These depictions have entrenched the rebellious Spartacus and emperor Commodus as legends of the arena, but there were other gladiators who achieved renown in their own day. Gladiatorial combat dominates the popular perception of ancient Roman entertainment, a position scaffolded by films like Stanley Kubrick’s Spartacus (1960) and Ridley Scott’s Gladiator (2000), as well as older works like Jean-Léon Gérôme’s 1872 painting Pollice Verso. Though there are few literary descriptions of gladiatorial combat, gladiators are referenced in celebratory graffiti, inscriptions and artistic relics. Gladiatorial games were hugely popular in ancient Rome, and gladiators could be widely admired and achieve great wealth.
