'When everyone had had plenty to eat and drink they called for the gladiators. The moment anyone's throat was cut, they clapped their hands in pleasure. And it sometimes even turned out that someone had specified in their will that the most beautiful women he had purchased were to fight each other....'
- Athenaeus, The Learned Banqueters
With their origins as blood rites staged at the funerals of rich aristocrats, gladiatorial combat is one of the defining images of ancient Rome. For ...