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In his controversial book Gladiator: Witchcraft, Propaganda, and the Rise of the World Hero, author John D. Christian warns that the Academy Award winning movie, Gladiator, may well be a precursor to a modern-day era of brutality and bloodshed.
Recently, the Associated Press carried a story about an actual Gladiator School founded in Rome, Italy. At the school, "businessmen, musicians, college students" and others become gladiators "twice a week, learning the history, theory, and techniques of ancient fighters. "
Students at the Gladiator School pay $100 for the two-month course. They assume ancient Roman names and, during their combat sessions, listen to the soundtrack from the movie, Gladiator. The modern-day warriors recently staged fights at Villa Adriana, the ruins of the palace of Emperor Hadrian built outside Rome.
Is history repeating itself?
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