24 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Gladiators were mostly Vegetarians and they were fatter than you may think

What better epitomizes the ideal male physique than the Roman gladiator? Gladiators were the movie stars of the first century, so famous that free men lined up to try their luck in the arena.

In reality, what we know about gladiators’ diets and physiques suggests that they had a very different physical appearance than those depicted in classical art and popular culture.

Scholars from the Medical University of Vienna in Austria and the University of Bern in Switzerland found that the Gladiator’s diet was grain-based and mostly meat-free, based on data from the gladiator cemetery in Ephesus, present-day Turkey. Sure, this does not mean they didn’t eat meat.

In Roman times, the entertainment industry was very important. After all, there were over 100 gladiator schools spread across the empire. The majority of schools were concentrated around the Colosseum. The largest school, Ludus Magnus, was connected to Colosseum with a tunnel.

Pliny, the famous Roman author, referred to gladiators as hordearii, which translates as “barley eaters.” The Romans believed that eating barley would help to strengthen your body. They ate oatmeal and dried fruit in addition to barley and beans.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



Reliefs of Roman gladiators in training from the ancient city of Kibyra, Turkey, 2nd – 3rd centuries AD.

Also, an examination of gladiators’ bones also found evidence they drank a drink made from plant ashes. This ash drink was a form of health-boosting tonic to help gladiators recover after fighting and training.

Gladiators were significant investments for their owners, therefore why lack meat in their diet?

Having more fat meant having a better chance of surviving in the arena. An extra layer of fat provided nerve and muscle protection. As a result, cut wounds were less deadly.

Being overweight had the added benefit of making wounds more likely to be shallow, allowing gladiators to continue fighting even as blood poured from their bodies. What a spectacle for the onlookers!

Given they belonged to such a civilized and sophisticated society, the Romans’ deep attraction to extreme violence remains surprising and strange. Undoubtedly, bloody, brutal, but popular gladiatorial contests were the dark side of Roman civilization.

The battle between inhabitants of Pompeii and Nuceria in the Amphitheatre of Pompeii (see Tacitus Annals’ XIV.17). Roman fresco from Pompeii in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale (Naples) Photo: Public domain

When using extremely sharp weapons, gladiators fought without much to no body armor. Trainers didn’t like seeing their gladiators die quickly after months of training, so they gave them the armor that any fighter could wear, regardless of armor: fat.

As a result, gladiators didn’t appear to be strong, athletic men with steel abs.

The majority of gladiators were condemned prisoners or enslaved people whose athletic prowess was the only thing separating them from death. The fighting was ferocious and bloody. Stamina and the ability to recover quickly were critical.

Early gladiator fights began in the 3rd century B.C.E. as ritual blood offerings to the spirits of recently departed nobles. After the slave revolt of Spartacus in 73 BC, the State assumed greater control of public games (ludi), and large numbers of gladiators were trained in imperial schools. With the coming to power of Augustus in Rome around 27 BC, it became a regular part of the entertainment cycle in Rome.

Source: DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0110489

Related Articles

The Bronze Sacred Sanxingdui Tree Number 3 is Being Restored

9 April 2021

9 April 2021

According to the announcement of the Sanxingdui Museum, archaeologists have begun to assemble and restore the No. 3 bronze sacred...

1600-Year-Old Geometric Motifs Mosaic Found in Yavne

26 April 2021

26 April 2021

The Israel Antiquities Authority declared Monday that a 1,600-year-old mosaic discovered in Yavne, which archaeologists believe may have once graced...

Ancient Rome’s city borders were discovered in a rare stone

17 July 2021

17 July 2021

Archaeologists unearthed a rare stone outlining ancient Rome’s city borders during excavations for a new sewage system. The stone comes...

Human history in one click: Database with 2,400 prehistoric sites

10 August 2023

10 August 2023

The role of culture in human spread: Digital data collection contains 150 years of research. Human history in one click:...

3,000-year-old Bronze Age Hoard Discovered During House Building Project in Scotland

31 July 2024

31 July 2024

Recent laboratory investigations of the Rosemarkie find, unearthed during the Black Isle housing development at Greenside in Rosemarkie, Highland Scotland,...

2,000-Year-Old Graves Found in Kyrgyzstan Reveal Hidden Chapter of Silk Road History

12 August 2025

12 August 2025

Archaeologists have discovered graves dating back approximately 2,000 years in the village of Kyzyl-Koshun-1, located in the Batken district of...

Submerged Roman structure of concentric walls discovered on Italy’s western coast

3 June 2024

3 June 2024

Archaeologists have recently uncovered a significant Roman-era structure submerged near the coastline of Campo di Mare on Italy’s western coast....

Ancient Curse Tablets Reveal Dark Spiritual Practices in the Roman Empire – and Their Echo in the Bible

17 June 2025

17 June 2025

New Research Connects Ritual Cursing to the Book of Revelation From jealous lovers to petty thieves, people in the ancient...

The Largest Ancient Floor Mosaic in Cappadocia and Central Anatolia Region Uncovered -600 square meters-

12 November 2023

12 November 2023

The structure with the largest floor mosaic in Cappadocia and Central Anatolia Region was unearthed during the excavations carried out...

Roman girl adorned with 1800-year-old jewelry found in a lead coffin on Mount Scopus

9 April 2023

9 April 2023

“After the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple and the exodus of the Jewish population, late Roman Jerusalem—renamed Aelia Capitolina—had a...

Archaeologists discover secondary gate of old Bazira city in Pakistan

26 March 2022

26 March 2022

Archaeologists claimed to have discovered the secondary gate of the city of Bazira during new excavations at Barikot in Pakistan’s...

Georgia’s Queen of Kings “Tamar the Great”

17 August 2021

17 August 2021

Queen Tamar (1160-1235 CE) reigned during Georgia’s Golden Age, when the country’s frontiers stretched from the Black Sea to the...

A New Study: The Great Sphinx of Giza may have been blown into shape by the wind

1 November 2023

1 November 2023

The theory, occasionally raised by others, that the Great Sphinx of Giza may have been a lion-shaped natural landform that...

The discovery of a 380-million-year-old heart sheds new light on our bodies’ evolution

16 September 2022

16 September 2022

Researchers from Curtin University have discovered the world’s oldest heart in a ‘beautifully preserved’ ancient jawed fish fossil 380 million...

Roman soldier’s 1,900-year-old payslip uncovered in Masada

16 February 2023

16 February 2023

During excavations at Masada, archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities (IAA) uncovered a papyrus payslip dated to 72 BC belonging to...