1he early rays of sunshlne falllng on my face Lhrough Lhe wlndow ln my cell woke me up Crogglly l

Lrled Lo geL up buL could noL l could sLlll feel Lhe afLer effecLs of Lhe lndulgence aL Lhe publlc
banqueL hosLed by Lhe mlnlsLer lasL nlghL All of us gladlaLors had spenL Lhe nlghL as lf lL was our lasL
nlghL en[oylng each and every momenL of lL My sLomach was sLlll full from Lhe sumpLuous food
and my body smelled of Lhe Lwo beauLlful women roman arlsLocraLs l had spenL Lhe nlghL wlLh My
broLher was noL able Lo make lL Lo whaL could be my lasL feasL he musL have been senL somewhere
else by hls own masLer
l looked Lowards my lefL and saw my roommaLe Crlxus sprawled on Lhe floor smelllng heavlly of
beer Pe was among Lhe few of Lhe gladlaLors who were exLremely unhappy wlLh Lhe way our ff
LreaLed us Pe had sLrlpped us of any selfrespecL we had by LreaLlng us llke fllLh Lven Lhough we
were kepL well fed and Laken good care of physlcally Lhe exLremely Lough Lralnlng Lhe consLanL
encounLers wlLh deaLh and Lhe wanL for belng able Lo llve a free llfe was causlng a few of Lhe
gladlaLors Lo rebel l dld noL wanL anyLhlng Lo do wlLh Lhe rebelllon l was golng Lo be free of Lhls llfe
soon anyway as Lhls was my Lhlrd year AfLer Lhree years of flghLlng we were glven a cholce We
could elLher conLlnue as a gladlaLor chooslng Lo evenLually become a Lralner or walk away as a free
man Laklng away all our earnlngs wlLh us l was golng Lo choose Lhe laLLer lf l walked ouL of Lhe
amphlLheaLre allve
1aklng a deep breaLh shaklng Lhese LhoughLs ouL of my mlnd l goL ouL of my bed 8y looklng aL Lhe
poslLlon of Lhe sun Lhrough Lhe wlndow l reallzed lL was nearly Llme for Lhe processlons of Lhe day
Lo sLarL so l wenL Lo Lake a baLh l scrubbed myself hard baLhlng wlLh cold waLer cleanslng myself
from any lmpurlLles l adorned my new whlLe lmmaculaLe lolncloLh (subllgaculum) and Lhen sLarLed
puLLlng on my heavy armour l wrapped my belL flrmly over my walsL followed by Lhlck wrapplngs on
my lefL leg and a galLer on my rlghL leg An arm guard on my rlghL hand and Lhe LradlLlonal broad
rlmmed hlgh cresLed flsh helmeL' Lhe slgn of Lhe murmlllo (a Lype of gladlaLor) compleLed my
dresslng l plcked up my curved recLangular shleld sllenLly praylng Lo Mars LhaL lL my saves my llfe for
one lasL Llme Loday 1hen l sLarLed walklng Lowards my weaponr1he gladlus l could see my
reflecLlon ln lLs blade whlch l had spenL shlnnlng and sharpenlng yesLerday afLernoon
LveryLhlng depended on Lhe way Lhlngs wlll unfold ln Lhe arena All my fuLure plans of seLLllng down
geLLlng marrled llvlng as a free respecLable man ln socleLy depended on Loday lf l falled Loday l
would dle as a gladlaLor a slave belonglng Lo Lhe lowesL echelon of socleLy 1here was a chance LhaL
my llfe may be spared by Lhe mlnlsLer buL only lf Lhe crowd LhoughL LhaL l had foughL bravely buL Lhe
chance of belng spared on your lasL flghL was very low never before had l been Lhls nervous and
apprehenslve before a flghL
l plcked up my sword lLs warm handle havlng a calmlng lnfluence on me l had Lo LrusL myself and
Lhe skllls l had learnL over Lhe years of hard Lralnlng and flghLlng l had menLally declded LhaL l would
flghL barefooLed whlch provlded grlp on Lhe sand surface l was a blL heavy fooLed due Lo my heavy
armour Lherefore l had Lo concenLraLe on my balance and movemenLs 1he lanlsLa had already
brlefed us abouL Lhe munus Mlne was Lo be Lhe flrsL flghL afLer Lhe warmlng up dlsplay flghL My
opponenL was a Lype of gladlaLor who was llghLly armed wlLh a LrldenL and a neLr1he 8eLalrlus
1he husLle busLles ouLslde made me reallze LhaL lL was Llme Lo assemble ouLslde A klnd of nervous
exclLemenL was ln Lhe aLmosphere Lvery gladlaLor fully dressed and carrylng Lhelr respecLlve
armour was assembled ln Lhe cenLral pracLlce area ready for Lhe munus 1he lanlsLa opened Lhe
gaLe of Lhe underground Lunnel whlch connecLed Lhe school Lo Lhe arena and ushered us Lhrough
Lhe Lunnel 1he processlon was led by slaves and muslclans
Lmerglng on Lhe oLher slde l could hear Lhe exclLemenL of Lhe crowd A myrlad of people had come
Lo be enLerLalned by our show As we enLered Lhe amphlLheaLre Lhrough Lhe gaLe Lhe crowd's volce
fell Lo a murmur Cur enLrance was welcomed by a round of applause We assembled ln fronL of Lhe
lmperlal box and saluLed Lhe mlnlsLer l looked up and saw chlldren cranlng Lhelr necks Lo geL a
beLLer gllmpse of us 1here was a general aura of deaLh ln Lhe arena
l walLed on Lhe slde as Lhe flghLlng began 1wo unarmed gladlaLors were flghLlng wlLh wooden sLlcks
whlle Lhe crowd cheered on 1he flghLlng conLlnued for some Llme wlLh Lhe crowd becomlng more
and more lnvolved and louder 1o Lhe dellghL of Lhe crowd Lhe volce of a LrumpeL belng blown
reverberaLed Lhrough Lhe arena lL was Llme for Lhe real baLLle Lo begln Cfferlng my lasL prayer l
goL up and walked Lowards Lhe mlddle of Lhe arena lrom Lhe opposlLe slde my opponenL walked ln
lL was golng Lo be a long and Lough flghL








8lbllography
hLLp//depLhomebrooklyncunyedu/classlcs/gladlaLr/arenahLm
hLLp//wwwmarlamllanlcom/anclenL_rome/CladlaLorlal_CameshLm
hLLp//enwlklpedlaorg/wlkl/CladlaLor
hLLp//wwwromancolosseumlnfo/colosseum/processlonsaLLhecolosseumhLm