15. Emperor Titus was one of Ancient Rome’s biggest fan of female gladiators and paid females good money to fight for him
Like their male equivalents, female gladiators were almost always slaves. Often, they would be presented to the crowds as fierce warriors with exotic backstories. They fought as ‘Amazons’ for instance, though their backgrounds were almost always fabricated. The records show that Emperor Titus loved female gladiators and would watch women slaves battle to the death. Females also died like men too. In 2001, archaeologists found the grave of a female gladiator in London. She had been buried outside of the main cemetery but placed in a proper grave – proof, perhaps, that gladiatrix, like gladiators, had ‘death clubs’ into which they paid regular subscriptions to pay for a proper burial.