According to History, Rome’s most popular sport began as a funeral tradition. When a wealthy noble perished, their families arranged fights to the death between slaves or prisoners on the departed’s grave, as a testament to the values the aristocrat had in life. It’s also quite possible that the fights were a workaround for human sacrifice, as Romans believed blood would purify the deceased’s soul. Julius Caesar raised the stakes at the funerals of his father and daughter by having hundreds of slaves duke it out in their honor, which proved to be hugely popular.

While not every fight was strictly to the death — gladiators were expensive to train and feed — the life expectancy for these warrior-athletes rarely extended beyond their mid-20s. Historians estimate that 10-20% of all gladiator fights ended with a fatality, usually at the request of the crowd, who often determined if a defeated warrior lived or died. This doesn’t include the thousands of animals slain at the hands of the “bestiarii,” animal-fighting specialist gladiators who fought against crocodiles, ostriches, lions, and elephants. Violence and sport are still closely entwined today, but our standards for entertainment have definitely changed.