Roman Historian Answers Google's Most Popular Questions About Gladiators

[@Brockbuiltmore]

boy, they NEED to fire this editor. you have NO IDEA how awkward and jarring it is to have a movie clip EVERY TIME hes trying hes giving his answer. i get it, showing it to us with popular Gladiator movies but PLEASE just let us hear him talk.

[@AdamSC89]

Yeah, the worst bit was when it cut from Ronaldo, to F1, to Mission Impossible. Was that really necessary?

[@pacmonster066]

Yes, I found it highly distracting. I mean the guy is already answering these questions with the fewest words possible, cutting in a movie clip every other word to pad the video length is intolerable.

[@abrahamlincoln8477]

Can we get rid of these annoying little movie clips that interrupt the answers mid-sentence, and just let us hear him talk?

[@Spielkalb-von-Sparta]

Some clips would be alright in my opinion but here's definitely to many and badly edited into the answers.

[@_Waingro]

No 👎

[@rockandroleplay5465]

It's to keep the viewers who have zero attention span and can't just sit and listen to history.

[@svteenostalgia]

no, we can't

[@kingslaphappy1533]

Unwatchable

[@GrahamUpton]

People absolutely did volunteer to become gladiators. It wasn’t certain death - it was a way to make money, especially if you’d fallen on hard times.

[@hippieshake2580]

yes people would sign contracts to train and fight as gladiators

[@chriswareing1991]

yeah completely true he got that one wrong people that had debts would often sign up to be a gladiator or even just because they wanted to try and gain fame

[@CrNcHyFROG5]

I was thinking the EXQCT thing. Read and watched a lot of material on gladiators over the years and there are lots of instances of people voluntarily becoming gladiators. It wasn’t a death sentence and it’s estimated only 10% of gladiators died in the arena. How did this guy get it so wrong? Makes me doubt the rest of the video.

[@bryanmatthews2370]

I was thinking this too, I could've sworn I watched a "documentary" about a slave that was granted his freedom and then chose to continue fighting (it may not have been exactly and solely about him, was a mention of it) And I swear I recall hearing of soldiers who chose to become gladiators, although my memory is not as reliable as it once was

[@jarrodbright5231]

"volunteer" is a stretch, but yes there are well documented historical records of people, generally former soldiers, selling themselves into slavery with the understanding that a gladiator school would be their likely destination, when faced with financial ruin. Debt slavery was a very real thing in the Roman empire and some people took that step "willingly" before being forced into it to save their family from the same fate.

[@j.a.weishaupt1748]

The editor of this video should go work for Michael Bay. That isn’t a compliment.

[@TheWinty]

Absolutely love how in 12:07 we can see a guy in left corner wearing jeans, t-shirt and cowboy hat, gets me every time when i see that scene.

[@vincentbalmori6259]

Not only that, but to the right of him is the camera, tripod and I think another cameraman's arms

[@Spielkalb-von-Sparta]

Haha, I've never noticed that!

[@DankTheMan]

Some free people DID submit themselves to become gladiators. Some for glory, some to have a place to live and eat, others because they wanted to fight. The gladiatrix Mevia was most likely born a free Roman but submitted herself to become a gladiatrix. Though, granted, that made them into slaves. But still, the point is it wasn’t just selected slaves and prisoners of war. Some free Romans wanted to fight in the arena.

[@kiely4561]

Yes i was under the impression this was the case. I’m obviously not as educated on the subject as Simon but i could have sworn i heard Garrett from Told in stone mention free men fought in the colosseum.

[@valis992000]

Yes, I was going to say this very thing. Granted I am not a trained historian, just an avid fan of Roman and biblical history. But either this guy is wrong or every other historian and source i have read is wrong. It may not have been the most common way to become one, but I have read that some people fought because they loved the games or they were in debt and could see no other way out etc.

[@SEAZNDragon]

I think the point he’s making is you’re not volunteering to fight. You’re volunteering to be a slave.

[@shaggycan]

Yes, I'm surprised he answered no to this. Ex Soldiers that were down on their luck could sell themselves into indentured servitude as gladiators.

[@SlashersquadJack]

I know it bothered me that he said that absolutely not I'm like I'm pretty sure there's pretty hard evidence that people volunteered to be gladiators some to pay off a debt others for Glory I've seen that before I don't know if all of those sources are wrong but I doubt it

[@davesmith7432]

Oh boy. Metatron will like this one

[@kelly2860]

The circus was actually extremely brutal. Charioteers died with some frequency during the races due to the narrow hairpin turns at each end of the track

[@Rose_Castle]

Actually we know of at least one volunteer. A Gladiatrix, a woman Mevia. She was very, very unusual as she came from a respected family. So it is not true that NO ONE volunteered and they were ALL slaves to the one. Granted, she was certainly an odd case, but certainly existed and was quite a scandal.

[@trevormichel1319]

This guy glued a couple small boomerangs on his face

[@shaggycan]

Remember during the Republic there were no police in Rome. Wealthy patricians either owned a Ludus (a gladiator training school) or hired ex gladiators as bodyguards.

[@nohbuddy1]

Gladiator fights being staged like pro wrestling would be a fun premise for a movie

[@voir-dire]

I dont think he's correct about no one volunteering. I've read a few accounts from other historians that there were instances of free and freed men volunteering.

[@Rose_Castle]

Yeah, that was not right and was annoying.

[@pacmonster066]

Though it is worth reminding that as soon as they volunteer to become a gladiator, they are no longer free/freed men. They are putting themselves into slavery to fight in the arena.

[@CaptainWillard93]

Please no so much and long (and bad quality) insert clips, only when absolute necessary. I just watched a 2 min vid of Hamilton, Ronaldo, and Tom Cruise. And no loud music when he answers, I dont hear a bloody thing!

[@ElMichelaxo]

You can see that this is not his area of expertise. That’s what happens when you recycle the same “experts” for every historical subject. Come on, History Hit, there’s other people out there.

[@StevenHolmes-s3e]

People who were in debt were occasionally given the option of being inducted as gladiators to pay off their debt! This would mainly apply to ex-military men who were already trained as soldiers!

[@natalieeis9284]

These poor animals. Humans are cruel

[@Ace-n3t]

the music in the background is annoying af

[@Neilalex123]

Nah sorry but you lost all credibility by stating all Gladiators were slaves.

[@NekomiSon]

Dude, imagine thinking you know more than an historian specializing in this time period.

[@jarrodbright5231]

If you're going to say "Commodus" then I'm going to point out that he was playing dress-up. Gladiators during the Roman empire were all slaves. You are correct that not everyone who fought in the arena was a slave, but those exceptions were also not gladiators.

[@phantomarceus6387]

I disagree with the notion that “nobody chose to be gladiators”, cause there were some who absolutely did. The majority of gladiators were slaves but there were some who were freedmen.

[@nohbuddy1]

Who?

[@LisafromNOLA]

@@nohbuddy1people who needed money etc would volunteer for a contracted amount of time

[@frankpuleo]

@@nohbuddy1 the Auctorati

[@AaronSikkink]

Indeed. You had professional glasiatiors, just for the money and/or fame.

[@pacmonster066]

For the sake of accuracy, yes, there are records of people who volunteered to be gladiators. However, that *does not* mean they were free men/freed men while being gladiators. If you were a gladiator, you were a slave. Meaning people who volunteered essentially sold themselves into slavery. There are valid reasons people would choose to do that. People who needed a place to live, food, and a source of income. People who wanted glory, etc.

[@mattc4270]

This is quite literally unwatchable because of the editing. Jesus christ, guys. Brutal.

[@Eric_8724]

Interesting how he claimed that no one would ever volunteer to fight as a gladiator and then shortly after talked about how Commodus voluntarily fought in the arena and also mentioned how Flamma chose to continue being a gladiator despite being offered freedom which again sounds a lot to me like fighting voluntarily.

[@robbikebob]

These 'experts' can be very variable in these series. Sometimes, I enjoy them, sometimes they annoy me... this time I didn't enjoy it.

[@JoeBuchanan-d8l]

Gladiators never fought to death but rarely death could occur

[@terfalicious]

Love this!

[@nadog1011]

And also we know for a fact not all gladiators were slaves my god why do these guys tell half the story every time it's infuriating

[@StevenHolmes-s3e]

Maybe it’s just so they can get on TV and earn the big money! It’s like the Trump went to the University of Pennsylvania and came out with a diploma that he had payed for! His tutors said he was the dumbest student they ever had; now he’s the President! Just shows you how far ‘bull’ will take you!

[@davidcsimon]

Awful editing in this video. Stop cutting to (frequently inaccurate or misleading) clips from movies, and get rid of the annoying music and sound effects, and let your expert speak. Trust your experts to be interesting and entertaining.

[@kartaiss]

Could you get rid of the annoying movie clips and upload a normal version with just the historian speaking? Would be much cooler if you did

[@AB-YTC]

Does the editor have adhd? Every second sentence is chopped in half with a movie clip.

[@hobuspobus]

No but most of the audience do 🤭

[@michaelshelton5488]

I can't wait to see Metatron's reaction to this

[@nohbuddy1]

I like how there are stupid people who take that guy's word, who isn't a historian or publishes or teaches anything, over actual historians who have doctorates or are professors in those respective fields

[@Wasev]

​​@@nohbuddy1but but but he has a fake pretentious wannabe english accent. How can he ever be wrong?

[@callumgorringe5686]

@@nohbuddy1 FYI Metatron IS a professor, he speaks and reads Latin, probably more than this guy does and has a team of Bonafide Academics with PHDs behind him. Also keep in mind Simon once spoke about the 'blood groove' being missing from Roman swords and therefore causing terrible wounds due to suction... This is demonstrably false and has been debunked by numerous sword makers, antique sword dealers and other weapons experts and frankly the blood groove is a childish story that still hangs about, still being spread by 'professors' like this one. Just because he's a professor doesn't mean he is right about everything and just because you don't have a degree in a subject doesn't mean you can't know things... drives me crazy people downplaying Metatron's knowledge and for some reason have no clue he's an actual professor who teaches language. You don't have to like him, but give credit where it's due.

[@nohbuddy1]

@@callumgorringe5686 "He reads latin" so fucking what? He isn't qualified on any of this stuff

[@joh80]

@@nohbuddy1 This "historian" is known for tossing out false statements and missinformation though. That he has a a PhD doesn't make him right, it just shows he once published something that was relatively ok.

[@terfalicious]

Dead interesting! Thx

[@uderzo1984]

This video is a miss History Hit. The answers were superficial, incomplete or just wrong. I'm not gonna mention what he gets wrong, many has done so already, but I can mention that evidence suggests that their diets were predominantly plant-based. I'm sorry but this expert are so wrong I dont get why he is supposed to be a expert? He's primarily a PR person, not a historian. To me it sounds like he got his doctorates a long time ago, because he doesn't seem to have any updated knowledge about gladiators, he's stuck in 80/90s. And on more thing, as many have already said, don't use that editor again, the editing is atrocious.

[@rapidk7307]

Im sorry but I find it very very very hard to believe that people didn't volunteer to be gladiators if the equivalent of their celebrity status is worlds best footballer, best race car driver, and best actor. There are so many people in today's worlds that would risk their life to be that, you telling me nobody in Rome would attempt to reach that status because they valued their life more. Especially poor people. When life has been awful to you and you grow up more sometimes it's worth the risk because death is just another route.

[@bones_bn]

This wasnt great...

[@AgeOfAndrei]

This is my question. • Did some of the Gladiators fight as Roman soldiers or mercenaries when the Roman conquest or conscriptions were issued?

[@THEJMAROCK91]

Volunteer gladiators was a thing they were called auctoratus a freeborn Roman citizen who willingly consigned his body to the hell of the Roman amphitheater and endangered both his civil rights and very life

[@kelsqi-books4835]

I dont think this video's a hit y'all

[@mike-nv7fb]

There were free men who chose to become gladiators…. This guy isn’t an expert

[@AaronSikkink]

Correct. The man speaks nonsense. You had mostly professional gladiators. Just like our current age boxing/boxers.

[@eliburry-schnepp6012]

I'd never heard of Flamma before, that's really interesting and I wonder why he refused manumission so many times.

[@TurtlesandDolphins]

was there a quota on how many clips had to be included or something??

[@lucrezia6811]

We still have bread and circuses nowadays - some things just don't change.

[@jcreed09]

Uh, Free men, citizens of Rome who became Gladiators for money and fame. In "Spartacus Blood & Sand" Varro (Jai Courtney) was a Roman Citizen who volunteered to become a Gladiator for money.

Metatron is going to cover this for sure!

[@CrisSelene]

Nothing to say on the video? Just simping on your lord and savior Metatron. Pathetic

[@Ford-wt8rn]

The audience capture dbag that panders to right wing audience by acting like "woke" is the biggest issue with historians while totally ignoring the lunacy of the advanced civilization bullshit? That dude?

[@RobertLidstroem]

There is ALOT of errors in these FACTS......

[@johnwright9372]

More important: when did the Romans and Byzantines stop gladiatorial games and slaughter of prisoners in the arena?

[@JLocke573]

11:37 They snuck in the Roblox death sound lol

[@andrewegan1732]

The pottage gladiators ate certainly didn't keep them slim. Max Miller You Tube.

[@kartos.]

Garrett Ryan would take issue with half this video

[@CAP198462]

History Hit is just baiting Rafaello (Metatron) now. Talking about the Imperium Romanum so brazenly is sure to attract his attention.

[@chadrbot5505]

He said noone chose to be a gladiator voluntarily, then later he tells of a famous gladiator who turned down his freedom four times to remain a gladiator?

[@chalkiememe4183]

Perhaps he was forced to become a gladiator initially which would make his statement true. He chose to remain a gladiator once he was already one.

[@roastedpepper]

Yes. There is a difference. Choosing to initially become a gladiator or choosing to remain a gladiator. Those are completely different things. Think about it, choosing to continue doing something you’re good at and familiar with where you’ve beaten the odds over and over (meaning death), versus choosing to become a gladiator to just check it out… to see if you make it, where if you didn’t, you die. Like it so not the same!

[@monkeytennis8861]

Right and? That's you not understanding nuance

[@makaveli88888]

Think b4 you type man

[@photo_n_art]

Lol, there is a sbutle difference between becoming and deciding to ramain a gladiator... Your statement is simply erroneous.

[@WimJilf]

Superb as always thank you Simon - as was your recent podcast with Dan on the Praetorian Guard.

[@HistoryHit]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@williamrobinson7435]

Good this. Were I a gladiator I should jolly well practice that two finger surrender mularkey, I mean, if you got it wrong, it could be inconvenient. PEACE! ✌️🌟

[@Marfy_]

some of these things he gives so little context about it might as well be wrong. also he contradicts himself by first saying noone would ever volunteer to be a gladiator and then he mentions a gladiator that turned down being freed several times

[@phils.5060]

HistoryHit has an array of good videos - this clusterfuck of an edit is sadly not one of it...

[@jarrodbright5231]

Gladiators weren't fat? Historian needs to research that one better. I'll grant that his answer was "I wouldn't think they were fat" so at least it isn't an authoritative answer. Gladiators were for a time known as the "Barley Men" of Rome because their owners fed them a diet heavy in barley because it was cheap and the belly fat from a barley heavy diet helped them take blows that caused bleeding (good for the crowd) without causing serious injury (bad for the investment). The practice was ended during the time of Julius Caesar - in fact Caesar is sometimes (possibly aprocryphally given lack of evidence) given credit for ending the practice. During that time gladiators would very likely have been rather fat, as the contemporary artwork depicted them.

[@dancorke6000]

Soooo many errors

[@chadrbot5505]

Carbs are vegetarian

[@lukiep89]

This man would be amazing to go for a pint with!!!!

[@robertbloch1063]

Where did you get this "expert" from? Of course people volunteered to be gladiators. Why not have some fun and get fame and money in process? They have been called Auctorati.

[@paulstevenkelly]

I give up, why so many clips? Unwatchable.

[@marcellocautait8349]

An “expert” who doesn’t appear to know that there were volunteer gladiators… Marcus Attilius being a famous one who volunteered to earn money and pay off his debts Please history hit this man is insufferable get someone else

[@monkeytennis8861]

I think the point is that no one is growing up and choosing being a gladiator as their dream job.

[@Spielkalb-von-Sparta]

@@monkeytennis8861 That's not what he said.

[@bobkidd8791]

Not all Gladiators were slaves.....some cases of Men and Women who were both free Romans who were poor and had zero prospects, they would sign up to be Gladiators to make money and hopefully earn fame.

[@benjaminshutt4710]

This guy answered a lot of these questions without ever answering the questions. And it seems like some of his answers contradicted well known examples of history.

[@pistonburner6448]

Have you ever been in a Turkish prison?

[@Dodlo32888]

10:26 my goat 🐐, when you are big you are big. Messi could never, suck it barca fans😭😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@OfficialMixandMentor]

Never use the gladiator 2 movie in a clip again. Denzel doesn’t even sound like any other character. Just lazy on your end and theirs.

[@HuSanNiang]

Fighting against the Germans? Which Germans? There were several tribes - not Germans. The fights were against the Marcomanni, that´s why Marcomannich Wars

[@Tribune123]

Metatron!!!!!!!!!!

[@davidclayton4067]

Who edited this? Good grief

[@Docmain3]

Yeah, the clips are annoying af when it's every twelve seconds. Edit 12:21. Wowsers, mama!

[@g.a.5083]

Is this fella the same who was just in Survive History's Roman Special Forces episode? He did great there as well!

[@HereIsRick]

This is the worst episode I've ever seen. There is zero reason to show annoying, loud, long clips and blare music before, during and after every question. 0/10, which is disappointing because the expert seems very interesting.

[@James-io7jl]

Those constant videos are fking annoying. Just let him answer the questions.

[@Diotallevi73]

He sounds British, not Roman.

[@jinxterx]

Gladiators were vegan.

[@alanarmstrong6460]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@wplains]

Lol, sure they were…they were as vegan as tigers and lions! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@jinxterx]

@@wplains Gladiators were known as The Barley Men because of their high carb (like the expert mentioned) diet. Tigers and lions are carnivores, humans are "starchivores". The Roman army used to stop eating meat before battle because it slowed them down. Gladiators were supreme athletes that required the best diet which is fruit, vegetables and starch i.e. carbs: the body's preferred source of energy. For all intents and purposes they were vegan. Do your research instead of mocking with no valid opposing argument.

[@nadog1011]

How the hell would be know that it is was in the 10's of thousands Mmmm Metatron please respond to this and history hit why don't you get some real historians on this channel 50 percent of it is utter garbage no offence but you do more respect for WW2 and WW1 history then history before those times

[@iiMeeKs]

Painful watch this, so many movie clips ruining the video

[@47OX]

This historian has not been perfect. There were plenty of gladiators being volunteers, for money, debts or glory. Also it wasn't as mortal as Hollywood would make it out to be. They were stars, they were expensive, you would not waste them in any fight. The majority of their fights were against untrained people or, when against each other, it was almost like wrestling, careful not to kill one another

[@LadyFrai]

Fire the editor, delete this nonsense, apologize to Dr Simon Elliott, and reshoot.

[@letmeeatcake7836]

God the clips are terrible, why use clips that are completely historically inaccurate

[@bezllama3325]

too many movie clips

[@oliverpearson1577]

Were gladiators woke?

[@alanarmstrong6460]

The new gladiator film sucked, half way through story just completely lost me and made no sense.

[@Chuck12312]

the real question is: did gladiators ride on rhinos 😉

[@StevenHolmes-s3e]

Hollywood exaggeration again! It is bad enough trying to ride a bull and that includes the mechanical ones!

[@Chuck12312]

@ it looked cool but I know it’s not historically accurate nor have I seen an actual person ride a rhino

[@Adsper2000]

They did have rhinos in gladiator shows, just not people riding them (or at least not during the fight).

[@Chuck12312]

@@Adsper2000 I bet in gladiator 3 we will have a gladiator riding a crocodile or a hippo 😄

[@Adsper2000]

@@Chuck12312 Ngl the reason I said “at least not during the fight” is because in real life, I have actually seen people riding a hippo in a Mexican circus.

[@rosiebowers1671]

Well this video wasn't up to the usual standard of this channel. Sloppy editing and inaccurate/disputable info. Bleh.

[@legueu]

Your editing is the worst. It ruins the video.

[@zander_champion311]

Extremely annoying editor

[@Tribune123]

History miss...again.

[@hetrodoxlysonov-wh9oo]

This guy has no credibility he's a political activist first and foremost.

[@wayneeatock9803]

This so called historian, seems to know nothing of interest. Basic history. We're gladiators fat, well they were known as barley men due to a diet of barley they ate to bulk up, this layer of fat helped, so there injuries might not be as bad. Get someone who really knows stuff. Not this he doesn't even answer the questions proper. Poor video. 👎👎

[@lirisa1869]

I think Dr. Elliot is answering the question in the usual sense when people mean someone is "fat". They don't mean they have a layer of fat, but that they are significantly overweight and he described the various conditions they would be training which would make such a physique unlikely.

[@joh80]

Painful edidting.

[@TheJonesy425]

People arguing with a historian expert who literally has a doctorate in the subject.. maybe what you know is false movie dramatics, like ninjas wearing black or vikings wearing horned helmets...

[@scotthartley7837]

You think a historian of his level would have done some research and would known that the real name for football is Soccer, and that's not me being a pretentious American do a Google. It was originally called Soccer and changed the football because the common misconception of that in Rugby, which was called football, and though then Rugby changed to rugb. Our football change to Rugby and football, change the Soccer or Soccer chains to football. And now we have the amalgorithm that soccer is football and americans are the only ones pronouncing it, right but in all fairness, that's irrelevant, do anything he's talking about

[@THEJMAROCK91]

A real adult and competent human being knows is football not soccer. Go back and play American hand egg kid.