20. Gladiatorial Games
Anyone who has ever seen the movie Gladiator from the year 2000 already knows about the ancient sport of the Gladiator Games. Prisoners were forced to become fighters called gladiators, who had to fight one another to death. Men would train in a gladiator camp, and became skilled in combat. Popular fighters could become celebrities, and crowds of fans would show up to cheer them on, just like modern-day professional athletes. After achieving a certain level of success, a gladiator may eventually earn a ticket to freedom.
Contrary to what you may have learned in history class, there were actually female gladiators, too. Rather than being prisoners who were forced to fight, some women decided to join because they wanted to be part of the glory of being famous. They were often there as a token female, and were not always fighting to the death. However, some female slaves were used as bait during other colosseum games, where they were killed by wild animals.