Most of the information referring to the gladiator's diet in the popular media are usually linked to a single source, notably the excavations in Ephesus that began in 1993 and subsequent analysis of the found remains conducted by the scientists from the University of Vienna led by Fabian Kanz and Karl Grossschmidt. Although the material was abundant, as the remains of 68 supposed gladiators were found and analyzed, such information must be always treated with caution, as the data obtained might be representative only for the local customs and may or may not be applicable to other periods or regions. It should also be noted that in one of the reports, only 22 remains were ultimately claimed to belong to actual gladiators, leading to a relatively small evidence pool. Last but not least, the problem with ascertaining anything pertaining to the gladiators stems largely from the fact that the remains confirmed to be people of that profession were found only in 4 separate sites so far (modern Ephesus, Patras, York and Trier). This said, other evidence, both archaeological and documentary corroborates to a significant extent the findings from Ephesus.

In general, gladiators' diet was based on various grain products (most commonly barley, hence their derogatory nickname hoerdarii or barley-eaters) and beans (fava beans, chickpeas, lentils etc.), occasionally enriched with common vegetables. Until very recently, the diet of most if not all settled people was predominantly vegetarian, because animals require a lot of supplies to grow and are not renewable resource - if they are slaughtered, they are gone, and the process of growing animals, especially cattle, is a time-consuming process that also bears significant risks. With rather primitive agricultural technology and little knowledge of medicine, the output of herding was very small in comparison to modern industrial-scale farming. This meant, that meat, although not scarce (especially when we speak about poultry and fishes) was far less common than nowadays. Diet of a common man, be it a Roman citizen, Medieval peasant or 18th-century city-dweller was consisting predominantly of grain (including baked goods), lentils, dairy products, vegetables, fruits and plant-based oils, depending on the actual region. This also more or less corresponds to the average diet of the poorer citizens of the Roman Empire. Romans knew various meat products, but were eating them only occasionally and in much smaller quantities than people in Middle Ages not to mention present times, with fish and poultry (the former were abundant, the latter were easy to raise) being the most common. Pork was also relatively popular, but more expensive. It should also be noted that the diet of gladiators was quite similar to the one enjoyed (or suffered, depending on your take) by legionaries who ate predominantly bread or grain-based soups, beans, cheese and, if available, smoked bacon and fatback (all these products are quite long-lived and thus good for storage). According to Roth, daily ration of a legionary in wartime consisted of 850 g of grain, 160 g of pork (fat and meat counted together, with salted back-fat being the most common due to high caloric value and ability to be preserved when salted), 40 g of cheese and olive oil, 150-200 ml of wine and vegetables as available [and remember, that legionnaires were free people who were expected to really fight and endure long marches and physical work]. But all in all, average Romans seemed to eat meat occasionally (definitely not every day) and it can be safely said that the diet of poorer citizens was primarily plant-based.

Now, considering that a substantial number of gladiators were slaves (although since 3rd century CE more and more free citizens were joining ludi or gladiatorial schools) and thus feeding them with something that was both cheap and reasonably nutritious seemed to be reasonable. And while we're at it, it needs to be noted that in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, with the supply of slaves slowly decreasing, free people could have formed 60-65% of all gladiators in many ludi, treating the gladiator's career as a way to fame and money. Even in places where gladiatorial combat was not a gate to glory, people were doing it because they considered it better than other physical work and sometimes (in case of debts) it was a way to avoid slavery. There are also recorded cases of people from various echelons of society who entered a ludus for a limited 'term' to gather money for e.g. a friend in need or parent's funeral.

On the other hand, gladiators were not necessarily great or exceptionally proficient fighters. They were. first and foremost, entertainers, not unlike modern performers of American Wrestling. Sure, even in choreographed or at least partially limited combat one needs to have substantial strength and endurance to put a good show and gladiators were far from being weak, but they also had a substantial amount of fat covering their muscles. Kanz and Grossschmidt suggested that gladiators could have been indeed muscular, but also rather fat and thus closer to modern weightlifters or heavyweight boxers rather than bodybuilders. It is worth noting that sumatori, usually very strong but also substantially fat also enjoy a carbohydrate-heavy diet based on rice, vegetables and beer. This was deliberate, as substantial amount of subcutaneous fat allowed gladiators to suffer superficial wounds that looked dangerous from afar but were more nuisance than anything thanks to immediate medical help after the show. Although Roman medical knowledge left much to be desired, doctors, much like their medieval counterparts, were well-versed in various surgical techniques, including antiseptics. Gladiators were also specially trained to inflict such wounds without harming their opponents too much.

Tacitus writing about emperor Vitellius, mercilessly lambasts the apparently insatiable appetite of the latter and when writing about his soldiers, he states on one occasion that even his troops started to emulate emperor's gluttony ('militibus Vitellius paratos cibos ut gladiatoriam saginam dividebat' ['Vitellius' soldiers were distributing food like the gladiator feed'], Hist. 2.88.1), suggesting that gladiators were indeed eating a lot of abundant and cheap food. It should also be noted, that Galen (who worked for some time as a doctor in a ludus) was criticizing such practice, stating that it makes people fat rather than strong, a trait he did not condone in a fighter.

Last but not least, we should also be aware of a different optics of the modern times. Today, a 'peak physical condition' usually means bodies honed to the very edge of human abilities with the use of modern medicine and biochemistry, where the differences in achievements are measured in milliseconds or grams (e.g. recent world record in dead lift being increased by Eddie Hall from 500 to 501 kg was big news in powerlifting circles, even though it amounts to the increase of mere 0.2%). This gives us some space to discuss whether or not vegetarian diet allows achievement of such 'peak' or not. But back in a day (and I mean anything between ancient times and early 20th century) such discussion made no sense. With supply of food being shaky at best, medicine in its infancy and people really having no purpose in being concerned about a minute advantages over their competitors (statements like 'you can lift this stone 10 times, I can lift it 11 times, so I'm stronger' were usually enough). In such perspective, the answer to a question, whether or not one could achieve good physical prowess eating little meat is obvious. We know that one can build strength, endurance and agility on a primarily (or completely) vegetarian diet. They maybe not win the world championships, but they will definitely be in much better physical condition than an average person. And this was generally good enough for people through millennia.

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Grant, M., Gladiators, Barnes & Noble, 1996.

Haynes, H., The History of Make-Believe: Tacitus on Imperial Rome, University of California Press, 2003

Lösch, S., Moghaddam, N., Grossschmidt, K., Risser, D.U., Kanz, F., Stable Isotope and Trace Element Studies on Gladiators and Contemporary Romans from Ephesus (Turkey, 2nd and 3rd Ct. AD) - Implications for Differences in Diet. PLoS ONE 9(10): e110489 (2014).

Kanz, F., Grossschmidt, K., Dying in the Arena: the Osseous Evidence from Ephesian Gladiators in: Wilmott, T. (Ed.), Roman Amphitheatres and Spectacula, a 21st-Century Perspective, Archaeopress, 2009, pp.211-220.

Nosov, K.S., Гладиаторы [Gladiators], Eksmo, Moscow 2005

Roth, J.P., The Logistics of the Roman Army at War (264 B.C. - A.D .235). Brill Academic Publishing, Boston 2012.