The story that the emperor Nero (A.D.54-68) deliberately started  the fire that roared through Rome  in A.D.64 is fiction. When the fire broke out, he was at his villa in Actium, 35 miles from the city. Far from celebrating the blaze by playing his favorite instrument, the lyre, Nero raced to the capital to take charge of the fire fighting. His concern was no doubt heightened by the news that his new palace was a fire.

The legend appears to have sprung from the resentment that the citizens of Rome felt about Nero’s behavior after the fire. He used the destruction as an excuse  to begin his most ambitious building project-the so called Golden House- which he intended as a palace fit for a god . Had it been finished, this monumental building would have covered one-thrid of the entire city of Rome.

FIGHT TO THE DEATH

Public fights between gladiators were among the msot popular spectator sports in ancient Rome. The first of these bloddy combats was recorded in 264 B.C. The spectacles continued until they were finally banned by the emperor Honorius (A.D. 395 -423) in 404. Most battles were fought to the death, and they were held  so often that several hundred gladiators were killed  in the arena every year. Some of the fighters were volunteers, but most were prisoners of war, slaves, or condemned criminals.

There were several categories of gladiator. The retiarius carried a net to entangle his opponent, and a trident, with which to kill him. The mirmillo was armed with a sword, shield, and helmet. The laqueator was armed with a noose. All gladiators were trained in their art at special schools.