Roman Super Sport
After Roman review, the term "gridiron gladiators"
has been overturned
Come this year's Super Bowl, you may hear TV announcers talk about "gridiron gladiators." Maybe the supersized, superfast, superrich athletes who struggle in the Super Bowl do look a little gladiatorial. But there's a super difference: the Roman gladiator frequently paid for defeat with his life.
The Roman origin of the gladiator--from the Latin gladius, or "sword"--is well documented. In 264 BC, the sons of Junius Brutus Pera honored their father at his funeral by holding a contest featuring three pairs of gladiators. Rome fell sword-over-shields in love with the martial display, and for five centuries, gladiators commanded more and more attention.
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