Tristan Hughes sits down with Alexander Mariotti, a leading speaker on gladiatorial life, combat, and weaponry as well as a historical consultant on Ridley Scott's 'Gladiator' movie (2000).
Together they discuss what life was really like for these men entering the arenas of the Roman Empire, what they wore, what they ate, how much money they made and why they were considered the sex symbols of the time.
Up Next in Tristan's Documentaries
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Debunking Myths of Spartan Warriors
Characterised as super soldiers, formidable fighters who would rather perish than surrender - their reputation truly did proceed them.
But how accurate is this image - and does it correlate with what the ancient sources actually tell us?
In this filmed episode of The Ancients podcast Sparta mi...
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Human Evolution with Tristan Hughes
Human evolution can’t help but fascinate us - the story of where we came from. Today we, Homo sapiens, are the only human species left. But that wasn’t always the case….
For millions of years, there thrived a great range of early human species. From small-brained island dwellers in Indonesia to ...
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Sex Lives of the Ancient Romans
Joined by historian Honor Cargill-Martin, Tristan Hughes explores the real sex lives of ancient Rome.
From popular series to kinky paintings, there is a recurring image today of Romans as sex-mad degenerates. And although there are sex stories in the dozens from the Roman period, when it comes ...
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