didn’t Just Fight to the Death

The best gladiators were prized local celebrities of their day. Therefore, most didn’t fight ’til the death as quite simply their managers will have wanted to make as much profit out of them as possible. They were trained to wound, not to kill. Most matches would end with one seriously injured, but a survivor none the less.

Despite this, the life of a gladiator was a short one. Most only lived to their mid-twenties (many only until their late teen years) and historians estimate that the average gladiator would likely only fight around ten matches until he met his demise.

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