The figure of gladiators recalls the ideas of strength, hard training, endurance, and deadly efficiency: a perfect fighting machine. Historically, a gladiator was a sort of sport hero; statues and paintings of the ancient Roman period tell us of this astonishing world of fighters. Perhaps akin to the modern-day Mohammad Ali or Mike Tyson, these gladiators endured long sessions of physical training. And what was their diet? While we might expect a high protein diet, the ancient historian Plinius refers to gladiators as "hordearii" -- barley eaters! Analysis of their bones has put forward the hypothesis that gladiators were vegetarian athletes!
