It was insensitive of me to ignore the plight of Roman slaves, they led pretty hard lives. OTOH, sometimes slavery was entered into willingly by someone with special skills but had fallen onto very hard times. Gladiators were mostly lowest of the low, but from time to time someone from genteel society (including the emperor Commodus, who was rumored to be the bastard son of a famous gladiator of an earlier generation) would enter the arena, which meant becoming a slave, in the hope of hitting the bigtime in Rome, and making a massive fortune, then retiring before losing and getting killed, or getting permanently crippled.
Wow. I should send my son to you. He and his grandfather and his uncle are big fans of Roman History. He just finish the entry level class last Spring.
Me? I only know a few things from my world history class from 30 plus years ago.
It is fascinating especially since many of our ancestors have origins from the old empire since it spread so far and wide and for so many years.
It is also a good reference for what is happening in the US right now.