Rome’s first gladiator battle was not entertainment — it was held at a funeral.

  • Gladiator fight in ancient Rome, Italy
Gladiator fight in ancient Rome, Italy
Credit: © Sunny Celeste/Alamy
Author Michael Nordine
July 9, 2026

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You’ve probably never heard of Decimus Junius Brutus Pera, but the prominent aristocrat’s death inspired one of ancient Rome’s most famous attractions: the gladiator. 

When he died in 264 BCE, his sons Marcus Junius and Decimus Junius took it upon themselves to honor his memory by organizing a fight between three pairs of enslaved people. The public event, which preceded the opening of the Colosseum by hundreds of years, was held at Rome’s cattle market (better known by the amazing moniker of Forum Boarium). 

The spectacle, which also included meat and wine, was a kind of public sacrifice in Pera’s honor. This became common practice at Roman funeral pyres in the ensuing decades and centuries, with the fighters themselves known as bustuarii and holding a lesser status than the gladiators who fought at larger public gatherings; though many gladiators became celebrities in their own right, their position wasn’t considered a noble one. 

By the Numbers

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One gladiator reportedly won his freedom four times and refused it each time.

Spartacus is probably the most famous gladiator, but he wasn’t the best fighter the Colosseum ever saw. That may have been Flamma, a Syrian soldier-turned-gladiator whose name meant “the Flame” and who according to some reports survived 34 different matches (far more than most competitors) with a final record of 21 victories, nine draws, and four defeats. (Most battles didn’t actually end in death.) 

By the time he died at age 30, he had been granted his freedom on four separate occasions and turned it down each time, according to his gravestone. No record exists stating why. The gravestone reads, “Flamma, secutor, lived 30 years, fought 34 times, won 21 times, fought to a draw 9 times, won reprieve 4 times, a Syrian by nationality. Delicatus made this for his deserving comrade-in-arms.”

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