ry of the gladiators, it was wealthy individuals who bought the men, trained them, and organized their combats. The private schools rented out gladiators for a set free and received a standard price for any men killed. Imperial schools supplied gladiators exclusively for the emperor and for official state games. Gladiators schools were both prison camps and training centers.ANIMALS IN THE ARENADisplays of exotic animals were seen in every ancient civilization. Strange and ferocious animals captured in faraway lands were the perfect symbol of a rulers power. The Romans, however, werent content with passive displays of wild animals, and they added the ingredient that was the hallmark of all their public spectaclesbloodshed. They liked to watch animals fight each other to the death. The Roman state used three methods to find animals: they were bought from agents throughout the empire who specialized in the trapping and trading of wild animals; the emperor could as a provincial governor to supply them, which the governor promptly did if he wanted to keep his job; or they were acquired through military conquestvictorious generals always brought back exotic creatures among their spoils of war to be used in the games given to celebrate their triumph.7 Another feature of the games was watching animals fight each other. Rhinoceroses fought elephants, their horns and tusks sheathed with sharp iron spikes. Elephants would fight huge wild bison, now extinct, due in part to their popularity in the arena. Bison fought bear; bear fought lion.8 THE SEA BATTLESThe biggest gladiatorial combats in the history of the Roman Empire took place on water. Manmade lakes were dug specifically to stage full-scale naval battles. Some sea battles were staged in the amphitheater, the arena flooded for the occasion. They would release sharks and other sea creatures into the water-filled arena.9 The battle was real enough to the gladiators, who probably...
