A couple of items of interest ... first, from the LA Times comes news of a gladiator-training school:
Not much info at the hotel's website (although they do render the updated date in Roman numerals)
For the more desk-bound, there's a Gladiator's Brain Gym (tip o' the pileus to Michael Addicott ) [it's a reaction time test ... if you click on a mosaic, you'll first get a description ... wait a bit and you'll get a screen with 'exerceo gladiatorum' on it; click on the little arrow and you'll catch on]
Go to Rome and find your inner warrior. The Rome Cavalieri Hilton is offering a historically correct gladiator training course (a tough workout, courtesy of Gruppo Storico Romano, a society dedicated to re-creating those days) in the hotel's private park.
For two hours, a participant wears a tunic, sandals, protective gloves and prepares to do battle by learning sword combat and ancient techniques. Graduates get a medal and a title (tiro, for beginners); advanced students wear protective armor. Cost: $500 for a group of eight. Battle fatigue? Spring for a four-handed gladiator massage at the hotel afterward.
Not much info at the hotel's website (although they do render the updated date in Roman numerals)
For the more desk-bound, there's a Gladiator's Brain Gym (tip o' the pileus to Michael Addicott ) [it's a reaction time test ... if you click on a mosaic, you'll first get a description ... wait a bit and you'll get a screen with 'exerceo gladiatorum' on it; click on the little arrow and you'll catch on]