The games were so popular that successful gladiators could become extremely rich and very famous. As a result, while most gladiators were condemned criminals, slaves or prisoners of war ...

And just like that, one of Gladiator’s most unforgettable moments—and one of the most quoted lines in film history—was born.

This is a man who died 1,800 years ago in the territory now occupied by York, where it is believed there was an amphitheater. He was found in 2010 with 81 other bodies in a cemetery from the Roman era ...

Given the cost of training and housing a gladiator, their owners weren't keen on one or more of their fighters being killed in every contest. Hollywood’s most famous movies about gladiators are ...