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Gladiator

STORY PREFACE

Hail, Caesar,
Those about to die
Salute thee

Or, in Latin,
the language of the day:

Ave Imperator,
morituri te salutant)

Suetonius,
Historian of Ancient Rome

Usually "those about to die" in the Roman Colosseum were condemned prisoners, professional gladiators, Christians, or animals. The spectacle of the "games" was often bloody, a tradition started in Rome by its earlier conquerors, the Etruscans.

But not until the reign of Commodus (180-192 AD) did Roman citizens witness wholesale slaughter by a Caesar himself, dressed as a gladiator and acting like a madman. Who was this Emperor, this Caesar, who thought of himself as a god?